The Ultimate Guide To Socialising Your Rescue Dog

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Rescuing a dog can be rewarding and lifesaving. Although dogs’ peak socialisation period is from weeks 4 to 14 of puppyhood, socialisation should continue throughout their lives. No matter the dog’s age, it can still be trained and socialised. This article aims to be the ultimate guide to socialising your rescue dog.

Many rescue dogs have no known history; however, rescue centres do their best to get to know the dogs, provide basic training, and conduct health checks. Just because a dog is in a rescue centre doesn’t mean it’s unreliable or dangerous. Dogs can end up in a rescue centre for many reasons, sometimes through no fault of their own.

The 3-3-3 Rule

When rescuing a dog, you will hear about the 3-3-3 rule. This is a guide and isn’t set in stone, as each dog is an individual with unique life experiences that will have shaped them.

It may take quite a while before your rescue is ready to socialise or fully engage in training. It must settle into your home first, learn your routine and adjust to its new environment, then learn to trust you and feel comfortable enough to be itself.

3-3-3 Rule for rescueing. The 3-3-3 rule is a guideline - each dog is different & will adjust in their own time

Understanding The 3-3-3 Rule

Some dogs may adjust to life with a new family quicker than others, and some may take longer. The important part of the 3-3-3 rule is to give the dog time to adjust. Like people, dogs can experience trauma and need time to recover and heal from past experiences.

3 Days

It can take three days for the dog to decompress from being in the rescue centre and whatever happened before it was rescued. During this time, the dog may hide from you, feel overwhelmed by the new situation, or not want to eat or drink. Do not be discouraged or upset if the dog doesn’t want you to approach it.

Give it the space it needs to recover and destress. The calmer the environment, the easier it will be for the dog to decompress.

3 Weeks

It can take the dog three weeks to learn its new routine, and it will also have learned your routine. The dog will be figuring out its new environment and may start to let its guard down around you and show some of its personality. You may also notice some behavioural issues that need to be addressed.

Staying calm and contacting professionals to find the best way to train and modify any undesirable behaviour should be done now. Look for someone who uses positive reinforcement methods to retrain or modify, as aversive training methods can cause more harm than good and harm any future trusting bond between you and the dog.

3 Months

It can take three months for the dog to feel safe and secure around its new family and environment. Once it does, it will start building a trusting bond with you. The dog will feel confident enough around you to be itself. The routine you have implemented with your dog will become embedded and help the dog feel secure.

This is the point where you can begin socialising and training with your dog fully engaging with you. The dog will feel comfortable enough to learn.

Taking Your Rescue Dog Out

Just because your rescue dog isn’t ready for socialisation doesn’t mean you can’t take them outside. They will still need to go out to the toilet and for exercise. Choose your location wisely until your dog is ready. Find quiet routes to walk your dog, and allow your dog to get to know its new area.

Explore Different Environments With Your Puppy. Luna the grey and white siberian husky puppy wearing a pink harness attached to a black lead walking towards the front on green grass with yellow flowers. Middle image, Luna grey and white siberian husky wearing pink harness, standing side-on facing right on mud next to shallow stream with fallen tree branches in front of her and to the side with green grass and bushes in the background. Image on the right. Luna the grey and white siberian husky puppy wearing pink harness and black lead walking along a concrete wall towards the right, with sand and sea in the background.

Let your dog sniff as much as it wants to; sniffing is your dog’s way of familiarising itself with the area and those who inhabit it. You don’t have to let other dogs or people approach if your dog isn’t ready for that. You can buy leads and harnesses with the words ‘worried’, ‘anxious’ or ‘reactive’ to warn approaching dog walkers. Most dog guardians understand if you politely tell them that your dog isn’t comfortable yet.

Take It Slow

Like socialising a puppy, taking it at your dog’s pace is essential. Let them move away from things they find stressful, and control the environment for your dog. Watch your dog’s body language and move away from anything that seems to be stressing your dog out. The less anxious your dog feels, the easier future socialisation will be.

Allow Your Puppy To Go At It's Own Pace During Socialisation. Image on the left is Luna the grey and white siberian husky puppy wearing a pink harness, body turned away but head looking at the seaweed stick being carried by Storm the older black and white Border Collie walking on sand. Image on the right is Luna turning more towards the seaweed stick being carried by Storm on sand.

Always start in a low-distraction environment and allow your dog to investigate and explore. Reward calm behaviour and reward your dog when it focuses on you. This will teach your dog that calm behaviour is rewarding and positive and that good things happen when it focuses on you.

As your dog gains confidence, you can slowly introduce distractions, such as another person, noises, or objects. Work with your dog to help it gain confidence with new stimuli.

Observe Your Dog’s Body Language

Dogs communicate primarily through body language. Get to know your dog’s language by observing them. You will notice when something makes your dog uncomfortable. Their whole demeanour changes. Their body will tense, and they may stare for a moment or so, then turn their head away from the stressor or try to move away from it.

Observing Your Puppy's Body Language Can Help You Understand What It's Feeling. Image on the right shows a little black and white bosten terrier in cartoon fashion, showing different body positions with basic translation underneath each image

Most dogs have a threshold at which they become alert to a stressor but can remain calm. It is essential to note this threshold and work within it to help your dog become more comfortable with whatever it finds stressful.

Always Reward

Socialisation is about positive experiences for your dog as it learns how to cope with its new everyday life. The more positive the experience, the less anxious your dog will feel about it in the future. Success breeds confidence. The more successful encounters your dog has, the more confident it will become.

Reinforce Good Choices. Luna the grey and white siberian husky sat looking up at the camera, pale blue eyes, relaxed open mouthed happy face, sat on grass next to a stone wall

Socialisation aims to teach your dog the skills to live happily in our human-focused world.

Have fun introducing your dog to its new life with you. You may find these articles helpful:

How To Socialise Your Puppy And Set Them Up For Success

Socialisation And Training

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