Vanilla is a classic flavour that adds taste to many things. That’s one reason why Latte’s human, Sarah, named her blog – Vanillapup.com.
More about Vanillapup in out interview.
Author: weliveinaflat Page 23 of 41
“You could walk a little slower, human… *pant pant*”
This is the face of a 5-year-old dog. Outplayed and outlasted by a 6-month-old chocolate lab puppy (that was about her size but bulkier). A month ago.
At first they had fun, but puppy was unstoppable and kept going after her even though she probably had fulfilled her quota for fun wrestling with salivary dog. :P She played with him still, but for the first time, she got so excited she was play-growling. I have never heard her growl during playing with another dog before so that’s new to me. But she has play growled with me when she gets too excited before, so I wasn’t too surprised. That’s usually the signal for me to give her a timeout.
It occurred to us we should separate them when Donna started the play growling. Have to say though that considering the action was fast and furious, the other lady (even smaller and slimmer than me) and I were probably somewhat at a loss how to separate them.
Donna didn’t seem particularly unhappy though, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed some calming signals from her. And should have given them a time out sooner.
Eventually, enough was enough so she flung herself on the ground in a submissive gesture and puppy was onto her. We quickly move to separate them, but she had already darted off. Puppy gave chase but was no match for Donna’s speed.
Eventually they stopped and we were able to corner and separate the puppy from Donna.
So there you have it. Exhausted Donna. Outplayed, Outwitted and Outlasted by a 6 month old puppy.
At least she outran him. :P
I think it was still a good play session considering both dogs had fun and there was no antagonism between them even when things got a little wild. Just wondering if I was over-worrying over the play growling or I could have done better. :) I guess perhaps I should err on the cautious side and start giving them time outs earlier before they get too rambunctious for us to separate?
When somebody rings our doorbell, this is what happens :)
Are your house guests happy when your dog rushes up or jumps on them at the door?
Mine? Not always.
If your dog jumps at you, take a step back so the dog lands on the floor missing you. This is a no contact, force free method that ensures safety for both the human and the dog.
But what if your house guests are afraid of dogs or just annoyed by what they perceive as a badly behaved dog? They don’t know how to manage the dog appropriately like you, so it makes a better experience for all if you train the dog how to behave in advance.
Posed picture, lol. Eyes on the treat! Claws on human’s tummy, ouch!!
Want to know what we did to get from having the dog rushing up to family members and friends (who sometimes don’t appreciate it) to dog running to the crate to wait patiently while the human gets the door?
It all starts with Stay
- Find a base.
The dog’s bed will do fine, especially if the dog loves to chill out on her bed. A towel can also be used. - Lure the dog to the base.
Example, if you lay a towel on the floor, the dog usually will come to sniff it and lay on it. I was training my dog to like her new bed, so I used her bed for this exercise.
- Say “Stay” and show the dog the hand command for Stay.
- Immediately say “Yes”, praise the dog and reward the dog for staying on the base.
- The dog is very likely to stay on the bed so say “Stay” and show the dog the hand command for Stay again. Reward the dog again for staying.
- Repeat this many times in short sessions so that the dog starts to associate the following:
- staying on the base will lead to a food reward,
- staying on the base is called “Stay”
- When I hear “Stay” or see the hand command for Stay, I should stay because I will get a treat.
- it is fun when I listen and “Stay” because I get treats
- I’m so happy, I can’t wait for the next time the human says “Stay”
- Why is the human going away? Come back and say “Stay”!!
**Keeping training sessions short prevents the dog from boredom due to the repetitive exercise and makes him look forward to the next session.
- When dog is good at responding to your “Stay”, experiment by slowly putting some distance between you.
- This is because in real life, “Stay” comes into practical use when we want the dog to remain while we go some distance away. e.g. taking a picture of the dog, leaving a dog outside a pets-not-allowed shop while the human hops in to buy something.
