BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio — You've rolled out the welcome mat, stocked plenty of toys and treats — but your new furry friend needs more than that. Most of all, they need quiet and calm to adjust.
"Decompression really is giving the animal a chance to push some of those stress hormones out of their system," said Valarie Ross-Smith, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Owner of Sits 'n Wiggles Dog Training. "They've been in a state of chronic stress for potentially up to a year sometimes, depending on how long they're in the sheltering system."
Ross-Smith counsels dog owners so often on the right way to introduce a new dog into a home, that she's teaching a workshop on it called Dog Decompression Done Right.
The first thing to understand is that no two dogs are the same when it comes to settling in. It can take a few days, a few weeks or even several months. The goal is a pet that is NOT anxious or fearful — but instead feels confident in their new environment.
"As you move forward. We're gonna want to start building in a little structure and some bonding games and providing various forms of enrichment for them," Val explained.
Enrichment can help your dog get through that decompression in a healthy way. There are two types of enrichment. The first is active — such as walks that include lots of sniffing, playing fetch or even tearing up a stuffed toy or cardboard box. The second type is calm or passive enrichment — which could be a licking mat, a puzzle toy or even a snuffle mat.
"We're really looking at things that help reduce heart rate and respiration rate, which helps them sleep better," Val said.
Adding to enrichment, Val says building a bond with your new dog is important too. You can do that through some simple pattern games. An easy one to start with is called "Up/Down."
Val demonstrated with Gracie: "As soon as she makes eye contact with me, I'm gonna click my clicker and set that treat down on the ground for her to eat. And we're gonna do that about 10 times in a row. And then that's it. Just, 'Hey, checking in with me is a good thing.' We are not trying to call their name. We're not trying to get them to make eye contact. Just kind of look at our face and go, 'Hey human that I'm now living with. I see you. I recognize I'm starting to recognize your face,'" she explained.
Another excellent pattern game is called "Ping Pong." It's similar to Up/Down.
"Now with some body movement helping the dogs move their bodies around I'm gonna help loosen up those muscles and still building that engagement and bonding with you," Val explains. "You do want calmly set down these treats. We're not throwing them at the dog. We're not dropping them on the ground, so they have to go chase them. We're trying to make this as calm as possible."
Giving a pet a safe, loving home is a wonderful thing. But taking steps to support and nurture it, for its lifetime, is even sweeter.