How do you choose a shelter dog/puppy? plus tell me about your adopted dog :)

[Fran101]

What are some things you can do/check for before bringing home a shelter dog/puppy?
this includes health stuff and making sure the dog/puppy has the correct temperament for your household

What are some ways to check mix breed puppies for full grown size? is there a way?

What did YOU do when choosing a puppy/dog?




and of course.. tell me a lil bit about the dog you adopted. How did you choose? What age was he/she? Does she get along with people? dogs? health issues?

before/after pics of course!




this is in the very distant future for me of course lol but I decided recently that my next dog will be a large breed puppy from a shelter

I dunno.. I've never raised a dog from puppyhood before. and recently decided next time around I want a large breed dog and I totally want to do that.
and the idea of going to a shelter and picking out a pup popped in my head and hasn't left since lol

figured this would be a good thread for anyone adopting from a shelter

 

[Maura]

Do as much research as you can about breeds. Even if you get a mixed breed, it will help you figure out the activity level and temperament. Many shelters examine every animal that comes in and determines if it is healthy, if it needs some vet care, if they can afford the vet care. If the dog is not healthy and they can't vet it, it will not be put up for adoption. Many also do a temperament test. A dog or puppy that fails the temperament test won't be offered for adoption. Ask what the procedure is at the shelter you will adopt from. Shelters right now are being flooded with animals, so even those that had spent money and time on the animals no longer can and their policies may have changed during the past year.

It may help if you have a shelter worker bring a possible adoptee outside and see how it responds. You want to see if the dog is frightened, happy, etc. Some dogs show their true selves once they get outside the shelter, but some do not until they have been in a home for awhile.

You can also go through breed rescue. If you do that, the dog would have been in somebody's home and they can give you a better assessment of the dog than the shelter often can. Many of the dogs in rescue homes were pulled from a shelter, so you could still be getting a shelter dog, just indirectly.

My first dog was a two year old Irish Setter from the Humane Society. In the kennel of the shelter he was very calm and warm. The instant he got out of that cage his energy skyrocketed. He was very happy, healthy, and hyperactive. We loved him.

 

[Maura]

As for size, most puppies are born pretty much the same size. By eight weeks of age, the ones that will be big are big, the ones that will be small are small. Sometimes the smallest puppy in a litter will end up being the biggest, but as average sizes go, a Newfoundland puppy will be much bigger than a beagle puppy. You can look at their paws, too. They grow into their paws. A light, lean dog will have small/compact or narrow paws relative to it's size. Heavy set breeds have wider paws.

If you can bring a ball or something with you, bounce it and see how each puppy reacts. Some will dash after it, kill it, and throw it. Others will look at it but otherwise ignore it. Some will be afraid of it. How long does it maintain an interest in the object? Consider the time of day, if it's naptime a puppy will be tired.

Some people try to tell the social status of puppies in a litter by which one has the best prize, which one pushes the others, etc. But, puppies all do this sort of thing and the puppy who appears to be king of the castle one minute will be replaced by another the next. Unless you see something dramatic, don't expect to truly see that one is more submissive, one is more dominant, one is more alert, etc. The puppy biting his brother's ear will the next minute be getting his own ear bitten.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

The shelter should be able to provide you with health statistics, and most likely anything to be worried about will be told to you upfront, or already being treated.

My next dog (when I'm on my own) will be a large breed puppy from a shelter, also. Chloe is from a shelter, however I didn't actually pick her from the shelter. A friend of ours adopted her from the shelter, realized she wasn't right for them, and decided to foster her until they could find her an appropriate home. We got her from them two days after they got her from the shelter. We fell in love.

Before and after pictures:

She was soooooooooo skinny when we got her.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sorry, not the best after picture, but you can tell she's put on weight since we first got her. That picture is from several months ago, she's gained a little more weight since then, but I need to take some more recent pictures.

 

[nikkiluvsu15]

Mine is a little bit different, but here it goes...

Harleigh's pregnant mom was pulled from death row by a VERY nice person, who then spent everything on them and adopted them out. I had wanted a dog for quite some time and finally talked my dad into letting me get one.. I saw her ad and immediately knew she was going to be my dog. I don't know HOW I knew, but I just did.

However, If she wasn't a "match" as far as personality I wouldn't have gotten her... I promised myself that I would let my head choose and not my heart. Thankfully my first instinct of "OMGoodness I've got to have her<3" was a good one and she was a great match for me.

She has really been the most awesome dog, especially for my own dog (we've had dogs before, but never one that was completely my own). Though, while she was sweet and didn't have much energy as soon as she got comfortable :yikes: energy overload! lol So, that is definitely something to consider... no matter how calm they may seem, it isn't always the case!

