any tips for adopting a pound dog?

[vash]

i am 50/50. one dog was great, one almost cost me my home (in potential lawsuits). needless to say, i am gun shy.

we are not really breed specific, but we want a dog medium sized or smaller....no toy breeds. btw, WTF is up with all the chihuahuas out there?

we dont want to buy a dog from a breeder. too many good dogs out there need adopting. how do we pick a good one?

i hate separation anxiety, or food aggression. those are the biggies. i find dog give away-ers will say anything to get rid of the dog. i rarely hear the truth. my wife recently got laid off. it would be nice to take advantage of her "free" time, and adapt a dog to our home.

cliff

[myamoto1]

go to a local anmial shelter. they "pre-screen" the dogs for you. if it's an older dog (non-puppy) they will let you know of any behavioral issues w/ the dog. I've had good luck with adopting puppies. usually too young to pick up any bad habits and young enough to unlearn 'em. if you already have a dog, make sure you do a meet and greet w/ both dogs before you take the new one home.

[porsche4life]

How much space do you have? Major issue. If you have a decent amount of room outside to let them run Jack Russels are cool little dogs. Super smart. However if you keep them pent in an appt they get aggressive.

[vash]

opps. you need more info. i have a huge yard. in that huge yard i have 4 free ranging chickens....complicates things for sure.

1 cat, no dogs, no kids.

[porsche4life]

Ok well the jack might chase the chickens and the cat but a good one can be trained not to. Ours seems to have a taste for killing rats. I mean if she smells a rat you cant get her off of the trail. Here is a vid of her going after something. Alas she came up empty this time but there is always next time.

[varmint]

greyhound rescue.

or just look for a golden retriever. those things come pre-programmed happy and well adjusted.





my parents fond a stray puppy at a gas station a few months ago. turns out it's a wire haired terrier. i can hear that thing bouncing off the walls in the background when my mom calls.

[porsche4life]

Oh labs are really good too. We have a lab and a jack. Lab is prolly bigger than you were thinking though.

[RANDY P]

the biggest thing is just spending as much time as you can with them before you pull the trigger. If you go hang out be prepared to just observe and see how the dog is with you and it's manners.

If it's got behavioral issues you gotta know beforehand, otherwise it can be an expensive mistake.

rjp

[aigel]

Get a pup, the younger the better. Some are born in the shelter - that's the best. You can check out mom and see if she is normal / friendly.

I would stay away from anything with a curly Spitz tail, purple tongue, dachshund, beagle and pitbull.

No expert here, but I have fostered one older dog in my life which was a complete waste of time - and our obedience training skills are above average. Lucky we could place her. Beagle mix ...

George

[Dcam49]

I've always gotten my dogs from the pound or from the friend of a friend that couldn't keep the dog situation. Our last dog was a Visla, great medium sized (50lb) dog. She was great with people, and could catch the ocasional mouse too. The pound will usually not place a dog if it has aggresive tendencies. A meet and greet with you and the wife is a must, spend at least a an hour or two with any potential pet.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by varmint

greyhound rescue.

or just look for a golden retriever. those things come pre-programmed happy and well adjusted.





my parents fond a stray puppy at a gas station a few months ago. turns out it's a wire haired terrier. i can hear that thing bouncing off the walls in the background when my mom calls.

Greyhound? Chase & catch instict is strong...I'd worry about the cat.

[targa911S]

I am like you. I have rescued two Airedales. One was a great dog and sold me on the breed. The other was very aggressive and attacked my wife every time she came in the room. Some people will not tell the humane society that a dog is bad with humans as those dogs are put down right away, so they slip through the crack and hurt somebody. I had to put him down. Sad but it was the right thing to do. Pick a breed you like and contact a rescue group. They are fanatics for the most part and will screen the hell out of both you and the dog to get a good match. There are rescue groups for almost every breed. Why so many chihuahhas? Thank Paris Hilton for starting a trend as having them as fashion.

[masraum]

Another good option IMO, is to go to a local PetSmart on Sat or Sun. The PetSmarts in our area have the Humane society and/or other adoption places come in on weekend days and bring animals for adoption. All of the dogs that I've seen them bring usually seem really good (to bring a dog to a place full of people and other animals, they'd have to be, right).

[Rot 911]

My dog came from the pound and was 8 weeks old with brothers and sisters and mom also at the pound. Turned out to be the perfect dog! He is 13 this year.

[SlowToady]

Dunno about your neck of the woods, but the Lexington Humane Society will let you take the dog/pup for a few days, IIRC, to see how y'all get on. You might want to check that out.

If you don't want a specific breed of dog, and are open to different breeds...hell, just walk around the shelter and look at the dogs. Dogs are great character judges. Dog that likes you will speak up in some form or another. I was walking through the pound, and one dog just went nuts when I walked by. He wasn't aggressive towards anyone else, but when I stopped at his cage, he immediately got up, tail wagging and tried to stick his head through the bars to lick me. When I walked off, he'd watch where I was going, wagging his tail, occasionally barking.

