Question by SkyGuy: What preparations should be made before one brings a new dog home!?
Some friends of mine are asking me this, as i have a few dogs myself. My dogs are both nine years old, and honestly I was like ten and hardly remember when we got these pups.
So I’m going to pretend I’m them(lol). Thanks in advance for all the answers! 
I’m going to be adopting a chocolate lab soon. I really have never had a large dog indoors, and don’t know what to expect!
I’m going to have her spayed and vaccinated. Appt.’s already set for a few months after I get her.
My wife and I have two childrens – a 21 year old son and a 14 year old daughter.
It’s been agreed that, mainly, our daughter will be doing the walking and exercising.
We want to do as much as we can to keep fur off the floors, and smells to a minimum. While we realize there will always be that “doggy odor”, what are some things we can do to keep it down? I’ve been to homes with one dog, where it smells like a skunk party..then to some, where they own several pets indoors, and it smells fresh and clean all the time.
What’s the secret!?
This dog is two years old,housetrained,leash trained,and we will do our best to give her one 45 min walk a day, as well as some playtime in our large, fenced in backyard.
We want to make her as comfortable as possible. We would like to keep her off the furniture and only on the main level(no trotting upstairs or to the basement preff.)
We also have 2 cats. What are some good ways to introduce them to eachother? Both cats and the dog are females.
We plan to sit down tomorrow evening and discuss all the things we need to agree on before she comes. LIke house rules–if we all enforce them, hopefully there won’t be any problems.
But what are some good house rules, to keep our house smelling good, fur-free(or at least to a minimum;), and to keep her as comfortable as possible?
Thanks for all the answers I will forward them directly to my buddy so you can just address him in your answer. Tysm!
Best answer:
Answer by ČĤĨĞĨŔĹ
Sounds like you are thinking ahead which is a plus. Make sure you have everything she will need, I recommend her a dog bed as well to help keep her off your furniture, she will need a place of her own to lay/sit.
Sounds to me like you are concerned with cleanliness.
I will tell you the secret. I have 4 dogs & 1 cat in my house, a few rodents & a huge freshwater aquarium. When people come over, even my own mom, they are amazed that you cannot smell, not even the slightest trace of any animal odor whatsoever. My house smells fresh & clean 24/7 because it IS fresh & clean. I am very OCD when it comes to cleanliness & I’m actually a germophobe, no joke. If you or your wife or both are very obsessed with keeping things clean, you will be fine. Be consistent, pick days whenever each family member has to clean thoroughly.
Also one last thing, your entire family should take part in exercising the dog & all of the activities involving the dog, no one person should be permanently assigned to that task. UNLESS she is willing & it doesn’t create issues.
As far as the cats are concerned, supervise until you know they will get along, never leave the cats & dog together alone at first. Since this dog is older, are you positive it is cat friendly?
Bathe the dog once a month & brush daily, & vacuuming will keep hair to a minimum.
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