- Now if the dog is not very good at responding to Stay, he/she may leave the base to follow you because the treats are with the human. And it looks to them that the treats are leaving with the human. So don’t get mad or impatient, because this is a logical response.
- This just means that you started distancing yourself too early for the dog. The dog has not clearly associated the concept of stay with being on the base regardless of where the human is yet.
- Continue to reinforce Stay at a distance the dog is comfortable with and then slowly start to widen the distance again, a bit at a time, depending on how comfortable your dog is the distance you are putting in between him/her and you.
- Your dog will start to get real good at Stay after you have been doing this consistently for sometime. :D
Teach your dog to Go to and Stay
- Start teaching your dog the Go to command
- At first, I just pointed at the bed, said excitedly Go to bed and walked toward it. The dog followed and recognised that usually I want her on it for the Stay command. So it was easy to get her on it. I rewarded her for Going to and Staying on her bed.
- Again train the Go to command in many short, repeated sessions. This helps the dog start to associate that “Go to” with the intended result of going to the base.
- Combine it with “Stay” so it helps you to reinforce Stay, while training Go to.
- You may want to use a different word then Go to, if you anticipate having to tell her to go to and stay at different locations. e.g. you could use Bed for going to bed; and Kennel for going to crate. Keep the commands short and different sounding, so the dog is able to differentiate easily.
- Like training Stay, you can start to widen the distance you are from the base when you say Go to. If you have been keeping the training session short and fun, you should see the dog bounding ahead of you to get to the base and waiting for you to hurry up to reward him/her.
Cue the Doorbell!
- Set the dog up for success, when the dog is fairly reliable with Go to and Stay, start practising it every time someone rings the doorbell. So every time someone rang the doorbell, I gave Donna the Go to command. When she reached the base, I treated her and told her Stay. And then answer the door.
- At first it will take a long time for you to answer the door, because the dog may not want to stay when the thing at the door is more exciting. But I’m ok with that because most of the time, it’s sales people whom I don’t really want to entertain anyway :P
- If you don’t have people ringing on your doorbell every so often, you can still practise everyday, just by having a family member ring the doorbell 2-3 times a day for you. Or you can practise every time somebody comes home, even when nobody rings the doorbell. The key is being consistent so it becomes a habit for your dog to run to her crate and stay when somebody is at the door.
- Eventually, you may find, just as I did that after a while the doorbell sends the dog briskly to her crate. On auto. When I never even said anything. :D
Additional Notes
- Help your dog to generalise “Stay”
- The reason why I suggest a base for training Stay, is because I found my dog learnt Stay really fast, after days of fruitless training Stay without a base. You can try with and without and see if it makes a difference for you. Every dog and every human is different.
- But the dog needs to start associating “Stay” to staying in one place, regardless of whether the base is there or no. So once he/she is reliable at responding to Stay, you should definitely start saying “Stay” to him/her and show the dog the hand command for Stay while she is on various other surfaces e.g. floor, stool, grass, etc. Reward the dog when he/she sits and stays.
- More on training Stay here.
- More on training Go to here.
Staying for a posed picture taken from a distance.
But didn’t your dog come out of the crate to rush up to the door anyway?
She did because she knows my brother well, so we don’t give her any instructions to do otherwise.
And she still isn’t very good at staying in the crate for long periods because she is naturally curious about strangers in the house, which is normal for any dog. So when we know in advance that somebody e.g. repairman is visiting and prefers not to be interfered by a dog, I know to have her crated when she goes to her crate, before I open the door.
To learn more about Crate training, go here.
Comfy in her crate
We are approaching Singapore’s National Day in two weeks. And the latest hash tag photo theme challenge on @dogsofinstasg is National Day.
I needed some inspiration for this theme. So I thought I’ll take a look at what sort of photos people have taken of their pets before.
It must be my poor searching skills because the photos I found of Singapore dogs were … well, let’s just say I didn’t find many. Hmmm…
Examples.
Here’s Toby getting worried by the flapping buntings put up by the Town Council in anticipation of the day a week back.
