How to PREP for a RESCUE DOG | What to Expect (FIRST NIGHT)

You've been to the animal shelter, fell in love with THE PERFECT dog and now you're ready to bring him/her home (yay!). This video is all about how to prepare to bring your rescue dog home and what you can expect on the very first night when you adopt a dog. I also go through my experience with my own rescue dog (SPOILER ALERT: it was awful in the beginning), to help to calm your nerves.

You can check out my playlist "Adopting a Dog" for more tips -

Ruff,
Jackie & the dogs

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[linajurgensen]

One thing that I found pretty interesting was a comment by a German dog trainer who said “don’t expect your dog to be thankful you saved him“. The dog doesn’t know he/she got „saved“, all it knows is that it’s faced with a completely new environment that will take weeks or even months to get used to.

[novamane]

The rule of 3s with new dogs. 3 days to settle in to their new surroundings, 3 weeks to learn the routine and 3 months to fully open up. ❤️

[jackwilson]

Just adopted an 11yr old bull terrier x English bulldog, she's such a sweetheart, my first dog, and I'm gonna make it my mission to keep rescuing old dogs and giving them a good last few years, I live 5 minutes from a dog beach, she's got the best life now.

[jenerlee]

Most of the dogs I've fostered/adopted had NO idea about stairs. (And I used to live in a third floor apartment without a lift, so there was a lot of carrying!) It would take a few days with some, moving one paw at a time, giving treats and encouragement and being *patient*. Having an example dog helps a lot for some new dogs. If they are happy to follow an experienced dog, it can work magic.

[abrahamfrago]

I really wouldn't recommend taking a week off for the dog to accommodate, if he/she gets used to you being there the whole time, then when you gotta go to work BOOM Anxiety! 2-3 days it's what I would recommend.

[MrJdubbya]

My first rescue Coco came from Taiwan as a street stray. But the rescue who brought her over here did an amazing job of both leash and crate training her before she found me and decided to come home with me. So her crate was her safe space. All her 12 more years with me she would just sometimes go lay in her crate to rest. Was such a sweetheart though, still miss her.

[bsmartcoaching]

Great advice. After many years of wanting a dog I adopted one in February. She was perfect yet I was anxious and afraid that I was failing her. I felt overwhelmed. There’s some things you don’t anticipate, dog hair, mud on carpets, the expense of having to buy toys ALL the time because she chews them up. Activity level required. I love our morning cuddles. She’s so happy to be by my side to start the day. It’s a lot but it’s worth it it because she’s the best girl ever. Women’s best friend!

[iwastalkingtomyself]

Wow, this made me cry! My fiancé and I just adopted our first rescue dog yesterday and were already feeling overwhelmed but this really helped calm a lot of our anxieties. We are so excited to be able to show our dog, Porter, what a loving, dedicated household truly is. Thank you for all of your content because it's a huge help.

[DavidEVogel]

Love the video. Many rescue dogs are eager to please and learn your rules. "Calm home" means no shouting commands: there is no need to shout. Dogs have good hearing. You may be surprised how well you can communicate with a dog without speaking. If your new pup looks at you, this is very positive: he is looking at you for approval. There are a dozen things that you must do, but I will give you one that requires no work, that is, "chill."

[kelliesharpe]

24 hours from now we get our first adult rescue…we’ve had 4 but they were all puppies. Bear, our rescue we’re bringing home tomorrow is 3 1/2.
He’s a heeler/border collie mix. I’m home full time and my husband is taking 2 days off work so we have 4 days together when we get him here since he’s taking off work on Thursday and Friday. Bear has been so stressed the shelter was talking about *cringe* “comfort measures.”
He will never be crated..ever. We don’t own one and won’t be buying one. You can’t close up a heeler and expect a heeler to be happy. We’ve already raised a heeler who was the love of our lives and the hardest dog I’ve ever lost…he was 14 when he passed earlier this year and we were devastated. I’ve lost humans that hurt less to lose if I’m just being honest.
We’ve done all the shopping, have stored all of the toys, blankets and bowls of our heeler that passed and bought Bear his own belongings.
We know the energy of heelers. We’re hikers, kayakers, and just generally outdoor people from the mountains or East Tennessee. We’re so well aware of what to expect with his energy level…Blue, our heeler taught us that. Our 3 sons are grown and out of the house but they’re all 3 looking forward to hiking and camping with Bear but we’ve already told them we’re looking at mid summer for that since they’ll have to visit a lot to get the trust they need from him to do so.
I feel prepared and I’ve geeked out on all your videos especially since you also had a cattle dog.
All I’m asking is for a little prayer or good vibes for Bear and for us with Bear. He’s been at the shelter for a long time because he won’t let people get near him so they just pass him up. With us though, that didn’t happen. He sat on my feet and leaned on me immediately just like Blue did when he was protecting me. And he even licked my husband’s neck from behind when my husband sat in the floor with him. I fully believe it was a sign since after hundreds of people got zero out of him when visiting the shelter.
So here we go… 24 hours away from a new beginning for Bear.
We’ll not give up…we don’t have it in us. This is house is his house for the rest of his life.

