We do have a Breeder scheme, which is online based. Please go back to www.proplan-plan.co.uk click on the "Professional" tab across the top of the website, then click on the Breeder section. This will take you to the Breeder website, where you can register your litter, by answering several questions including your Kennel Club number. A colleague from our Breeder Scheme will call you to verify your details to ensure that you qualify for the scheme.

Canine Chewing

Chewing is an enjoyable activity for dogs and the urge to chew, particularly when they are puppies, is very strong. Expecting a dog NOT to chew is most unreasonable – so if you don't want your own personal belongings or household objects to be nibbled, you must provide suitable chewing materials for your dog.

The need and desire to chew is strongest in teething puppies at approximately three to seven months of age, when their deciduous (milk) teeth are lost and the permanent adult teeth emerge. To relieve the discomfort, and to aid the removal of the loose baby teeth, a puppy will need to gnaw. But this isn't the end of the chewing phase however, because just as the teething phase is ending, so the exploratory adolescent phase begins. This is a time when a young dog will investigate his environment with everything he has, including is teeth! This phase is usually around the age of six months to a year, depending on the individual, but it can last longer – particularly in rescue dogs or others who may have been kennelled or raised in an un-stimulating environment devoid of all the usual objects found in a home, so they may need lots of chews in the great new playground of your home!

Most dogs continue to enjoying chewing toys and chews all their lives and so it's an important part of your dog's general care and husbandry to make sure he has enough to chew! Of course, chewing helps to keep teeth clean and gums healthy, and many chews are designed specifically for this purpose, but it also helps to relieve stress and boredom, and will often keep a dog very happily occupied if you have to leave him to amuse himself for short periods.

Choosing chews

Chews should be safe for your dog and made for the purpose of chewing. While your dog may enjoy gnawing on a slipper or an old shoe, such objects may not withstand the attention of a dog's jaws and teeth for long, and, apart from the safety implications, providing 'your' things is simply teaching your dog that it is acceptable to chew any of your things. It's far better that he is given his own special chews and chew toys so that he leaves your things alone.

As well as the chews you can buy in a pet store – rawhide, safe bones, nylon-type chews, rope tuggers, tough rubber chew-toys, dental care chews etc – there are also chew-toys in which food or treats can be placed and this will help keep your dog amused and occupied, which will help sustain a good general level of relaxed contentment.

Always have a good selection of chews on hand because your dog can become bored with just one or two. Give a chew one day, and, if it's still intact the next morning, put it away for a day and give your dog a new one. Rotate chews, as you would your dog's toys, so that they remain 'special' and retain their novelty value. 

Inappropriate chewing

Dogs are not born knowing what they can and cannot chew, so you must teach them. Puppy- or dog-proofing your home is a good first step, removing all breakable/chewable objects that are within your pet's reach and barring his access to areas that can't be made safe with the use of stairgates.

Family retraining may also be called for. Instead of flinging shoes into the hall at the end of a school or work day, for example, all family members should put them in a cupboard or a lidded tub. TV and DVD remote controls may not look tasty to humans, but young dogs seem to find them irresistible, so make sure they are never left in your dog's reach. These are just a couple of examples – within a few days of having a new dog, you'll soon realise what he makes a beeline for!

When you cannot supervise your dog for short periods, a cosy indoor kennel is an invaluable piece of equipment for keeping your dog safe – and your home safe from your dog. Ask for advice from your local trainer or behaviourist about choosing the right size of kennel and introducing and using it correctly so that your dog loves his 'den'

If you catch your dog chewing something that he shouldn't, calmly take it away and replace it with a dog chew and then train him to 'drop' or 'give' so that you intervene calmly in future. Do not chase him around the house or garden trying to grab things back as dogs quickly learn that stealing a 'precious' personal belonging and running off is a great game and an instant way of getting attention!

NEVER punish your dg for chewing something inappropriate – you can only blame yourself for not supervising him closely enough and for leaving objects within his reach. With time and a little effort and patience, your dog will soon learn what is permitted: his own chews and nothing else!

When to seek help

If your dog is chewing himself (e.g. nibbling his paws or tail), if he is destructive when left or separated from you (chewing furniture, doorframes etc), or is repeatedly chewing or eating inedible objects, such as stones, then you should seek veterinary advice without delay. A vet will investigate if any nutritional deficiency or medical condition is causing the behaviour or if you need to be referred to a professional animal behaviourist for help.