And here’s a couple of patriotic Singapore bunnies and celebratory dogs with a National Day cake from last year… and a random dog with a patriotic scarf (can’t even see the face) from 2011.
And that’s about it!
Oh man, where did my Google-mojo go?
So anyway, the good thing about the Internet is that it has no international boundaries so we can always look at our canine buddies North, South, East, West, wherever~ to get inspired!
I said Get inspired guys…
Right, I think these two pitbulls, Lincoln and Cinnabun, probably partied too much already :P
I have to report though that American dogs seem to be generally quite patriotic. Or at least, I found quite a lot of them compared to dogs from other countries. (Did I do a thorough search? No. And not in native languages, sorry. :P)
So yes, let’s get inspired!!
Patriotic Pets Photography
Easy method #1 – Get a flag!
Hang a flag. Stand dog beside it or behind it (even better with backlight).
Or in Millie‘s case, stand dog under it. ;)
Doesn’t matter if your flag is big or small. Smaller ones are versatile too. You can take them anywhere. Madison, the Golden retriever, has hers planted in the sand at the beach #justlikeNeilArmstrong and she seems pretty happy about it too. ;)
Yes, yes, here I will slip in that cliché again. How good your photos get depends on your imagination. ;)
Patriotic Pets Photography
Not so easy method #2 – Have dog hold the flag :P
So if you’re like me and like to teach the dog something useful to make the photo even more interesting, why not train the dog to hold the flag?
Sticking a flag into the dog takes a bit more training. Not every dog has learnt to hold it in his/her mouth and parade around like Bailie the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeén here.
Donna certainly hasn’t! But we are working on that with help from this video that Mr N the tenacious terrier shared.
Patriotic Pets Photography
Not so easy method #3 – Suit up in a patriotic costume!
And if you would like to literally stick the flag into the dog, perhaps into folds of his/her clothes. Do make sure he/she is happy to wear clothes first, or your photo wouldn’t turn out nice.
Here’s a worried, whale-eyed little dog with flags sticking to his back. Not a good look, sorry. More pets who hate the 4th of July here.
Speaking of clothes, these are definitely an option for a Patriotic Dog themed photo. ChaCha the Chinese Crested models a pretty frock here.
Bailie’s cat bro Bert is also look spiffy with American-flag themed accessories! And of course, remember Lincoln and Cinnabun with their glasses and headband in the very first picture? Those are some pretty funky accessories as well!
If you have been having trouble getting your pet dog or cat to be happy wearing clothes or accessories, check out how we got Donna to get used to her clothes here and her doggles here.
Patriotic Pets Photography
Not so easy method #4 – Create a set/studio environment
This is the hardest for me because I am lazy…. too lazy to source, make, collect and set up props, including getting a bright enough diffused light source for indoors. But if you are up to it, the results can be amazing ;)
This is an undercover guinea pig… not sure what he’s doing in the limelight if he’s undercover… :P
Calling Singapore dogs
With National Day around the corner, we hope we have inspired you to start thinking about taking some Singapore National Day themed photos!!
These two weeks, share your patriotic dog photos at http://instagram.com/dogsofinstasg. Nine photos will be picked for feature and one lucky photo will get a prize from our sponsor Pawmart. Details here.
For more lovely tips on pet photography from this shameless blog, see these links!
– Point of view in pet photography
– Photographing dogs – Nomad Russ 10 tips reinvented
– … and Buzzfeed thinks these are the most patriotic dogs in America
Author’s note: All pictures used with permission, credited and linked to the photographer’s blogs and instagram feeds accordingly. :)
8 photo theme challenges, 16 weeks, 733 tagged photos, 64 features, 8 winners.
@dogsofinstasg Photo Theme Challenge has come to an end for 2014.
Here are the winners for the 8 challenges held in Season 1.
To see more features, follow @dogsofinstasg on Instagram. :)
This challenge is jointly hosted by weliveinaflat.com, Mango the Sheltie and Some White Cookie. Much thanks to our fabulous sponsors Feed My Paws and Pawmart for the prices this season.
