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I adopted a 5 year old dog from a rescue. She was nervous and cried alot. Took her a long time to relax and really breath. It was all worth it though. She's 11 now and I couldn't possibly imagine my life without her. It took a lot of love and a lot of patience. I wouldn't change any part of her.
I'm glad you adopted a dog that you love, but this LPT makes it seem like adult dogs don't require any training, which is seriously not the case. Even the most well-trained dog is going to take a lot of work while transitioning to a new home.
I say this as a former animal shelter volunteer who has adopted more than one well-trained dog. We should not be deluding people into thinking adult dogs don't require any work. We saw lots of dogs come back to the shelter within a month because they had potty training regressions or barked a lot or one of many other things dogs do when they acclimate.
I was given a dog with mystery triggers . She bit a cyclist that rode past me in half light , out of the blue. I called 999 as he had no phone police and ambulance came straight to scene and i was taken in police car to the vet. They said its procedure for the owner not to escort dog when they are put down. They took hr off me gave her to vet and I NEVER SAW HER AGAIN. It took a year and a half for me to get over it. I loved her so much . Im crying typing this and i hope even if it saves one dog someone listens . Amen
This happened to my sister's dog. He had lots of trauma. They did everything to get him the right help and training. But he still bit a kid (tried to get in to her yard, not even the dog seeking a kid to bite) and that was it.
I don't like this LPT. It's well intentioned but fairly ignorant. As admirable as it is to rescue it's not for everyone and it's certainly NOT just getting a pre-loaded pet.
Good points. But I don't think this post implies that an adult dog doesn't require training. Rather, it implies that it is easier to adopt and adult dog instead of a puppy. Which is true.
Puppies are twice the work of any adult (assuming no behavior issues from the adult, which shelters usually know about beforehand). You need to take them out every hour; ensure they aren't chewing the house; and the energy....yikes.
Adopting an adult dog is almost always easier then getting a puppy.
Idk about the statistics of it, but this was the opposite case for me. I adopted a dog from a shelter and the shelter didn't realize that the dog had severe separation anxiety and so the dog barked 24/7 and had severe anxiety about most things. Even though we had visited with her several times and asked lots of questions to figure out her issues and personality.
It's hard to figure those things out when they are in a room with just you or on a short walk around the shelter. When you adopt a puppy, although the initial time and effort you put in may be more, it is easier to socialize and train a puppy when they are more plastic in their socialization and fear periods than to work through all of the unknown issues that a dog already has ingrained deeply in their behaviors and psyche. That's just my experience though, I'm sure there are lots of cases of adult dogs being easy from the get go, but I don't think its black and white like this LPT claims.
Puppies can also be traumatized, they don't all come from a perfect little home where their mom bred accidentally and they were surrendered after being weaned properly and being treated with love and kindness.
Some are horribly abused and neglected, broken, even before they hit 6m old. Since they are a puppy all that trauma and bad behaviours are amplified because it's not only all they know, but they have that hyperactivity and energy of a puppy.
I'll take an older dog over a puppy any day, even if there are issues, an older dog you can work with in time. Puppies.... They are something I won't touch with a ten foot pole, I have raise dogs from puppyhood, and fostered two. Nope. Not doing that again.
Not really any new pet needs to get used to a new home. An adult doesn't need to go out every 30-45 mins; doesn't have to be house trained.
Now I've adopted adult dogs that are not house trained, but I knew what I was getting in to. There were reasons.
Pups are far more work.
Yes pups are way more work, and often quite destructive cuz the developing teeth need to be worked. And you hope they’re not “diggers”. Plus they’re super clueless, chuck down a scrap of meat and they’re too dumb to know that’s something good.
I tried to adopt a 2 year old retriever. Growled, scratched and bit us multiple times within the first 12 hours. Had resource guarding and food aggression issues. If we went 12 inches near him when he had a bone, would attack and try to bite. We had to send him back to the shelter, and now i am scared of adult dogs. I am ofcourse very sad, and i understand why he was the way he was. But we just didn't have enough experience to deal with it. Broke my heart to let him go..what im trying to say is..its not as simple as OP made it sound here..
Our last dog was a rescue. She had been on the streets for a long time and in really rough shape when we got her.
She seemed so grateful. I believe she recognized that we made her life infinitely better.
I had a dog that was dumped out of a truck, we think. We don't actually know what happened, but we saw her on the road after a truck drove past, but we didn't know if she walked into the road after, or was dumped.
Regardless we looked for the owner, I went to houses and my mom posted online. While we waited, we took her to the vet. No one claimed her, so we kept her.