Anyways, this is Harleigh on her first night in her new home! She was 12-12.5 weeks old.

Harleigh now... she's a spoiled girl thats for sure! She'll be 2 y/o in February!!

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

<3 Loved seeing those pics of Harleigh. She is so beautiful, and I LOVE that one of you and her together! I always get choked up seeing pictures of owners w/their dogs.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Mine is a little bit different, but here it goes...

Harleigh's pregnant mom was pulled from death row by a VERY nice person, who then spent everything on them and adopted them out. I had wanted a dog for quite some time and finally talked my dad into letting me get one.. I saw her ad and immediately knew she was going to be my dog. I don't know HOW I knew, but I just did.

However, If she wasn't a "match" as far as personality I wouldn't have gotten her... I promised myself that I would let my head choose and not my heart. Thankfully my first instinct of "OMGoodness I've got to have her<3" was a good one and she was a great match for me.

She has really been the most awesome dog, especially for my own dog (we've had dogs before, but never one that was completely my own). Though, while she was sweet and didn't have much energy as soon as she got comfortable :yikes: energy overload! lol So, that is definitely something to consider... no matter how calm they may seem, it isn't always the case!

Anyways, this is Harleigh on her first night in her new home! She was 12-12.5 weeks old.

Harleigh now... she's a spoiled girl thats for sure! She'll be 2 y/o in February!!

I loooveee Harleigh. <3 She's def. my fave Lab ever. I love that last pic of you two!

 

[PeaceLoveRescue]

Take the dog on a trial or foster to adopt basis is the best way to get to see the real dog. Most shelters will let you do either or even if they only let you take the dog out for an hour get it away from the shelter so you can see the dog's real personality, the way they act in the shelter most and likely will not be how they act in your home.

Go in, take your time to walk about and visit with each dog, take the dogs out that you like to interact with on a one on one basis. You'll know what dog is right for you.

If I hadn't taken Sydney out on an hours trial I would have never known she was dog aggressive until I had adopted and had her in my home and she attacked my boys. The shelter staff never told me she was until she tried to attack two dogs while on trial with me one attack being in the shelter as I was bringing her back and then they reluctantly admitted she was DA despite the fact that I had told them there were other dogs in my home.

Boone chose me, I didn't want a puppy, had no interest in ever owning a puppy let alone one who had behaviour problems like he did/does. He was pick up as a stray 3 month old puppy with a broken leg (poor guy will never be able to go through a metal detector with it going off lol). But he decided otherwise, I could do anything I wanted to him while others who tried the same got bitten or got to experince a very panicked puppy. He'd follow me around the shelter so close I would be kicking him as I walked, when he saw me come into the room he instantly brightened and became a different dog. I knew I had to take him and everyone in that clinic knew too. He's turned into an amazing dog, my little shadow. I hate to think of where he would have ended up if I hadn't taken him, probably in the "back hall" where the aggressive or mentally unsound dogs went to waste their lives away in isolation without a chance to improve and then be put down when the shelter was taken over by the OSPCA like many of the dogs in the back hall.

Then Jan. '09:

Now Aug. '10:

Woof I saw first online, spoke with my co worker who knew people who worked at that shelter, who felt very strongly about who Woof got adopted by and had turned down several people because they didn't feel they could handle his behaviour problems. He came from a puppy mill and spent his first 2 years inside in a crate when not being used, I knew there was going to be a lot of work needed with him, that not a lot of people would want or would be able to work with a dog like him and let my heart win over my brain. In his kennel he was very calm, while the other dogs leapt at the doors, barking and going into whirlwinds he calmly came up to his door and sat down looking completely tramatized by all the noise, he'd gently lick at my hand through the wire so I asked staff if I could take him outside for a bit. He was a little different outside, slightly more sure of himself, more energetic and eager, when he actually came home with me and my ex completely different. He was a complete idiot, lunatic. He was wild, everything was awesome and wonderful and I just thought "what have I done, how am I going to train this dog". But I couldn't leave him there, not when he looked so scared, so out of place and the moment we took him out he jumped into my lap and gave my face a good cleaning completely ignoring the shelter staff and the ex who were also in the room at the time. He's calmer now, but still a big handful and nothing like the timid, gentle dog he was in the shelter. He has his moments of gentle but 90% of the time he's just wild and part of me loves it.

Then May '10:

Now Nov. '10:

 

[milos_mommy]

Keep in mind if you go through a rescue or get a dog that's been in foster, they will probably provide much better information about the puppy's personality than if you go to animal control and pull a puppy that's spent it's whole life in a kennel.