Through a dog’s ear: using sound to improve the health and behaviour of your canine companion is written by Joshua Leeds & Susan Wagner, DVM, MS.
Published 2008. ISBN 978-1-59179-811-8
In my research on ways to help Donna’s Thunder Phobia, the Through a Dog’s Ear calming music CD is something that I happened on quite a few times.
But this CD was never on my list of things to try NOW, simply because I just think (without proof :P) that Donna was too far in the deep end when it storms to even allow the music to work.
So when I happened on the book Through A Dog’s Ear in the local library, it seemed like a good time to learn more about it. How exactly does the CD promise to be effective for thunder phobic dogs? I hoped the book will have some credible answers.
Through a Dog’s Ear
The book – Through the Dog’s Ear – is written to help readers understand that an environment of sound can have good and bad effects on dogs.
The authors – a vet and a music producer/sound researcher – found from their inital research that Classical music relaxes dogs. And that a 2002 study by Wells found that heavy metal and/or grunge music can promote hostility, sadness, tension and fatigue in dogs.
They then decided to carry out two pilot studies. One, to find out if the effect of ALL classical music is the same on dogs. And two, if the music can be designed to “have an effect on specific anxiety issues in dogs.”
They found that
“solo instruments, slower tempos (50-60 beats per minute), and less complex arrangements had a greater calming effect than faster selections with more complex harmonic and orchestral content.”
The acoustically-designed music was also more calming on dogs with specific anxiety issues – other dogs/children, visitors in the home, thunderstorms, riding in the car, excessive need for attention, separation anxiety and fireworks.
The book goes on to explain how to use sound as a tool to help alleviate these specific anxiety issues.
I found the volume very easy to read. I finished it in two sittings, on the plane to vacation and on the plane back. :P The lack of distraction on the plane probably helped. :P
Does Donna show this sort of discerning taste for music?
I have been playing the CD that came with the book for a few days and Donna appeared to be happy to spend her time sleeping in her crate in the living room where it was playing. Or in the study, which means the CD in the living room sounded more distant.
She did seem to sleep more deeply and have more dreams or jerky movements.
In contrast, I have observed before that if we were watching some noisy action movie in the living room, she would retreat to her bed by the bedroom, which is the furthest point she could get away from us and the television set. This dog does not enjoy noise as much.
What most applies to a dog like Donna living in a flat in the city
Leeds and his co-author Susan Wagner also wrote about looking at the sounds a modern dog living in the city may have to adapt to.
They suggest a sonic inventory. That is, ‘spend thirty minutes sitting quietly in one place and catalog the sounds you hear inside your home’. The idea here is that if the dog has to live in a noisy environment, the CD can be played at a suitable level to help calm the dog.
“…we are not suggesting that this music be blasted at loud volumes to mask other disturbing noises. We actually suggest it is played at a soft volume. When played at a soft volume, it has the ability to calm the canine nervous system, which then makes the dogs less reactive to outside noises.”- Lisa Specter, Pianist for the CD
For our normal day, Donna will mostly be exposed to the loud construction noises coming from outside. Because I was at home, there was also the sounds of the fan, washing machine, closing of child gate, fridge doors, balcony doors, phone sounds, water sounds, etc.
But if not for the construction noises, this would be a pretty quiet flat since we live pretty high up and there are only 5 flats on each floor. So this environment could be pretty conducive for encouraging calmness in the dog. But if the human were not around during working hours on weekdays, one can imagine Donna may become very under-stimulated.
I have read before advise to leave the television or radio on for the dog when nobody is in the house. This was suggested to perhaps help the dog feel less alone with the human voices from the radio or TV. The book has other advice:
“The best thing would be to play an intentionally selected CD rather than the uncontrollable playlist of your local station – especially if you have a sensitive dog. Radio programming is driven by advertising dollars and the stations are looking to either stimulate or soothe their human listeners depending on the time of day and traffic patterns. Consequently a wide array of classical music is delivered with specific intentions that might not fit what you are looking to accomplish with your pup.”