Of course, there was one dog who didn't want me anywhere around; as soon as I got near it snarled, barked and got quite aggressive. I'da had a problem if that cage wasn't there.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by SlowToady

I was walking through the pound, and one dog just went nuts when I walked by. He wasn't aggressive towards anyone else, but when I stopped at his cage, he immediately got up, tail wagging and tried to stick his head through the bars to lick me. When I walked off, he'd watch where I was going, wagging his tail, occasionally barking.

Yeah, we got a 30# mix. When I met her, she stood up, wagged and licked. Super sweet and friendly.

[SLO-BOB]

1st choose a dog based on behavioral traits from a pound or otherwise, and based on your wants. Medium sized is a good start. Now, does shedding bother you? Barking? Dog aggressive? People aggressive? Smell? Highly active - needs lots of walks? Certain breeds are bred to do certain things - Terriers kill. That's what they do. Even a West Highland Terrier has a killer instinct. Great dogs, but if they see a cat, they are gone. Hunting dogs run. Irish Setters need tons of exercise. Toys bark. They have nothing else. Bulldogs stink. Not sure why. Labs, shepherds, retrievers shed like crazy and their tails knock stuff over.

Once you figure that out, you need to spend time with the dog. Most shelters will let you "test drive". They would rather do that than have you ditch the dog somewhere if it doesn't work out. At the pound, ask if you can see how the dog is with other dogs. Do they have a play area? Good one's do. See how the dog is in groups. Dog aggressives can be a big problem with neighbors. Nobody likes going to the dog park and having their pet attacked by a Pitbull or Malmute (yes I'm generalizing). Obviously, people aggressive dogs are not a good idea for most people. Most pounds put them down because they bit someone anyway.

I applaud your decison to save a dog. Make sure you get the right one and you'll both be very happy for years to come.

[Danimal16]

I have rescued Springers. Hit or miss and IMHO you will never get a perfect adult. Thing is that we worked with them. Best dog I ever had was the great Spock Meister! He was very nervous around kids that were small, as in shorter than his height. He would go and Hide, but little tykes being who they are had a tendency to pursue him. His response was the old snout bump and off he went. I had to make sure he was not in the house when I had little visitors. Outside the house, he was fine but would get anxious.

Another one was my last springer Andy. In the house he would not let other dogs in the back yard if he didn't know them. He and our cat were best friends but with our golden it was tolerance.

Rescued a pound stray, another springer, Buddy. Absolutely great dog but found out he had food aggression. Funny thing is that he loved, I mean just loved little kids. A family down the block, a superior court judge (great guy) and his wife adopted him. They had three girls and Angy, the five year old and Buddy were inseparable. And it was as if that relationship changed him. There were two cats in the household and a no nonsense Jack Russel. Man I could never figure that out. Buddy was an old dog and when we had him I think he was just afraid. The pound folks told us that they had concerns as they thought he had been on the street for a long time as an abandoned. Buddy lived four more years, we think he was over twelve and possibly as old as 15, he just didn't get out of bed one morning.

Puppies are one type of handful, and all the comments regarding them as a clean slate I agree. Pound puppies have a history, my Andy was tied up to a tree in his former home after living there for none years when his owners moved from California to Texas. Poor guy would go nuts on a walk if he saw a silver Accord, it hurt to watch him go through it. He was tight with me and in the end of my marriage he would not let her near me, I didn't understand his behavior until later. Spock, gosh I don't no where to start and it would take forever. I must say that it seems in the case of pound puppies, he adopted me.

Good for you in considering adoption, it can be a challenge. Check out the bread rescues as well and talk to a trusted vet, they know alot about pups that may need a new home as in the case of the death of the owner. Either way, you are a good man.

[Danimal16]

Originally Posted by SLO-BOB

1st choose a dog based on behavioral traits from a pound or otherwise, and based on your wants. Medium sized is a good start. Now, does shedding bother you? Barking? Dog aggressive? People aggressive? Smell? Highly active - needs lots of walks? Certain breeds are bred to do certain things - Terriers kill. That's what they do. Even a West Highland Terrier has a killer instinct. Great dogs, but if they see a cat, they are gone. Hunting dogs run. Irish Setters need tons of exercise. Toys bark. They have nothing else. Bulldogs stink. Not sure why. Labs, shepherds, retrievers shed like crazy and their tails knock stuff over.

Once you figure that out, you need to spend time with the dog. Most shelters will let you "test drive". They would rather do that than have you ditch the dog somewhere if it doesn't work out. At the pound, ask if you can see how the dog is with other dogs. Do they have a play area? Good one's do. See how the dog is in groups. Dog aggressives can be a big problem with neighbors. Nobody likes going to the dog park and having their pet attacked by a Pitbull or Malmute (yes I'm generalizing). Obviously, people aggressive dogs are not a good idea for most people. Most pounds put them down because they bit someone anyway.

I applaud your decison to save a dog. Make sure you get the right one and you'll both be very happy for years to come.

Great advice +1

[Danimal16]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yeah, we got a 30# mix. When I met her, she stood up, wagged and licked. Super sweet and friendly.

Its kinda like who is really picking who!