Check your expectations of a new dog or cat

They say moving house, changing jobs and loss (death / divorce) are the three most stressful things that can happen to a human.Bringing a new pet home is the equivalent to at least one of those. We need to afford our new pet some allowances during this time and give them some settling in time.

I’m not saying the whole thing needs to be planned and regimented. Heck, you can impulse buy a pet if you want! You just need to give some allowances in the initial hours, days, weeks and months while you all adjust to your new circumstances. Check what your expectations are. If you want an immediate fit to your busy, go-go-go lifestyle, you may get lucky with a laid back dog… Or nothing will ever be good enough.

Consider the story of the dog that was adopted from the pound one Saturday morning. The pound is an inherently stressful environment. He did his time though, quite well, then got sent off for desexing and waited a couple more days back at the pound to be collected. On Monday he was returned to the pound as “dog aggressive”, something he had not displayed at the pound in potentially justifiable circumstances. It turned out that after collection Saturday he was taken straight to a friend’s house, not home, where he was introduced to the friend’s German shepherd. After not coping too well with that he was taken home, where more friends with small children & another doggy friend were invited over to meet the new dog. The next morning, determined for this doggy to “make friends”, the family visited the local dog park where there was an alleged altercation with a Rottweiler. That’s a lot of meetings and forced friendship attempts in 48-hours! I don’t think I’d have been friendly either.

Or consider the long-term foster dog, in care for 5 months, with children, finally adopted! In your new home by 5pm and at breakfast the next morning the 3 year old child is allowed to pat you, supervised, while you try to eat! Communicating the only way you know how you bare your teeth. You’re back in foster care by midday.

Or kitty went on a adoption trial Friday afternoon and was returned Monday. He was “a nice cat but he didn’t use the litter box the whole weekend”. Now I have no idea if the kitty was toileting outside the litter box or didn’t toilet at all, but both are evidence of not being comfortable and needing more time.

Please. Think about what you are expecting of these animals while they go through utter upheaval to become part of your life. We all need a little time sometimes. Call me, I can help.