Thankfully, the noisy construction sounds did not seem to cause over-stimulation in Donna. Perhaps because we keep the doors and windows closed so the noises are muffled when they filter though. And through time she has gotten used to them, despite not being able to tell the source of the sounds and analyse if it is a danger or not to her mortality. :P
It could of course be a different case for some other dogs, who may live with bigger, noisier families or on lower floors and get more stimulation and sounds from the streets.
Conclusion
In general, the book was very useful for understanding how the CD was designed and what perhaps makes it different from other calming music products.
The authors have added enough anecdotes to keep it interesting so it doesn’t become too factual and dry.
The book comes with a 44-minute CD with two tracks – one for calming the dog and the other designed to be uplifting. The uplifting one helps in that it is deliberately calibrated to NOT have adverse effects on dogs, although it may not be as soothing as the calming one.
As I said, I have been playing the CD for Donna on good days so she may relax and enjoy it. I’m just not sure when I can start playing it for her on stormy days, and when the next stormy day will come.
The book says that after she has been positively exposed to it for some time, it may be played on stormy days but does not really provide any sort of timeline as a recommendation. I suppose it would be difficult since it also depends on the particular dog and how often the human plays the CD!
I think the CD is good to have especially if you would like to have something easy to use with minimal effort on the human’s part. In fact, the authors suggest it as an intermediary tool since any desensitisation sort of training will necessarily take time.
Since it’s designed to be calming, the human finds it easy to listen too as well. Although sometimes, it might be just a tad too relaxing, which can be distracting if I am trying to be efficient and productive! :P
On that note, if you would like an alternative method of masking sound because music is too distracting – Eileen has a sound masking article here talking about using other alternative sounds instead.
Advertisement
Through a Dog’s Ear:
Using Sound to Improve the Health &
Behavior of Your Canine Companion.
Get this book on Amazon.
Official site: http://throughadogsear.com/about-book-and-cd/
More reviews from other sites
– review by Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM
– PetMed.com
– foreward reviews
– Goodreads reviews
1 Day 1 World Project: Donna at 11:00pm – 12:00am
Donna’s community mealtime with street cats
On those days that I boil meat for Donna for her treats, we sometimes take some down to treat our pet dog and the street cats together.
It’s our diabolical plan to brainwash the local kitties into consorting with the pet dog. :P
Please pardon the blurry photos since it’s all taken in low light with my not very amazing camera ;P (Yes! Blame the camera not the human, lol :P)
Anyways, this kitty is rather affectionate and so prime candidate for the easily-swayed-to-like-the-pet-dog club.
And the bottom right box in the photo above shows the distance pet dog and street cat can stand to be with each other before one or the other moves away.
The cat didn’t want to take the food from my hand at first, so I had to drop it on the floor and slowly lure the cat closer and closer to the dog.
When I felt that I have glutted them enough with the food, I had Donna practise her stand-stay and “come”. Kitty is not as good as Donna in staying so she is relegated to the role of the cheerleader, which I’m afraid she has zero disinterest in. :P So there she goes, walking away…
Donna meanwhile, stays… very well… it’s a low distraction environment for her after all.
Moving further away from Donna, so that she is now a small black speck standing and staying.
And then the “Come” command.
Excellent way of making her run without a treadmill. Of course the human has to walk back and forth too to make her run laps, so all around a good way to get both of us moving in a safe environment (close to midnight after all) and also enjoy the relatively large space right below our flat.
How we trained the dog to not get distracted by the cats
- Donna was on the lead when we started our clandestine night time activities :P
- Start from a far enough distance where you know the dog will not react. This means there is no need to physically restrain the dog. Treat the dog for not reacting in any way to the cat.
- If dog is able to stay focused on you and ignore the cat, slowly close the distance between dog and cat.