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for individual veterinary or behavioural advice and is for information purposes only. You should always consult a veterinary surgeon if you have any concerns about your pet's health. He or she will be able to take a complete medical history and physically examine your pet, to then recommend appropriate individual advice or treatment options. For detailed behavioural advice tailored specifically for your pet, we recommend that you contact a qualified pet behaviourist. For further details of local canine and feline behaviourists practising in your area and how they offer help for with problem pets, please contact The Coape Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers at www.capbt.org, or the Association of Pet Dog Trainers at www.apdt.co.uk. Do bear in mind that while dog trainers can take you on as a client directly, pet behaviourists will always require a referral from your veterinary surgeon.

Canine Coprophagia

Coprophagia - the eating of faeces - is a fairly common and normal behaviour in dogs, although owners are rarely keen to admit to others that their own dogs do it of course. Most dogs will steal fresh cat poo from the litter tray, if given the opportunity, or nibble on sheep or horse droppings, or even eat their own, or other dogs' faeces. It is rather repulsive to us humans of course, but coprophagia is often perfectly natural to dogs because they have evolved to be scavengers and faeces often have some residual nutritional quality, in the form of undigested or partially digested material. Indeed in many places in the world, dogs feed at village latrines and, of course, bitches usually ingest their puppies' faeces in the first few weeks to keep the den clean and so as not alert predators to their whereabouts.

So, coprophagia is not such an unnatural behaviour to dogs - it's just that our society doesn't find it desirable in pets with whom we share our lives. Plus, of course, there are health implications, with disease and parasite transmission being notable risks.

Course of action

If your dog is coprophagic, the first step is to visit your vet to ensure that your dog is not medically or nutritionally challenged and to discuss an appropriate worming programme in light of his increased risk of exposure from eating faeces. 

If your vet gives your dog the physical all-clear, then he/she may refer you to a dog behaviorist/trainer to help with training your dog to ignore faeces and advise you how to manage the problem.

If your dog is eating his own faeces, it's important to clean up after him immediately so he doesn't get the opportunity to indulge his habit. Feed him two or three meals a day, rather than one. Your vet may suggest adding fibre to the diet, too, which will make the faeces less attractive to eat, though there will be more of it of course! Adding small chunks of pineapple or courgette to your dog's food, or an iron tablet, is said to make faeces unappetizing, though this doesn't work with all dogs. It is important to consider whether your dog is adequately employed, mentally and physically? Bored or kennelled dogs often eat or play with faeces due to lack of appropriate stimulation.

If your dog is eating other animals' faeces, then keep him on a lead or muzzled in areas where you are likely to encounter any droppings. If it's cat faeces he likes, then prevent access to the litter tray, perhaps by raising it well out of the dog's reach off the floor to a place where your cat can easily jump or climb to use it.

Aversion therapy may work occasionally - if you can stand the thought, booby-trap faeces with chilli powder, cayenne pepper or some similar strong taste. Then, with your dog on a lead, walk casually up to the faeces. If he tries to eat it, it could put him off ever doing so again, but beware, there are always some dogs who enjoy this addition to their menu! If he ignores the baited faeces, give him lots of praise and a really tasty treat. The trouble is, dogs have a highly tuned nose, which is many times more powerful than our own. It doesn't take most dogs too long to realise that he should sniff first and check the faeces hasn't been tampered with before gulping. And some very voracious coprophagic canines just don't care what's gone on the faeces - it's scoffed so quickly, it doesn't seem to touch the sides!

Another form of therapy involves the use of dog training discs. First the dog is conditioned to their sound and then, when they are chinked at the moment that he's about to eat faeces, the sound should calmly deter him. This requires careful introduction, precision timing and is best done under the guidance of an expert trainer or canine behaviourist.

NEVER punish your dog for eating faeces. Yelling or shouting at him will have a negative effect - he will continue to eat faeces, but will do it secretly or quicker in future and become wary of you. Instead, ask your vet for help without delay.

