Adopting a dog is a decision that will change your life. When you decide to adopt a dog, you’re committing to a lifetime of training and healthcare for your new dog. Do your research, and make sure you know what you’re signing up for.
Choose a breed that suits your lifestyle
Do you want a dog that will be content to just hang out on the couch with you while you binge Netflix or play a video game, or just chill out in the yard under a tree? Then you probably don’t want a working line or sporting breed that needs a lot of exercise and space to run. Are you a first-time dog owner? You probably don’t want a dog that has a lot of energy and drive; you’ll want one that is easy to train. Do you live an active lifestyle and enjoy having your best doggo bud with you when you’re in the Great Outdoors hiking or camping? You’ll probably want a more hardy dog with a higher energy level.
Consider how much time you have in a day
Do you have a hectic schedule? Kids needing to be transported to sports/dance/band practice? Is your time during the day scheduled down to the minute? Will you be able to make time to care for and work with a dog around all your other life obligations?
No matter how you get your dog, you’ll need to spend time training and exercising him every day. Training isn’t “just until they learn it”; it’s consistent repetition every day. Once your dog reliably knows a command, in order to keep it reliable, you need to incorporate it into your everyday life. Otherwise, your dog will start blowing off the commands that you worked so hard to teach. And exercising your dog isn’t just taking him for a walk – he needs to run and play too.
Patience and consistence is key
While it’s true for all dogs regardless of age or where you got them, it’s especially true for dogs that came from shelters, rescues, or mills. They come with baggage that needs to be overcome. Some may have been abused, neglected, or just untrained. Adopting a dog is a lifetime commitment, so think long and hard before choosing to bring home a new dog.
Bringing your dog home
After adopting a dog, there’s a “honeymoon period” with a new dog in the home. During this time, you gush about how adorable the new dog is and how much fun it is to play with him. But then his personality really comes out and behavior issues start to come up. So you start training – rushing through several commands at a time, without putting in the reps for each one over a period of time. You aren’t patient or consistent. Your dog gets bored with it all and starts ignoring commands and running amuck. You and your dog both get frustrated.
Be patient – don’t give up so fast
This is the point at which people start to give up on their dogs. They decide that it’s too much work. So they return the dog to wherever they got it from, or they take it to a shelter. Or worse – they dump it on someone else’s property or out in the middle of nowhere, leaving it to fend for itself.
But this is the point in a dog’s life with you when it’s so important to be patient and consistent! This is the biggest opportunity you will have with yoru dog to set the foundation for the rest of your lives together. THIS is what it’s all about – building that relationship. When you are considering adopting a dog, keep in mind the Rule of 3.
Remember the Rule of 3:
After adopting a dog, he needs 3 days to decompress and relax:
- During the first three days, your dog is overwhelmed and stressed. Give him a quiet space and time to relax.
- He may not eat much (or at all). But make food available regularly and monitor his eating. Watch to be sure he’s not quickly gobbling it all down at once (this can cause serious gastrointestinal issues). If that is happening, switch to small meals more frequently so he will learn that food will be provided regularly.
- Start with small amounts of water frequently. Once he isn’t guzzling it all at once, keep fresh water available at all times.
3 weeks to start learning to trust – during the first three weeks after adopting a dog:
- Your dog is finally stating to relax and settle in.
- He’s learning house rules and testing limits. When behavior issues crop up, take charge and start working on obedience.
- This is the time to start being the leader your dog needs, and start building trust.
3 months to learn house rules – after the first three months:
- Your dog is comfortable in your home, and has built a level of trust with you.
- Continue training and working with him. Put in the reps and build that reliability.
- Training also helps to strengthen your bond with your dog, and establish you firmly as the pack leader.
Now, I’m going to also add one more – the third year. By the time you’ve had your dog for three years:
- You should have a fair level of trust with your dog.
- If you’ve been training consistently, you should have been able to build a fair bit of reliability with commands. Behavior issues should be minimal, if any, and you should be able to work through those with your dog.
- Your bond with your dog, and your position as pack leader, should be pretty solid by now.
Training and working with your dog
Are you training your dog yourself? Plan on spending at least 10 minutes at a time, several times a day, on basic obedience. End the sessions on a good note – quit before they get bored. Keep the sessions engaging. And then follow up with using those commands on a daily basis as part of your lives together. Get the reps in to build that reliability, because no dog is ever going to be 100% all the time. So you’ll need to keep it up for the rest of your dog’s life. Over time, their reliability will keep getting better – but don’t get complacent. That obedience training, those commands, and that reliability will save your dog’s life.
Exercising your dog
Taking a dog for daily walks is important, but it’s often not enough. They need to be able to really play and run to their heart’s content – in a safe environment, of course. And mental stimulation also goes a long way to tiring your dog out, too:
- Obedience training:
- Inside at first
- Out in the yard and in front of your home, with distractions
- Out in public around distractions, always on-leash and under control
- Puzzle games
- Agility courses
- Doggy play dates (when they are socialized and are well-behaved enough)
Doing these things and reinforcing them on a daily basis at home will help your dog learn to behave no matter where they are. Again, no dog will ever be 100% reliable. But doing these things on a daily basis as a lifestyle will get your dog as close to that as possible.
What will the future with your dog look like?
If you’ve worked with your dog consistently and patiently through all the trials and tribulations of the first three years, your future will be a long and happy one, filled with lots of fun and adventures. Keep up with reinforcement of training every day as a lifestyle, and you’ll have a happy, safe, and well-behaved companion at your side.
1 Pingback