New dog question

[peaksandvalleys]

Hi ,
We are collecting our new dog tomorrow ( i'm ridiculously excited )
Hes a 2 year old Maltese Terrier .
With his current owner he has been allowed to sleep in her bedroom but i would prefer him not to do that and to sleep downstairs in the kitchen . I am expecting a bit of an issue with this especially as the stairs are in the kitchen . How do i get him to sleep alone ?

also , any tips on helping him settle in ? I have a huge list of his likes , dislikes and routine already from the owner but any other help appreciated .

I would sleep near him to get him to settle and gradually withdraw.
Let him bring a blanket that smells of his old home.
Get training and vet check booked and remember insurance!

thankyou , so maybe if i sleep downstairs on the sofa then ? Hes already well trained and ive booked him in at the vets on Tuedsay . How much should i expect to pay insurance ?

Our situation was different as she was a pup but I slept next to her for 3 weeks! Is he crate trained? Insurance very much depends on the cover and the provider. You want life cover.

No , i don't think he has ever used a crate . I guess i will just have to play it by ear . I've waited years to get another dog , i can't wait !

There's an awesome FB group. Dog training advice and support. Have a look. Remember to keep him on the same food. Get chip details switched to you and ensure collar details up to date. Law has changed and dog must wear tag and be chipped by law.

Definitely get insurance. I highly recommend one of the PetPlan life cover policies (there are different levels of cover for different prices). They are not the cheapest but they are very good at paying out and not increasing premiums as much when they age (bare in mind that once you take out a policy somewhere, you can be stuck there for the life of your pet - as other insurers will not cover any pre-existing conditions). I would recommend taking insurance out just before you go to collect him (you can legally cancel any insurance not used within 14days of taking out the policy, so if previous owner did change her mind at last minute it wouldn't be a problem).

To highlight the importance of insurance and taking it out immediately - my bro had his rescue dog less than 24hrs when she severely damaged her leg on her first walk with him (rescue hadn't told him she could escape from pretty much anything - so she'd got out of her collar - which the rescue gave with her). The insurance had only been taken out shortly before they went for a walk. So she was at the vet less than 2hrs after insurance had been taken out. Petplan amazingly did pay out on a claim that ended up at near £3,000. They did take longer to process the claim than normal and did investigate whether or not the dog could have been injured prior to insurance being taken out, but they did ultimately pay out. I don't think any other insurer would have paid out, there wasn't anyway to really prove that insurance was took out prior to injury due to the very small time scales involved.

Tbh as dog is an adult I would just try putting him where you want him to sleep, with his favourite toy and leaving him there. If it doesn't work you may need to stay with him first night then get a baby/dog gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep him there after that.