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for individual veterinary or behavioural advice and is for information purposes only. You should always consult a veterinary surgeon if you have any concerns about your pet's health. He or she will be able to take a complete medical history and physically examine your pet, to then recommend appropriate individual advice or treatment options. For detailed behavioural advice tailored specifically for your pet, we recommend that you contact a qualified pet behaviourist. For further details of local canine and feline behaviourists practising in your area and how they offer help for with problem pets, please contact The Coape Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers at www.capbt.org, or the Association of Pet Dog Trainers at www.apdt.co.uk. Do bear in mind that while dog trainers can take you on as a client directly, pet behaviourists will always require a referral from your veterinary surgeon.

Elimination Problems: Inappropriate toileting

Inappropriate toileting - urinating or defecating indoors or at other unsuitable locations – usually occurs for one of three reasons:

a) Health problems

If, despite your best training efforts, your dog remains incontinent, or if his housetraining has suddenly broken down, when it has previously been impeccable, you should consult your vet without delay. The vet will be able to check whether there is an underlying health complaint, such as gastroenteritis or cystitis that is causing the problem, and treat it accordingly. If he is given a clean bill of health, you can ask the vet to refer you to a behaviourist, who will help you investigate and treat any specific behavioural or house training issues, or help resolve problems that may have begun as a result of him being unwell but which have continued after he was successfully treated for any illness.

b) Lack of house-training

If he has never been house trained as a puppy, or suffered a relapse perhaps as a result of spending a long time in boarding or rescue shelter kennels or maybe having been hospitalised at the vets, he will need to be (re-) trained as if he were a puppy. If he was previously house trained, it may not take more than a day or two to re-house train him, but prepare for a longer more sustained effort if, for example, he always lived outdoors in a 'previous life' and was never house trained in the first place. Try the following approach to get over the problem, remembering that an initial consistent effort from you will yield best results:

• Even young puppies instinctively avoiding toileting in their sleeping areas. Your job is to teach him that the entire house is his 'den' and that he should toilet outside.
• Take him out to a specific area for toileting at regular intervals. The area should be quiet and secluded, perhaps with a distinct surface such as bark chips, and marked off with a small fence to aid recognition.
• When he relieves himself, praise him calmly and then play a quick game together before returning indoors.
  If he relieves himself elsewhere in the garden, remove the soiled grass or soil and take it to the designated area. The scent will encourage him to perform in the 'right' place next time. 
• Once he is reliably using the desired area, add a request signal, such as "Get busy" or "Do your business", while he is relieving himself. He will soon associate the action with the signal, and eventually he will respond to the signal when asked and able!
• Once he is used to toileting in the designated area consistently, get him used to other types of surfaces – gravel, tarmac, concrete, etc.  

As with house training puppies, it's important to take your dog outside every hour or two initially, including through the night, but it won't take long before you can extend the time between trips outside as he learns to 'hold on' and that indoors is a 'no toileting area'.  At other times, always take him outside for a toilet break during/after exciting events (play, meeting new people), after meals, and before and after a nap. Throughout the day, keep a close eye on him and watch for the warning signs that he needs to go outside: sniffing the ground, circling, and seeking out corners and hidden areas (behind the sofa, etc). If you spot these signs, encourage him outside at once to his designated area and praise him calmly when he relieves himself there. Don't provide newspaper or 'house-training pads' indoors for your dog to eliminate on. This simply confuses him about what he needs to learn: that indoors is his den and a no-toileting zone, and outdoors is where you go to relieve yourself. Allowing or providing indoor toileting facilities will simply delay that realization, so make the initial effort to ensure that he is always outdoors when he is likely to need to go and build his ability to 'hold on' steadily.

c) Behavioural causes

Aside from breakdowns in house-training, or failures ever to be housetrained, dogs may sometimes deliberately deposit urine, and occasionally faeces too, as a deliberate scent marking gesture. If he is cocking his leg against vertical objects and squirting just a small amount of urine against them, then he is probably scent marking not urinating to relieve himself. (This is of course mainly a male dog issue, although some spayed females especially may also scent mark using in a similar way). Perhaps there is a bitch living nearby that has come into season, or perhaps he is marking over the scent left by another dog in the house, or over his own scent? If he feels under threat or his confidence has been shaken for some reason, he may be attempting to surround himself more emphatically with his own scent as a form of comfort and reassurance. This may happen occasionally with young male dogs as they pass into the difficult emotional time of adolescence when they can be confident and cocky one day and unsure the next and experiment with new behaviours, such as marking for emotional and territorial reasons. Most learn soon enough that home is safe and not to be marked like this, and to mark outdoors to signal to other dogs, and so a little love and patience may all that is required to get them through this period successfully and cleanly indoors! But beware, some dogs can learn that scent-marking indoors is a very effective means of gaining your attention, so ignore it when it happens in front of you and simply clean it up later, resolving to seek help and advice from your vet if it happens regularly. Sometimes even older dogs may mark indoors or lose bladder and bowel control completely as a result of their distress at being left at home alone, or the fear of this happening at certain times. In such cases you will almost certainly need some professional advice to help your dog stay relaxed and clean when alone in the house.

