When your dog arrives they have will be stressed. They have left the place that they thought of as home, the place they feel safe. They have been in a vehicle for the last three days. They have been put in a new home with new people and new smells and new sounds, maybe new dogs and cats too. You want to love on them but they dont know you, they dont trust you,they dont want anything to do with you.
Give them space. It takes three days to recover from the journey, three weeks to get to know your routines and three months to feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
DONT rush them to interact with you. let them chill out in a safe place, whether that is a crate or other area that feels safe. They will come out when they are ready.
They do not need walks the first few days, they just need to settle.
leaving your dogs lead on in the home to start with will help them to adjust. if you need to grab the dog for any reason yu can grab the lead so you are not scaring the dog by grabbing his collar. for some dogs this could be traumatic. grabbing the lead is safer for you and for them.
Take your dog in the garden regularly for a wee and keep the lead on to start with. watch them carefully. these dogs do not know you and are likely to run if they get the chance and they are not going to come back to you.
make sure you get the microchip details changed as soon as possible in case your new friend does get out. you want your dog returned as soon as possible and the up to date microvhip allows whoever finds the dog to return it.
once you start walking your dog a secure collar and lead is a must. you also need a name tag with your full details on. to start with a slip lead as well as collar and lead is recomended just to be safe.
feed the dog seperately to any other dogs in the house hold.. they havent learn to share and if they were a street dog then they had to fight for thier food which you do not want them doing once they are home. for the safety of everyone keep them seperate.
supervise your dogs when anyone has food. these dogs have grown up grabbing whatever food they can get. they will grab that biscuit form your hand and maybe nip fingers in the process so you need to ensure that you are aware and when possible keep the dog away whe there is food around.
Dont make a big fuss of your dog, they dont know you yet. keep interactions calm and quiet. you want the dog to feel safe and secure with you.
it will take time for your new friend to settle and feel happy and confident with you but the hard work will pay off and you will have lifelong friend that is better than you could have ever imagined.
please please let your dog relax. it doesnt need to be cuddled or held or have forced contact to get it used to being with you. your dog needs space to calm down from the travel and will be an amazing companion of you jusst give them the space they need now