First a little cautionary tale:
Hamlet was adopted after having a rough start. His former home was not very good to him. His forever family was dedicated to him and wanted to set him up for success. But there were a few hiccups in the first weeks in his new home. Basically, Hamlet ate part of their car. His humans didn’t blink an eye but rather got on the phone with “decodingdogsla” and discussed how to deal with these issues.
“decodingdogsla” and LLR thought this was a good opportunity to start a weekly post about the common issues that occur when bringing home a rescue dog.
Post 1:
BRINGING HOME YOUR FOREVER DOG:
• The first 2 weeks are key!
• Set up a structure with rules and boundaries. It’s easier to add more freedom later than have to take it away.
• Start with a solid foundation of sit, stay and come.
• Let the dog know where they can and can’t go, where they will sleep and where they will be when left alone. Creating this structure helps to establish your relationship with your forever dog.
• Use treats/affection to reward the desired behavior. Dogs learn by association so treats and affection reward what the dog is thinking or doing at that time.
• Do NOT do or expose dog to too much to soon.
• Have realistic expectations as this is all new to your dog as well as you. –
• Remember – it’s better to say “we could have done that sooner” verses “oops we did that too soon”.
Your new dog is looking to know their place in the new family pack. Creating this structure in first 2 weeks helps establishes that.