How to Adopt a Stray Dog

Stray Dog | Many dog lovers wish to adopt stray dogs to provide them a good life. If you are looking for a stray dog, you can easily find them on abandoned roads or deserted streets. A lot of times, people assume that such dogs would be very difficult to train. However, stray dogs are often very adaptable to changes; hence, can be easily trained at home. Before you dive deep into the process of adopting a stray dog, be sure to check if your home is suitable for a dog or not. Similarly, you need to ensure that your housemates or family members are comfortable with a dog at home.

How to Adopt a Stray Dog

Adopting a dog from a shelter is the simplest way to bring a new pet home. When it comes to stray dogs, the process can be very time-consuming. Here is the list of steps you need to follow to adopt a stray dog.

1. Background Check

First of all, you need to determine whether your new dog is a street dog, an abandoned dog, or someone’s lost pet. You should visit the locality where you initially found the dog and confirm from its residents for a clear idea regarding its background. In case you don’t find any relevant information from people, you can post your query in public and private groups on social media to be sure about it.

2. Conduct a Personality Analysis

The behavior of each dog determines whether it’s suitable for adoption or not. You need to ensure that your potential new dog is comfortable living at your place. See if it exudes a positive and friendly demeanor towards you and your family or friends. It is recommended to choose a young dog or preferably a puppy as it is more likely to mend his ways and listen to your commands. You should keep in mind that not every stray dog is accustomed to living a life as a pet. In case your chosen dog starts excessively barking at you or exhibits aggressive personality traits, you should consider another dog.

3. Consistent Efforts

You should start engaging with the dog in a friendly way. See if your dog understands your gestures and reciprocates accordingly. You can start feeding him to develop a bond with the dog. If your dog is comfortable with your efforts, it means it has accepted your love and attention wholeheartedly. Also, you should start treating it as your pet. Taking your dog out for shopping for its toys is a fun way to improve your relationship with the dog. If you will put consistent efforts to introduce the dog to your home and family, he will get more familiar with the change.

4. Health Checkup

Next, you need to take your dog to a vet for a checkup. You can learn about its medical history, potential medical conditions, and overall health to feed it the right food. Also, you can ask the vet regarding different ways to take care of your new dog to prevent the risk of any viral illnesses.

5. Set Your Home

You should arrange a crate for the dog and assemble a dog bed with a blanket in it. Once the crate has been set, you can start familiarizing the dog with its new comfort zone within your home. Be sure to bathe the dog at least twice a week and use a dog body spray to instantly freshen it up. Also, you need to start potty training your dog from the beginning to avoid any risk of accidents inside your home.

6. Establish a Daily Schedule

Your newly adopted dog needs to be familiar with everyday tasks at your place. You should start feeding it on time and take care of its hygiene. By introducing it to a designated space for defecation and urination, you can train him to become independent even when you are away from home. During your pastime, be sure to take the dog out for a walk in a nearby park or garden.

7. Obedience Training

Once the dog has learned new ways of living at your home, you should start with obedience training. You can start by teaching a few commands such as “down”, “up”, “come”, “sit”, “walk”, and “eat”. Next, you need to teach it how to respond to all these commands. It will help him form better habits and learn how to socialize with other dogs. Similarly, you should work on improving his behavior by playing with it and showing love and affection. By doing so, your dog will start to trust you and respond to your efforts with unconditional love and care.

When adopting a stray dog, you should be very patient with your dog. It may require some time before getting used to a new environment. However, with continuous love and attention, your new dog will adapt to the change very well. Also, you should introduce it to your other pets or the dogs in your neighborhood to allow him to socialize with pets. By surrounding it with other dogs, it will form new habits and develop an improved behavior. In certain scenarios, dogs tend to get aggressive due to their interaction with other dogs. In such cases, you should give your dog some time to become friends with other dogs.


by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™

Facts About Animal Homelessness:

  1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.
  2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.
  3. Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes. Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes. Sign up for Shelter Pet PR.
  4. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.
  5. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.
  6. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.
  7. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.
  8. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.
  9. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.
  10. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.
  11. According to The Humane Society, there are about 3,500 brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US and 10,000 rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America.

Here are a some adoptions for consideration:  puccicafe.com/adoptions