For those of you who have rescued...

[Charlene]

ashley was never crated. she fit in the instant she walked into the house.

pea was crated the first day i went back to work. i watched her on my pet cam and she just slept all day. i figured if that's all she was gonna do, she might as well do it on a comfy bed. never crated her again.

bentley's foster mom told me she crated him whenever she had to leave him alone, she was afraid he would be destructive since he had a lot of energy. i did crate him the first couple of days i went to work but again, all he did was sleep. i left him out and he was fine while i was gone. i did come home to a couple of shredded books and a wicker basket in a million pieces but he was very contrite and apologetic about it so i forgave him.

[isdapous]

Ximmy was crated in her gorilla cage during the day when DH was resting. Slept at night in my or Lynz's bed from day one. Quiet first few weeks. We took slow walks around our neighborhood, and didn't start class until 6months. Did many other socialization events, but her temperament tends.to be shy & protective, so we work to make events joyful for her.
Sprocket is a social butterfly and had already figured out those people outside the family who will be part of his pack. He is horrid in crates, but we are working on the problems.
We will muzzle Ximmy for petsmart and other overstimulatimg events for her safety. She makes no noise and her body signals are extremely subtle. She loves to go and so she shall! We don't push hard, but do strenuously encourage her to have a good time. The same applies to Little Sprocket Man. He LOVES puppy class.

[leifandloki]

I agree with the suggestions of establishing rules and routines, and especially with keeping things simple and calm. Our first rescue was ~1.5-2 yrs old. We found we needed to move slowly so as not to alarm her as she was scared of a lot of things. DH simply picked up his shoes and she freaked out. We kept her quiet and petted her "from a distance". We didn't loom over her, just reached across the couch and petted gently. DH did this for hours at a time. Enjoy!