The 3-3-3 Rule for New Rescue Dogs | The first 3 Days, 3 Weeks & 3 Months

Have you adopted a new Rescue Dog or plan on adopting a dog? Then this article is for you! Maybe you have hear of the three days, three weeks, three months saying but weren’t sure what this actually means. We got you!

What is the 3-3-3 Rule for New Rescue Dogs?

The 3-3-3 Rule for New Rescue Dogs is a rule of thumb that gives Adopters an indication of what to expect in the first 3 Days, the first 3 Weeks and the first 3 Months with their New Rescue Dog. If you adopt a Street Dog who has never lived in a home before or a dog who has been traumatised or a difficult time adjusting and trusting, this can take way longer compared to a ‘simple’ rehoming.

You can find a video below where I explain it in detail and also what to do to help your dog settle. If you’d like to skip ahead, click here: take me directly to the video.

Why Adopters Need to be Aware of the 3-3-3 Rule for New Rescue Dogs

When we adopt a dog we are ready to show them all the love and maybe have already waited some time until we could finally take our new family member home. In our head we maybe have the romantic vision that our new rescue dog will be so grateful for being rescued that the dog will be our best friend right away. And then reality hits. Our new rescue dog is different. Maybe shy, maybe hiding in a corner or find it hard to settle and eat. Maybe we think it’s just the change and everything will be better after a day or so. Things will change of course and your new dog will change too. Your new dog will show their true personality – on their terms though. The 3-3-3 Rule can help first time adopters manage their own expectations by providing a rough guideline of what to expect.

Please do keep in mind that every dog is unique and every dog’s story, background, experience, personality etc is unique too. As is their ability to cope with change. As is their ability to cope when being left at a shelter and their ability to settle and trust humans. So this really is a rule of thumb only – but a good and important one.

Please do keep in mind that every dog is unique and every dog’s story, background, experience, personality etc is unique too. As is their ability to cope with change. their ability to cope when being left at a shelter and their ability to settle and trust humans.So this really is a rule of thumb only – but a good and important one.

The First 3 Days with your New Rescue Dog

In the first 3 days your new rescue dog will be overwhelmed. They have gone through a massive change (again) and if you adopted a street dog, they might have never even lived in a house before. They might be anxious and insecure in the new environment, with all the new smells, people and routines. The dog you will see during this time is very much not the dog you actually adopted. They have a very full stress bucket (for more, check out this Post Your Dog’s Stress Bucket). They might refuse to eat, drink or go in the garden. I had to hand feed my senior when I adopted him the first day and then had to sit next to him while he ate. Some dogs might also hide in a corner or test boundaries.

Here are some more helpful resources on how to help your dog to settle in the early days:

• From Shelter to Home: Understanding the Behavioural Transition of Newly Adopted Dogs
• The first few Days with your New Rescue Dog | Tips for a Smooth Transition
• How to Decompress a New Rescue Dog | Decompressing a Rescue Dog
• Establishing a Routine with your New Rescue Dog
• How to House Train your New Rescue Dog | Potty Training an Older Dog
• My New Rescue Dog Doesn’t Eat
• My Rescue Dog is too Scared to Go for Walks

These are the early days ..

The First 3 Weeks with your New Rescue Dog

After about three weeks your dog will start to settle more. They will feel more comfortable and start to trust you. This can vary of course depending on your dogs experience etc. Also, breed has quite an impact here. If you have a very human oriented, human friendly breed like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, this might be way faster than a street dog.

During this time your new rescue dog also gets an understanding of your household, the routines and the environment. It might be helpful to take some time off at the beginning to help your dog settle in and also start with the routines relatively quickly, so they know where they get their food etc. If you dog is really anxious, you might want to keep walks short and to a minimum to avoid trigger stacking and still allow time for decompression. Passive calming activities can help too.

This is also the time when they start to feel more comfortable and dare to be more themselves. This is when their real behaviour shows and also potential behavioural issues show up. Before your dog might have been too scared to actually move out of their corner or do something. To me this is such a beautiful time. Our latest rescue started to play with our other dogs in this time and also very proudly brought me my shoe – which he never would have dared to do before. During this time you become a good first glimpse of who your new dog is and also start seeing their potential – of the dog they can grow into.

How long this will take depends on your dog and also a bit on you, well on both of you as a team. Other dogs in the house can help dogs learn the rules more quickly. I just want to highlight again that these are rough timelines only!

Here are some more helpful resources for the early weeks with your new rescue dog:

• Building Trust and Bonding with New Rescue Dog
• Common Behavioural Issues New Rescue Dogs Can Show
• From Digging to Chewing: Decoding Dogs’ Innate Destructive Behaviours

After 3 months – and I’d say this is an ‘early’ timeline, this can also be easily 6 months or maybe even longer – your new rescue dog is ‘less new’ and more the family member you probably thought you got. It’s when your dog starts to truly starts to feel home.

The First 3 Months with your New Rescue Dog

Around this time you will probably see a difference in your dog’s behaviour – they might become more cuddly or their tail wags more when you approach them or they come more often for a cuddle. This is the time when you and your dog start to truly build a bond – a basis for your relationship that you can build on further.

They become more and more comfortable to be themselves, comfortable to be in their new home and find it easier to settle. They feel more safe and start to develop their own routines too – which you can obviously shape and have a big impact on.

Below you can find a video where I talk about the 3-3-3 Rule and also give you some tips on how to make the first time a bit easier for your dog and yourself.

I would love to know how the first few days, weeks and months were with your dog!

3-3-3 Rule for New Rescue Dogs Video

The Video has Time Stamps as I know how valuable your time is. You can find the Bonus: 2 Essentials to set your New Rescue Dog up for Success at Minute 08:17.

VIDEO TIME STAMPS

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