For the Purrbabies

Congratulations on choosing to adopt your new furry family member! Not only are you rescuing the dog you’re adopting, you’re saving the dog who will be taking their place in the kennel. Welcoming a new furry family member into your home is an exciting time, but it can also be stressful both for you and your new canine companion. Not only is your house a new environment for the dog, but they may or may not have lived a life similar to what you’ll be giving them. Some dogs who are in shelters have even tried a few different homes before landing in the right one.
Luckily, regardless of who your pup is and what they’ve experienced before, there are some key components that will make their acclimation into your home easier on everyone.
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting home with your new pup and realizing you need something at the store. We recommend avoiding taking your new pup to the pet store on the day of adoption — it’s already a lot for your dog without going into another new environment — so it’s important to stock up on basic essentials prior to bringing your dog home.
Regardless of bowl type, you should always change it if the bowl is causing irritation or chin acne, and make sure to clean it often!
Dr. Erica Irish
Have you ever had a dog who would go and sit at the door when you don’t get up to take them out at the normal time? Maybe your dog starts pacing when it’s dinnertime. Dogs are quick to pick up on patterns in their day-to-day life and they thrive when their environment is predictable. For this reason, nothing will help your new rescue dog get acclimated to their new home and life quite like consistency.
Going into a new home can be scary and stressful for any dog, so to give them a chance to learn what their life looks like now, keep your day-to-day as close to what your basic routine will look like in the long run as possible. Many shelters will recommend what’s known as a two-week shutdown period. This essentially means keep your dog’s life to the bare routine for two weeks — don’t have guests over to the home, refrain from taking your new dog to the store or restaurants and off-leash dog parks. Instead, focus on spending time getting to know your new dog and letting them get to know you.
Tip: If at all possible, avoid bathing your new dog for at least the first week as well. Bathing involves invasive handling, which can quickly become overwhelming for a dog when they’re surrounded by entirely new everything — including the person who is doing the handling.
Prioritizing the consistency of mealtimes, bedtimes, wake times, and walk times will help your new dog begin to understand and predict what their life looks like each day, and understand what’s expected of them. However, keep in mind that this means that all family members must be on the same page.
Make sure to go in with agreed-upon rules (ie no dogs on the bed or no feeding human food under the dinner table) so that your dog doesn’t get mixed signals. And if a less stressed dog (and human) isn’t a good enough reason to establish a routine, it also helps speed up house training. No more accidents? Sign us up!
Tip: It’s easier to start with more boundaries and restrictions, then give more freedom as you get to know your dog and find you don’t need them. If you start with lots of freedom and then decide you want to limit them, it will be harder for your dog to understand why you’re backtracking and thus, more frustrating for you. For example, if you start by allowing the dog on all the furniture, and after a few weeks decide you only want the dog on the floor, it will be much harder to tighten up the boundaries than to loosen them.
Before bringing a new dog into your home, take time to consider what could be factors that will make their acclimation harder. Do you have other pets in the home? Kids? Do you have a yard or intend to do walks? Are there unsafe things they could get into? Thinking about these factors in advance of walking in the door with your new family member can make both your lives easier and safer.
Other pets. One of the factors that requires the most forethought when bringing home a new dog is any pets you may already have. If you have a resident dog, many shelters will recommend you do a dog-dog meet at the facility prior to adoption, to ensure the dogs have compatible play styles. Keep in mind even if you do this meet, it won’t be 100% indicative of how the dogs will interact in the home. Shelters are stressful, both for the adoptable dogs and your own when they visit, so it’s likely that neither dog will be entirely themselves during that dog meet. Should you decide to adopt, the adoption counselor will talk you through how to continue slow introductions with the new dog in your home.
If you have a resident cat, how you introduce your new dog will influence their interaction moving forward. If your cat runs and the dog is allowed to chase, it automatically becomes a self-reinforcing game — dog sees cat, dog chases cat, cat runs, and dog chasing cat = game! To avoid this, make sure your dog is on leash when they first see the cat and that your cat has ample availability to escape to another room or to higher surfaces. Baby gates can be a valuable tool when acclimating your new dog to a home with any resident animals, as it provides a barrier that allows the animals to have protected contact.
Kids. There is little that is as exciting for a kid as bringing a new dog into the home. The number one rule for bringing a new dog home with kids is to not leave the kids unattended with the dog. Going into a new home can be scary, exciting, or both for your dog, and regardless of which emotion they’re feeling, their interaction with your child can quickly become unsafe (even by accident) without proper supervision.
Before bringing your new dog home, take time to talk to your child about how they should introduce themselves to the dog, when to give them space, and the role THEY play in making your new pup feel right at home. While some shelters require that all family members (especially children) meet the dog before you adopt, this isn’t the case for all. To play it safe, bring your kiddo to meet the dog to help both acclimate to the other.
