Training a rescue dog is a challenge as unique as each dog—but it can also be rewarding and help you to develop an incredibly strong bond. It’s normal to have some questions and feel unsure. But with consistency and a lot of patience, training a rescue dog is something that many pet parents are perfectly equipped to take on. And the benefits? Nothing short of the opportunity for a loyal friend and countless new adventures.
We’ve consulted with veterinarians Dr Kathryn Dench, MRCVS, and Dr Sabrina Kong, DVM, as well as certified dog trainer Alexandra Bassett, who has been helping pet parents train rescue dogs for years. With their guidance, we review how to train and bond with your new friend.
What To Expect in the Beginning With a Rescue Dog
It’s normal for a rescue pup to act differently when you bring them home compared to when they were in the shelter. It’s even normal for them to act differently from week to week as you get to know them. In fact, most rescue dogs need at least three months to get comfortable in their environment and really starting trusting you, their new caretaker.
That’s why many experts use the 3-3-3 rule when guiding new pet parents through a rescue adoption. The first three days are for adjusting. The first three weeks are for basic training and bonding. And the first three months are for more advanced training, socialising, and bonding.
The first three days: adjusting
Here’s what you can tackle in the first three days:
- teach your rescue dog their name
- establish a feeding, walk, and potty schedule
- offer plenty of space
- introduce any new people, pets, or experiences slowly
The first days with a new rescue dog offer both opportunities and challenges. In general, pet parents might expect their dog’s behaviour to reflect the environment that they previously experienced. Dr Kathryn Dench, chief veterinary advisor at Paw Origins, notes that approximately 60% of rescue dogs will experience anxiety in their new environments.
That anxiety can manifest differently in the first few days. Expect that your dog may exhibit shyness, anxiety, or over-excitement. Your dog’s true personality may not come out right away.
If you plan on giving your rescue a new name, this is the time to establish that name with your dog. Teaching a new name can assist with establishing good communication, according to Dr Sabina Kong, DVM and veterinary expert at We Love Doodles. If your dog knows their old name well and responds to it positively, you may consider keeping their name.
Dr Kong recommends that pet parents establish a routine from the start that includes feeding, walks, and bathroom breaks. Offer your new dog space and slowly introduce them to new people, pets, and experiences. This will help set your rescue dog on a good path to learning trust and building confidence.
The first three weeks: basic training and bonding
Here’s what you should work on in the first three weeks:
- train loose-lead walking
- crate train
- toilet train
- reinforce house rules and redirect unwanted behaviours
- use positive reinforcement
Pet parents should see their rescue dogs start to hit their stride around the three-week mark. Your dog should start to reveal their true personality, with all its lovable quirks. This is the time when you can really start to get to know your rescue.
Dogs who have experienced trauma might take longer to warm up to their new environment, while more confident dogs will start to feel at home sooner. They might begin to anticipate regular activities like feeding routines, outdoor time, and rest time.
You might also start to see some of the stressors that your pet experienced in their previous lives. According to Dr Kong, that might manifest as separation anxiety, resource guarding, and difficulty learning the rules of the house. Certified professional dog trainer and behaviourist Alexandra Bassett explains that behaviours associated with separation anxiety can take weeks or months to train, so patience is key.
During the first three weeks, pet parents should focus on basic training areas that are necessary for safety and quality of life, such as social behaviours, lead etiquette, crate training, and toilet training. You’ll also want to establish expectations and boundaries for safe exercise and play.
Keep house rules consistent, and don’t permit your new pup to do things now that you don’t want them to do later. As Dr Kong emphasises, consistency is paramount to helping your dog really understand their new routine and to feel safe in their new surroundings. Establish clear and consistent boundaries and rely on positive reinforcement for desired behaviours.
Bassett advises pet parents not to panic if bonding isn’t happening right away—it still needs time.
