The thing about adopting a dog from a pet shelter is that even if it's kind of an orphanage for animals, and you're adopting one so that you can give an animal a real home, as far as animals like dogs are concerned, when they have to leave the shelter behind that they've spent weeks in, they feel they've lost a home. For this reason, a dog that comes in from a shelter may have a bit of trouble adjusting. This is what you need to make sure of – that the adjustment process is smooth and that your dog begins to feel like he is part of a family again really soon.
Before you go in to pick your brand-new dog up at the shelter, it would be good idea to go in prepared with all the little things your pet will need on his first day home. Adopting a dog isn't a whole lot different from adopting a baby, except that the needs tend to be different.
Adopting a puppy may be fun -- you get to see how the little one grows up. The problem with adopting young is that you never know what you'll get when your pet is all grown up. Adopting an adult dog, you may not know what kind of training he has had the benefit of already. But you do know the kind of basic temperament you’re dealing with. It helps you make a more informed decision. But you are familiar with the saying about teaching an old dog, aren't you? You will have to give him time, whatever you wish to teach him.
Adopting a dog that's grown-up isn't fun for the first few days. A change of diet is almost certain to give your dog a bad case of diarrhea. Since that isn't anything you'd ever want to deal with, try mixing a little bit of rice and boiled potatoes with his diet. That stops diarrhea in its tracks with a dog. You'll need to give your dog a tour of your house for the first few days. You need to show him where his bed is and where his food and water are. And you do have to remember to take them out twice every hour to train him. Every time that he does go when he is taken outside, you want to be overly lavish with your praise.
If your new dog does have a bit of an accident somewhere in your house, that's not a sign necessarily that he hasn't been housetrained. Any dog could have an accident in new surroundings. You just need to give him time. If you should ever find your dog trying to relieve himself indoors, that's not your cue to jump all over him or maybe punish him. Dogs don't understand what the big fuss is all about. You really need to train him so that he understands what it is you want. He truly does not understand naturally.
You know that you've adopted him so that he can be your pet. He doesn't even know what he's here for. He doesn't know that your home is his home now. So you need to anticipate these things and be a little extra sensitive. A great way to have him settle into his new life with as little friction as possible would be to take him to obedience training. In most cities, the Parks and Recreation Department offers dog training sessions. A couple weeks of this, and your dog will settle right in.
Remember, dogs are like very small children. They really need to be taught what is expected of them.
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