Transitioning Into A New Home
I don’t know who came up with the 3/3/3 adage which highlights what to do and or expect of a newly adopted dog in their first 3 days, 3 weeks, and 3 months. I find this inherently problematic as the dog never read the memo and each dog is an individual.
Most dogs need more than 3 days to decompress and feel safe and secure in their new space. We often don’t know what their prior environment was like which sometimes includes puppies when we don’t get to visually see them interact with their mother and see where they were living. Hence many aspects of your home may be quite different from their previous experience, which can be disconcerting or even stressful.
Dr. Kristina Spaulding summarizes nascent research focused on factors that may contribute to resilience among dogs in, The Stress Factor in Dogs (2022). In particular, predictability and control may be key elements that can positively contribute to how a dog experiences stressful life events like possibly a transition into a new home. Here I’m going to focus on predictability, if you haven’t read “What I Learned About Our Dogs From A Box” which talks about agency and control, you might take a look.
Predictability can mean a number of things. Establishing routines can be very useful to support predictability. I’m not suggesting that we need a drilled down minute by minute daily schedule. Our critter crew knows that after we get up, we have a group walk down the long driveway, then breakfast happens. It’s a predictable sequence of events, not one that is necessarily tied to a tight time schedule.
How many of you have a dog who does an excited dance when you pick up a leash? Your actions of getting out the leash predict that an exciting walk is imminent. Conversely, how many cat parents find bringing out their crate means furball hightails it under the bed? For many cats, the crate predicts going to the vet or some such place rather than fun. Our pets are constantly reading the room to collect clues about what is going to happen. They are keen observers who pick up on clues that we may not even be aware that we are giving.
Predictability also relates to how the environment responds to a dog’s behavior, and we are part of that environment. When we introduce a new pet into the home, we will likely react to their behavior. For example, your new dog jumps on you to give you a big smooch and you think ‘oh how adorable, he likes me’ and embrace his actions, but then when your elderly parent comes over and your excited dog starts to jump on them, you quickly shout ‘no’ to avoid your parent getting knocked over. Or what about the scenario where one pet parent keeps telling Fido to get off the living room furniture while the other pet parent encourages them to get up on the bed? This makes learning more difficult, as a dog tries to figure out which scenario will result in a stern ‘no’ or a reward.
As your new dog is settling into your home, creating predictability through reliable positive reinforcement for desirable behaviors can help the learning process in knowing what the expectations are in their new home, while helping create a more secure environment. I set up treat jars around the house so I have ready access to our new dog’s reinforcers. It makes it a lot easier to say to Fido, “I like how you are being calm,” or, “You made a great choice deciding to keep all four paws on the ground” and reinforcing these behaviors with a kibble or treat. Consistently reinforcing the behaviors you want your new dog to do helps them learn and brings predictability between their actions and the consequences.
Just think about a time when you started at a new workplace or traveled to another country with different customs; it can be a bit nerve racking as we try to figure out the lay of the land. We may observe what other people are doing and watch the consequences of their actions before we try ourselves. Our dogs are doing something similar in their new home. We can help them with their adjustment by having predictability whether it’s through routines or a consistent relationship between an action or behavior and consequence. It’s helpful to realize that this doesn’t apply just to new dogs. I have a lot of people approach me for support during the holidays or when summer break starts. These are often times when routines dramatically change and or household situations lose predictability and as a result Fido starts behaving in different ways. Once we identify this, pet parents often have an ‘ah ha’ moment recognizing the changes and then we can brainstorm what is feasible to do for both the humans and the pet(s) in terms of adding back in some predictability.
Cheers, Tracy
