Congratulations on your new friend! Adding a new dog to the family can be a change. Let’s explore what the first 24 hours might look like - both with what to do and what not to do.
The Ride Home:
It is possible that your dog may have had very few experiences with car travel - and possibly the previous trip was to the shelter. A crate in the car or other restraint may be helpful both so that your dog doesn’t interfere with your driving, bark at passers by, chew on your car, and so there’s no risk of your dog bolting when you open the car door.
There are many instances every week of nervous dogs getting loose from a car with a new family or during rescue transport. In this fight-or-flight state without a strong bond to anyone, it can be very hard to catch them.
Arriving Home:
Start slow and calm. Take your dog to the bathroom area with the leash on, even if you have a fenced yard.
If your new dog seems nervous or quiet, stay outside for 5-15 mins then move indoors. Close doors, use gates or use a pen across an open floor plan space to give your dog a smaller area to begin. Hang out in that area. You might pet your dog if they want that or you might just read a book, call a friend or spend time on your phone - while still watching your dog.
If your new dog is very energetic and excited, toss some dry dog food in the grass, spread out for your dog to sniff. This might look like about 5-10 pieces per square foot. This can promote sniffing and calm behavior rather than pulling on the leash to go everywhere. Note that we don’t want to do this in common areas or places other dogs use as a bathroom area - your dog won’t want to eat food that is contaminated.
Keep an eye on your dog - look for any hints of needing a bathroom break. Read more about housetraining an adult dog here.
You can have a few appropriate chew items available and a dog bed. If your dog is a higher energy dog, we want to look for chew items that are going to attract your dog’s attention. A food-stuffed toy can be a great option. This helps attract your dog to the correct objects and gives them something to do that is socially appropriate.
We want to give your dog some time with your support and some time to explore on their own with a little supervision. You absolutely can pet them, calmly, if they come over. We also want to build a little independence and calm behavior in the house to set your dog up for a lifetime of success.
After spending time in that room, take your dog out on leash to explore the yard (even if fenced) and then back inside, possibly to spend time in another room. We’re keeping the leash on in the yard for now because some dogs can surprise us with their abilities to jump a fence or find a small hole - and we don’t want to risk that, especially so early in the relationship.
Let your dog have space indoors if needed - they may want to rest on the other side of the room and watch you. If your dog comes over, absolutely pet and interact. Try quiet, slow petting to promote calm indoor behavior. We want to save active and energetic activities for outdoors or a designated space inside. There are very few people who want full-force playtime in every room of the house and at all times!
You can toss an occasional treat to your dog to build positive associations with you and for looking your direction. This will also help you discover what kinds of treats your dog likes so that you can use those in training activities later.
Afternoon and Evening:
While it’s tempting to go visit friends and family - or to have them visit you - we want to keep the first few days calm. This gives your dog time to bond with you and to gradually introduce new things to your dog’s life.
We want to give lots of quiet rest time on the first day. If your dog came from a busy environment, such as a shelter, they may need a lot of rest as part of this transition to being a family dog.
If they seems calm and relaxed, then a short neighborhood walk may be appropriate. If your dog just wants to lunge forward and drag you around the block - then we are better off looking at tug, fetch, play in a yard and high-energy treat games instead. We don’t want to create a habit of pulling on the leash - you’ll want to exercise in other ways while working on beginning leash training with resources like this one.
On the other hand, if your dog is reluctant to approach you, startles easily, or is hiding, then we want to wait on walks until your dog is more confident. “Making” them go out will not build their trust in you and if they were to dart away, they would potentially be very hard to catch.
Avoid dog parks in the first week or few. This gives you time to get to know your dog, their body language and how they respond when they see other dogs across a street. This also lets you build a relationship and begin working on a come when called behavior so that you can collect your dog as needed. While many dogs enjoy dog parks, it is not appropriate for all dogs. Some dogs don’t have good enough social skills for that busy environment and other dogs don’t enjoy that level of excitement. One on one play time can be a better match for other dogs.
Dinner:
Some dogs may have not spent time in a house before. The scent of your food cooking or arriving can really catch a dog’s attention as a natural scavenger. If your dog is showing strong interest in your food - take note - you might be using something similar for treats in the future.
For energetic and outgoing dogs that can reach the counter, we want to create good habits. Using a crate, gate or a family member holding a leash can be great ways to prevent your dog from jumping on the counter during meal prep or from reaching the table during the first dinner/meal at home. We don’t want to create bad habits.
You can encourage appropriate behavior by giving your dog something to chew on or a food puzzle toy to interact with while you eat. A crate/gate/pen can also be helpful here if needed.
Feed your dog at a time that fits into your schedule. Offer the food in a bowl or possibly a food puzzle toy if your dog is eager. If your dog doesn’t eat, that’s ok, sometimes with the transition to a new home a dog will be too stressed to have their normal appetite. Pick up the food after 5-20 minutes. You can offer it again later in the evening or the next morning.
While our human response is to make the food more delicious, we don’t necessarily need to start that pattern. If you feel strongly that this would be helpful, pick up the food bowl and wait 20-60 minutes. Then you can add something to the bowl, such as a little canned dog food, before offering it again. The key here is that we don’t want to see your dog say “no thanks” and immediately make the food more tasty.
There’s no “correct” order for meal time - you can feed your dog before you eat, when you eat or after you eat. Certain routines will work better for different families and it’s ok to change this depending on the day or schedule. Energetic dogs often do better if they are fed before we eat or when we eat so that they are busy and not quite as hungry.
Night Time:
Whether using a crate, pen or dog-proofed room, consider having them sleep in your bedroom. Dogs are social animals and this can be helpful for building a bond. A pen can be used for your dog or to prevent him from getting on your bed if you prefer them to stay off.
For more active dogs, exercise before bedtime can be helpful. Again that might be tug, fetch, active treat games or play in a yard.
White noise, such as a fan, or brown noise sound recordings online, can be helpful. This is especially great if you live in an apartment or tight neighborhood where the outdoor sounds or sounds through the walls may be more noticeable. There are many noises that may be unfamiliar to your dog and playing sound can help mask some of the outdoor noises.
Be sure to give a last bathroom break before bed and set your alarm to get up early for the first few days. With the stress and possible food changes, your dog may need an emergency bathroom break during the night and hopefully their restlessness will alert you to that.
Morning:
Give a bathroom break first thing and then the rest of the morning may depend on what your lifestyle may be like. Some people like to be up early and have action and others tend to sleep in. We want to encourage behavior that will be useful for your life.
Adding in Training:
Dogs are always learning - so even during this first 24 hours your dog is learning about how to behave in the house, where to go to the bathroom and if they can look to you for guidance.
We want to reinforce behaviors we like with a tossed treat, quiet praise, petting if your dog enjoys the touch and with opportunities to do activities they like.
We want to minimize rewards that your dog gets for behaviors we don’t like. If you don’t like your dog jumping up, be sure to not pet them or interact when they are jumping up. If they are staring out the window at dogs, close the blinds or tape up wax paper to block their view.
There are many training resources available such as response to name, walking and settle in a bed. You can do short training sessions during the first day if your dog is relaxed enough to eagerly eat treats. These sessions can help your dog learn skills, to focus on you, to interact with you and to communicate.
What’s Next?
Now that you have a plan to get you through the first day - you can repeat this routine for a few days. Slowly expand your dog’s world with walks, field trips and meeting people - but go at their pace and watch your dog’s body language as you go.
For some dogs this might be a weeks to months long process and other dogs need just a few days to settle in. Each dog is different and feel welcome to reach out for help if you need some personalized assistance for your dog.
