Advice: The Common-sense dog
It’s not uncommon for me to receive emails from people who have adopted or purchased a dog, and roughly 4 to 6 weeks after bringing the dog home, they notice behavioral issues starting. The dog is now fearful, anxious, aggressive, possessive, or hyperactive, and owners are stumped because the dog wasn’t like that when they first brought it home.
Sometimes dogs already have behavioral issues when we adopt or purchase them, but because dogs change their behavior in new environments in order to survive, we don’t always see their true colors right away. Dogs can also develop problem behaviors in that short 4 to 6 weeks if we don’t set our home up in such a way to help them be successful. It’s imperative that we understand how to introduce a new dog to our homes.
Step One: Prevention
Make sure your house and yard are ready for a new dog — no holes in the fence or weak gate entries, no expensive or chewable items left out, no access to important rooms like offices with business paperwork, no dangerous or poisonous items within reach, etc. Dogs don’t naturally know what is right or wrong or safe or unsafe in a new home. Help them by prevention until they acclimate and make good decisions.
Step Two: Decompression
This step if overlooked far too often. When we bring a new dog home, we want them to explore their new home, toys, siblings and yard right away, and we forget that this whole process is highly stressful on the dog. Stress and excitement very often look the same, and it is easy to misconstrue what the dog is telling us. The best start to a successful transition is to give the dog time to observe its new surroundings without pressure. Letting the dog observe from a crate or relaxed space is a great way to start. Also refrain from inviting guests over, introducing other dogs too quickly and taking field trips. Give the dog a few days to adjust.
Step Three: Instruction
My daughter is 6 years old, and even though she sometimes acts like she is 16, I know I still need to give her a tremendous amount of guidance before she can be successful in the real world. I don’t let her choose her bedtime. I don’t let her choose her diet. I don’t let her choose what is safe and what is not. I don’t let her handle altercations however she wants to. I don’t let her drive the car down the freeway. I don’t let her pay the mortgage. You get the idea, but for the purpose of this article, let’s say that I did. Knowing my child, she would have a blast in the beginning, but it wouldn’t take long for that fun to go away. Eventually she wouldn’t feel well or sleep well. She wouldn’t have fun in the car after something scary inevitably happened. She wouldn’t enjoy worrying about the mortgage payment and whether or not we were going to lose our house. Eventually I would have a child with fear and anxiety because I let her have freedom she wasn’t ready for.
When your decompression period is done with your new dog, you must consistently SHOW them how to handle freedom safely and appropriately. For the next few weeks, I strongly recommend keeping the dog on leash and tied to you whenever you are home. This will help stop ALL inappropriate chewing, potty accidents, jumping, counter surfing, barking at windows, rushing out the door, not coming when called, etc. The dog will know exactly when you expect of them.
Once your dog is a champ at this stage, you no longer need to keep the leash tied to you but the dog should continue to wear the leash throughout the day in case you need to give them direction. (Cut the loop off of the leash so your dog does not get tangled up on stuff, and NEVER leave your dog unattended when they are leashed.)
By the end of this process, you should have a dog much less likely to develop behavioral issues, and more importantly, you should have a great relationship with them! Be the parent your dog needs and go through the steps to teach them how to have a happy, safe, and balanced life.
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Stephanie Vichinsky is the owner/head trainer of United K9, LLC in Post Falls. 208-964-4806
unitedk9training.com