Christy (Sweet on here) once posted a list somewhere about thing to do with a shelter dog to find out more about it's personality, like seeing if you can handle it's paws, etc. and seeing how it reacts, I was actually going to suggest that get sticky'd but can't find it anywhere...maybe she knows what I'm referring to, though.

 

[elegy]

i personally would never get a shelter/rescue puppy because there are just toooo many question marks. but then again, my needs and expectations are different than just a pet owner, as i want my dogs to be able to compete in dog sports. my shelter dogs will all be adults (young ones as sport prospects, old ones because i have a soft spot for old dogs in need- my criteria for them is simply that they be likable and get along with my other dogs).

luce i picked on a wing and a prayer and the expression on her face. nothing more scientific than that. i could never pick so carelessly again, and yet i got exactly the right dog. she was a year or so old, absolutely nuts. she's a freaking amazing dog, except she blew both her knees. other than that, she's a very healthy 8 years old.

shroomers was from a rescue. he's never had any significant health issues (just some minor ones here and there). he's been a fantastic companion to me and to luce. i chose him simply because she adored him.

harv just needed a home. old, black, scarred up pit bull. he was so sweet and gentle and wonderful. oldsters should never end up in a cold, noisy kennel.

 

[Laurelin]

I'll be honest in that I think picking a shelter PUPPY is pretty much the ultimate crapshoot. Not that that is always a bad thing, but you could literally get ANYTHING in a shelter puppy and you just don't know. Just based on my time in the shelter, puppies were often either mislabeled breeds (not my fault) or they were unknown breeds. We had one litter that looked just like pointer mix puppies but I know they were at least 1/2 APBT because I saw the mother. We also had litters dropped off or pups with NO information. We had litters where each puppy looked like a different mix. I don't want to say they totally guess on the breeds but there's just really no way to know for sure on most of them.

I think if I were to adopt (which I plan to) I'd go through a rescue where they foster or at least a dog that is a young adult where I can see their temperament. My concern especially since I have such small dogs is that I would get a puppy and end up with a set of drives I didn't know what to do with. I know any puppy is a crapshoot to an extent but at least with a purebred, breeder puppy you can see the lines and you know what the breed's tendencies are. With a fostered adult you know better how the dog reacts to things (like small dogs). With a puppy of unknown heritage you just don't know. That probably works for some people, but it honestly worries me, which is why any rescued dogs I get will be adults.

ETA: I grew up with a rescued dog. They got him before I was born but he was rescued as a purebred GSD at 8 weeks old with a known mother. He grew up and was very obviously a mutt of some sort. As a puppy though he looked completely GSD. He was a good dog from what I remember, very child tolerant, but he was also very DA and had bad hips. I loved him though and would adore another shepherd or shepherd mix that was anything like him.

 

[milos_mommy]

I know there are ways to roughly predict what a puppy's prey-drive and other things will be like based on play behaviors and things, but there's no way to do that unless you let the puppy come out of it's shell and get used to it's surroundings, etc. Something you can't do in a matter of minutes or even hours at an animal shelter.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I also wouldn't get a puppy from shelter/rescue, mostly because I'm looking for a specific temperment but also because puppies get adopted a lot quicker than adult dogs.

I'd suggest to anyone who wants to rescue a dog, to go through a rescue and get a dog that's been in a foster home for at least two weeks. That will give you the best idea of what the dog will be like.

At work, we get all of our service dogs from shelters, so we have a very specific dog evaluation for them. Even so, about half of the dogs we pull from shelters will end up not making it as service dogs, because there are so many behaviors that they will not do in shelters but will do once they are more comfortable with you.

I'd suggest that if you really don't want to get a dog from a rescue, but you want to get a dog from a shelter, hire a trainer/behaviorist/rescue intake person who is experienced in evaluating shelter dogs to help you determine the dog that's best for you.

 

[Fran101]

I really wish I could find a rescue I like.. the ones in my area for some reason are all pretty nutty. Crazy application process, "surprise" visits once the dog is adopted, home check, etc.. etc..

I'm going to keep digging because a good rescue does seem like the better option for me. I am pretty specific as to what temperament I would like.. I need to be. I live in a city full of other dogs, people, kids, noises, etc.. etc.. I need a dog that would be ok with that because I'm not prepared to deal with anything else.

 

[Laurelin]

Also, I was an adoption counselor for a while and remember a lot of dogs do shut down in shelters. Others will act like menaces inside the shelter but are just wonderful outside. I agree with getting them out if possible and interacting with them away from the other dogs. Shelters are very scary places for a lot of dogs so you don't really see their true personality at the shelter all the time.