- If dog is too close and starts paying attention to the cat, you may want to take a step back and slow down on cutting the distance and continue with treating the dog for putting his focus back on you.
- I sometimes also tell Donna to “stay” when she appears to want to approach the cat, instead of widening the distance again. Treat the dog if she stays and refocuses on you.
- This can take days, but the cat that habitually strays in the area that is its territory will also slowly get used to seeing pet dog and you as well.
- By the time you are able to get within about a metre from the cat, start giving both pet dog and stray cat treats. It is normal for the cat not to want to take food from you hands. You can throw it on the floor closest to her feet instead and slowly lure her towards the dog (if dog is comfortable enough with the cat approaching without reacting to her).
- I hope that slowly the cat will start associating the appearance of Donna with treats and develop more friendly feelings :D hehehe…
- Doesn’t work on all cats of course. The black cat in the photos sitting in the background is curious but wary and refused to approach. It consistently kept about 2metres distance away from us.
Note: Cats are carnivores so I’m feeding plain boiled meat in this case. Please clear the floor of any uneaten bits of food so that it doesn’t encourage the congregation and breeding of cockroaches and rats in the neighbourhood.
For 24 weeks, weliveinaflat will post photos taken for a specific hour in that week.
We will cover 24 hours in 24 weeks. (I’ve no idea how we will do the sleeping hours, lol!)
More about the 1 Day 1 World Project here.
This dog looks like a toy on a throne of purses. But he’s real alright!
He guards the purses in this leather goods shop with two other layabouts… so you can definitely tell who’s the hardworking one here! :P
So where are these purse-guarding dogs exactly??
Welcome to Jiufen, the fabled town that gave Hayao Miyazaki the inspiration for the mysterious lantern-lit town in the movie Spirited Away.
Enter the rabbit warren of narrow streets and alleys lined with red lanterns…
… that is not scary at all in bright daylight. :P Even though we are not right into the tourist season yet, this tourist spot is already packed with them… despite the seasonal rain!
We were there around lunchtime, but our driver advised that there are no good places to eat here.
“Just try some of the street food for fun,” he said. “Look at the knick knacks they sell.” He explained that this is really more of a tourist town with shops geared toward tourists.
“Locals don’t come here.”
Where do the locals go then?
“If you live in the north, you holiday in the south. If you live in the south, you holiday in the north. But mostly we fly out to other countries. ”
Right.
So we meandered about and tried the food… including this – World’s #1 Mushroom Under the Sky / 天下第一菇。
Look at the whole stack of them… sure is a lot of #1 mushrooms in Taiwan. Hah! Cut into bite size for convenient munching while walking. ;P
I didn’t take a lot of pictures due to the rain. Boo. But this photo shows you the sort of elevation we were at… and also the rolling mist.
Nothing much to see here but mist, so back we head into the alleyways.
Thought we’ll rest our feet at a ramshackle teahouse. (not pictured)
And this was the view to the right…
… and to the left. Feels like a whole different world?
After the break, we headed on for Pingxi from Jiufen.
How to get to Jiufen
If you can, take a taxi to hit more places in a day! If not, Jiufen is still very accessible by public transport.
By Train: From Taipei, take the train north to Ruifang Station. After exiting the station, cross the street to the bus stop next to the Wellcome Supermarket and board the Keelung Transit bus towards Jiufen. The bus trip takes roughly 15 minutes, and the fare is NT$21 during the week,NT$15 during weekends/holiday.
By Bus (via MRT): From Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興), Brown and Blue lines, leave from Exit 1 and take bus route 1062 (Keelung Bus) to Jiufen. The ride is about 1 hour and the fare is NT$90. Be sure to sit on the left side of the bus to enjoy scenic views of Northern Taiwan.
Source: http://guidetotaipei.com/visit/jiufen-%E4%B9%9D%E4%BB%BD
From other blogs
– Taiwan’s Jiufen – the real world inspiration for Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away
– I went to the real life Spirited Away
– A trip to Jiufen, New North City
– Spirited away in Jiufen
– Taiwan travels : Jiufen and Spirited Away
When we first adopted Donna, I wasn’t very big on taking photos. And now it’s too late to regret that we are missing photos that would have served as reminders for all the nitty-gritty details that made up that first day.
