What To Expect From Your New Dog - Part 1
At Big Dog Ranch Rescue, we have a volunteer that tells each of our dogs, “You are halfway home.”
We do our best to provide an amazing environment for our dogs to help them adjust to their future lives. As you can imagine, life at The Ranch is quite different from life in your home and tragically, some of our dogs have never experienced a loving home.
When you meet a dog in a rescue or a shelter many people don’t realize that the dog’s personality will shift and change as they into their new life. There is a period of decompression that each dog needs to adjust.
So, when bringing a new dog into the home, we will often mention the 3/3/3 rule. This is what you can expect from your dog after three days, three weeks, and three months.
3 DAYS
During the first three days after your new dog comes home, they will be overwhelmed. This is the detox period of the transition. The new smells, activity, routine and freedom are a lot to take in. Imagine you just got a new family, neighborhood, school, and friends!
They may sleep a lot or be so excited that they are easily overstimulated and have difficulty settling down. Remember, your new pet doesn’t know you nor do they know what your expectations for them are. Learning where to potty, what furniture is off limits, and that your favorite shoes are not a chew toy is all part of the transition.
Patience is key! Give your new family member the opportunity to get to know you, your routine and the house rules before you get upset with them.
3 WEEKS
After about three weeks your dog is starting to get to know your routine. Learning when you come and when you go, what your expectations are for them, and when the next meal and potty break will be.
This is when you will start to see more of their real personality and less of the initial response to overstimulation (whether that was fear, stress or excitement). At this point you will start to see any behaviors that may be a problem, so now is a good time to start considering training classes or help and support from a professional dog trainer.
3 MONTHS
Believe it or not, it takes this long for your new dog to feel “home.” Your patience, understanding and sense of humor during this process will pay off because you will have a partner for life that can look to you and trust your guidance.
Before you ever consider rehoming/returning your dog for any reason please reach out to us to discuss this and see if all of your options have been explored and implemented. We have more resources here for rehoming.