For convenience, we will refer to your dog as “she” rather than “he or she”.
Adapting to a new home or new environment is stressful to most dogs. Puppies and young dogs usually adjust quickly, but a older dogs may need more time and should be given more attention and consideration and care as it adjusts to its new environment. If the older dog has just joined your household, then you should act immediately to ensure that it settles in as quickly and as smoothly as possible, and you should assist it in its efforts to get to know the members her new household, and to explore and learn about its new physical surroundings. Make every effort to learn as much as possible about its previous home. With this information at hand there will be many positive things you can do. These helpful actions should be designed to help and encourage your new older pooch to adjust more quickly and more gently into the new home and neighbourhood with all its strange sounds and smells.
It will help and comfort your older canine if you were able to retrieve any of its old items of equipment, such as food bowl or previous kennel and bedding, or any of its old toys. Having access to these items will give it some reassurance and confidence and security in the new surroundings. Slowly introduce friends and relatives of your family or your new older canine may feel overwhelmed.
Besides having to get to know all members of the new household, your dog must also adjust to its loss of familiar territories and become familiar with new ones. Any information you have been able to gather about its previous home environment can be used to soften any trauma it may be experiencing. If you have learnt that it enjoys playing fetch, for example, then make sure that this game is on a regular agenda and that you frequently play this game.
You should make the experience of getting to learn about your new pooch’s environment as fun filled and as exciting as possible. Spend time playing with it in the yard, take it on frequent walks in the neighbourhood, and help it to enjoy the opportunity to explore any nearby parks or suitable grasslands. These pleasant experiences will quickly develop and strengthen the bond between you and your new dog and this in turn will make its training faster and more effective.