But if you’re currently considering adoption or waiting for a new puppy from a responsible breeder then you are not too late!
Here are ten ideas of what photos I wouldn’t miss taking if I could do it all over again. ;)
.
1. Picking up dog
I wouldn’t have thought of it, but it seemed part of Gentle Paws‘ standard operating procedure to take a family photo of the dog and his/her new adopted family…
…. with heads, of course. It’s just that the humans of this blog are shy. :P
This is the only photo we have of us with Donna that day in front of the shelter where we picked her up. She was overweight then so she would perhaps seem a bit stouter than she is now.
This is more of a milestone photo. So instead of a posed picture, you can also get a friend to take a photo of the scene where the dog is being handed over to you or as you and your dog are leaving his/her previous home.
.
2. Exploring the new home
A new homecoming wouldn’t be complete without a photo of the pet checking out his new home.
Since coming into a new home can be a stressful experience for the new pet, most advice regarding this transition is to let the pet explore the home at his own pace. This doesn’t mean you should let a new puppy or kitten be un-supervised, but it does mean giving him or her space to venture out a bit and explore, even if it is just one room of the house.
Hanging back gives you the leisure to take candid shots of the pet sniffing about the new home, without getting into his or her face. Taking wider shots will help show the pet’s size relatively to the furniture in the room.
This is a photo of a new kitten in the flat I lived in in my teens. I have since moved twice, so it is an interesting reminder of an old home for me as well.
.
3. Profiling shots
As a new dog owner, days or months after the first day I found myself wondering at times – was this bump there when we first brought her home? Did that chip on her tooth happen before or after she came to the flat? Or how much slimmer does she look now compared to previously?
Profiling shots – front view, side view, close up on face, paws, etc – will give you the details for that first day so you’ll always have a comparison later on.
The before and after pictures shows the physical improvements Mango has undergone from his first day of adoption to close a year later.
Top: when I first came to mama. Bottom: after a year! So when I was first adopted, my prev owners got my shaved down so I looked like the above. After some major nutritional changes and regular grooming, I look like the bottom picture now! Although I think my fur got even longer already. And I gained some weight :( and my tail is touching the floor! Which sometimes get stepped on accidentally. :/ – @mangothesheltie
Of course, if your new adopted dog is nervous or worried, getting too close for a close up on his face can be an unpleasant experience for the dog. So plan your shots but plan to also react appropriately to the circumstances. If the dog is unwilling, don’t force it and make his/her first day with you a bad experience. :)
Now, even though we adopted an adult dog and were not privy to her growing up years, Gentle Paws did have a few photos that documented Donna as a 2 month old at the shelter, and at 6 months, a nervous, lanky puppy in her previous adopted home.
Donna at 2 months, Donna at 6 months and Donna as an adult look so different from one another!
Puppies grow up so quickly so be sure to take some shots of your new puppy on that first day and also at various growth stages before they outgrow puppyhood. ;)
.
4. First bath
If you’re finicky about household cleanliness, or if you adopt a badly-cared for dog from a less than responsible family that no longer wanted him, chances are you’ll want to give him a bath and have him all nice and clean before the day is over.
Be sure to take a shot of your handiwork when the dog comes out all clean and shiny from his first bath!
Here’s stray puppy Sheldon adopted at estimated two months, still small enough to fit in the sink at the time. :P Afraid he’s too big for that now!
I didn’t realize that I have such an innocent face back then – @situkangnyampah
Some nice bath pictures, though not first day home :P – Tugger and Toby
.
5. Meeting the human family
Some dogs are nervous and easily worried. Like Donna, her first reaction was to evade and slink away when our other family members tried to meet her for the first time. So let the dog take her time to approach new family members at her own pace.
