Training a pet takes time: Setting early expectations

Training a new pet can be an exciting yet challenging experience, especially during the first week the pet comes home, when family expectations are often high. Setting realistic expectations from the start is crucial for your success as well as that of your pet. Let’s see what constitute realistic and unrealistic expectations for training your new pet within the first week.

Realistic Expectations

Adjustment Period: Your pet is likely to go through a significant adjustment period in the first week. A new home, new people, and unfamiliar surroundings can be overwhelming. Realistically, your pet may need time to acclimatize itself to the new environment before it starts responding to any training.

Basic Learning (training): Expecting your pet to grasp the basics, such as responding to its name, is reasonable within the first week. But consistency, patience, and understanding key aspects of your animal’s behaviour and learning how to manage those are key. Repetition and rewarding good behaviour will help your pet understand what is expected.

House Training Progress: Whether it’s a puppy, kitten, or even an adult pet, one must remember that house training is a gradual process. It’s realistic to expect a few accidents as your pet learns where and when it should relieve itself, for example. Establishing a routine and closely monitoring your pet will help it to learn faster, but don’t expect it to be fully house-trained in just a week, as bladder control development takes some time to develop fully in your puppy/kitten.

Bonding and Trust Building: Realistically, in the first week, your focus should be on building trust and bonding with your pet. This involves spending quality time with the animal, using a calm and reassuring voice, and creating a positive association with its new home. Establishing a bond lays the foundation for successful long-term learning.

Socialization: Socializing your pet is crucial, but it’s a slow process. Expecting the animal to immediately become comfortable with all the new people, pets, and environments it is exposed to is unrealistic. Focus on gradual exposure to new experiences in a controlled and positive manner during the first week.

Unrealistic Expectations

Immediate Obedience: Expecting your new pet to obey communication flawlessly from day one is unrealistic. Pets, especially puppies and kittens, are curious and easily distracted. They are unlikely to follow every communication perfectly, so patience is essential.

Full House Training: While progress in house training can be made, expecting your pet to be fully trained without any accidents in the first week is overambitious. Pets need time to understand routines and signals, and accidents are a natural part of the learning process.

Perfect Behaviour Around Other Pets and People: Expecting your pet to be totally comfortable around other animals or strangers in the first week is often unrealistic. Pets need gradual exposure to different social situations, and their behaviour can vary depending on their temperament and prior experiences. It’s important to take things slow and avoid overwhelming them.

Immediate Resolution of Behavioural Issues: If your pet has behavioural issues such as separation anxiety, excessive barking, or fearfulness, expecting these to be resolved within the first week is unrealistic. Addressing these issues takes time, patience, and sometimes the help of a professional behaviourist and trainer.

The first week with your new pet is a critical time for establishing a positive relationship and laying the groundwork for future learning and coexistence. Realistic expectations involve patience, consistency, and understanding that training is a gradual rather than instant process. Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration and disappointment, which can affect both you and your pet. By setting achievable goals and focusing on progress rather than perfection, you can create an amicable and rewarding learning experience for both you and your new companion.

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