| 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 ˝ 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. |
