Welcoming Home Your Rescue Dog

Key Topics

• Handling stress in a shelter environment
• How your dog communicates their feelings
• Concepts:  What they are and why train them
• 3 Days, 3 Weeks, 3 Months:  What to expect over the next 3 to 6 months
• First 3 days - Coping with change
• First 3 weeks – Glimpsing their real personality
• First 3 Months – Settling in and feeling secure

Congratulations on bringing a rescue dog into your home!  You have given a deserving dog another chance at a better life.

To help you transition your new dog into your home, this post will provide you with a:

• 3 x 3 x 3 guideline to help you understand the stages your new dog may go through as they adapt to your home and your lifestyle
• Sense of what to expect over the first few months
• Variety of games you can play during each of the 3 x 3 x 3 stages

Handling stress in a shelter environment

Through no fault of their own, your dog has found themselves in a shelter environment with less human contact, more noise, strange people coming and going, and novel surroundings and routines.  Many shelters work hard to keep the stress of the dogs as low as possible but depending on the size of your dog’s bucket and how fast they can empty that bucket, your dog may be feeling higher than normal stress.  Increased stress is one of the reasons why it can take time for you to see the true personality of your dog once you bring them home.

How your dog communicates their feelings

Some dogs will exhibit signs of stress through high arousal activities such as jumping, barking, and mouthing.  Some will shut down and appear shy, reserved, or timid.  Others will show more subtle signs.  You can better understand how your dog is communicating both stress and relaxation by watching Fear Free Homes Body Language 101.

Now that you understand how your dog is communicating with you, it is time to grow your understanding of your dog’s brain and how you can using this understanding to re-shape the skills your dog has (or doesn’t have) in different situations!

Concepts:  What they are and why train them

Once you bring your dog home, you will want to help your dog relax and settle in.  As you start them on this transition, instead of thinking about training obedience behaviours (sit, down, and stay for example), think about growing concepts. 

Concepts (or skills) are the building blocks of your dog’s brain and once you understand what they are and how they influence your dog’s behaviour, you will have another tool to help your dog settle and gradually grow into the dog of your dreams.

As your dog’s personality starts to unfold over the next 3 – 6 months, there will be some behaviours you will like.  Others…well …. not so much!

Seeing your dog’s behaviour through the idea of concepts will give you:

• A much better framework for understanding why your dog is struggling
• The realization that their brain isn’t shaped to deal with the situation they are struggling with
• The knowledge that there are games you can play to re-shape their brain

3 Days, 3 Weeks, 3 Months:  What to expect over the next 3 to 6 months

Once you decide to adopt, you are about to introduce another big change into your dog’s life.  You know you are going to do everything in your power to give them the best life possible, but they don’t know that (yet!).

Understanding the 3 x 3 x 3 guideline will give you a rough idea of what to expect as you and your dog navigate your first 3 – 6 months together.   Each dog is unique but the best gift you can give any new dog is a positive, and safe home environment.

*From Absolute Dogs Rescue Resource Package “Bringing a Rescue Dog Home”

First 3 days - Coping with change

Change can be stressful. No matter what your dog’s past life may have looked like before coming to join your family, there is no question that they will still feel stressed, overwhelmed, and unsure when they come into your home.

Your dog may not want to eat for the first couple of days. They may shut down and want to curl up in their crate or under the table. They may be scared and unsure of what is going on. Or they may be over-aroused jumping on you, the furniture, doing zoomies in the yard, barking like crazy!

What to do:  In those first three days, keep the excitement to a minimum.  Give your dog space and time.  It can take up to 72 hours for the stress in their Bucket to empty.  Give them the choice to approach for petting or keep their distance.

Keep the introduction of new people to just the household members.  Have food and water available but if they don’t eat, that’s okay.  Have a warm dry place available where they can be with the family.  If they are eating, sprinkle some treats in that space.  You might setup an exercise pen for them so they can be confined but still with their new family.

Offer them a yummy chew in this space, feed their meals here.  If you can, stay nearby so that they are not left alone.  Some dogs may be ready for a walk around the neighbourhood.  If your dog is hesitant or pulling like a freight train, it’s okay to ditch the walk and exercise them in your yard. 

This is the time to allow your new dog a chance to decompress and get to know the family and their new surroundings at their own pace.

Games to play during this period:

Absolute Dogs:  Ditch the Bowl

First 3 weeks – Glimpsing their real personality

Your dog is starting to settle in, feel a bit more comfortable, and are beginning to believe that your home may be their forever home. Your dog is starting to figure out their new environment and the household routine. You may even see a glimpse of their real personality.

What to do:  Identify where your dog needs the most help. Which concepts appear to be their strength, and which concepts their weakness? 

If you’re not yet sure, not a problem!  Three common concepts that most adoptive dogs struggle with are:  disengagement, calmness, and proximity (value for you).

Some dogs will require more focus on disengagement (especially adolescents!)

Others may struggle finding value being close to you, and for others, growing calmness may be their biggest struggle.   

Games to play during this period:

• Orientation Game (disengagement, value for you) 
• Distraction Mark Treat(disengagement) - you must be logged into Facebook to watch this video
• Calmness Triad (calmness)
• Scatter feeding – to encourage natural foraging and help your dog relax. Use a portion of their daily food allowance, scatter a handful around you, and let your dogs sniff them out – grass works best for foraging, but any surface will do!

First 3 Months – Settling in and feeling secure

Your dog is feeling comfortable and settled in your home. You have laid the foundation for trust and a true bond with your dog which gives them a growing sense of security.  They have also started to figure out the family routine!

What to do:  Focus on growing your Relationship Bank Account

Use games to grow reward experiences with your dog.  By creating experiences through food games, toy games, and more, you can compete against what the world has to offer and continue to grow value for you.   You can use your dog’s daily food allowance and 3-minute intervals throughout your day (including walk time and mealtime) to work on your relationship in a low pressure and fun way.

If at any time your dog walks away from you, shows a lack of enthusiasm, doesn’t want to engage….not a problem.  Just slow things down!  Less sessions, and shorter sessions will go a long way toward building desire to work with you.

Games to play during this period:

• Weather Games:  FUNder and Typhoon
• Middle - start with food in both hands
• Two Paws on - learn to put two paws on an object
• Sniffari time! – Give your dog a chance to snuffle in the bushes on your walks. Treating your dog to a 15-minute sniffari and following where their nose leads can help them control their anxiety and arousal levels.

To learn more about concept training and using games to grow a great relationship with your new dog, register for my FREE 60-minute workshop “Welcoming Home Your Rescue Dog” by emailing me at heather@proudofmydog.ca .  The workshop is offered on the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of every month at 6:00pm.  You will learn:

• About your dog’s bucket, what fills it and how to empty it!
• Why growing calmness, disengagement, and proximity are important.
• Three games to get you started growing a great relationship.

There will be time for questions so I can address any specific challenges you are facing.

Conclusion

Understanding that your dog needs time to settle into their new home and their new life will go a long way to helping you navigate those first few months with your dog.  Allowing your dog space and time to get to know you, learning how they communicate, and focusing on games instead of obedience will lay a strong foundation for growing a great relationship.

Additional Resources:

Watch me playing the games with BC SPCA Shelter Dogs

Absolute Dogs: Concept Training Explained:  Training for the Situation.

Absolute Dogs: Rescue Dogs Resource Bundle

BC SPCA:  How Do I Welcome a New Dog into My Home

Instinct Dog Training:  How to Greet a Dog Safely: Do's and Don'ts

Check out our Upcoming Classes webpage for additional courses to help you grow and strengthen your relationship with your dog.