Tips for adopting the best shelter dog

[Shadow]

Tips for adopting the best shelter dog

(CNN) -- The shelter dog is often perceived as unpredictable and inferior to one that is bought from a pricey breeder or a pet store. The thought of giving a home to a dog with an unknown history also puts many people off. But while some dogs are relinquished to shelters because of problem behavior, most are surrendered because of a change in the family situation.

Shelters can be overwhelming places to visit, so give yourself time when going through the adoption process and make decisions with your head as well as your heart.

Look for a dog that recovers well when taken outside the kennel. One that runs and is excited to interact with you, your family and other people. If you already own a dog, bring it along and allow the two dogs to greet in an outdoor neutral area to see if they will be compatible. Look for soft, wiggly body language, warm eyes and a desire to play.

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Dogs that are relinquished to shelters because of behavior problems can be difficult to re-home. Don't be afraid to ask the shelter staff about the dog's medical and behavioral history before it came to the shelter -- if known -- and behavior while it has been in their care. Try to get more than one person's opinion about the dog.

Adopters can easily be swayed by a well-meaning employee or volunteer who is desperate to find their favorite dog a new home -- even if the match is not a good one. If the dog you like has known behavior difficulties, ask the staff if they have been working with the dog on that issue and how the dog has responded so far.

Even if there are no obvious behavior problems, here are some other important questions to ask:

Tips for adopting the best shelter dog - CNN.com

 

[AllieBaba]

I've gotten wonderful dogs at shelters. In fact, usually I prefer getting dogs there..Mylo is a shelter dog, as have been past dogs. I generally like to get adult dogs, saving me the hassle of potty training (very few adult dogs aren't potty trained as they just naturally prefer peeing outside..most of the time) and providing a home to a dog that might not otherwise find a home.

 

[Shadow]

I have had both good and bad luck. Mostly because you need to be given the option to interact with some of the dogs to see how they respond to certain things and situations. Which can be a good indicator as to if they are good with children,strangers, other animals etc...

Sometimes at the shelters you aren't given enough time...but they do let you return problem animals if needed. But I agree...there are some great dogs at the shelters. I like them because they tend to have lots of mixed breeds instead of the pure bred dogs. They seem to be easier to train on top of being very unique.

 

[AllieBaba]

I've picked up purebreds too. Mylo is a Parson Russell; her previous owner offered to give up her papers but I didn't plan on breeding her so I didn't get them. I wish I had, I find that stuff interesting. I've also picked up a nice poodle at a shelter many years ago...and I'll never forget my tour of the vet kennels in my home town following hunting season...there were half a dozen beautiful bird dogs in there, all obviously blooded and beautiful.

 

[Truthmatters]

I recently adopted a catteldog , aussie mix.

He was 8 months old and walked up to me (on a leash by the attendant) and laid on his side and gave me his belly wagging his tail the whole time.

He wanted someone to please and had some trust of people.

I put him in the car and he cowered in the back seat.

I sweet talked him all the way home interjecting the name I chose for him over and over.

He was a handfull because I believe he had been a backyard dog with little interaction.

He knew nothing.

He chewed anything, stole stuff of the coffee table, dug holes and in genreral seemed to have not much socialization.

The important part is he wanted to please me so within no time he learned everything I asked him to learn.

He is as smart as a whip and just a couple of months later does everything he is asked.

I never give up on a dog when he/she shows me they have a desire to please me.

I bet I could fix almost any behavior problem in a dog as long as they desire to please me at some level.

remember if you adopt a dog they are NEVER perfect.

Its up to you to make them your perfect dog and LOVE goes way farther than anger.

 

[Shadow]

I have seen pure bred dogs there too ocassionally. Mostly the bigger dogs like German Shepards,Rottwielers and Dobermans though. Here in NM you tend to see mostly large dogs and a lot of Pitt Bulls...most of which get put down unfortunately. Not too many small dogs in the shelters.

When I fostered dogs I used to make trips to the pound with the pet rescue every week. They tried to rescue as many small dogs and herding dogs as possible. Most common breeds we found...heelers and chiuauas (or variations of those mixed with other breeds).

 

[Truthmatters]

I love herding dogs , they are my favorite dog catagorey

 

[Grace]

Tips for adopting the best shelter dog=The ones dying. Broken leg, starvation, scars on their bodies from beatings, blind, deaf, very old, dead eyes because their spirit was broken, PTS on their paper stuck haphazardly on the cage they are shoved in (PST means Put To Sleep). Those are the ones I rescued.
And I rescued many.
I can't go any more.

 

[Shadow]

I love herding dogs , they are my favorite dog catagorey

Herding dogs are great and very easy to train because they aim to please. Usually they are really great with other animals and people which makes them easier to place in homes then some of the other dogs we had. We fostered and adopted out lots of Blue Heelers. Very beautiful dogs...lots of personality.

 

[Truthmatters]

I have a tendency to go for the year old ones.

Someone got a puppy and threw it away when it got big because they never trained it so now its a pain in the butt.

They have lots of years to lose in life if they are put down.

Herding dogs have this happen to them because they are pretty and smart.

people get them because they are cute and then dump them when these guys are FULL of ideas and want something to do.

If you dont train them they will do things you dont like.

 

[Truthmatters]

I love herding dogs , they are my favorite dog catagorey

Herding dogs are great and very easy to train because they aim to please. Usually they are really great with other animals and people which makes them easier to place in homes then some of the other dogs we had. We fostered and adopted out lots of Blue Heelers. Very beautiful dogs...lots of personality.

