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 pointers for transitioning a model new canine into your home. Don’t let the phrases “rule” or “pointers” trick you into contemplating it’s a hard-and-fast state of affairs. Reasonably, I like to think about it further 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 same time.

Proper right here’s the gist of the 3-3-3 rule:

The first 3 days are in your canine to acclimate to his or her new setting. That’s the “the place the heck am I” and “am I staying proper right here” half. At this stage, your canine isn’t exhibiting his or her true colors as a result of overwhelm.

The first 3 weeks are in your canine to review the household pointers and bounds in a loving, selection, optimistic methodology. It begins your bonding course of off on the suitable foot (er, paw?) and establishes the inspiration of your relationship.

The first 3 months are for socialization, teaching, and new experiences. By the highest of three months, your canine ought to essentially really feel settled and protected. A part of the family.

All by these first three days, weeks, and months, your job is to stay affected individual. Arrange selection boundaries. Keep calm. Current your canine with a protected, quiet space to utilize at his or her will. Be fixed and type. Reward what you want. Ignore or redirect what you don’t want. Start elementary teaching. Stroll every day, when you occur to can. Understand prematurely your canine will start to examine boundaries. Be affected individual and hold fixed.

Your canine’s job? Sniff, uncover, examine, experiment. Actually, it’s to examine the boundaries and work out what’s and isn’t acceptable habits 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 via.

After three months, proceed to educate, drawback, and socialize collectively along with your pup, though he or she have to be assured that your family members is correct right here to stay–no further shelter for you, pupperoo!

So, how’s Penny doing?

In case you haven’t however met Penny, proper right here’s the first publish the place I launched her and outlined a bit of little bit of her background and quirks. Wanting once more at that publish, I am amazed at how far she’s come… nonetheless further on that in a sec.

Holding 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 on account 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 quite a lot of progress to share!

On reflection, at three days, Penny wasn’t even capable of kind out household routines. She needed 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 remaining substitute, she nonetheless oscillated between comfort and fear every single day.

Penny’s 3-month substitute

She’s doing amazingly correctly.

Penny walks throughout the neighborhood most days. Some days–twice remaining 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 as an alternative of push.

She performs with toys. Now she should research the excellence between canine toys and little one toys, nonetheless honestly? That’s on the folks, not the canine. Violet and Astrid quickly found the consequence of not selecting up their toys and stuffed animals.

She sleeps a typical schedule now, which is a big discount.

Penny simply currently entered the kitchen–twice–all on her private. We doled out reward and treats, nonetheless that wasn’t ample to steer her it’s a protected space however. She hasn’t returned since.

She nonetheless hasn’t walked down the doorway hall. Presumably she goes to someday. Presumably she acquired’t. For now, she’s established an prolonged route via the lounge to get to the steps and skips the hallway altogether. And that’s OK. She’ll get there… or she acquired’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 wonderful

I checked out quite a lot of infographics that implied your canine will most likely be utterly settled in at three months! Congrats! You made it!

Moreover. Nuh-uh.

Presumably your canine utterly match correct into your family members and your loved ones and by three months hit a powerful stride.

It’s attainable, nonetheless it seems a lot much less seemingly than your canine needing a bit longer than that mark, which is why I like to think about it further 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 observe yoga, so that’s huge progress). She acquired’t stroll down the hallway–or enter a bathroom, 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 inside the yard and is barely now starting to perception the canine bowls of current water on the deck and within the house.

At three months, your canine more than likely understands he or she is correct right here to stay. And that’s superior. That’s an infinite hurdle for canine who’ve been bounced spherical from shelters or rescues or foster homes or unstable, unsafe circumstances like Penny’s.

The rest depends upon the canine’s character and the household folks’ canine talents.

So, when you occur to’re anyone who reads one factor like this set of pointers and feels similar to you’re failing on account of your canine stays to be scared / reactive / untrained / irrespective of on the three-month mark, rest assured that you just’re optimistic. Your canine is okay. I indicate, heck, I labored with Cooper for higher than 13 years and he on no account “overcame” his fear or his reactivity.

It’s not about having a “wonderful” canine after three months. It’s about developing a bond collectively 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 acquired’t.

Within the occasion you liked this publish, you’ll more than likely benefit from my forthcoming information, For the Love of Canine, from Regalo Press in February 2025. It’s chock full of the most recent evaluation in canine cognition blended with tales of my canine to hold the data to life. To stay up-to-date on the most recent with Penny and my publication data,  be a part of the mailing document or observe alongside on Instagram.

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