Bringing a new pet home for the first time is one of the best feelings in the world. Whether this is your first pet, or your 100th pet, the happiness and joy this brings never fades away. We are often asked for tips for new puppies, kittens or rescued pets so we thought we would create our top 10 tips, and also delve into how Orchard House Vets can help you from day one.

Prepare before your new pet arrives home

It is important to have a calm and welcoming environment for your new pet. Although it is an exciting time, you must remember that for the first 8 – 12 weeks your new puppy or kitten has only known it’s dog/cat family, or your rescue has known change and the same few faces and same space. The new experience for them can be daunting, and scary! So having things like beds, toys, a familiar blanket or smell and space for them to chill out when they get home is very important.

Make travel preparations 

Travel can be scary for pets, especially if they have never been in a car before. Your pet may be used to crates, especially if they are a little older, but some breeders do crate train before the pup/kitten leaves home. Check, that is the only way you’ll know! If they are used to a crate, then in the days leading up to them coming home, ask for a blanket to be left around their mother, or kennel, and for that to come home with them. This will help create a sense of calm. A new pet is unlikely to have travelled before, so try and avoid loud music and wheelies! A nice calm environment is key.

Do you have other pets? 

Introducing new faces to the family can be a strange time for your pet. Animals are naturally curious, but can also be jealous or defensive of their space, especially if it has been their space for a long time! We recommend gradually introducing a new pet to your other pets. A great way of doing this is to let them meet near your home, and walk toward your house together, then maybe head to the garden if you have one, or a few minutes outside the house. Unless you know your pet is 100% great with other pets then try and avoid an instant meeting as this could lead to a bit of trouble!

Resist the temptation to cuddle and play! 

Puppies and kittens are especially playful, but it is important they are allowed to go at their own pace. The same goes for rescued pets. Let them sniff around and explore so they have the chance to find safe spaces and feel more relaxed. We are not saying ignore them and pretend they are not there, but try and avoid the temptation to completely focus on them and have a crowd of family and friends around them. That fun comes later, after a few days or so, or even a few weeks if needs be.

Make sure they have toys, and locate them where you can keep an eye on them (teeth, chewing, carpets, sofas!!!) without being too close. They’ll come over in their own time, and by all means make a fuss!

A trip to the vet for your new pet!

Let your new pet have a few days to get settled in before taking them out and about. Short car journeys are a good idea, or even just sitting in the car for a few minutes with it ticking over or going round the block. Getting them used to travel is important, and going into animal busy areas such as vets, groomers, parks and public areas will all help them get used to this as they get older. Speaking of groomers, we have new neighbours opening mid December across the road from us! Dotty Dogs Grooming in Hexham is a new dog grooming salon and is situated opposite our vets!

At Orchard House Vets, we offer a free health check for puppies and kittens (under 6 months old). Our reception team will no doubt give your puppy all the cuddles and kisses in the world and make them feel at home, and part of our family. There may be other pets in the waiting room, so it is important to keep your puppy in your arms and off the floor. Kittens/bunnies should of course be kept in cat carriers and then the vets can give them lots of cuddles in the consulting room!

This appointment is with a vet who will perform a full health check on your pet and will discuss things like vaccinations, preventative health care and our practice health plan, the Well Pet Club. We may be able to give your pet their first vaccination if they seem happy enough and of course are due their vaccine, otherwise, we may recommend making an appointment for a few days or a weeks time.

The first visit is by far the most important, and we don’t want your pet to associate the vet with “scary” things. Your appointment is up to 20 minutes, so if you have questions, ASK!! The 20 minutes is yours and your pets, so ask away! Any additional treatment or services are payable, but it is completely free to see the vet for the first time!

We have a first visit board – what is that you say? – Well, it is a board that we write your pets name, age and weight, and take a lovely photo next to it. We can send you this as a memento, and our team will likely ask if we are okay to share this photo on our social media. Of course, this is optional, but it is always very appreciated, and our team get to hug a puppy so it is good for them too! We should say too that this isn’t reserved for new pets only! All are welcome to photos for our social media and sharing stories of success, funny moments or interesting situations. We once had an ex-army dog and the owner told us some quite amazing stories!

Rescue pets: 

We offer a £15 discount on your first appointment with us. This 20 minute appointment will include a discussion about things like vaccinations, preventative health care and our practice health plan, the Well Pet Club. Hopefully, your pet will have had their vaccinations already, so do bring along their vaccine card and we will update our records so we can remind you when their booster is due. We can also check their microchip  details for you as this should have been updated, or will need to be updated.

We won’t be able to update this for you, but can point you in the right direction. It is not only puppies and kittens who get cuddles, kisses and photos taken! Our team may ask you if we can share a photo on our social media, but as always if you would prefer we did not, then just let us know.

Ongoing care: 

Our Well Pet Club is a rolling subscription starting at just £13 a month. You will get preventative products like flea, tick and worm treatments every 3 months, a booster vaccine once per year, a mid-year health check with a nurse, nurse clinics for things like nail clips, weight checks etc, and exclusive discounts on products and services. You will save at least £125 per year compared to paying as you go. Having a new pet unfortunately comes with lots of paperwork (insurance, microchips etc), so our digital platform is a great time saver and spreads the cost of preventative treatment over 12 months.

So there is our 5 top tips for welcoming a new pet into your life! We hope it is a great help to you and we look forward to saying hello to your new four-legged addition!