It takes time to acclimate an animal to a new environment and here is how I accomplished this with my dog, Gert.

Gert is a Vizsla/Catahoula. The Vizsla is a bird dog whose ancestry is traced back to Hungary. The Catahoula is indigenous to Catahoula parish, LA and is used for hunting boar and bear. Gert is a very high energy dog and to say that she has a lot of enthusiasm and pep is an understatement, but I digress.

The first thing we did when we arrived home was to take a walk around the block a few times to establish in Gert's mind that she was in a new area and this particular area was her territory. Then we headed into the house, while keeping her on her leash and collar. After letting her sniff around for a few minutes, we showed her where her food and water were kept, showed her her crate and then tried our best to ignore her for the rest of the day.

It may seem harsh, but doing this showed her on her terms that we were not interested in engaging her and that we were not a threat. She spent most of the time in the crate, as this is normal for a dog in a new environment. When she was ready to come out, we began to play with her and went for another walk. In time, she relaxed more and more and after about three days, she was pretty well adjusted.

As a rule though, she was kept on leash at all times, even in the house, so that she would establish us as the dominate ones in the home. We also made her submit to the cats in the house by gently making her lay on her side so that the cats were in a higher position than her. We also implemented a daily schedule; as the weeks went by, she fell into a routine and this helps create a healthy state of mind for them as well as discourage any destructive behaviors.

Gert requires a minimum of a hours exercise per day, so riding a bike along side her as she runs or roller blading is a good way to get out all of that extra energy. Swimming and socialization with other dogs, regardless of age, was very helpful as well.

Now, Gert is a well acclimated two-year-old and a great representative for big dogs. Many people think she is a Pit Bull or American Staffordshire, and while I like both of those breeds, mine is from another background. She loves to go out in public and recently attended her first powwow and was very well behaved. She is learning more and more all the time as I work with her and I plan to share more helpful tips on dog training in the future.