Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue
Helping Labs Find Their Fur-Ever Homes
WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST THREE WEEKS AND BEYOND
Every one of our adoptees comes from a different situation – some have been surrendered by their loving
owners who had unavoidable changes in circumstance and some have recently been in an animal shelter
for an extended period of time before coming to one of our volunteer foster homes. So too, every dog’s
personality is different as are their coping abilities. While we try to accurately assess each dog's
personality and obedience level, stress can have a large impact on how they behave in your home the first
days and weeks of the Pre-Adoptive period.

We offer the following guidelines for how to treat a new dog in the hope that they may help you smoothly
transition the new dog to your home. Of course, if you have specific questions, don’t hesitate to contact
your BLRR volunteer.

Treat the new dog like a puppy – no matter how old – and prepare your home as though you were
bringing a puppy into it. Pick up items that might present a chewing temptation, keep counters clear
and trash cans covered. Put clothing (clean and dirty) out of dog’s reach and if you have children,
encourage them to keep their toys picked up.
If your dog hasn’t had a lot of exercise on a regular basis and you lead a very active lifestyle, slowly
work your dog up to your level. No one – human or dog, starts out running 5 miles a day.
Try to maintain the dog’s previous schedule as much as possible at first. If the dog sleeps in his
crate, allow her to continue to do so, even if you don’t intend to crate her once she is adopted. Her
crate is her security – her safe spot – taking it from her all at once will only add to her stress.
Keep to the house rules from day one. Don’t allow the new dog to “get away” with anything that you
don’t want him to be doing in a month. If you don’t allow dogs on your furniture and your new dog is
accustomed to sleeping on the sofa, correct his behavior, gently but firmly, from the beginning.
Keeping in mind that it may take some time for him to learn the new rules.
Be consistent with rules and training commands. If there is more than one human in the house,
make sure you’re using the same commands with your new dog. One of you shouldn’t be using
“DOWN” while the other of you is using “OFF”. This will confuse the dog and slow down the
learning process.

WHEN THERE ARE RESIDENT DOGS

Keep the new dog and the resident dog(s) separated initially for a significant period of time at least
3-5 days. Allow sniffing between the dogs to take place over or through a baby gate or cracked door
before any “fur to fur” contact takes place indoors.
Allow each of the dogs one-on-one time with you alone. The new dog will need to know that he
should look to you for attention and affection and your resident dog will need reassurance that you
haven’t forsaken him. Allow the new dog time to explore the house without being tailed by the
resident dog.
Once the dogs are allowed to have fur to fur access to each other, do not leave them unsupervised
for any length of time. If you must be away from home, separate them.
Make an effort to engage the dogs in an activity together where the focus is not on each other.
Walks are very good for this. The focus is on sniffing out the news, not on sniffing out each other.
Do not allow the dogs to compete for anything. Do not play fetch with two dogs and only one tennis
ball. Even if one of the dogs isn’t a “retriever” as such, competition to possess the ball can lead to
an unpleasant altercation.
Do not place crates or dog beds in close proximity at first. Wait to see how much “personal space”
is required by each dog. Also, refrain from feeding the dogs in close quarters until they are used to
eating with another dog in the same room.
Dogs will establish or re-establish their hierarchy. Usually one will emerge as the dominant dog.
This has nothing to do with sex, altered status, size or age. Once the new dog is feeling
comfortable there may be a “struggle” to be the top dog. Let the dogs work it out. Only the dogs can
decide who will be higher up in the pecking order. If things get physical go back to separating the
dogs for a time and then gradually re-introduce them.

Adoption FAQ page
Back to Adopting from Brookline
You can view and print our flyer on the adoption process here