Post-adoption Decompression
September 28, 2017, by Julie Barber
Too often the news headlines involve children getting mauled by newly adopted/purchased/acquired dogs. Just today,
Detroit news outlet WDIV-TV showed video of a Gordon Setter being led out of a home after it had “attacked” a 14-
month-old boy 10 days after its adoption. The boy was reaching to pull a toy out of the dog’s mouth at the time of the
attack.
This is a horrific accident for everyone involved. Adopting a new dog can and should be a very exciting time. From the
time you first made the decision to adopt to the time you walk your new dog through your door, weeks or months have
probably gone by. Time, money, energy, and a lot of planning went into this moment; but, too often, a critical step in
the adoption phase is forgotten: Decompression.
You don’t know this dog, and the dog doesn’t know you. The background of your new dog could be unknown, or
perhaps it came with a detailed history from the original owner; but, in either case, everything that is happening to the
dog at this point is stressful, unknown, and inconsistent.
Imagine you have been upheaved from your life to find yourself in a temporary housing situation without your prior
knowledge or consent and without knowing how long you will be there. At some point, possibly soon or possibly after
a long time, you meet someone new for a few minutes and find yourself going home with them. This is stressful! The
thought is terrifying; and, yet, this happens to dogs all the time! Dogs end up in rescue groups and shelters, and this
exact scenario plays out every single day all across the world for the “lucky” ones. The unlucky ones don’t ever make it
out of the shelter they came to.
When a new dog comes into your home, it is not only important but necessary to introduce your pet to you, your
home, and your life carefully. Your dog needs time with minimal exposure to stimulus to unwind from the stress that
they have just lived through and to give you and your home/family a fair shake. To skip the decompression stage of
adoption is to rob your dog of the second chance it so desperately needs. All dogs respond to stress differently, just as
people do. Some dogs can decompress in a week or two, and other dogs could take a month or more to really start to
settle and adjust. There is no magical timeline that will tell you how long you should allow your new dog time to
decompress, but experts state anywhere from 2-4 weeks is minimum.
Decompression or lack thereof can’t be the blame for every incident involving a new dog but doing it properly helps
eliminate that risk. Children should never be trying to take things from a dog or be in the dog’s space. Babies and kids
shouldn’t be allowed to lie on the dog, pull on it, climb on it, pull tails or any of those other things that kids just love to
do to dogs. Many parents believe these are cute interactions, but the dog may not be as enthusiastic, and the child and
the dog will be the ones to pay the price.
The takeaway is this: New dogs must be introduced carefully, slowly, and with supervision. Children should never be
left alone with a dog (new or otherwise!), and a dog needs time to destress after it comes home to a new household
before any of the exciting “getting to know you” activities are planned.
Too often the news headlines involve children getting mauled by newly adopted/purchased/acquired dogs. Just today,
Detroit news outlet WDIV-TV showed video of a Gordon Setter being led out of a home after it had “attacked” a 14-
month-old boy 10 days after its adoption. The boy was reaching to pull a toy out of the dog’s mouth at the time of the
attack.
This is a horrific accident for everyone involved. Adopting a new dog can and should be a very exciting time. From the
time you first made the decision to adopt to the time you walk your new dog through your door, weeks or months have
probably gone by. Time, money, energy, and a lot of planning went into this moment; but, too often, a critical step in
the adoption phase is forgotten: Decompression.
You don’t know this dog, and the dog doesn’t know you. The background of your new dog could be unknown, or
perhaps it came with a detailed history from the original owner; but, in either case, everything that is happening to the
dog at this point is stressful, unknown, and inconsistent.
Imagine you have been upheaved from your life to find yourself in a temporary housing situation without your prior
knowledge or consent and without knowing how long you will be there. At some point, possibly soon or possibly after
a long time, you meet someone new for a few minutes and find yourself going home with them. This is stressful! The
thought is terrifying; and, yet, this happens to dogs all the time! Dogs end up in rescue groups and shelters, and this
exact scenario plays out every single day all across the world for the “lucky” ones. The unlucky ones don’t ever make it
out of the shelter they came to.
When a new dog comes into your home, it is not only important but necessary to introduce your pet to you, your
home, and your life carefully. Your dog needs time with minimal exposure to stimulus to unwind from the stress that
they have just lived through and to give you and your home/family a fair shake. To skip the decompression stage of
adoption is to rob your dog of the second chance it so desperately needs. All dogs respond to stress differently, just as
people do. Some dogs can decompress in a week or two, and other dogs could take a month or more to really start to
settle and adjust. There is no magical timeline that will tell you how long you should allow your new dog time to
decompress, but experts state anywhere from 2-4 weeks is minimum.
Decompression or lack thereof can’t be the blame for every incident involving a new dog but doing it properly helps
eliminate that risk. Children should never be trying to take things from a dog or be in the dog’s space. Babies and kids
shouldn’t be allowed to lie on the dog, pull on it, climb on it, pull tails or any of those other things that kids just love to
do to dogs. Many parents believe these are cute interactions, but the dog may not be as enthusiastic, and the child and
the dog will be the ones to pay the price.
The takeaway is this: New dogs must be introduced carefully, slowly, and with supervision. Children should never be
left alone with a dog (new or otherwise!), and a dog needs time to destress after it comes home to a new household
before any of the exciting “getting to know you” activities are planned.