Depending on the nature of the meeting, it could result in a photo of a dog tentatively meeting a new human or a cosy photo like this of Cotton the Maltese safe in the human’s mother’s arms. Regardless, it’s a photo that documents not just the beginnings of a new relationship, but also a moment in a loved one’s life, so capture it!
Cotton the maltese who has a seizure risk and cannot be left alone for more than 4 hours at a time on her first day home.
This photo was taken an hour after the volunteers left our house during Cotton’s first day into her home stay period… Even with us being almost complete strangers, cotton laid in my mum’s arms, perhaps knowing that she’s in her forever home and safe now. – @cottonthemaltese
Other first day home family photos: Lycan with his dad
.
6. Meeting the other pet siblings
Integrating a new pet into a household with other pets make for an interesting or, in Mango’s case, a rather scary experience.
When I first met The Boss of the house. I’m sorry to report that right after this picture, I peed, frozen in place. Now he doesn’t scare me anymore (he doesn’t mind me), unlike the other fat one. – @mangothesheltie
I’m sorry for Mango, but I also have to say candid shots like this one that captured his expressiveness are memorable. :P I’m glad he has since gotten on well enough with the feline boss of the flat.
When taking photos of new pets meeting their other furry siblings, be sure to have other humans be on hand to manage the pets so they don’t hurt each other, just in case they couldn’t get along at first sight!
Other first day home sibling photos: Witty and Abbey
Only dog in the family? How about a photo with dog’s first toy? :) Before it gets shredded :P
.
7. What the dog did on his first day home
Capture the most memorable thing your dog will do on his first day home. Could be wriggling around on the floor, chewing forbidden furniture, etc.
Cookie’s first day at home! It’s been eight months! Right after he came in, he was busy running around the house and jumping around due to his high energy, and lack of exposure to outside (other than his old home) Resting after feeling tired from the ‘exercise’ – @somewhitecookie
And of course, the human had to take a candid shot of the aftermath of Cookie’s zoomies. 
K, I’m dog tired now.
Donna also had the zoomies on her first day home, but with regular exercise, zoomies in the house are a thing of the past. Unfortunately, I was too busy freaking out at the time as a dog idiot so I don’t have a photo of that scene!! :P
So yes, take snaps of whatever interesting thing the dog is doing, because you never know if you’ll miss that picture later on.
.
8. Feeling more comfortable at home
One of the best kind of picture to take, is this – the new dog feeling comfortable at home. ;) ‘Nough said.
Felt at home instantly – @donutthewestie
9. The dog’s expressions
You may be bringing home an innocent happy puppy, or you may be bringing home a rescue who will look sort of worried.
That is natural, so don’t sweat it.
When dog has become more comfortable with the presence of the camera, capture his/her expressions to remember what the dog felt that day. It’s a good way to remember but be sure to embrace a future where the dog will look more happy and confident with you.
10. First night at home
It is likely that the new dog will spend much of her time sleeping. It’s a coping mechanism with the stress of being in a new place.
Take photos of what the dog is doing on her first night home. And if she just happens to be sleeping, these photos can turn out to be super cute!
This is me sleeping the very first night my parents brought me home, they were so anxious that I could not sleep so mummy gave me a star star to accompany me. To their surprise I slept soooo soundly thru the night! – @tobymycorgi
I’m not sure if most people, like us, didn’t really plan to take photos of dog’s first day home. So whatever photos we have are not of great quality. But I’m sure with a little planning, you can take good memorable photos of the new puppy or dog that you plan to bring home.
So have fun with your dog’s first day home. Take pictures but be mindful of the dog’s level of comfort with the camera. Some dogs hate the camera.
The main thing is have a great time with your new dog and make him feel at home. ;)
Do you have other great photo ideas that you wouldn’t miss taking on dog’s first day home? Share with me in the comments! Thanks!
Singapore Dogs on Instagram – Show us your dog’s first day home was like! Details here.
*All photos reproduced with the kind permission of the original authors of the photos.