The first three months: advanced training, socialisation, and bonding
This is what to focus on in the first three months:
- introducing new places, people, and environments
- train more advanced skills
- practise enrichment games
- keep house rules consistent
By the end of month three, your dog should be well on their way to living their best life. They should clearly understand acceptable boundaries and have an expectation for what experiences they will have during their day. Parents may notice that small changes to their day, like meeting a new human, going for a car ride, or staying home in the crate don’t invite anxiety or bad behaviour. That’s because their dog has begun to develop the confidence they need to thrive in their new home.
During the first three months, you can introduce new social situations and expand your training. Mastery of the social scene will increase the number of adventures you can have with your dog and grow your bond. Try hiking, running errands in dog-friendly spaces, and visiting friends and family.
Train skills like ‘sit’, ‘stay’, and ‘leave it’, and practise enrichment games like ‘find it’. This can help to create an even stronger bond with your rescue.
If your rescue is having trouble, hop down to our “training issues” section to find out where to get help.
K_Thalhofer via iStock
Where To Start Training a New Rescue Dog
All dogs, regardless of age, need to have a toolkit of basic manners to be able to thrive. These include toilet training, crate training, socialisation, and lead training. All aspects of training will help you to establish communication and bond with your dog.
These are some of the basics that you’ll want to prioritise.
Toilet training a rescue dog
Even older rescue dogs may need a potty training refresher. Bassett notes that pet parents should expect this process to take a puppy or adult rescue dog between six to 12 weeks to master. Potty training relies on consistency and patience. Set yourself up for success by designing your potty schedule to work with your feeding and exercise schedules.
- Consider safely confining your rescue dog to a space with a dog gate, pen, or crate when they can’t be supervised. If using a crate, the size of the crate matters: dogs who have enough space (in their minds) to have a sleeping area and a bathroom area within a crate may be more likely to go to the toilet in the crate.
- Use a regular and predictable food, water, and outdoor exercise schedule
- Enthusiastically reward positive behaviour, while avoiding negative reactions to accidents
- When in doubt, seek help so that the training experience can be positive for both you and your dog
Crate training a rescue dog
Crate training can establish a safe and quiet space for your dog in their new home. That said, not all rescue dogs are good candidates for crate training. If your pup exhibits signs of anxiety in a confined space (shaking, aggression, attempted escapes that could injure them), consider getting a professional involved, or try other methods of confinement that your dog is more comfortable with.
To crate train a rescue dog, start with the following:
- Put your dog’s crate in a quiet space away from household traffic, but still close enough that they know you are near. This helps to establish that a crate is a safe place to rest.
- Use a crate that is large enough for your dog to stand up and turn around in, but not so large that they see it as a play space (or a bathroom space)
- Begin by leaving your dog in the crate supervised and only for short amounts of time. Many pet parents help to establish good bathroom habits by offering outdoor time before and after crate time.
- Make sure that your dog is not hungry or thirsty before putting them in a crate
- If your rescue came in a bonded pair, you may consider trying to crate them together in a large enough space. This may reduce anxiety.
Socialising a rescue dog
Training your dog to behave appropriately in social situations is important for their safety and quality of life. Socialisation training includes how to greet people and other pets, how to follow household rules, and how to behave around food.
For all of these learning points, Dr Kong emphasises that consistency and patience is key, particularly with a rescue dog. Poor behaviours can become ingrained, which make them harder to address.
Understanding your dog’s previous social environment can help you to create the right socialisation training for them and to anticipate any pitfalls—but you don’t have to know exactly where they come from to help them succeed. Here are some good ground rules for starting socialisation training:
- Establish and abide by rules from day one and be patient as your dog learns
- Note problem areas for your rescue that will need specialised strategies for addressing. These could include dogs who are aggressive around food, dogs who exhibit anxiety when meeting new people, or dogs who get overly excited in social situations.
- Come up with a training plan to address points of difficulty, and until your pup masters them, avoid situations that could lead to regression
Lead training a rescue dog
Lead training is an incredibly important activity for all rescue dogs. It’s fundamental for safe outdoor time. Plus, pet parents who can confidently take their dog on a lead open a new world of experiences, bonding opportunities, and exercise for their dogs.
