How long did it take to bond with your rescue dog?

[Anonymous]

Just adopted a 3 year old corgi mix! We've never rescued a dog before (always had puppies or got them from family who needed to rehome). Any tips, advice from experienced rescuers? How long did it take to bond? For your new dogs personality to emerge?
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I rescued a 3yo Foxhound that has never lived in a house before, Took about 4-6 months for her to settle down and be a pet.
She ended up being like my first child ( this was before I had kids) and i had am amazing bond with her.

She died 4 years ago and I got another dog a couple of weeks later, only 10 mos old, was used to people, bonded very quickly with him.

[Anonymous]

Our younger dog was found as a stray and bounced around some shelters for a month or two before we got him. He's very standoffish with strangers which is normal for his breed (he's a dachshund mix). His behavior at the shelter was completely different from his real personality, which I think emerged about 2-3 weeks after he came home. He started warming up to us within the first month but I'd say it was close to 6 months before he was solidly "our dog."

I work from home every day though so your mileage may vary depending on how much you're home interacting with the dog.

[Anonymous]

We adopted an adult corgi. She had never lived in a house before and everything scared her. Its been 5 months and she is just coming out of it. Patience! It is also difficult because corgis can be stubborn.

[Anonymous]

Rescues will tell you it can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months for the dog to feel comfortable. Somehow we got a really resilient herding mix who made herself at home from day 1, but even still some of her "naughty behaviors" (barking, leash pulling) didn't show up for around a month.

Congrats on your new friend! We adopted ours at 3 years old also, and it was perfect--no chewing, accidents, puppy crazies, but plenty of energy and fun

[Anonymous]

I've had 3 rescue dogs and it seems to take 3-6 months for the dog to show loyalty to the family and the house. One of my dogs wouldn't bark at strangers for about a year and then suddenly, she was a barker.

[Anonymous]

All dogs show different aspects of their personalities over time so it's a little hard to answer.

First rescue -- she seemed to settle in the day we brought her home. Housebreaking took a couple of weeks but she was in "her" house. Extremely affectionate.

Second rescue -- housebroken immediately. A few days to feel at home. Protective and loyal. A couple of months to really be affectionate.

[Anonymous]

Our German shepherd settled in after a couple of weeks. He's lying at my feet now, 5 months later.

[Anonymous]

A few months. The first 2 weeks he didn't make a noise or play with any toys - just gave wide stares to everything and everyone. Slowly his personality emerged.

Now he's made himself at home. It will be one year this October.

[Anonymous]

We adopted a foxhound sight unseen from a rural GA shelter 5 years ago. We all fell in love with him within his first week with us; he is the sweetest dog ever. Once we bathed him, we could actually sit next to him without gagging and get to know him. He really is the best dog in the world, and so great with kids. When my son has his friends spend the night, he sleeps with the boys. And even though he chewed through rugs and furniture - he was about one when he came to us - we learned how to deal with him by giving him big chews. He's now 6 and I swear, the dog understands English.

[Anonymous]

We adopted a mixed breed, back in April. She is between 1 and 2 years old. Seems like it took about 4 or 5 days to feel bonded. She is completely wonderful dog and we feel so happy and lucky to have her.

[Anonymous]

I've had 2 rescues and both bonded within the month. Good luck OP and thank you for adopting and not shopping.

[Anonymous]

One year -and now I can't imagine our lives without her!

[Anonymous]

Both rescues and breeder dogs can take a little while to bond with, esp if they are a lot of work. Same with children. I honestly did not fall in love with my daughter until she was a few months old.

I have written here many times. My last dog was a street dog in Puerto Rico. I called her my mongrel. She was a mess. But with love she grew to become my best friend. It's been almost 3 years since she died and I miss her every single second of the day. She turned in to the calmest, sweetest, easiest, most loving dog in the world. Even my friends who were not fans of dogs would say, "If I could have a dog like (my dog), I would get a dog." She was just perfect for me.

To answer your question, it depends. My first stray (not the one above) I fell in love with immediately. She was ours from day one, including taking her straight to the vet the minute I found her in bad shape.

For my second stray (the Puerto Rico dog above), she had me pulling my hair out for months, regretting getting her. She dug up my yard, was hyper, she was afraid of her own shadow, etc. So with her I'd say it took about 6-12 months (I can't remember - this was in 1999). What helped her was spending as much time with her as possible, and giving her a ton of exercise. She got me into running. she could run for miles. I still run every day, even though it's been several years since she was young enough to run. It took a little work to get her used to running next to me, and not in front of me and not stopping every 5 seconds.

[Anonymous]

Day 1. We picked up our spaniel mix from a transport from WVA kill shelters. She sat on my lap on the way home and pushed herself as far into me as she could possibly go.