Adopting a dog from a rescue or shelter comes with challenges that will require lots of patience and time to deal with. Many of these dogs come with baggage:

  • Behavior issues stemming from abuse/neglect
  • Reactivity issues stemming from poor socialization
  • Dogs that shut down out of fear or depression in shelters
  • Separation anxiety and other anxiety issues

It just takes a lot of time and patience

All of these issues can be resolved. Dogs with issues like these also may have trust and/or confidence issues. They need a strong leader to help them learn to trust again, and help them regain their confidence. Consistency is important, too. Staying consistent with training helps a dog build confidence. It also helps build trust, as they learn that the world is not such a scary place after all and you are there to guide and love them. But most importantly, it takes time and patience. Training your dog is one of the best ways to bond with them, and it can be a lot of fun. After all – you bought the ticket for the ride, you might as well enjoy it.

It’s important to keep expectations reasonable

There are many people who adopt a dog out of a shelter or rescue with the expectation that they will have had the same training and socialization that a professional dog breeder would give their dogs. This is absolutely not the case. When people have expectations of adopting a perfectly well-behaved dog from the start, they are setting themselves – and the dog – up for failure. If you’re not willing to put in the time every day to work with your dog for the rest of its life, perhaps getting a dog is not for you.

Dogs learn apropriate behaviors through repetition and reinforcement, and correction of undesireable behaviors within reason. Some fear-based behaviors may be appropriate, depending on circumstances. But even that can be trained, to a degree, as well. Rewarding the desired behaviors when your dog performs them and eventually offers the behaviors on their own goes a long way towards reinforcing the good behaviors and decreasing unwanted behavior.

Training is never finished so make it count

Training is a lifetime practice. You are never done with training. But incorporating learned behaviors consistently into your daily life with your dog makes it easier. You’ll get the reps in that way. At first, you’ll be using treats to reinforce commands and behaviors. But once your dog understands a command, you can gradually switch the reward to something else your dog values. Like praise and/or playtime, or something else that the dog values even more highly – your undivided attention. In return, you’ll get a well-behaved dog that trusts you unconditionally, and will look to you for guidance and approval.

Remember: all it takes is patience and time.