7 Questions to ask your rescue-pup to start off on the right paw
Welcoming a rescued dog into your home and starting your new life together is so exciting!
In addition to your love, giving your new pup the chance share what they need from you to feel safe, will help you both start your friendship off on the right paw.
Here are the top 7 questions to ask your new friend to foster a deep and lasting friendship.
Hello Dear Intuitive One,
I love all kinds of animals but I have a special place in my heart for supporting rescued dogs. Helping dogs who have faced adversity and hardship to tell their story and share what they feel that they need to overcome to thrive in their new life makes me cry happy, healing tears nearly every time.
Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced the results from talking with rescued dogs firsthand with our foster dogs and our foster fails. With each rescued dog friend I’ve lived with, having the chance to have proper conversations with them has allowed us to be on the same page from the start. They were able to ask us questions and tell us what they were feeling and needing to feel safe and at home in our house and our hearts.
Image: Our most recent rescued dogs, Whiskey and Raspberry. Talking with these two about their hopes and fears and what they needed helped them settle in with our family, unpack their baggage, heal their grief and trauma, and feel safe and at home with us.
Talking with newly rescued dogs is powerful healing work
These first conversations are often the first chance they have had to express themselves safely - and be heard - in their lives. It also gives everyone involved the chance to bypass all the guesswork, assumptions and fumbling to figure each other out.
The results are beautiful too. The dogs don’t have to work so hard to communicate core needs, and the humans don’t need to rely on generic assumptions and guesswork about what to expect when their dog starts unpacking their emotional baggage as they try to settle in.
So if you are getting ready to have a conversation with your new rescued dog, I’ve put together a list of questions to support you both to start out on the right paw…
7 Questions to ask your newly rescued dog to help them feel safe and home for good
1. What did you like about me when we first met?
Asking your new dog friend what they liked about you when you first met them goes a long way in building bonds between you! Not only will their answer most likely give your self-worth a lovely little boost, but asking this question follows the wisdom that likeability helps us build up to the bigger feelings of “I trust you and I love you.”
2. What is your wish for our life together?
I’ve never spoken with a pet who doesn’t love this question. Further, so many pets have expressed how much it means that they are even asked this question. It shows them that their new human is open to co-creating a life with them - and not just wanting them to mold themselves into the preexisting life of their new humans.
3. What do you consider to be your kryptonite?
Knowing what hinders your new friend’s ability to truly shine in this lifetime will help you support them to bloom in the safety in their new home. It will also give them the chance to share with you what kind of situations, fragrances, postures, or ways people use their presence that trigger bad memories for them - which will go a long way in helping them feel safe and knowing you are on their team, right from the start.
4. What are your favorite glimmers? (Glimmers are the opposite of a trigger and invoke positive, joyful loving feelings)
What kinds of things does your new friend want to tell you about that feel familiar and good to them about their previous home or situation? Which of these things would they like you to try to recreate (even for a little while) to help them feel safe with you and in your home?
5. What kinds of things do you want from me to set your new life up for success?
Not all dogs want the same things. Even dogs of the same breed may want and need different things to form a lasting, loving bond with their new human. Being able to just ask them about play, food and exercise needs means you don’t have to guess, assume or potentially get it wrong which can lead to behavior issues.
6. What do you want to learn and what is your learning style?
Knowing what your new dog friend wants to learn about, how they best learn and the pace they tend to learn new things is a game changer. It sets you up to be on the same team and puts you in a better position to be able to advocate for them in training sessions.
You can also shape training based on how they best learn, like letting training evolve around play to satiate your play-loving clown of a dog!
7. What is your intuitive communication style?
Every single animal communicates differently. And understanding your new dog’s intuitive conversation style means you’ll know where and what to focus your intuitive antae on when you have questions to ask them about likes and dislikes.
Thanks for reading and please tell your pets I said, “Hello!” :)
P.S. If you have a new rescued pup, check out my new 4 session animal communication package. It’s designed to help you both start things off on the right paw!
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Learn more about my 1:1 four session animal communication package to help you and your new rescued dog smooth out the ruff edges
"I just had my first session with Joanna for my dog Lina. A rescue from Mexico. I learned so much about my dog and what I could do for her to help her be strong and grow into the best dog ever.
This session has helped me and my new dog move forward into the future together."
-Jayme - via Google reviews
