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I'm about to adopt my first dog — an adult Indie female, approximately 4 years old, from a city shelter. I've been researching extensively and have done the puppy-vs-adult comparison. I'm convinced adult adoption is right for me and I know her background includes being a street dog picked up about 8 months ago.
What I'm looking for is completely honest, non-romanticised accounts from people who've adopted adult street dogs in India. What was the first week like? What surprised you? What do you wish you'd been told beforehand? I want to calibrate my expectations so I'm not blindsided.
Honest first-week account: our adopted adult Indie, Moti, spent the first 3 days almost completely still in one corner. Ate minimally, didn't explore. Day 4 she started moving around more. Day 7 she started approaching us voluntarily for the first time.
I wish I'd known: the first 72 hours are "shutdown mode" and it looks alarming. Your dog isn't unwell and you haven't made a mistake. It's decompression. The single best thing you can do during shutdown is be very quiet, not try to interact, and just exist nearby.
The shutdown description is so accurate. Moti's first three days — same thing. We kept checking if she was breathing she was so still. Then day 4 she got up and did a full body shake and it was like watching her reboot. From that point it was different.
"Just exist nearby" is the best advice for those first 72 hours. Sitting quietly in the same room reading a book — no eye contact, no calling — is the perfect low-pressure presence. They track you without feeling pressured.
What surprised me: street dogs often have better instincts than shelter-raised dogs. Our Indie, Bruno, knew house rules within a week — didn't chew anything, understood in/out, seemed to have manners from observing us. He needed almost no toilet training. Adult street dogs who've lived near humans often understand human behaviour in ways puppies simply don't yet.
Realistic timeline expectations: Week 1 = survival mode. Week 2-3 = beginning to learn your routine. Month 2-3 = starting to trust and show personality. Month 4-6 = "bloom" — this is when you see who she actually is. Many adopters make post-adoption decisions (like returning the dog) in the first 3 weeks. That's before the dog has even stabilised. Give it at minimum 3 months before any evaluation.
What I wish I'd known: don't introduce too many new things at once. New home, new humans, new smells is already maximum stimulation. No new dogs, no new humans, no new experiences for the first 2 weeks. Just let her exist. Decompression is a real physiological process and you can rush it at the cost of stress.
The "no new things for 2 weeks" rule is hard to follow when you're excited and want to take them everywhere. But we rushed it with our first rescue and it definitely set his settling back by 2-3 weeks. Patience pays off enormously.
Vet visit timing: do the initial health check within 3-5 days (for your information and to treat anything active) but then avoid vet visits for 3-4 weeks after that unless there's an emergency. Vet visits during the fragile early period set back trust significantly.
The payoff is real: adult Indie dogs who settle become some of the most loyal, intuitive, low-maintenance dogs imaginable. They're not needy, they read you incredibly well, and the bond that develops after the difficult early period is unlike anything from a puppy purchase. Totally worth it.
One practical thing: introduce house rules from day one, gently. Not strict rules enforced firmly — but consistent. If the sofa is off-limits, it's off-limits from day one. Street dogs and shelter dogs adapt extremely well to consistent structure; it's inconsistency and chaos that confuse them.
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