Some rescue dogs have never been on a lead, and the concept will be strange to them. When first starting out, here are some tips to try:
- Introduce the lead slowly with lots of treats
- Start with short excursions in areas of low excitability
- Keep your dog’s attention by occasionally calling their name and offering treats
- Work toward good walking form. This includes keeping your dog at your side, limiting pulling, and having them follow your cues for moving.
- Use a lead and a collar that are comfortable for you and your dog. Good training leads are short leads (not extendable) made of leather or nylon. A harness can help distribute the pressure across their body and give you better control.
- Practise, practise, practise! Use positive praise and treats to reward good behaviour.
- If your dog is becoming frustrated or is getting too easily distracted, end your training session on a positive note. Give them an opportunity to play. This will help to establish that training is fun and rewarding.
Jan Rozehnal via iStock
Training Issues Common to Rescue Dogs
As most rescue dog parents anticipate, it may not always be easygoing. Rescue dogs come from a variety of backgrounds that can make each adoption situation uniquely challenging. Here are some of the issues common to newly adopted rescue pups, plus what to watch for and what you can do about them.
Not bonding with your rescue dog
Difficulty bonding can look different for every person and dog. In general, it’s characterised by feelings of frustration or confusion on each side. You might be disappointed that you can’t yet do the activities you envisioned doing with your new rescue, like relaxing couch time or long games of fetch.
If you’re having trouble feeling a bond with your new dog, don’t panic. Some dogs take more time to bond than others, especially if they’ve had a traumatic past. While you get to know each other, consider pausing some of the harder training activities. After all, if one or both of you are routinely frustrated, it can be difficult to develop a bond.
Focus instead on activities that you both enjoy, and find fun ways to incorporate training into your playtime. That might mean turning crate training into a game with crate games, or working to teach ‘drop it’ slowly through play with a rope toy. Prioritise fun, and the rest will follow.
Fear and aggressive behaviour
A fearful rescue dog might growl and snap, guard resources, avoid contact, or engage in destructive behaviours. They might also struggle with house training.
If your rescue exhibits aggression or fear in some situations, focus first on getting them to a safe space to calm down. Start slowing down the way you introduce new people and experiences, and give your dog lots of ‘off-ramps’. That means redirecting with positive distractions and rewarding good behaviour.
If you or your pup are regularly feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to get professional help as you work through this common rescue challenge.
Reacting negatively to training
All rescues will carry their previous experiences with them into their new home. Sometimes, this can mean frustration with some of the activities you need to master, such as lead or crate training.
If your rescue is reacting negatively, slow things down and shift their focus to something positive during that portion of your training session. This might be as simple as offering a treat or a favourite toy. If your rescue pup starts to associate their lead with a special reward, for example, it will help them to overcome negative associations.
Never force your rescue to do something that they are afraid of, and don’t be afraid to take things back to the drawing board. That might mean leaving the lead on the ground and placing treats on it until your dog seems comfortable. Then you can graduate to clipping and unclipping it from their collar while they’re distracted with rewards. Baby steps are the key.
Consistent undesired behaviour
If your dog continues to exhibit an undesirable behaviour despite a consistent training effort, you may need to try a new approach. For example, if toilet training remains a challenge, try adjusting their environment. Provide close supervision so you can catch your dog before they have an accident, then offer positive rewards for success.
Guarding behaviour
Guarding resources, particularly food, can be common in dogs who have had to compete for food in their past. If your dog is guarding food, Dr Kong recommends trying a ‘trade-up’ approach. This technique builds trust by offering your dog something more enticing than their food bowl, then giving it to them when they leave their bowl for the new treat.
When To Seek Professional Advice
Sometimes, previous trauma continues to influence a dog’s reaction to situations in their new environment. Dr Kong recommends consulting a professional trainer or behaviourist in these types of situations. If your dog isn’t progressing as you had hoped, there are lots of resources available to pet parents, including professional trainers, online training assistance, and veterinary advice.
Many communities have classes specifically designed for rescue dogs that focus on socialisation and basic cues. Seek help early to avoid ingraining problem behaviours, and know that really good help is out there—you’re not alone.