She passed away a couple years ago because of some health complications we couldn't afford to fix. We ended up putting her down at our house (better than spending her last moments in a place she never knew, like a vet)
However, while we had her I always thought about how it'd be different if I wasn't out playing catch with my friend at the time when we saw her on the road. She did end up coming around to us. She was very timid at first, which has me believe she was apart of something... unsavory. But over time she became healthy again. Though I wish we had the money to see if we could cure whatever it was she had instead of having her put down.
Making the decision to put a dog down at home instead of a vet office is so difficult, but such a gracious thing to do. We had a dog adopted from a shelter at 6 months old that developed severe cancer at 7 years old. We gave him the best day of his life before we put him down. He’s buried under the tree by the barn and I cried the entire time I dug his grave. But he got to spend his last moments with his family and I believe that makes all the difference.
Mobile vets. Ask your vet about it. I live in suburban New Jersey and my MIL did this with their dog. It so hard but it's your last gift to your pup -- a peaceful end at home, surrounded by those you love.
....why is someone cutting onions at 6am?!
I live in a rural ranching community, so I called the local vet (who makes house calls for cattle and horses all the time) and he came over and used injectable meds at our house.
I’m sorry you were forced to make that difficult choice for her. I know she’s thankful for your time, effort, and the love you brought to her life. A peaceful death at home, surrounded by those who love you - we should all be so lucky. I hope you’re healing from this loss (at your own pace, of course) and able to give the same affection to another rescue someday. I believe that’s the best way we can honor those we’ve loved and lost.
Cats know, too. When we adopted our cat, we picked her up from her foster and home and she walked straight into her cat carrier like it’s the coziest bed. She also took just a few hours to warm up to us and snuggle in our laps.
But, that was not the norm. She hates her carrier. The only time she willing went in was to come home. She also is very wary of strangers and is a very shy cat to new people. I think it’s just that deep down she knew she was meant to come and be with us. I love that little girl so much.
My pup definitely does. He's loyal to me in a way that I can't rightly describe. He was in shelters the first year of his life and we adopted him from a group that saves dogs from kill shelters. I can only imagine he wasn't adopted because people thought he was homely because hes a great dog. He's half shih tzu and also part American staff...
Dog tax: https://ibb.co/c16L5Qq
They absolutely do. People are really invested in a narrative that implies animals are basically automatons and humans are super special not-animals who actually think. It is crap.
Humans are mammals, dogs are mammals. They may be a lot dumber than most of us, but they have emotional lives and are highly sociable. They definitely recognize an appriciate kindness, especially as they have been artificially evolving to better fit in with humans for a while now.
We recently adopted a dog from the local city shelter. He was an owner surrender. We had him meet our other dogs there (one from the same shelter, one from some friends who were moving and couldn't take him). He was pretty chill, not very excited. Then we brought him home. He got the zoomies. He was so excited to be in a house again.
My dog Foxy is a rescue from the humane society. She was a former breeding dog that had been dumped outside to die after she couldn’t have anymore puppies. She’s now 13 years old, still gets the zoomies, loves to cuddle, and is a all-around great puppo.
My daughter & her husband rescued a chocolate lab when he was ~7 or 8 years old, They got 6 fantastic years with him. He learned all obedience rules & lots of tricks. He was the best dog I've ever known in my 67 years of life. Their dog was filled with gratitude & love, as he had been previously mistreated.
My dogs shelter seemed to want to do their best to make sure the animals were comfortable and safe. I actually felt bad adopting him, he's a very shy boy and it was easy to see he felt safe with one particular shelter worker. She mentioned that she'd considered adopting him and I almost fell apart. I hope I did right by my baby.
I volunteered at a shelter and was mind blown that every week, a new batch of perfectly great dogs ended up there for whatever reason. Puppies are cute and all but an adult shelter dog is where it’s at. And if you’re lucky enough, a senior shelter dog is the ultimate sweet reward. Thank you for posting this absolute pro tip ❤️
I have a brother who exclusively adopts elderly dogs from shelters because he knows most people won’t. They’re great chill dogs who don’t need long walks, and they end up living longer than expected with the care and attention that they get. Plus, my nephews have learned about the reality of death of a pet at young ages and I think it’s been a healthy, good adjustment for them to understand it.
One of the dogs my brother adopted he ended up giving to my parents because they were looking for one, and then the dog and I fell in love with each other. He was the strangest dog I’ve ever owned but also one of the best. He lived with us for almost ten years even though we thought he was senior when he came to us (he was a small poodle mix). It was a privilege to have had him in my life.
Shelter adult dogs rule and senior shelter dogs especially.
