Bringing her home

[hgalloway]

I posted on here about a week ago about changing a one year old Sheltie's name.
Now that I have that settled, I am getting a little worried.
The more I read on this forum the more I realize that she is going to be stressed and shy (I already know that Shelties are skittish and shy but I'm worried it's going to be much worse because she is a year old and we are taking her from everything that she has ever known). Maybe I am just being overly cautious (only as new mom's are) but I am so worried about her being overly skittish and stressed and not bonding with us or not eating or anything like that.

Are there any tips that anyone can give about bringing her home? I have everything already set up we are just waiting on picking her up on the 8th!

 

[Silaria]

Take a deep breath and relax. Its not unusual for any dog or cat to be a bit stressed and out of sorts after being relocated or even experiencing a life changing event such as a family member leaving home or a pet passing on.

Shelties love to please their people and you will be a great Sheltie parent. Just remember to keep everything "normal". Don't over pamper the dog or that can create problems of its own.

When you bring the pup home, ask the breeder if you can have something that smells like the old home. If they don't have something, offer to ship them a blanket or something that can stay with the dog and current family then come home with you.

 

[nbrard]

Mikos was 8 months old when we got him, and we decided to try the breeders suggestion of keeping him on an umbilical leash for the first day or two so that he was always with us. He was able to discover us, the house, and the yard with someone at his side to reassure him. We also continued the practice of him being in a crate at night so he could feel secure. I'm not sure if this helped but he seemed to settle in fairly quickly. Having said this, Brie was 6 years old when she came to us and we just let her settle in on her own but she did have Mikos here to help out.