5 Top Tips on Pet Adoption

Have you or someone you know decided to adopt a pet? That’s wonderful news! 

Adopting a pet who needs a new home is a great way to introduce a pet into your life while helping both the pet and the shelter (or people) from whom you adopt from. Here are our top tips on how to ensure a smooth and good experience for everyone involved – two-legged and four-legged alike.

Know what you’re looking for

Even though adopting is all about rehoming a pet who needs it, you can’t go into the process without giving it any thought first. As you start to contact shelters or private persons who have pets up for adoption, they will immediately be asking questions about what you are looking for (and why). Therefore, it is important to think about and (loosely) decide on what suits your interests, preferences, and lifestyle.

Here are some things to consider:

• Do you want a dog, cat, or another type of animal?
• Do you want a puppy/kitten or an adult?
• Do you want (and can you house) a small, medium, or large pet?

…but don’t be too picky

While it is important to have a general idea of what you are looking for, you can’t decide on a specific breed, age, and personality and expect to find an exact match. You should have some thoughts or preferences, but in the end, you will also need to be flexible. If you are looking for a very specific type of pet, contacting a breeder would be a better choice. 

Be patient with your new family member

Once you have adopted your pet, it is important to remember that things take time. Especially if you are adopting an older pet, you are rehoming someone who has previously had a different family, home, and lifestyle. You might think it takes a few weeks for the pet to adjust, but actually, it can take up to 6 months or more for adopted pets to feel fully at home and at ease.

Introduce your pet to your daily routines

As seen above, there will be a transition period from when you bring your adopted pet home until it is 100% comfortable with its new family and surroundings. But that does not mean you need to give it a super slow start to the new life. Especially dogs are very much creatures of habit that want to learn – and adjust to – a routine. The sooner you introduce your new pet to your daily routines, the quicker they will be able to adapt.

Enjoy and take lots of photos!

Being a pet parent is always a lot of work and often more so with adopted pets. It will take a lot of time and patience, but your new family member will also bring along so much love and joy. And of course, you want to capture those moments!

While getting to know your pet and all of its quirks and habits, don’t forget to take lots of photos and videos that you can look back at. And to really include your newly adopted pet in your family, you can turn some of those photos into some unique pet portraits, ready to hang on the wall and show to everyone.

This is a guest blog contribution written by: Dinewinelove.com