How to Introduce a New Dog to Your Apartment

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How to Introduce a New Dog to Your Apartment

Staff Writer · Jan 6, 2010

Changes in ownership can be difficult for a new dog to accept and be comfortable with. Because a dog becomes accustomed to his environment and the people that are around him, entering a new environment with new people can be somewhat challenging for him until he learns that he can trust his new environment and new owners. Introducing a new dog to your apartment can be made easier with a little consideration for how your dog is feeling.

Provide a Dog Bed

The first time an owner brings a new dog into a new home, he should always have a dog bed ready and prepared for him. This should be conveyed as his place in the apartment and it should be used to provide security for your new dog. Because he has so many new places and people to explore, he needs to have a place to himself where he feels as though he is safe.

Not only will providing a dog bed give him a comfortable place to go, it will also show him that he is a member of the family and that his presence in your apartment is long lasting. Making a new dog understand that he is a permanent member of the family can help to ease his transition.

Allow for Time to Bond with Your Dog in the New Environment

When introducing a new to dog to your apartment for the first time, the last thing you want to do is show him his way in and then leave him. This can harbor a feeling of loneliness and uncertainty. A dog that has recently been shifted into a new environment most likely already feels somewhat abandoned from having left his previous home or his litter mates. Because of this, leaving him alone again can cause him to develop destructive and insecure behavior; in turn putting a strain on the new owner-dog relationship.

The best way to handle this is to make sure that there is an adequate amount of time dedicated to making a new dog feel welcome. A dog that is new to a family or home needs to know that he is wanted and that he is there for a reason. To help him to feel this way, the best thing to do is spend some time bonding with him, showing him the way around the apartment and playing with him.

Don’t Stifle Exploration

Whereas it may be tempting to want to keep a new dog by your side, he will undoubtedly want to explore his new environment and this behavior should never be prohibited or punished. Exploring is a natural instinct for dogs and something that a new dog will do to learn about his environment. It will help him to learn where things are, how they smell, what areas of the apartment are accessible to him and which are off limits.

The only way that a dog can learn his boundaries and limits is to explore all areas of a new home. He must learn where he can find his owners when he needs them, where he is supposed to go when he needs to defecate and where he should go when he is hungry or thirsty.

In addition, allowing a new dog to explore his new surroundings will give him a feeling of peace and calm. It will help to show him what his new home looks and smells like so that he can learn to become comfortable there and so that he can learn that it is his home.

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