There are many and varied behavioural causes to house training breakdowns and problems and indoor scent-marking, and so you should always seek professional help early in order to tackle any problem before it escalates. While you are waiting for a consultation, contain your dog in one washable area indoors when unsupervised or left at home alone and remain calm at all times when you are together. Never punish him for having an accident, remember that even raising your voice at him when you find an 'accident' will not help at all, as he will not understand why you are cross. He would have done a hundred things between toileting and you finding the mess and becoming angry, and he will associate your threat with whatever he is doing at the time. Shouting or punishing him will simply make him fearful of you and even if you catch him 'in the act', it could deter him from ever toileting in front of you even when he is in the right place outdoors. If you do catch him 'in the act' indoors, simply encourage him to go outside straight away and then praise him calmly when he relieves himself in the right place.

Make sure that you clean any 'accidents' indoors thoroughly with a proprietary cleaner from your vet, or a solution of non-ammonia-based household detergent, rinse with fresh water and follow with a final wipe of surgical spirit/alcohol then allow the area to dry so that the smell of the 'accident' doesn't encourage him back to the same area next time nature calls. (Test a hidden corner of any fabrics first with this cleaning system to test for colour fastness).

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for individual veterinary or behavioural advice and is for information purposes only. You should always consult a veterinary surgeon if you have any concerns about your pet's health. He or she will be able to take a complete medical history and physically examine your pet, to then recommend appropriate individual advice or treatment options. For detailed behavioural advice tailored specifically for your pet, we recommend that you contact a qualified pet behaviourist. For further details of local canine and feline behaviourists practising in your area and how they offer help for with problem pets, please contact The Coape Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers at www.capbt.org, or the Association of Pet Dog Trainers at www.apdt.co.uk. Do bear in mind that while dog trainers can take you on as a client directly, pet behaviourists will always require a referral from your veterinary surgeon.

The benefit of having dogs neutered far outweighs the consequences and is a very responsible thing for a dog owner to do. Neutering a dog - castration in the male (removal of the testes), and spaying the female (removal of the ovaries and uterus), not only prevents unwanted pregnancies occurring, but also curbs unwanted behavioural patterns associated with sexual activity. It also reduces the risk of false pregnancies and certain diseases such as mammary tumours, pyometras (uterine infection) and testicular tumours.

Changing food
There are occasions when you may need to change your dog’s diet. Nutritional requirements may alter as a result of changes in lifestyle, age or environment. A medical condition might require a special diet. Remember your dog's digestion can be easily upset if you change his/her food abruptly, whether between canned and dry, or between brands. A slow transition process (over 7-10 days) will help your dog to digest the new product more easily, by naturally adjusting the enzymes and bacteria in his/her digestive tract.

• Put a little of the new food in with the current food and mix it all together or offer both foods separately.
• Over the course of seven to ten days, gradually increase the amount of new food added, whilst reducing the amount of the former until a complete change is achieved.

If you switch from wet to a dry food, your dog will chew it more actively, may take longer to eat and will certainly require more water. If switching from dry to wet, expect him/her to drink a little less. If he/she is used to crunching dry food, consider mixing in a few biscuits for texture. It’s worth remembering that a portion of dry food may look smaller than a portion of canned food and as dry foods are in general more energy dense than wet foods, your dog may need to eat proportionally more wet food to gain the same calories.

If your dog refuses a new food, even a veterinary recommended diet, contact your vet to discuss the reasons for this and available alternatives.