 

[Laurelin]

I really wish I could find a rescue I like.. the ones in my area for some reason are all pretty nutty. Crazy application process, "surprise" visits once the dog is adopted, home check, etc.. etc..

I'm going to keep digging because a good rescue does seem like the better option for me. I am pretty specific as to what temperament I would like.. I need to be. I live in a city full of other dogs, people, kids, noises, etc.. etc.. I need a dog that would be ok with that because I'm not prepared to deal with anything else.

Because of that, I would say go for a fostered adult.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I really wish I could find a rescue I like.. the ones in my area for some reason are all pretty nutty. Crazy application process, "surprise" visits once the dog is adopted, home check, etc.. etc..

I understand, I wouldn't adopt a dog from most of the rescues around here either.

You could look at rescues outside of your area, too. I know most rescues in the south are extremely full right now, and may be more desperate to get dogs adopted.

 

[Adrienne]

I could go on and on...being a shelter director, lol but...I'll keep it as short as I can and from my perspective. I have fostered numerous dogs since starting as a volunteer in February. I dug most of them pretty immensely but was pretty ok with them going into new homes. Until I met Kira...Keep in mind I currently own an AKC German Shep from Czech working lines and an AKC Boxer. Kira came in with a nasty skin infection. She had to be on meds twice a day 12 hours apart. We aren't at the shelter that many hours a day typically so I took her home to foster her. She was the most perfect dog ever! She was well behaved and we bonded so immediately and intensely I knew I had to keep her. Kira is my dream dog. I can bring her to work where she is great with all she meets, people, dog, or cat. Her temperament is so stable I can use her as a test dog to see how other dogs/cats react, or use her as 'bait' to help catch a dog at large. She even ignores other people unless she gets my 'permission' to interact, she actually looks at me first and if I tell her to go to/with someone else then she will, else she ignores there attempts at getting her attention.
She only has one major behavioral problem...when she is in an outdoor kennel at the shelter and other dogs are within her sight she runs up and down barking in a high pitched voice constantly. It's horrid! She can not stand to be in a kennel with other dogs around. If she is out of the kennel and other dogs are in she is fine. I am not sure how to break her of this. She even does it when her friends are in the kennel with her, ignores them in favor of barking at the other dogs.
Her other major issue is a health issue. Being predominately white with blue eyes she suffers from chronic skin infections/pad infections. She chews herself, etc. We are on an elimination duck and rice diet, she takes acidophullus, fish oil, cephalexin, and benadryl as well as having a topical ointment for her pads. Hopefully in 12 weeks we will see an improvement with the allergies. I was well aware of this issue prior to deciding to keep her. It's manageable for me and her as well.

Kira's head when she first came in the shelter

nowish

 

[Bailey08]

I agree that getting a puppy from a shelter is a crapshoot. We have been super lucky in my family, though -- all puppies or young dogs from rescues or shelters, and all have (had) great (though varied) temperaments. I picked Bailey because he was seriously the cutest puppy ever and had an awesome little puppy personality (he waited to turn into a shark until he was home for a little while). And now he is the Best Dog Ever.

For all of the dogs my family has rescued (all of which have been medium to large breed dogs), health has varied. Of the two dogs that were adopted young, but older than puppies, and both of whom had a rough start (abuse and/or neglect), one had an average lifespan and the other is sticking around (I think she's 8 now) but is epileptic (which was known when she was adopted). 4/5 of the dogs adopted as puppies are really healthy (my brother has a 10 year old that a vet thought was 4), and Bailey, the 5th, has a couple of autoimmune issues (gastrointestinal issues and allergies) -- nothing major, under control without the need for medication, and I'm sure the rescue didn't know about them.

Pet insurance probably isn't a bad idea. I like to refer to Bailey as a lemon.

 

[StillandSilent]

I would never adopt again without fostering first. With Argon, who started as a foster, the people who dropped him off said that he was shy, but friendly with other animals, no health problems. What I got: Extremely timid with strangers, one person animal, DA, epileptic, allergic to everything under the sun. None of his issues, other then the DA were evident at the shelter.

With Grimm, what I was told was: super shy, not good with kids, not housetrained, not leashtrained, basically raised in a kennel from 8 weeks to 1 1/2 years. If he wasn't ruined already, he was close. What I got: Shy, great with kids, leashtrained in a few minutes, housetrained in a week, all around great dog. Thats not to say it didn't take a lot of work on my part, but he was nowhere near ruined.