Despite travel being limited, you can still get your puppy used to being in the car. Once he/she is happy sitting/sleeping in the car, try turning the engine on, playing the radio etc. Reward your pup for being calm and settled. When your puppy is comfortable being in a stationary vehicle, consider taking him/her with you on short essential trips to the supermarket.
This is vital to help them get used to the outside world. If the weather is suitable, take a picnic blanket that you can put him/her down on. For owners unable to leave the house, regularly standing with your puppy watching through an open front door, window or garden gate will still provide a lot of new sights, sounds and smells. Reward your puppy for having a neutral response to people and traffic or if he/she is able to disengage from them and focus on you.
In order to play our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and in line with current advice, we are currently not vaccinating any dogs or cats. We will keep you updated with changes to this as they happen and will be offering a vaccination amnesty for any pets whose vaccinations become overdue.
For now, we understand that for many new puppy owners, not being able to have the primary vaccination course will be disappointing as, in addition to socialisation opportunities already being significantly restricted by the current lockdown, it means you are unable to take your puppy out on walks. We have put together some suggestions of activities that you can do to help your puppy’s emotional development and will post a new one each day for the next week!
We hope this is useful. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns – we are always here to help.
