Adopting a Shelter Dog

Hello and welcome back to the Live Life Off Leash blog!

Today we are going to talk a little about Adopting a Shelter Dog! We'll also give you some tips for helping them get settled.

Just like adding a new pet of any kind to your home, first and foremost you want to do your research. Make sure that you are prepared for a new dog, what type or energy level you may be looking for, potential breed (remember lots of shelters and rescues have pure breds!), age and size that would work well for your family. Know what you're looking for and stick with it! Don't let your heart strings get pulled into a dog that would not fit your family or lifestyle because they just looked so sweet behind kennel doors.

When you do find the right dog, and bring him or her home, keep in mind this is going to be a huge adjustment for the dog. If your home is set up in a way that allows for the dog to truly decompress you'll find that many shelter dogs sleep very deep and hard on the first night away from the noise of the shelter. You want to make sure your home becomes a safe place immediately and not a place of more anxiety right off the bat. Here are some things you can do to help your shelter dog settle and decompress.

• It's always a good idea to take the dog for a nice long walk before you bring them home. Let them drain some excess nervous energy before introducing them to the new environment.

• Save the PetSmart trip for another day. Most shelter dogs have never been into a store before. So to keep them safe, as well as other dogs and customers, it's best to save these trips for another day, after you've had a chance to do some training and getting to know your pet.

• Often families will want to make a big fuss over the new dog. But try and keep this to a minimum. Remember they are coming into an completely unknown space. Give them time to get familiar with their secular family and home before friends and family come to gush over them.

• Speaking of families, try and keep actives and noise very low the first few days. That means if you have kids, let them know it's quiet time around the new dog. Shelters are notorious for being loud and chaotic so a house full of noise and activity is going to keep the dog in the same state of stress the shelter did. Be compassionate toward their need to decompress.

• Remember it can take 6-8 weeks for your rescue to fully decompress and begin to feel comfortable in your home. And usually trust and strong bonds don't start to appear before the 3 month mark. Don't give up, just understand this is a process.

• If your new rescue is having an unusually tough time an herbal supplement like Chillax CBD from pawTree could be extremely helpful as well.

Follow these guidelines to help make the transition from homeless to loved family member as easy as possible. If you have a new rescue and are curious about some of the herbal supplements for relaxation pawTree offers, shoot us a message. We'd be happy to help suggest the right product.