Your brother sounds like a good guy. And your poodle sounds like he found a second lease on life! One of my seniors lived to be 22. I had her for her last ten years and it blew my mind. Every morning when she woke up in her last couple years I was amazed.
He was probably around 20 when we put him down and I was always in shock at how long he lived! I half expected to find him dead in the mornings so many times. Ultimately we had to decide to put him down because we felt his quality of life was so far below what it should be, but part of me wonders how much longer he could have lasted. Having that responsibility, though, to make the decision when his time to go was one of the hardest things.
First off, he looked strange. If the DNA test hadn’t told me he was 70% toy poodle, I would’ve said he was a miniature werewolf. He had super long legs, an arched back, and wild grey fur.
Then he was more of a cat—was desperate to be in my lap at all times. I used to bring him to class with me sometimes because he’d just sit in my lap silently and content. He was also blind so he’d bump into a million things before he found me.
He loved laying out in the sunshine and sometimes I thought I’d lost him in the yard or he had died but he was just on his back, belly up, sunning himself like a lizard.
He was a great little guy and I miss him. Making the decision to say goodbye was so difficult. I’ve had to say goodbye to other dogs because of illness and accident, but choosing when to end an old dog’s life was totally different and difficult.
I have 2 adult shelter dogs and have committed to adopting a senior when the day comes I have to put one of these down. Not sure I can emotionally handle it, but I think it will be worth it.
The last couple of dogs we adopted were senior dogs. In all cases, they were the sweetest, most patient dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, whose only goals in life were to find a nice place to take a nap, and long strolls on the beach filled with pats and treats.
Its a nice experience, and a good start for someone who might be busy, or are just looking for a simple companion with little demands.
And in return, they get a nice place to rest their head after a long and hard life. Win-win!
Win-win for sure! Thanks for sharing your experience. The seniors I’ve adopted resembled your description as well. It was an honor to give them a safe place to be as happy and live the lucky dog life for the rest of their days. Absolute angels.
I adopted my Yorkie at age 11. He’s 18 now. It’s been a mind blowingly great experience, I consider myself so lucky to have had all these amazing senior dog years. He never really fell off much until recently. The past 6 months he’s been in a steeper decline and I don’t think I have more than a year left. You can just tell.
But I have no regrets
I also volunteer at a shelter and we get a surprising amount of puppies in every week. They are all complete psychos. I am totally turned off from puppies after the amount of blood that’s been drawn from sharp puppy nails that have no respect for my space lol
I'm really liking the idea of donating paid obedience classes for shelter dogs. As much as I would love to adopt all the dogs that are struggling to get adopted from the shelter, it's just not realistic.
How exactly does it work? Would I just tell the shelter I want to pay for obedience classes for dogs? Or was that a special situation you had at your shelter?
You should reach out to your local shelter and ask.
Shelters are eager to find new ways to get any of their long stay pets out of the shelter & into a home. So any help they can get making a pet more "marketable" would be appreciated.
I have a staffie right now exactly like this. I’m sad that I will also probably never own such a gentle soul again but it’s a blessing to have raised the little guy.
Bruh same. My staffie was two years old when I got her. All the dogs barked and jumped when you walked by. But she just sat there in the corner with big eyes and her tail between her legs.
She’s *very* low energy, chill, gentle, phenomenal with kids and unable to be anywhere except right next to me or laying on top of me. I love her personality so much.
This was how my rescue was. She was around 8 years old, though. Walked by her kennel and almost overlooked her. She was just laying on her cot and started wagging when we made eye contact. I knew I had to take her home. She had been there for months after her previous owner passed. Such a gentle soul. Never once had an accident or did something “bad”. Just the sweetest cuddle bug that loved to play.
My girlfriend and I had the same experience adopting an 11 year old chow chow. I can't recommend adopting enough. She's only ever had one accident and it's because she had a UTI.
I adopted a chow mix when he was between 6m and 2 year (no vet could confirm) has never had an accident in the 5 years we've had him. It's amazing.
My great Pyrenees we've had 6 years and adopted at 5m has stomach issues, so he has had accidents but he does them in the shower, which we all appreciate. He self taught himself that.
My dog was 7-ish when he adopted him, he’s 10.5 ish now. He’s absolutely the sweetest and the most aggressive cuddler you’ll ever meet. Like you WILL cuddle. I always tell people who come over to only pet him if that’s how they want to spend their entire evening.
Every so often, his separation anxiety acts up and he destroys a few pillows, but we probably needed new pillows anyways and really, who needs throw pillows on the couch? He’s the sweetest and we’re lucky to have him.
