THE FIRST DAYS of adopting or fostering a rescue dog

Now that you've adopted a dog, what do you do now? Here are some steps you can take to help your new pup transition to life in a home with you!

Taking home your foster dog or adopted dog

Whether you are bringing home a dog to foster or bringing home a dog you just adopted, the decompression rules follow for ALL dogs. Decompression is a calming period for the dog when arriving at a new home. Many people overlook this step yet is crucial for the dog as it will make or break how your dog is introduced to its new surroundings and home. Here is an example of what proper decompression looks like.

Day 1-3: Crate and rotate

The new dog will spend the next THREE days in crates. Anytime the dog is not crated, the dog is ON A LEASH, even indoors. During this time, I use a slip lead that I keep on them which you can find at https://leerburg.com. Think of the leash as an umbilical cord, wherever you go, the dog goes along with you on leash for the first 3 days. They do not get free roam around the house. There are several reasons why we do this method. One, it starts a bond between new owner and dog. Two, you are able to catch potty accidents much faster. If you are in the kitchen and the dog is in the living room having an accident, by the time you realize and catch up to the dog, the deed has already been done. It is much easier when the dog is on leash for you to immediately take it outside when you see potty signals. If there are any resident animals in the house, they will be put in a crate or in a separate room while the new dog comes out to avoid any meetings too early. The dog will also be getting all meals in their crate.

Day 2: Basic Training

I take the dog out in the 2nd day and I start basic training – ALWAYS assume that they know nothing. I will start with eye contact and reward, when that is taken in and then the dog starts recognizing their name, that eye contact gets them rewarded. I normally start moving towards SIT, STAY, DOWN and the basics. I do this in 10 to 15 minutes increments several times a day.

For certain dogs - ones that are very pushy, testy - or an alpha dog with no previous training or structure...a dog that does not understand boundaries - for these types of dogs, it may be necessary for the dog to not have couch or bed privileges. They get their doggy bed, kennel bed, and that is it. Sometimes these dogs that have had the run of their previous household, may show resource guarding over these privileges. They will test you, to see what they can get away with in their new home, either by air snapping, growling/barking or showing aggressive behavior - essentially a teenage temper tantrum. By standing firm, remember, you are the adult, implementing structure and boundaries will go a long long way. Allowing bed/couch privileges after a couple of weeks/months - after you and the dog understand each other a lot better - is perfectly reasonable.

Day 4 and beyond: Introducing your new dog with your resident pets

Day 4 is the day I let the resident dogs get in the same environment as the new dog. They would be in their crate (closed) and the resident dog would be moving around as normally would. I keep treats in my hand and will start practicing the eye contact and what we worked on the past few days. They need to understand that they can pay attention to you and ignore the other dogs. This sometimes takes a day or a week. They will graduate from the crate training when they can be calmly accepting of the other dogs around the crate and not engaging.

The next phase will be taking a walk together with resident dogs (all dogs stay leashed and with different handlers). Take treats, and as the dogs remain in good behavior, they get rewarded. They do not get to interact during these walks. Depending on how you are reading each dog, this may need to happen a few times before they meet off-leash. If your resident dog is territorial of the house, it is best to have the dogs meet off-leash in a neutral area.

Continue feeding all meals in crate and do not leave high valued treats/bones/toys laying around on the ground.

Reminders: It takes time!

All dogs take 3 days of decompression in a new environment, 3 weeks to adapt to their new house rules and an average of 3 months for the dogs to really become fully integrated and start showing their real personality.

For more information and tips, here is one of my favorite videos (from another rescue) that has so many great tips on fostering a dog that you can implement even if you have adopted the dog.

https://youtu.be/4F13uGhXCy0

Hope this helps!