Take time to bond with new puppy

Last week's column was all about selecting the right puppy, and the preparation and responsibilities related to this major change in your family. Now let's explore welcoming home your new puppy, bonding and socializing.

Before the welcome home, you will have chosen a qualified veterinarian, selected a qualified trainer or determined how to educate your puppy, and you will have all the right accessories that will be good for you and your dog. Of course, you are reading books and watching videos and DVDs that will help you along the way. And don't forget to puppy-proof your house.

If there is another dog in your household, be sure that you introduce puppy and your first dog on neutral territory — at a friend's house — and let them get acquainted. Then bring them home together. Otherwise, bring your puppy home and plan to spend time helping him get used to his new surroundings. This is a strange thing for a little pup that, by the way, will be a puppy for two years. A new family and new surroundings can be frightening, so you need to provide a calm and pleasant atmosphere.

Pages 29 through 34 of my book "I Just Got A Puppy. What Do I Do?" revised 10th Anniversary Edition, Simon & Schuster Fireside Books, 2002, are all about bonding. This is the first thing you should deal with when you welcome your dog into the family. It is important that you communicate lovingly and gently.

Puppies are untrained and have no inhibitions or physical control. If you are well prepared, you already know accidents will happen and have prepared a safe place with proper confinement. Although you will start housebreaking immediately, avoid harsh discipline or yelling at your pup when he has an accident. Strict training, yelling and tough discipline for the first few days is counterproductive to bonding with your new arrival. Expect your pup to make mistakes in the beginning. Let your puppy get familiar with his surroundings and with you before you deal with love, praise and affection training.

Talk to your puppy, because he will respond to a loving voice the same way a baby does. It is comforting. Pet, rub, stroke and gently hold your puppy. If there are children in your home, teach them to be loving and kind. Dogs love to be touched and held. It is an important part of the bonding process. So are playtime and exercise.