Adjusting to a new home can be a tense and frightening experience for a dog. After being abandoned by her previous guardian, she now finds herself in a strange new home with strange new people. Your patience and understanding during her initial adjustment period can do a lot to help her feel at home.

Some dogs will settle right in—you can bring them home one day, go to work the next day, and the dog won’t make a fuss. But, this is unusual. Most dogs, especially puppies, need several days or even weeks to adjust and to feel secure in their new home. Dedicating yourself to these first few days will save you problems in the long run; a dog that has been given a chance to adjust is less likely to start barking, whining, and chewing up the house. And you will likely find that any “trouble” the dog causes is far outweighed by the fun of nurturing and observing this latest addition to your family.

Bring the dog into the house calmly, without a lot of fanfare, maintaining a smooth, friendly voice at all times. If you have a puppy, introduce her to her crate or confined area and stay with her about 15 to 30 minutes before you go to other areas of the house (see “Crate Training”). Come back frequently to check on the dog so she knows she hasn’t been abandoned. An older dog might want to walk around and investigate. If she’s housebroken, that’s what you should let her do. If there are a lot of other family members in the house, ask them not to all converge on the dog at once; let the dog seek them out, and each family member should give a friendly, gentle greeting as the dog approaches. Whether you have a puppy or adult dog, keep groups of non-family members away for a few days if you sense the dog is even the least bit apprehensive about her new environment.

Your major goal is to keep your current companion animal—dog or cat—from feeling threatened by the new dog. Let the animals get to know each other at their own pace, and be sure to give the animal already in residence lots of attention so that he associates the newcomer with something positive. Cats, in particular, may take awhile to adjust to a new dog. It is good to introduce dogs to each other in a neutral area, such as a neighbor’s confined yard. This is so that the resident dog does not feel immediately threatened by the presence of a new dog in her territory.

All dogs, particularly puppies, should have their own space. See the handout “Crate Training” for more information on this subject. Having a space of her own makes a dog feel secure, it keeps her safe, and it protects your home from accidents and destructive behavior. An adult dog who is housebroken and is not a chewer will probably be happier if left to roam the house, although you will want to confine her at first to one larger room or to one floor of the house, gradually increasing her freedom as you become confident that she will behave. The first few times you leave your dog alone in the house, do so only for a few minutes at a time, a few times a day, so that she becomes confident that you’ll return. And when you leave, do so matter-of-factly. You don’t want the dog to become anxious over your departure.

If possible, allow the dog to sleep in your bedroom with you. It is estimated that over 80% of dogs with behavior problems sleep outside of their guardian’s bedroom. Letting the dog sleep in your room provides a time for extended but undemanding contact between you and the dog that builds trust, security and confidence. This can be especially beneficial for busy people whose dogs are somewhat isolated all day. This sleep therapy may also be good for hyperactive dogs.

With a new dog, expect to have several nights of interrupted sleep. Assuming that you have decided not to let the dog sleep in bed with you, expect the dog to whine and try to crawl out of her bed and into yours. She may get excited and have an accident or two. This is perfectly normal, even for a well housebroken dog. You can help minimize this behavior by doing the following:

Before bed, have a play session, give the dog water, let the dog relieve herself, then bed her down for the night. If the dog keeps trying to hop in your bed, replace her in her own bed, soothe her for a moment, then leave her alone. A puppy will most certainly cry for the first several nights, if not longer. Remember that she is a baby, lonely for her littermates and her mother. Give her some chew toys and lots of blankets to keep warm. Talk to her and pet her when putting her to bed. Then leave her alone. It will be hard for her, but it’s all a part of growing up. Eventually, as the dog begins to feel more secure, you should be able to gradually pay her less attention at night and begin to get more sleep.

The first and foremost reason to puppy-proof your home is to ensure that your new dog doesn’t hurt herself. The other major reason is to keep you from being chewed out of house and home. You may have heard that if you teach your dog what to chew and what not to chew, and if you provide her with lots of chew toys, your house won’t be destroyed. Although this is true, it works well only if you have the time to provide consistent training. If you work and have a busy schedule, you probably aren’t with the dog enough to provide this consistent training. Thus puppy-proofing the area she will spend time in, in addition to supplying her with chew toys, is important (See “Chewing” handout).

Your goal while you have a new dog is to keep common puppy targets away from the dog instead of trying to keep the dog away from the targets. A dog who never learns to chew forbidden items, especially during the adjustment period and while she’s teething, is less likely to chew them later in life. She’ll be in the habit of chewing the things you want her to chew because that’s all she’s ever had to chew. Make it hard for your dog to get herself in trouble.

Don’t make the mistake most new dog guardians make: they wait until the dog has begun to destroy the house, then take steps to protect each item the dog has chewed from further destruction—one by one. Before they know it, the list of things the dog has ruined is as long as their arm. Be one step ahead of your puppy. Make a systematic search of the dog’s space; start at one end and work your way to the other. Item by item, remove or protect each puppy target—meaning anything that doesn’t belong to the dog. You should be able to limit puppy-proofing to the confined space in which your puppy spends her time alone—as long as she is securely confined and supervised when out of her space. The exceptions are electrical cords, poisonous plants and any other dangerous items. These should always be inaccessible.