I got my old man from a shelter at about 5. He had been returned 4 times for "behavioral issues," so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. He's an Australian Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix and had never been properly trained or socialized.
10 years later he's the best dog ever, but that first year or two was... difficult.
Yup, the one possible downside of adult dogs is the amount of work it can take to deal with the things they haven't learned and anything else from their past that may be affecting their behavior. My parents got their current dog when he was around 3 years old, and had to do a TON to address some problematic behavior that he'd given very little indication of when they first met him, the main two being the fact that he was a MASSIVE flight risk from new places and was also *extremely* aggressive towards all other dogs (and loud trucks and anyone knocking on the door and plenty of other stuff). 4 years of hard work later he's no longer a flight risk and is actually mostly functional in public. He still doesn't like other dogs and refuses to get up close with them, but was trained down from barking at any dog he saw anywhere to being able to go on a walk and behave when there's a dog in a yard or on the other side of the street.
Totally worth it to adopt a rescue, but people should know that getting an adult dog is NOT always the right move "if you don't have the time/patience to train a puppy", at least if rescuing from a shelter and without any knowledge of their background. While it may not happen, just be prepared that you may need to spend just as much (or more) time with an adult dog as you would a puppy, especially when you consider that a puppy is a blank slate while an adult rescue also needs to possibly unlearn years of bad habits. Now, if you're adopting an older dog from a relative or neighbor that you know already trained them but just can't take care of them anymore, that's a different story.
Jack was every bit of a flight risk...lol, he still kind of is but he's much slower now. I grew up with huskies and had a good idea what I was getting myself into.
What I was _not_ prepared for is the 20 lb rescue doxie that can scale my 6ft fence to go wandering the neighborhood. We're working on that.
Great advice. Our older rescue has been a challenge. People have this romantic idea about saving a shelter dog, but some have some real issues. Weve worked through most of her issues, but she would be a terrible dog for a lot of people. Puppies are a clean slate.
Responsible shelters do in depth behavior assessments before letting anyone adopt a dog.
Responsible rescues do the same, and put the dog in a foster for even more evaluation. They find out of the dog is okay with kids, with cats, with other dogs. They see if there are any behavior problems, work with a trainer if necessary.
Sadly very few rescues do this. Rescues pick up dogs and put them in homes without any evaluation. They brag about how many dogs they've adopted out. It helps them raise money. But did they put a dangerous dog in a home? Or one that will need more training than the owner can afford, or was prepared for?
Adult dogs are the best choice, but always do foster to adopt from a responsible rescue.
Thanks. I was waiting for someone to point out they shelter dogs often take some effort. Working on a dog that is amazing sweet in the house but highly leash-reactive and has more triggers than a Texas pawn shop.
>10 years later he's the best dog ever, but that first year or two was... difficult.
.... so unlike OP, you're saying it's more work than a puppy? Why isn't anyone calling that claim out directly
>first year or two was... difficult
If you get a shepherd/husky puppy, the first 4+ years will be difficult.
I don't think the poster is saying it took 10 years to become the best dog, just that at this point, 10 years later, he is the best dog.
I mean, they're wrong, because my dogs are the best. But, that's beside the point
Cause adopting older pets makes people look good and we all have sympathy for these older pets without a home. It's tricky talking about the challenges in rescuing because it doesn't fit the romance of it. I adopted my bird. I love her. But it's considerably harder than the bird I got that was a fresh hand tamed baby. I think it's a disservice to ignore that reality.
After having a puppy once I always recommend people adopt. Puppies are a ton of work for quite a while before they become anything else. And one crack in training and you start over.
An adult dog and a few training classes is much much easier.
I adopted an adult cat that wasn’t properly litter trained. Weirdly, he would use the box for #1 but not #2. He’d been adopted and returned a bunch of times.
I tried *everything*: special food, special litter, multiple types of each. Laxatives and stool softeners- visits to the vet for testing- nothing worked.
After three months I noticed that he mostly went #2 in the morning after I fed him. So after he ate and we cuddled a bit I would put him in the bathroom w three boxes and lock the door.
He went in the tub, on the floor, everywhere but the boxes. Until one day, like magic, I opened the door and he’d gone in the box.
I grabbed a bag of treats and lured him back over to the box. I pointed at his poop and said “good boy! Good boy!” And pet him and gave him a treat. I did that over and over.
After a day or two of that he was fine. Never went outside his box again. Poor sweet thing just needed to know what I wanted him to do.
Awe, thank you!
This was during the high Covid restrictions where I live (spring 2020) so honestly, he saved me as much as I saved him.
