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We are looking for a new dog to adopt, It seems like everyone I have talked to this last week has talked about what blessing their dogs have been during these trying times. We put down our dog about 3 months ago I think my wife is ready now. Please share any helpful hints about your experiences with dog adoption. Thanks
All three of my labs were rescued from DFW Lab Rescue at roughly 6 mos of age, years apart from each other.
So I have a 15 year old, a 12 year old, and an 8 year old.
I feel like it's perfect and would a) recommend rescuing, b) recommend a Labrador, c) recommend age 6 mos or a bit older.
I'm obviously found of Labs. But I do believe 6 months is about perfect, you can mold their personality and demeanor, without quite all the hassle that comes with younger puppies. At this age they can be house trained instantly if they aren't already.
Hey @Big Mike Thanks for checking in on the new dog.
This is Georgia...pronounced Jah-Jah. She is named after our leading new porch destination. The goal being a "coffee" porch facing East and a "wine" porch facing west.
Georgia was tied to a dumpster behind a strip mall in TX. Four puppies, two believed to be hers and two that are not hers...were found in box in the dumpster. When she was untied, she would not leave the dumpster. Rescue folks checked inside and found the puppies.
Authorities believe people that ran a puppy mill were evicted at the end of November, opting to discard dogs that were not sold or financially productive.
Georgia knew NOTHING about being a dog. She does not bark at strangers. She does not put her nose out the open car window. We are teaching her all about the good parts of being a dog and she is learning fast.
The authorities say that the puppy mills keep some of them producing milk so that others can be bred again sooner. When you are a veteran like Georgia was, they feed you because they need you to produce for the puppies. Her milk was still in and the vet said her last litter could have been six months prior.
Anyway Mike. Thank you for the continuous advocacy for dogs and people alike. You have got life down Mike and I really appreciate you and your servant heart. All the best toy you, always.
@kdhbma, just one person's experience here but if I could say only one thing it would be if you all see a rescue dog you_feel_something_for but simply don't have full clarity, if can get the dog in your home for even a day or a few you might see a very different character.
Such was my blessed experience. I just happened to be at a humane society the day a Golden Retriever was given up, and though I've long wanted one, I could not adopt her, looked like no Golden I'd ever seen, all that beautiful hair was sheared off, fat and unhealthy, glued to the floor, would not interact.
Thought it'd take someone with dog skills to give her any hope of normalcy. But I could not stop thinking of her, went back and asked if I could be a foster home with an option to adopt. It was a quality facility but her kennel was next to an angry dog barking nonstop, I thought better she was with me for awhile, and, lo, in a matter of days to my pleasant surprise I could see simple caring was enough. Now she's friendly and happy, most loving dog I've ever had.
That said, especially if you have children, a friend with years of shelter experience told me some shelters will pass on a bad dog w/o full disclosure, like a teacher just wanting to get rid of a bad student. Just stating both sides, you can't know all the past history.
I got my dog back east but if of any value here's a fine website example though it's in UT, I recently learned of this one, best site I've seen: https://bestfriends.org/about-best-friends
Am told they encourage 'sleepovers' for example, makes so much sense. Good luck.
@kdhbma, sorry you had to put your dog down... one of the toughest decisions a person can make... but thrilled to hear you guys are ready to have that hole in your life filled again.
Shelter dogs can be a mixed bag, but if you take your time to find the right one, you will come away with a faithful companion that will be a good fit for your family and a lifelong companion.
Many shelters will let you foster a dog for a period of time to see if they are a good fit. You want to know if the dog is compatible with your lifestyle... children, other pets, the time you have available to spend with it, and the demeanor of the dog in general. These things are not always readily apparent at the shelter, and since in many cases their history is not known, it would be in your best interests to spend some discovery time here.
I totally agree with @Big Mike... 6 months is probably about the perfect age to be looking at because they are past the tough puppy stage and yet still very much receptive to training and instruction. Much older than that and their behaviour patterns will be fairly well ingrained, and if that includes stuff you don't like, they can be very difficult to correct.
As a data point, we're currently fostering two 11 month old dogs to lighten the load on our local shelter during this crisis and it is obvious that they have had absolutely zero training... friendly and lovable as all get-out, but the word "NO" means nothing to them, constantly jumping up on people, won't walk on a leash, one of them still has a propensity to relieve himself inside the house... you get the idea. They are a handful LOL... we've been working with them and they have shown improvement, but it will take more time than we will have with them to get these issues ironed out, if at all.
I also agree that labs in general are fantastic dogs; we've probably had 5-6 of them over the years and they have always had a great disposition and have generally been pretty chill in attitude compared to some higher strung breeds.
Best of luck, and you'd better report back with pics if/when you find the next member of the family
Thanks Everyone for all your helpful suggestions! We did use Petfinder to find our new Fur baby Rocky. After all of my research we did end up with the dog my wife wanted. A 1 year old Fox Terrier? That had been abandoned at Petco then rescued neutered and kept in a house with larger dogs he was scared of and eating really bad dog food with a bad case of kennel cough. Now 3 weeks later health has been restored along with his confidence and personalty! He has really been what we needed during this time and also just a lot of fun! Today when I finish trading it's out for our first run together. Rocky
