bringing a rescue home: the first week

Not training tips. Just what to actually do the first seven days, mostly about doing less than you think.

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Set up one quiet room before you even pick them up

somewhere with a door, water, and their bed already down. arriving to chaos undoes the point of decompression time

Skip the meet-the-whole-family tour for now

Keep them leashed even inside a fenced yard

a recall that worked for the last family isn't a recall you've earned yet

Feed the exact food the shelter sent home with, for now

switching food and switching homes on the same day is asking for a stressed-out stomach

Book the vet visit for this week, not next month

Update the microchip registration the same day

do this first, honestly. an ID tag falls off, a chip doesn't

get a collar tag with your number before the shelter's comes off

crate or gate off a sleeping space, don't free-roam the whole house yet

no dog parks and no off-leash anywhere for at least two weeks

they don't know you yet, and a scared dog can run further and faster than you'd think

watch every door like it's about to become an exit

keep visitors to almost none for the first few days

the goal this week isn't socializing them, it's letting the nervous system come down

stick to the same feeding and walk times every day

let actual training wait until week two

(learned this one late) tried basic commands on day two once and just stressed us both out for nothing

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