New Pet Owner Guide: Setting Up the First Weeks Right
The six things to get right in the first weeks with a new dog or cat, from pet proofing the house to booking the first vet visit and getting a microchip.
A new pet spends its first fortnight working out the shape of a house and the people in it. Routines you set now, feeding times, where the bed sits, who takes it for walks on the lead, tend to stick. Routines you skip now get harder to introduce later.
A first vet check within the first week picks up problems a shelter or breeder might have missed, and it's a good time to ask about desexing if that hasn't happened yet. Basic gear, a properly fitted collar, food the animal already knows, a crate or carrier sized for growth, saves a trip back to the shop during the first stressful days. None of this needs to cost a lot. It needs to happen early.
Within the first week, even if the animal seems perfectly healthy. Early check-ups pick up parasites, confirm vaccination status, and give a baseline weight.
No. Stick with the food it already knows for the first week or two, then transition gradually if you're planning to switch, mixing old and new over several days.
The six things to get right in the first weeks with a new dog or cat, from pet proofing the house to booking the first vet visit and getting a microchip.