3 DAYS, 3 WEEKS, 3 MONTHS

(your rescue dog may need to adjust to new everything)

The Rule of Three is a general guideline which is advocated by many animal rescue organisations, and KLAWS is no exception. We believe that this is a sound general basis for understanding the first few days and months of living with your new rescue pet.

Of course, every dog is different and may adjust differently, this is a general guideline.

So, when you bring home your new rescue dog, please allow him:

3 DAYS to decompress

In the first 3 days your new dog may feel:

• Overwhelmed

• Fearful and uncertain of what is happening

• Not comfortable to be his true self

• Unwilling to eat or drink

• That he just wants to hide somewhere or curl up in his crate

• Like testing your boundaries

3 WEEKS to learn new routines

After 3 weeks your new dog may be:

• Beginning to settle in

• Feeling more comfortable

• Realizing that this is his forever home

• Familiar with his environment

• Establishing a routine

• Letting his guard down and showing his personality

• Starting to show behaviour issues

3 MONTHS to start to feel at home

After 3 months your new dog is:

• Completely comfortable in his home

• Building trust and a solid bond

• Feeling completely secure with his new family

• Set in his routine

Please give your new rescue dog time and space to settle in and relax in your home. As we said earlier, all dogs are different and some might not even need 3 months to feel completely at home, while others might require some extra time and effort to settle in fully.

We hope that this guide will help to get some tails wagging happily in your home!

(This guideline is based on materials by Rescue Dogs 101)