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 contemplating it’s a hard-and-fast state of affairs. Barely, I like to consider it additional 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 similar 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 atmosphere. That’s the “the place the heck am I” and “am I staying proper right here” part. At this degree, 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 bounds in a loving, kind, optimistic means. It begins your bonding course of off on the right foot (er, paw?) and establishes the inspiration of your relationship.
The first 3 months are for socialization, teaching, and new experiences. By the tip of three months, your canine ought to actually really feel settled and secure. A part of the family.
All by these first three days, weeks, and months, your job is to stay affected particular person. Arrange kind boundaries. Keep calm. Current your canine with a protected, quiet home to utilize at his or her will. Be fixed and kind. Reward what you want. Ignore or redirect what you don’t want. Start main teaching. Stroll day-to-day, when you occur to can. Understand upfront your canine will start to check out boundaries. Be affected particular person and hold fixed.
Your canine’s job? Sniff, uncover, check out, experiment. Really, it’s to verify the boundaries and decide what’s and isn’t acceptable conduct in your home. As your pup turns into safer in your home, you’ll start to see far more of his or her true character shine through.
After three months, proceed to teach, downside, and socialize alongside along with your pup, though he or she must be assured that your family members is true right here to stay–no additional 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. Making an attempt once more at that submit, I am amazed at how far she’s come… nonetheless additional on that in a sec.
Conserving 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 because of week one for Penny consisted of sleep, sleep, and additional sleep. Trauma restoration, we count on.
Now, we’re merely earlier the three-month mark, and there’s a number of progress to share!
Trying again, at three days, Penny wasn’t even in a position to kind out household routines. She wished to sleep and eat. That was it.
At three weeks, she felt safer and additional built-in into the household, nonetheless her fear nonetheless dominated. Even at 4 weeks, after I wrote that ultimate change, she nonetheless oscillated between comfort and fear every single day.
Penny’s 3-month change
She’s doing amazingly correctly.
Penny walks throughout the neighborhood most days. Some days–twice ultimate week–one factor scares her, nonetheless she trusts us ample to know that when she freezes and turns in the direction of residence, we’ll observe in its place 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 folks, not the canine. Violet and Astrid shortly realized the consequence of not selecting up their toys and stuffed animals.
She sleeps a conventional schedule now, which is a giant assist.
Penny not too way back entered the kitchen–twice–all on her private. We doled out reward and treats, nonetheless that wasn’t ample to influence her it’s a protected home however. She hasn’t returned since.
She nonetheless hasn’t walked down the doorway hall. Probably she’s going to someday. Probably she gained’t. For now, she’s established an prolonged route through 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 eager to push on points that don’t matter.
Lest the 3-3-3 rule seem too glorious
I checked out a number of infographics that implied your canine might be fully settled in at three months! Congrats! You made it!
Apart from. Nuh-uh.
Probably your canine fully match correct into your family members and your loved ones and by three months hit a steady stride.
It’s potential, nonetheless it seems a lot much less most likely than your canine needing a bit longer than that mark, which is why I like to consider it additional as a result of the 3-3-3 guideline.
Penny nonetheless flinches when you elevate an arm or leg near her (though she hangs out after I apply yoga, so that’s huge progress). She gained’t stroll down the hallway–or enter a rest room, 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 anyone is someplace she’s 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 throughout the yard and is solely now starting to perception the canine bowls of latest water on the deck and within the dwelling.
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 canine who’ve been bounced spherical from shelters or rescues or foster properties or unstable, unsafe situations like Penny’s.
The rest depends on the canine’s character and the household folks’ canine skills.
So, when you occur to’re anyone who reads one factor like this set of ideas and feels reminiscent of you’re failing because of your canine continues to be scared / reactive / untrained / regardless of on the three-month mark, rest assured that you just’re efficient. Your canine is okay. I suggest, heck, I labored with Cooper for larger than 13 years and he not at all “overcame” his fear or his reactivity.
It’s not about having a “glorious” canine after three months. It’s about developing a bond alongside along with your canine, developing perception and security. Giving your canine a method of safety.
The rest, like Penny’s hallway, will each come or it gained’t.
Once you cherished this submit, you’ll perhaps take pleasure in my forthcoming e-book, For the Love of Canine, from Regalo Press in February 2025. It’s chock full of the newest evaluation in canine cognition combined with tales of my canine to hold the data to life. To stay up-to-date on the newest with Penny and my publication data, be a part of the mailing itemizing or observe alongside on Instagram.