[greg_]

I'm a human and I couldn't imagine moving into a new place and getting a whole new family all at the same time. I wouldn't want them to throw me a big welcoming party, I would just want to know where I'll be sleeping and be sure the food situation is taken care of. Then I can slowly meet new family members and get to know people. No, we won't be friends right away. Yes, I may want to stay in my room and be by myself a little more at the start. But if my new home is safe and quiet and my new family is kind and consistent, then it will be much easier for me to become comfortable.

[AngelAngel-njef]

It was my dogs first night last night & she was so happy & loves being here, I put her bed next to mine & after a few times of trying to get in my bed she learned that she had to sleep in her bed & she was happy doing so I did hang my arm out the bed all night next to her so she could feel close to me & she didn't move she SLEPT all night & she didn't not Evan move she didn't walk around the room she just snored her head off ha, I think the long walk b4 bed helped. I think I was lucky with her she has settled in straight away. We all love her so much!

[OzarkRose]

When I got a shelter pet, I was told by a dog trainer to keep her tethered to me when she wasn’t in her crate for a while until she got used to the routine so that she wouldn’t end up going to the bathroom anywhere she wasn’t supposed to. This also allowed for her to begin to get used to the idea that she wasn’t going anywhere, and that she was now home.

[mehlover]

Going to adopt a senior dog soon and this is going to super helpful

[camichan]

Thank you for all of your wonderful and approachable advice! I’m 2 days in with my newly adopted rescue. A 6yr old lab mix. She is VERY welcome to pets and affection, walks slow on a leash, and struggles a bit on the stairs. Approaching her with lots of patience, praise & cuddles.

[michellebilodeau]

A rescue needs lots of patience and reassurance. The rewards are huge.

[gabyarzola]

Thank you for sharing. I am picking up my first dog in 20 yrs and we decided to adopt or rescue instead of buying. There are so many pets that humans had to surrender or just have been abandoned and neglected. So I will be a good human and get a dog a new loving home. Wow this video gave me more tips which I didn't even think about. Thank you❤

[mayasmrmore]

I’m going to pick up my first foster tomorrow and I can’t wait. I’ve been wanting to do this for so long. I’m the first person who cared about meeting him. He’s an 18 year old Chihuahua with some Arthritis. His owner died so he was surrendered. If all goes well and we connect on a deeper level I’m definitely considering adopting him in the future I can’t wait to share my journey too!

[nightfly]

We'll be getting our second rescue in about two weeks time. A beautiful pure black 9 month old shepherd mix with yellowish 'wolf eyes'. This will be our first who will have had a bit of a troubled past. Even though my job entails rehabilitating veteran military (Dutch) dogs into civilian life, so I'm quite used to dogs who have no clue how to behave and are even aggressive, I still feel nervously excited about adopting a dog and this video is an absolutely great refresher! This is around the 8th video I've watched on this subject, you are the only one who doesn't come at it from a dog trainers perspective but a much more rational point of view. Simply being with the dog, showing it affection is not something I've heard in the other videos. I think this is one step people thoroughly overlook.

I never used to be a reader, until I started doing my current job. The dogs who don't trust anyone but their former handler, we just sit with them at a for them comfortable distance and read things out loud. The first time I was absolutely amazed that it worked, he looked me straight in the eyes and his ears perked up. The first time he looked to make contact with anyone. So that's my little tip when you're chilling with your newly adopted dog, just read something to them for a bit if they are distance towards you.

[ryry]

I'm adopting a 2 month old puppy tomorrow with my boyfriend. Him and his siblings were found in a ditch completely bald due to insects biting at them. The shelter and that ditch is all he's known, so I know it's going to be very hard at first, it made me so emotional hearing about his story. I'm a stay at home girlfriend so it will be good that I'll always be with him while my boyfriends at work.