From around the age of 6-8 months, puppies reach sexual maturity and are therefore capable of breeding and producing puppies themselves! Some veterinary surgeries will advise that the best time to have your female dogs neutered is before their first season and others may say afterwards, but none will do this during the season, preferring to wait 6-8 weeks after a season to perform the procedure. Most surgeries will recommend neutering a male dog at 6 months of age. It is advisable to keep your dogs on a leash at this time, as female dogs may be able to get pregnant slightly before this age.

Whether you have just brought home a new puppy or a rescue dog, training should and will begin straight away. Remember your dog can pick up bad habits if allowed to get away with certain behaviour when settling in that you later feel will be unacceptable. For example you allow your puppy to sleep in your room for the first few nights as he is crying, a few months down the line you cannot shut your dog in the kitchen at night because he barks the house down! So you should decide on the ground rules before your pet arrives and stick to them. Ask your vet about 'puppy parties' to help socialise your puppy and about local training classes for older dogs.

What will I need to get started?

Mostly you will need a bit of patience and a willing pet. You will also need a small, tasty treat to reward your dog with and a quiet room with no distractions to enable you and your dog to concentrate. It can be very helpful to join a training class for guidance, support and socialization or work from a reputable dog-training book that works on a positive reinforcement method. Ensure that you have suitable training aids or equipment to hand such as clicker, harness, lead etc. Once your dog is performing a certain task reliably you can start to ask them to do this in a 'real' situation.

 

You can train a dog to perform almost any task with clear concise commands and a suitable reward. Tasks fall into 2 categories:

1. Tasks that provide your dog with behaviour necessary for him to fit into society and keep him safe such as:

• House training
• Socialisation with other dogs and people and situations your puppy will need to deal with
• Come/recall command
• Sit, stay, down
• Walking to heel
• Retrieving objects (if he is a retrieving type of dog…it's no good expecting this behaviour from breeds that are not designed to carry out this behaviour!).

2. Tasks that are just good fun.

• Giving paw
• Beg
• Shutting the door
• Catching a ball/treat

Fears and Phobias: Fireworks and other loud noises

A fear of fireworks is quite common in dogs, and the effects can be devastating in some. Indeed, if not treated promptly, the fear can escalate quickly and a minor problem can become a severe one, with the dog becoming progressively phobic of other sudden loud noises or flashing lights, and any number of things that he has come to associate with fireworks. For example, some dogs may start to become apprehensive and agitated at the approach of dusk, thinking that it may be followed by the whizzes and bangs that they fear. Others may become fearful when in the same locations where they have heard fireworks, and for some this may even develop further into a general fear of the outdoors.

Signs of fear typically include:

• Pacing
• Panting
• Attempting to hide
• Lack of appetite
• Distraction, it will be difficult to get the dog's attention
• Salivation
• Yawning
• Restlessness
• In extreme cases, there can be incontinence  

Prevention

Good early habituation to a wide rage of sounds will prepare a puppy for any loud noises he will encounter later in life. If raised in a breeder's busy home, with people coming and going, and all the sounds that accompany ordinary family life (pans being dropped, washing machines, cups smashing accidentally, loud music from the teenager's bedroom, screaming in excited play, and so on), then a puppy is likely to be noise-tolerant as an adult in any subsequent home.  Similarly, outdoors he will be fine if as a youngster he experiences the sound of aircraft, thunder, distant gunshot and bird scarers, traffic etc., and finds that his owners don't react to them, or to him when they go off, even if he is initially startled at the first exposures.

If the puppy's exposure to loud noises indoors, or fireworks etc outdoors causes great fear at the first exposure, however, or his initial anxiety is reinforced by attention from his owners, then he could well become fearful of such sounds for life and his condition may worsen steadily. Equally, if he was raised in a quiet, calm environment and had not built up any experience of such noises, learned to ignore them or how to cope with them, then he will probably have great trouble getting used to loud noises in his new home and especially when he hears his first loud firework or clap of thunder.

Using a pre-recorded CD of firework and other loud and strange noises, available from your vet or pet store, can help a puppy get used to a range of such sounds and learn to ignore them in adulthood. The CD needs to be played very quietly in frequent short doses initially; slowly increasing the volume over the course of several days provided he shows no fear. His habituation will be assisted if he is distracted playing or eating during these exposures. However, some puppy's may habituate to all sorts of recorded noises coming from the hi-fi speakers, but still react fearfully to the 'real life' noises, such as fireworks outdoors, and then become fearful at other associated signals, such as the smell of fires, darkness etc., or the atmospheric changes and sound of rain that he may come to learn are associated with impending thunder.