Yeap I think my boy is a blue healer.

He is merle with blue eyes.

He has made us all fall in love with him.

 

[AllieBaba]

And lots and lots of energy. They aren't dogs that lay around the house.

Dogs are amazingly resilient..physically and psychologically. I used to think you couldn't rehab pits but I have changed my attitude about that. It's a shame they are usually on the fast track to euthanasia. And it's a shame people think it's okay to let dogs, particularly TERRIERS, run loose, and thereby set them up for failure or worse.

When you see dog packs that are getting in trouble, often a terrier is at the head of it. They do have strong prey drive and that's something you have to harness and deal with. And obviously turning them loose on the world isn't a good way to do it. You also don't want to leave them alone with children, or have a set up where that can happen.

People just need to be responsible for their own. I love pits; what smart and delightful dogs but like any animal, potentially dangerous. It's a shame the cretin criminal element likes them so much; the problems with have now with pits are a perfect example of what happens when criminals manage breeding/training programs. Their animals are abused, neglected, killed, and criminal because that's what they are allowed and encouraged to be. And people have a hard time seeing that that is the issue..not the dogs themselves. German Shepherds are potentially extremely dangerous; they just aren't the darlings of the yahoo element.

 

[Grace]

My herder made her own job. She herds the chickens back in their coop at dusk. She guards them during the day. When it's dinner time, she runs outside and I have to do MY job and go holler at her "SUPPER TIME BUTTBUTT!" (that is not her name. It is my pet love name for her cuz she has no tail and the butt just waggles all over). She also has to...MUST have....her tennis ball near her food dish. Must. And her pillow for night night. She rearranges her bed often then looks at me to fix it. She must have a job. She makes me give her one.

 

[Shadow]

Another thing you see a lot in the shelters (ended up with several of these). Pure bred dogs used as breeders...then dumped.

Most had never been out of cages or indoors. Had two that never really adapted well and were not very personable. Never learned how to play,cuddle...or really interact with other animals or people at all. One (a pom) would just sit in her dog bed all day and watch you. Sometimes follow you,but she didn't want your attention...just wanted to know you were still there.

 

[Grace]

Same could be said for dobies. They have the same rep as rotties and sheperds and pits. I had a blue dobie. Pistol whipped, scarred, junk yard dog. For reals..a junk yard dog. When I got him, he was about 3 years old, in a cage the size of my shower, sleeping, eating in his own excrement because the owners didn't give a damn about him. He was let loose at night, to guard the wrecking yard.
He was my lap dog. But he did maul the landlords hand when he tried to come to my front door and entered the yard even with the WARNING! signs I had all over the fence.
I loved that dog. Smart, too. When I brought him home, we sat in my car for half an hour with me telling him the cat was off limits. It was his home now, but it belonged to the cat first. He never bothered her.
My heaven is wherever my deceased fur kids are. All of them. Even the ones I rescued and found homes for. They are still all mine..and I am theirs.

 

[Truthmatters]

That would be a great heaven, all my dog friends as puppies and I get to watch them grow again or for the first time if they were adults when adopted.

I think in that heaven I would need about 20 hands to get all the petting in though.

 

[Anachronism]

Lots of great information and advice; but it's not just for dogs. Cats and any number of other animals can be added to the family this way as well.

Of the six cats, four dogs, and three horses who have been in my life, only one of the dogs and two of the horses have not been some sort of "rescue". I grew up with a purebred Shetland sheepdog. Since moving to Massachusetts thirteen years ago it has been my pleasure to have my life graced by six rescued cats, three rescued dogs, and a horse that I loved very much who I "rescued" from a semi-negligent owner. Two of those three dogs have been deaf. One of the cats spent most of her dozen years without her right eye. Without us, all of the cats and at least the two deaf dogs would have been put down and the semi-neglected horse would probably have ended up as dog food.

 

[Anachronism]

That would be a great heaven, all my dog friends as puppies and I get to watch them grow again or for the first time if they were adults when adopted.

I think in that heaven I would need about 20 hands to get all the petting in though.

I think you'll like this, if you haven't seen it before. The author is unknown....

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

 

[Truthmatters]

Every dog I have owned came from a shelter.

I always adopt from kill shelters.


Yes that little poem is a great fantasy.


Like bob marley said "you should look for yours on earth"

My heaven is on earth and heavily involves hairy four legged people.

 

[Shadow]

Lots of great information and advice; but it's not just for dogs. Cats and any number of other animals can be added to the family this way as well.

Of the six cats, four dogs, and three horses who have been in my life, only one of the dogs and two of the horses have not been some sort of "rescue". I grew up with a purebred Shetland sheepdog. Since moving to Massachusetts thirteen years ago it has been my pleasure to have my life graced by six rescued cats, three rescued dogs, and a horse that I loved very much who I "rescued" from a semi-negligent owner. Two of those three dogs have been deaf. One of the cats spent most of her dozen years without her right eye. Without us, all of the cats and at least the two deaf dogs would have been put down and the semi-neglected horse would probably have ended up as dog food.

You would be suprised what kind of animals can be found at the shelters. We have adopted gerbils there before...and bunnies. But I have also seen birds, pigs, goats,hamsters etc... ocasionally. You name it...you could probably find it at some point.