Remember: Kids don’t always understand how to respect a dog’s boundaries right off the bat, so make sure not to leave young children alone with your new pup. Help instill appropriate interaction by making sure your child doesn’t touch your dog’s paws, pull their tail, or ride or sit on their back. Have a new baby on the way? Check out Family Paws; a group that offers courses and access to professionals that specialize in safe interactions between dogs and children.
Household items. New environments are just that; they’re new, meaning your dog is going to want to explore every inch of your house. Since dogs don’t have hands like we do, they get to know their environment with their mouths. The results can range from annoying to life-threatening if your dog gets their mouth on the wrong thing.
Until you know what to expect of your new pup, keep all food off the counter and cleaning products out of reach. Be mindful of any mouse or ant traps or houseplants you may have that are poisonous if ingested. Avoid leaving socks, hair ties, or small children’s toys lying around, all of which can be quick to be swallowed, causing an obstruction and requiring surgery. Regardless of your new dog’s age, puppy-proofing your apartment is a valuable step.
Give them a tour. When you first bring your new dog into the home, keep them on a leash and walk them around, showing them where things are (toys, bed, door, yard, etc.). It’s helpful to leave their leash on and dragging for the first hour — that way, if they get into something they shouldn’t (like your trashcan) you’re not reaching for their collar, which in their mind looks like a stranger lunging for their face. Instead, pick up the end of the leash and use that to guide them. This will appear less threatening, and on the off chance that they do become defensive, you’re six feet away.
When bringing home a new dog from the shelter, keep in mind they’re coming from a world that was limited and predictable. They lived, slept, and ate in a box. They were fed and walked around the same time everyday by the same people. Going from that to a whole house where they have free reign is a big change that can be overwhelming.
To ease the transition, we recommend crate training. Crates shouldn’t be used as a punishment, but rather a safe space for your dog that is entirely their own. Think of it like a teenager and their bedroom. Having a room all their own gives them some privacy and freedom to step away when they feel frustrated or overwhelmed.
The same is true for your dog.
Use the crate as a place for your dog to go when they are feeling uncomfortable and need a break. To keep your dog choosing their crate, make sure to keep it positive by gradually acclimating them to it and giving them good things while in there, such as their meals, their favorite toy, or a bully stick.
Crate training has a few other perks as well. For one, it will help with house training. Dogs don’t like to lay in their own filth, so by keeping your pup in their crate overnight or when left alone, they’re more likely to hold it until they’re taken out. Putting your dog in their crate also prevents them from getting into trouble when they’re left unsupervised. This is especially valuable for puppies and excitable dogs who like to chew on and eat random objects around the house.
When bringing a new rescue dog into your home, it’s important to not expect too much from your dog or yourself all at once. Like any new relationship, you and your dog need time to get to know and trust one another, especially because the dog you bring home from the shelter is likely not the same dog who will be standing before you three months from now. Of course, every dog is different, and some dogs will acclimate to their new lives faster than others. However, a good rule of thumb when setting realistic expectations for your new rescue pup and yourself is the 3-3-3 Rule.
There is a common saying in the animal welfare industry that new pet parents should remember the 3-3-3 rule. This rule reminds us that it takes time for an adopted pet to adjust when introduced to a new home and that this acclimation generally happens in three stages.
Now that you have a new furry family member, it’s time to establish a baseline for their health, so that you know the best plan moving forward. Some shelters may offer you a free or discounted veterinary appointment within the first two weeks of adoption. Others may encourage you to find your own primary veterinarian within the community. It’s good to make your first appointment almost immediately after adoption for a few reasons:
Adopting a rescue dog is exciting, nerve-wracking, and stressful all at the same time. If you feel like you’re struggling to understand your dog or that they’re having a hard time adjusting, reach out to a local Certified Professional Dog Trainer. With patience, consistency, and time, you’ll be able to help your new pup acclimate to their new life and feel right at home alongside you and your family.
Every dog is different and will warm up to their new life at different speeds. However, most rescue dogs understand that their new life is permanent around the three-month mark.
While our immediate reaction to show our rescue dog we love them is to pet, hug, squeeze, and smother them with love, to a dog who is surrounded by ‘new’, with that ‘new’ including you, that can be overwhelming and downright scary. Instead, offer them passive love. Let them show you what they want. If your new dog is shut down and avoiding, opt to just sit with them without trying to pet or forcing them to interact. If your dog wants to play another round of fetch, throw that ball for them again. Learn to speak your dog’s love language.
If you just brought home a new dog and they’re not eating, drinking, or going potty in a way you feel is normal, or they’re not responsive to toys or treats, it’s likely that they’re overwhelmed and trying to adjust to their new environment.
Find out what is reinforcing to your dog. To some dogs, food or toys are everything. To others, praise and petting are their favorite. Some dogs will just want space and quiet above all else. To help your rescue dog feel comfortable and safe with you, allow them the privilege of choice.
This rule explains the most common acclimation time frame for adopted dogs. At three days, your dog may be nervous or shut down and not eating normally. At three weeks, their personality will start to shine through (behavior quirks included). And, at three months, your new pup is finally starting to understand that ‘this’ is their life now and what’s expected of them.