Your puppy will be due for his next vaccine on date indicated on the medical record that is emailed to you upon completing the adoption. This is included in the adoption fee, provided you make an appointment at our Adoption Center, located in Fairfax Station. You can reach the Adoption Center to schedule that at: adoptioncenter@homewardtrails.org. We suggest you do so at least 3-5 days in advance so that the staff can accommodate you!

You will not be reminded of this so it’s up to you to schedule this follow-up vaccine on time with us or with your vet.

**Also, as a reminder, your pup should not go into public places or interact with other dogs until 10 days after his/her 3rd vaccine is completed unless you are certain the dogs are fully vaccinated.**

After this, you will need to schedule a visit with your chosen vet or the VCA vet to get a rabies vaccine at 4 mos. of age. Rabies is not included in the adoption fee.

The VCA vet voucher in your adoption folder allows you a complimentary visit to any VCA vet in your area and $250 in coverage for a number of common ailments. You must bring that voucher with you to get the free exam or credit.

Your spay/neuter due date will appear on the legally binding contract you will sign. You may get this procedure done at your own vet at your cost or through us (included in the higher fee). If you get this done at your own vet, you must provide proof it has been done by the date on your contract.

We encourage you to schedule the appointment far in advance of your due date as appointments for such can be quite delayed. Do not wait and miss your deadline, as that is mandated to us by VA law and we enforce it. Please plan ahead!  You will get a follow-up email reminding you of this but you should email snappointments@homewardtrails.org to schedule your spay/neuter appointment. Again, we do not allow due dates to be missed unless it is for a medical reason that must be accompanied by a letter from your vet. Please do not put our entire rescue in jeopardy by not taking this deadline seriously.

We strongly suggest crate training for easier housebreaking and the safety of your pup. The metal collapsible kind is best and can grow with your dog. We have some great documents we suggest you read through prior to bringing your pup home about crate training etc. Visit our Dog Resources page for many other resources on dog behavior.

Other supplies we suggest:

• Adjustable harness – it’s safer to train your pup to leash walk with a harness
• Leash/collar/ID tag
• High quality dry & wet food – There are many good choices. One we find that pups transition well on is Blue Buffalo chicken. We also strongly suggest always mixing wet food into the dry food with water. You can purchase several different types of wet food (chicken/turkey/beef/fish/lamb) and rotate a few tablespoons each feeding. This keeps the pups interested in mealtime which helps a lot for housebreaking AND creates a more robust digestive track since you are including a variety of proteins, vitamins and nutrients by mixing/rotating the wet food. Very important for a healthy digestive tract!
• Chew toys –bully sticks are one of the best, long-lasting and safe chew sticks out there. Kongs and other toys/sticks that are long-lasting are good as well. Avoid rawhide at all costs! Once you discover if your pup likes bully sticks, you can buy them in larger quantities and save a LOT of money here: bestbullysticks.com
• Training treats – great to put in a ziplock bag to take with you on walks for training are Zukes Mini Naturals, Charlie Bears and other small/chewy treats!

You will receive a document that shares with you tips for finding a positive trainer and the importance of doing so. We implore you to do positive training with your puppy so that behaviors can be nipped early on. It is the number one reason we have dogs returned to us at the age of 1-2 years and it is often totally avoidable.

We do not condone or allow the use of e-collars and negative/abusive training for any reason and the use of such worsens anxiety and aggression issues in dogs. Please do not fail your pup – do positive only training!

Check out our Resources section for many great one-page training documents on all topics. It’s a great way to start your education and get started on the right foot!

***Join our exclusive HT Adopter free Zoom training sessions the last Tuesday of the month. Jutka Terris of Puppyk will offer Puppy 101 (6-7 pm EST) and Puppy 201 (7-8 pm EST) each month to go over new puppy basics and puppy adolescent behaviors.***

We are always here to support you if you have any concerns about health or behavior. We will also connect you with the adopters of your pup’s siblings.  We find it very helpful as your pups grow to share the good, bad and ugly so each of you feels supported by what the others learn. You can also join our HT Adopter Facebook page too for fun and support.

Should you have any concerns medically or behaviorally with your adopted puppy, please first reach out to us here so we can assist you. In our 20 years of doing this we have almost seen it all, so we can certainly assist you. And, if we cannot, we’ll certainly be able to give you suggestions for those who can!