Bringing home a frightened dog: the first days

I learned this again recently. A shy hound I’d fostered years ago came to stay with me while his family were away. Within hours he was hiding in a back room. By the first evening he was frozen in a corner, and for two days he barely ate, drank or toileted. I’d done this many times before, and I still wished I’d had a clear, calm list of what to do and what to leave alone.

This is that list. It’s for anyone taking in a fearful dog: a new adopter, a fosterer, or a friend looking after someone else’s dog.

Before they arrive

Set up one quiet room as their base before the dog comes through the door. Small and dull is better than big and busy.

A gate across the door, not a closed door. They can see and hear the household, but other pets can’t get in. A blanket over the gate stops other dogs staring through.
A well-fitted harness, ideally one with a second strap behind the ribs. Frightened dogs often back straight out of a single-strap harness.
A light trailing line clipped to the harness, with no loop or knot to snag. It lets you stop them reaching a fence or gate without having to grab them.
Water and a bed in the room, away from the doorway.
A cheap camera or an old phone set up to watch the room. You’ll learn more from it than from going in to check.
Low background sound, such as a radio, to soften sudden household noises.
Check your garden. A fence that holds your own dogs may not hold a panicking newcomer.

Let them hide

If your new dog wants to hide, let them. A hiding place they choose is the first thing in your home that feels safe to them.

Never go in after them. Reaching under a bed, pulling them out, or reeling them in on the lead teaches them that hiding doesn’t work. That makes them more frightened, not less.
Don’t corner them. A dog with nowhere left to go may freeze, or may bite. Neither is their fault.
Freezing is not calm. A dog standing stock-still in a corner is trying not to be noticed. They’ll usually move when they think nobody is watching, often at night.
Check less often. Every look round the door is another moment of being seen. Use the camera instead.
Leave a way out. The safe place is somewhere they go to, not somewhere they’re shut in. Shutting a dog away with no choice causes stress of its own.

Over the first two weeks, aim for quiet, routine and almost no demands. Some dogs need much longer, and that’s fine. If your new dog is a puppy who came from a puppy farm or was found as a stray, there’s more on those first weeks in He came from a puppy farm, or was found as a stray.

Tell them what’s coming

Predictability lowers stress. A frightened dog copes better when they know what each visit means.

Use one word per kind of visit, every time, such as “dinner” or “garden”. Say it from the doorway before you go in.
Keep the safe words safe. If “dinner” is ever followed by being picked up, “dinner” stops meaning safe. Only the garden word should come before being carried.
Pause after the word. Give them a few seconds to get up and come by themselves before you help.
Walk away, not towards. A nervous dog finds it much easier to follow someone moving away than to approach someone facing them. Say the word, turn, and walk slowly towards the door.
Keep the routine the same each time. Same order, same route, same timing, at least for the first few days.

The aim is that, over time, the routine becomes something they choose rather than something done to them.

When they won’t toilet outside

Many frightened dogs hold on for far longer than you’d expect. Outside, they feel exposed, and all they want is to get back to their hiding place.

Being carried out often doesn’t work. A dog who is lifted into the garden may just run straight back in. Gently carrying them out is still sometimes the kindest option, especially first thing in the morning.
Make the garden empty and quiet. No other dogs, no audience. If they’ve had a bad moment out there, the garden itself may feel unsafe for a while.
Expect accidents indoors. A dog who finally pees on the rug the moment they’re back in their room isn’t being naughty. They’ve gone where they felt safe enough to let go.
Don’t react to accidents. Clean up later, with an enzyme cleaner so the smell doesn’t draw them back to the spot.
Consider a pad or washable mat in a corner of their room for the first days.

In my hound’s case, after one pee in the garden on his second morning, the next came about 31 hours later. It was on the rug in his room, a few minutes after he’d been carried out and had run straight back in.

Food and water

It’s common for a frightened dog not to eat for a day or two after a move. Water matters more than food, so keep a close eye on whether they’re drinking.

Leave food and water down near where they lie, so they can eat or drink the moment they feel unseen.
Freshen the food at your usual mealtimes. Fresh food smells strongest. Use your mealtime word so it’s a visit they can predict.
Ask what they usually eat. Their own food, in their own bowl, can be enough to get them started.
Try something they can’t resist. For my hound, a squirt of cream was eaten almost straight away, and a dog burger with a little pâté a few minutes later. Plain water from boiling chicken can tempt a dog to drink.
Keep rich treats small. Use them to get eating started, then mix them into normal food over a few days.
Don’t use food to coax them closer. Hand-feeding or luring a frightened dog towards you puts them in conflict between wanting the food and wanting distance. Let them eat in peace first.

Other dogs in the home

Keep the newcomer and your own dogs apart at first, even friendly ones. A first meeting that goes wrong can colour how the new dog feels about the whole house and garden.

Separate times in the garden, and a gate rather than a shut door between them indoors.
Watch out for the keen player. My hound’s first meeting was with a dog who wanted to play and followed him while he was trying to get away. That was far too much. The two calmer dogs, who kept their distance, were no problem at all.
Calm, familiar dogs can help. A relaxed dog the newcomer already knows, or one who simply ignores them, can make the house feel safer. Let the new dog choose whether to join them.
Next meetings on the new dog’s terms: through a gate or fence, with room to leave, after your own dog has had a sniff or a scatter feed. Keep them short and end them early.
Your own dogs may struggle too. A resident dog who can smell and hear a newcomer but can’t meet them may whine, bark at doors and get frustrated. Give them chews, sniffing and their normal routine. Don’t let barking at a door make the door open.

Looking after yourself

The first days with a frightened dog are hard work, and it’s normal to feel worried, tired and short-tempered. Your dog picks up on that, so your calm matters too.

Lower your own expectations. A good day might be one drink and one pee. That’s real progress.
Write things down. Times, amounts, what happened. It stops the days blurring together, and it’s exactly what your vet will ask for.
Take breaks. A cup of tea in another room while the house is quiet helps you both.
Ask for help early, from your vet, your rescue, or a behaviour professional whose approach is reward and choice based.

When to call the vet

Fear explains a lot, but not everything. Ring your vet early if you’re unsure. A phone call costs nothing.

When you ring, have ready: when they last ate and drank, when they last went to the toilet, and any medical history you have. Ask whether a home visit is possible. For a very frightened dog, the journey and the waiting room can be the hardest part. Your vet can also talk to you about short-term medication for anxiety, which some dogs need to get through the first weeks.

Not sure what to try first?

A First Step Call is a good place to begin: a short conversation to work out what’s going on and what to try first. We’ll agree the next step together, which may be a Second Step Call with a written plan. My approach is reward and choice based, and it starts where your dog is.

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