Making Your Adopted Dog Feel at Home

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Last March I received a phone call while at breakfast with some friends. Tom was quick to tell me that he was taking the girls to adopt a dog, or a wow-wow as we often call it in Miami.

What??? While he had talked about it many times, it wasn’t something we were planning on doing just yet. I finished my meal and headed to meet them at the pet adoption location. 

The moment I met the doggy and saw her with my girls and Tom I knew that we would be adding a new family member to the Murphys. She was adorable and they were so happy.

That day we drove home with Daisy. We bought a crate, a collar and leash, a few dog toys and a large bag of food.

She was a 1 1/2 year old Lab/Terrier female dog. She had a rough start in her life, living in a home where she was abused. We instantly fell in love with her and were ready to make her life as perfect as she was. She seemed happy to come with us, but was a bit hesitant on her first days. One of the best things we did was give her a family blanket to help her get adjusted to her new family and home.

Making Our Adopted Dog Feel at Home

We wanted Daisy to understand that ‘Mi casa, es su casa.” We wanted her to know that our home was her home. I rummaged through our linen closet and found an old Christmas fleece blanket. We had used it for many winter seasons. It had “our” scent. I wanted her to relate “home” and love with our scent.

That first night I draped it over her crate to give her a more enclosed & safe feeling – this was recommended to us by a friend. She slept peacefully.

Over the next few weeks, as she warmed up to our home, we would find her tugging at the blanket appearing to want to take it down from the crate. 

One day she was successful and got it down and dragged it around with her. By the end of that day she had used it as a toy biting at it – making large holes and even tore it a large piece off. 

That was the beginning of her blankie. The large piece she had torn would then sleep in her crate every night. We would find her resting with it under her chin.

The remaining fleece blanket, with holes and all, went back to cover her crate. But this time she had a few windows. LOL! 

How to Make Your Dog Feel at Home

1. Find an item that has been in your home for some time. You really want it to have your home’s scent. I opted for a blanket. Consider a towel, blanket or even a sheet. Of course, make sure you’re willing to “give it up”?
2. Allow the dog to be with the item. You could put it in the crate, at the bed or anywhere where they may be.
3. Spend time with you, the dog and the item.
4. Try not to wash it too much at first so the dog warms up to the scent.
5. Make the item part of their day to day by keeping it somewhere they can access regularly.
6. Love and enjoy your dog!

Daisy Today

We are now in month 5 of having her in our home and she is now, most certainly, part of our family. We care for her like we do for each other. We give her water and a healthy bowl of food each morning. 
Buying her food is part of our regular food shopping routine. We play with her every minute we can. I take her on long walks and she loves to chase lizards around the back yard. She is now a Murphy – Daisy Murphy.

Would love to hear your story of adopting a pet for your home and how you made him/her feel at home! Please share in a comment below!

Interested in feeding your dog a bowl of Daisy’s favorite meal? Click here to get a FREE sample of Purina Beneful Originals.