Jackie’s first full day getting used to Rosco and Gunner she was very clear to them both that she does not suffer noodleheads to be rudely in her face. A low growl was a good warning that she wanted extra personal space when Rosco was too exuberant. Of course I am being extra vigilant in not allowing negative behaviors to progress (or even begin), and I am grateful Jackie is giving a warning growl and look (rather than escalating to a bark or beyond) which allows me to organically “change the subject” between the dogs. Jackie’s foster mom has been an excellent resource in letting me know exactly what to expect from Jackie behavior-wise, so there have been no unwanted surprises.
For now we are focusing on continuing to create a predictable routine for Jackie. This includes consistent potty breaks, reinforcing with high value treats when she goes potty and saying “go potty!” to begin teaching her to relieve herself on command which can be helpful in a myriad of situations. Mealtimes are on a set schedule, and I am allowing Jackie to rest a lot to decompress; I know she misses her foster family and will require extra time and patience to process everything that is happening in her life, so I am allowing her to sleep and rest quietly as she needs.
We are inaugurating a daily pattern of waking up and going potty, feeding breakfast, playing with her new brothers and running freely outdoors, then going for a longer walk in the morning while the weather is still not too hot. During the daytime we are foremost working on reinforcing good potty habits, and Jackie is already understanding if she goes to the backyard door to “ask” to go out she is allowed outside and high-value-reinforced for going potty.
We have many small outdoor breaks and runs during the day; I have been unusually lucky in that the Texas weather has cooperated with my schedule and we’ve been able to go outside a good bit even during the daytime. We give an afternoon snack (given as reinforcement for good behaviors and building value for a marker), then have time to rest and play again before dinner. After dinner when the sun begins to set and it is not as hot outside we go for another longer family walk along the river trails and then come back home for a run in the park. Then we spend time decompressing at the end of the day, giving pats and belly rubs and continuing to build a mutual bond.
I am allowing time and patience for us to build a relationship before I begin any actual formal education with Jackie. In the meantime I am capturing specific desired behaviors, including looking at me while walking or playing, or coming to me on her own when off leash in the yard or park. In doing so I am also building value for my marker word by saying “yes!” and giving her a reinforcing treat. So far Jackie has only exhibited very mild interest in playing with toys, and no interest at all in tugging, so I will build interest in toys after she has had a chance to settle into her new environment and we have gotten further along in our process together.
Certainly Jackie misses her foster family, who did an amazing job with her. Patience, love, a predictable routine, will help her acclimate:
Playing with and getting to know her big brothers:
Walking happily into the sunset on the Trinity River trails:
Pearls when establishing the new adoptee:
- Patience, patience, and more patience are key when adopting a new dog (and really patience is an excellent life skill to follow at all times with animals!)
- There are many benefits to adopting from a rescue, including the dog has already been in a family environment and there are many known factors about the dog’s personality, habits, and behavior
- Following a predictable routine, keeping things low key, all help a new dog to acclimate the first several days
- The focus for now is on capturing a few key desirable behaviors (correct potty habits at the top of this list); formal education can progress later
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