Rescue dogs can be wonderful pets, but here are some potential problems you should consider.
We’ve adopted three dogs from animal shelters and had widely differing experiences. Our first good experience was what lead us to try it two more times. Our first rescue dog was maybe a German Shepard, Labrador and Chow mix. Maybe it had some Retriever in there somewhere, we’re not sure. And that’s the thing, you can never be sure so its very hard to predict the natural inclinations of the animal and know if its going to be a good fit.
Not knowing exactly what to expect means you’re going to have a pet for the next 10-20 years that may or may not be right for your family, children or living environment. You might like to walk your dog, but it gets tired or hot after the first few hundred yards and wants to lie down. Or you might like to walk shorter differences less than three or more times a day, but the dog wants to go on a several mile jaunt as often as you indicate you might be heading toward your front door.
Our second rescue dog looked nice, but its indifference toward us when we tried to spend time with it at the animal shelter should have been a clue. It was the “several mile jaunt” variety that preferred to be unassisted and unrestrained. Any time the door was open it would make a mad dash for the opening and we would spend the next several hours trying to recapture it before it was hit or captured by animal control. We suspect this dog had spent too long as a stray and had not bonded with a human
And then there are the issues of socialization and formative weeks or months as a puppy. While well-intentioned to provide a good home for a rescue dog, shelter employees might provide a good story about what they think might be the dog’s history or breed, but the fact is, they likely don’t know or will spin the details to try to get you to adopt the dog.
Our third rescue puppy was quiet and kept to itself at the shelter, a sharp contrast to the incessant barking and howling by the other dogs. It was curled up in a ball and promptly curled up in our daughter’s lap. It was still a young puppy and we thought this one would be able to bond well. The shelter worker thought it might be a Catahoula, which we had never heard of before. It sounded fun. Sure, the dog had a large head, small ears and small feet, but it was SO cute as a puppy.
Most puppies are cute, but they all grow up into dogs that will be part of your family for the next 10-20 years. As time went on, we were to discover this dog conformed more to a Pit Bull breed than any other and must not have had a good foundation as a puppy. It was afraid of everything, very suspicious, very difficult to train and unpredictable.
Unpredictable is one of the worst traits in a dog. You think you can trust it one minute, the next it is either biting someone or running out the door leaving you worried it will either never be found or get killed. You probably aren’t looking for a dog so you can be constantly stressed about whether or not your dog will hurt someone, another animal or get killed while running away from your loving home.
Buying a dog of known breed and origin and knowing it has been providing a loving and well cared for environment as a puppy, even if not a purebred dog, provides a much better chance that your dog will be a good fit for you and provide the enjoyment and companionship you’re looking for.
At Homestead Oaks, we provide that loving environment with dogs of known breed and temperament so you know you will be getting a puppy that will be predictably a good fit for you.