FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Thursday was National Puppy Day, and Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control welcomed WANE 15 into their adoption center to learn more about the process of taking care of the puppies we love.
Puppies are not considered fully-grown adults until about 3 years old. Abigail Reyes with FWACC shared these tips and tricks to keep in mind during those early stages:
Be patient.
Puppies require plenty of work to train in those early stages. Be patient with the process.
Keep puppies on a schedule.
Carve out time for sleep, play, and even some “alone time” so they can adjust more easily when the owners have to go to work or be gone for longer periods of time throughout the day.
Plan on about six months to potty train.
Be consistent with the training and use the same key words and phrases each time to help them learn.
Puppies have a teething phase, just like babies.
It’s good to keep handy several different toys with different textures like rubbery, hard, etc. that pups can use to teethe.
Make sure vaccines are up-to-date.
Make sure pups have all their vaccinations before allowing them to be outside or travel outside the home. FWACC takes care of these vaccines, and spays and neuters all the pets that go up for adoption.
Microchip your puppies.
This identifies your pet if they ever wander off, helping to bring them home as soon as possible, keeping our four-legged friends in homes and out of shelters.
Do the research.
In the adoption process, research the kind of dog you want and get familiar with their common personalities– every dog is different, but the research can help determine what is commonly found in different breeds.
Bring in a trainer.
Have a trainer come to your home and see the dynamic with those who live there, including other humans and pets.
FWACC provides many resources to keep the adoption process as smooth as possible. Visit the website to learn more.
