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If you take your puppy home in a car, be sure to place it on a
towel or newspapers. Young puppies are often carsick on the first
trip. When you get the puppy home, handle it gently and speak
softly to it. Remember, it is in new surroundings. It will need
a day or two to become familiar with its new home. It needs time
to grow and develop. Don’t expect too much of your new puppy,
and don’t worry if it doesn’t eat much the first day.
The puppy
should have a bed of its own in the corner of a room, perhaps
the kitchen or bathroom, where it cannot get into trouble. An
old rug or blanket makes a satisfactory bed. Another ideal bed,
which is easy to keep clean, is a piece of foam rubber covered
first with oilcloth and then with a clean burlap bag or pillowcase.
You can replace the outer covering whenever the puppy needs
a clean bed, and the oilcloth can be washed with a little soap
and water.
A wood
or wire crate with a hinged door and a latch makes a fine indoor
kennel. It will keep your puppy safe and help you in housebreaking
it. Be sure to get a crate large enough so that your dog, when
fully grown, can stretch out, stand up, and turn around. The
first few times you place the puppy in the crate, it may cry
and bark. Pay no attention unless the puppy is hungry or needs
to go out. Soon it will like its crate as much as its wild ancestors
liked their holes and caves. With patience, you can train the
puppy to go out its crate whenever you wish.
For outdoors
in fair weather, you can make a kennel to protect the dog from
the hot sun. If you leave your dog alone outdoors, you should
make a strong fence in your backyard. The run should be high
enough so the dog cannot jump put when fully grown. And it should
be sunk into the ground about 15 centimeters so that the dog
cannot dig out. It should be at least 1 meter by 2.5 meters
(about 3 feet by 8 feet) for a small dog and 2 meters by 6 meters
(6 ½ feet by 20 feet) for a large dog. It can be made of turkey
wire for all except large dogs. Large dogs need chain link or
stronger fencing. The gate should have a firm closing that the
dog cannot open with its nose or paw.
Dogs that
are allowed to roam are sooner or later likely to be struck
by cars, to be poisoned, or pick up a disease, like rabies.
A roving dog sometimes becomes a nuisance to neighbors. A fenced-in
dog is safe and a joy to its owners and neighbors. Don’t tie
your dog to a wire or rope. Such treatment may break its spirit
or make it vicious. |
