The three-3-3 Rule of Canine Rescue and a Penny Progress Change
Have you ever ever heard of the 3-3-3 rule of adopting a model new canine?
It’s a set of ideas for transitioning a model new canine into your home. Don’t let the phrases “rule” or “ideas” trick you into pondering this generally is a hard-and-fast state of affairs. Barely, I like to contemplate it further as a framework or mindset to help your new canine settle.
Let’s dig in, and I’m going to share how our new pup, Penny, is doing on the an identical time.
Proper right here’s the gist of the 3-3-3 rule:
The first 3 days are to your canine to acclimate to his or her new setting. That’s the “the place the heck am I” and “am I staying proper right here” half. At this stage, your canine isn’t displaying his or her true colors as a result of overwhelm.
The first 3 weeks are to your canine to be taught the household pointers and limits in a loving, selection, optimistic means. It begins your bonding course of off on the exact foot (er, paw?) and establishes the inspiration of your relationship.
The first 3 months are for socialization, teaching, and new experiences. By the highest of three months, your canine ought to essentially really feel settled and protected. A part of the family.
All via these first three days, weeks, and months, your job is to stay affected particular person. Arrange selection boundaries. Keep calm. Current your canine with a protected, quiet space to utilize at his or her will. Be fixed and type. Reward what you want. Ignore or redirect what you don’t want. Start major teaching. Stroll each day, when you possibly can. Understand prematurely your canine will start to try boundaries. Be affected particular person and maintain fixed.
Your canine’s job? Sniff, uncover, check out, experiment. Really, it’s to examine the boundaries and decide what’s and isn’t acceptable habits in your home. As your pup turns into safer in your home, you’ll start to see way more of his or her true persona shine by way of.
After three months, proceed to educate, drawback, and socialize collectively along with your pup, though he or she must be assured that your family members is true right here to stay–no further shelter for you, pupperoo!
So, how’s Penny doing?
In case you haven’t however met Penny, proper right here’s the first submit the place I launched her and outlined slightly little bit of her background and quirks. Wanting once more at that submit, I am amazed at how far she’s come… nonetheless further on that in a sec.
Retaining the 3-3-3 rule in ideas, I moreover updated on her progress after the first month. On this event, I stretched these first three weeks into 4 largely on account of week one for Penny consisted of sleep, sleep, and further sleep. Trauma restoration, we anticipate.
Now, we’re merely earlier the three-month mark, and there’s quite a lot of progress to share!
Trying again, at three days, Penny wasn’t even in a position to cope with household routines. She wished to sleep and eat. That was it.
At three weeks, she felt safer and further built-in into the household, nonetheless her fear nonetheless dominated. Even at 4 weeks, as soon as I wrote that closing change, she nonetheless oscillated between comfort and fear every single day.
Penny’s 3-month change
She’s doing amazingly successfully.
Penny walks throughout the neighborhood most days. Some days–twice closing week–one factor scares her, nonetheless she trusts us enough to know that when she freezes and turns in direction of residence, we’ll adjust to instead of push.
She performs with toys. Now she should be taught the excellence between canine toys and little one toys, nonetheless in truth? That’s on the individuals, not the canine. Violet and Astrid quickly realized the consequence of not selecting up their toys and stuffed animals.
She sleeps a typical schedule now, which is a large help.
Penny currently entered the kitchen–twice–all on her private. We doled out reward and treats, nonetheless that wasn’t enough to steer her it’s a protected space however. She hasn’t returned since.
She nonetheless hasn’t walked down the doorway hall. Maybe she goes to someday. Maybe she gained’t. For now, she’s established an prolonged route by way of the lounge to get to the steps and skips the hallway altogether. And that’s OK. She’ll get there… or she gained’t. As soon as extra, I’m not ready to push on points that don’t matter.
Lest the 3-3-3 rule seem too good
I checked out quite a lot of infographics that implied your canine could be utterly settled in at three months! Congrats! You made it!
Apart from. Nuh-uh.
Maybe your canine utterly match correct into your family members and your loved ones and by three months hit a steady stride.
It’s doable, nonetheless it seems a lot much less likely than your canine needing a bit longer than that mark, which is why I like to contemplate it further as a result of the 3-3-3 guideline.
Penny nonetheless flinches everytime you improve an arm or leg near her (though she hangs out as soon as I apply yoga, so that’s huge progress). She gained’t stroll down the hallway–or enter a bathroom, the consuming room, or the laundry room, for that matter. She feels safer lounging in her crate than she does snuggling on my mattress.
Sweet Penny whines and cries when she realizes any person is someplace she is going to’t entry (like the bathroom or consuming room) and will not go to the bathroom on a stroll.
She drinks water from puddles inside the yard and is solely now starting to perception the canine bowls of latest water on the deck and within the residence.
At three months, your canine perhaps understands he or she is true right here to stay. And that’s superior. That’s an unlimited hurdle for canines who’ve been bounced spherical from shelters or rescues or foster properties or unstable, unsafe situations like Penny’s.
The rest is set by the canine’s persona and the household individuals’ canine experience.
So, while you’re any person who reads one factor like this set of ideas and feels similar to you’re failing on account of your canine continues to be scared / reactive / untrained / irrespective of on the three-month mark, leisure assured that you just’re high-quality. Your canine is okay. I suggest, heck, I labored with Cooper for larger than 13 years and he in no way “overcame” his fear or his reactivity.
It’s not about having a “good” canine after three months. It’s about establishing a bond collectively along with your canine, establishing perception and security. Giving your canine a manner of safety.
The rest, like Penny’s hallway, will each come or it gained’t.
For many who beloved this submit, you’ll perhaps have the benefit of my forthcoming e e book, For the Love of Canine, from Regalo Press in February 2025. It’s chock filled with the latest evaluation in canine cognition combined with tales of my canines to convey the data to life. To stay up-to-date on the latest with Penny and my publication data, be a part of the mailing guidelines or adjust to alongside on Instagram.
