Bringing a rescue dog home

The first three days, a rescue dog is not being shy. It is deciding whether this is another temporary place. Give it somewhere it can retreat to and do not make it come out. The first three weeks, it starts testing what the rules are. This is usually when people think the dog has changed. It has not; it has relaxed enough to behave normally. Three months in, most dogs have settled into who they actually are. Judge the match then, not in week one. What helps: a routine that does not vary much, one person doing the feeding at first, and short lead walks rather than long ones. What does not help: visitors, the dog park, and the whole extended family on day two.