Management

If a dog is already showing fear of fireworks or other loud noises then it would be advisable to seek the help of an experienced, professional behaviourist on referral from your vet as soon as possible. Fear is a very tricky thing to conquer and, if mismanaged or left, it will usually escalate and become more difficult to treat.

A word of warning…your vet may offer a long outdated treatment involving the prescription of a medication called Ace- or Acetyl-promazine (ACP), which often comes in the form of little yellow tablets. DO NOT administer these under any circumstances as they simply prevent the dog from responding to his fear and give the false impression that he is relaxed. When on ACP, a dog can still see and hear the fireworks and is still terrified. Unable to hide and escape, his phobia could well increase. ACP does not alleviate fear and should never be used to treat fear and phobias of this nature. Ask instead for a referral to a behaviourist.

The behaviourist will assess your dog and devise a personalised treatment plan. This may include providing him with a safe indoor den into which he can escape and be left alone when he is fearful. An indoor kennel or crate, with a blanket draped over the top and three sides, could provide such a haven, and help him develop a coping strategy if it is placed in a secluded corner of the house and filled with cosy bedding, a chew toy filled with nice treats, and perhaps sprayed with a calming pheromone available from your vet. Accustom him to using his den to rest, sleep and avoid household chaos in whenever he wants to, well in advance of any fireworks or thundery weather. Then, when fireworks or thunder are anticipated, make sure that he has free access to his den, so he can find it easily when the noises start.

It is most important for you not to show any anxiety or marked behaviour changes yourself when fireworks or other loud noises occur. You could well be nervous wondering how he will react, but try to remain as calm and 'ordinary' as possible or he will start to react to your behaviour before any sign of fireworks or thunder. Certainly don't attempt to comfort him if he looks even slightly apprehensive. Offering reassurance is only natural, but it could well reinforce his emotional response and so encourage his dependence on you rather than him learning to go to the safety of his den to relieve his fear. Ignore him when he is fretful; only give him attention when he is confident, or looking relaxed in his den.

Try to exercise him well in advance of bad weather or well before dusk during times of known firework celebrations, and obviously try to avoid risking his exposure to any fireworks going off while you are out. Keep him on a lead for the firework season, just in case he is spooked accidentally and runs off. Keep him indoors during the whole evening, and only take him out to the garden for his pre-bed toilet break, and on a lead after all the fireworks have ceased – even if it means staying up until 1am or later! Many dogs have scaled fences in fear, bolted and become lost from their own gardens because of their fear of fireworks so do take special precautions. Indoors, close the curtains to minimise exposure to firework or lightning flashes. Put the television or radio on, shut all doors and windows to reduce the noise of the bangs, and try to act as normal as possible, only rewarding him if he is relaxed.

For severe cases, where a dog is very distressed, or during the initial phases of treatment by a behaviourist, a vet may advise some form of medication, but not ACP!

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for individual veterinary or behavioural advice and is for information purposes only. You should always consult a veterinary surgeon if you have any concerns about your pet's health. He or she will be able to take a complete medical history and physically examine your pet, to then recommend appropriate individual advice or treatment options. For detailed behavioural advice tailored specifically for your pet, we recommend that you contact a qualified pet behaviourist. For further details of local canine and feline behaviourists practising in your area and how they offer help for with problem pets, please contact The Coape Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers at www.capbt.org, or the Association of Pet Dog Trainers at www.apdt.co.uk. Do bear in mind that while dog trainers can take you on as a client directly, pet behaviourists will always require a referral from your veterinary surgeon.

This can be very traumatic and upsetting for dogs. You are often distracted and stressed and this can rub off. The period before moving is also stressful, i.e. packing of boxes. It is often advisable to put pets into boarding kennels or even send them to stay with someone that they know. Try to keep them away until the move is completed and the house is pretty much in order. When your pets are brought into the new house there must be time devoted to settling in, familiar bedding etc is good but do not let basic rules go, as this will confuse matters in the long run. Allow your pet quiet time to explore its new surroundings, keep your pets out of the way of any building work or decorating that may also be going on. Make sure your pet knows where food and water bowls are and where they can go to the toilet.