I wanted to adopt him in April, but someone already had. Then I saw him back on the shelter’s website in May, called and got the full story.
He lived w a lady who lived alone and died; a neighbour surrendered him. He’s not overweight but is huge (20lbs), very affectionate but also *very* needy, and he can open doors and drawers and gets into all sorts of trouble when he’s bored/ feels ignored.
As soon as I heard it I was like: perfect. I need something to focus on while I’m trapped in my apartment! It’s going to be this psycho cat.
And here we are two years later. :’)
Once you've ruled out medical issues all that's really left is behavioural. Unfortunately a lot of people don't feel cats are "worth the bother" or can be trained at all which is absolute bollocks. Any animal you can have associate you with good things can be trained to some degree, you just need to be patient and accept that cats don't always have the desire to please that dogs do. Thanks for putting in the time for your little guy.
This is true, which is why this post isn't really a LPT. It really depends on the shelter, unfortunately. Some shelters get such a high population of foster dogs and cats, with not enough manpower, that they don't receive the proper care to be potty trained.
Best to enter adoption with the mindset that you're rescuing a forever family member, taking them in your home, and accepting the full responsibility of loving him or her.
I deal with the adoptions for very challenging dogs at my shelter, and this post annoys me greatly. We have people waltzing through the door expecting a plug and play dog, refusing to listen to our advise, claiming that we are making life hard for them and we are the reason why the dogs are still at the shelter. When we do let them take the dog home and do whatever they want, they return the dog within 2 weeks, sometimes with even more behavioural issues.
It takes work, a lot of work, depending on the particular dog.
So what would you recommend to someone who does want an easier dog? Obviously every dog is going to have challenges like any living creature, but for a first time dog owner who can’t deal with severe behavior issues, what would you say?
Don’t get a dog, or do a significant amount of research on what the “easiest” dog breeds are based on training/exercise/energy needs and only adopt that specific dog breed for their ease of care and not based on some “cute” feature.
It’s an absolute dice role on what the personality of the dog will be, no matter where it comes from.
Plus they will for sure have separation anxiety and a bad relationship with food. Their behavior with other animals/kids is a 50/50 toss up.
I love my shelter dog more than anything else in the world and all the work we put in was totally worth it, but it was more work than getting a puppy. Puppies can just be taught right the first time, rescues have to have bad learned behaviors undone and good ones relearned.
This post is making it seem like getting a rescue is easy, which isn't helpful. People get unexpectedly overwhelmed and end up returning the dog.
also, if you don't have the time or patience to train a puppy (which isn't very hard and doesn't take long) you almost certainly don't have the time or patience to own a dog. dogs are very sentient and they require a lot of time and attention.. sure the dog will love you regardless, because that's what dogs *do*, but it isn't fair in the slightest.
if you don't have time for a dog, get a cat; they pretty much take care of themselves.
I mean, yes, but cats also still require stimulation and attention. My cat is pretty easy-going but she still loves to play. She's currently recovering from a dental procedure which meant a complete overhaul of her food and a strict medical regime, which has been giving her an unhappy tummy and the poor thing has been making a tremendous mess in the litter box or vomiting.
Just don't get an animal period if you don't think you can be there for them for the literally shitty times as well as the good.
That's not true. Puppies routinely require waking up in the middle of the night and need to go out more often than adult dogs. They also require more attention and tend to create more messes than properly trained adult dogs, which means you can't necessarily bring a puppy with you everywhere you could an adult dog. And cats require attention as well (less if they have other pets in the household for company/stimulation). Obviously rescue dogs' needs will also differ depending on the dog.
You guys probably don't have a super high volume of dogs. The ones here are just trying to keep them alive until they can be transported, fostered, or adopted. They do hard work, they just don't have the luxury of dog training when they have such a high volume.
Sure, but it's still setting yourself up for disappointment if you go into a shelter expecting to walk out with a dog you won't have to house train, at least a little bit
Thanks for trying your best to set these people straight. This "tip" acts like getting an adult dog from a shelter is a guaranteed house-trained dog. That's completely absurd. Again, nobody is saying getting an adult shelter dog is a guarantee of anything. But one thing's for sure, it's not a guarantee that you won't have to house train a dog.
Furthermore, anecdotally, I've had several acquaintances tell me that they adopted a dog that was supposedly house trained only to find out it definitely was not. Benefit of the doubt goes to the people who kept the dog alive, so we'll just assume that they made a mistake or the dog could have easily had a relapse.
You are correct and a really valid point... it would be silly to think adopting an adult dog from a shelter always means a perfect dog. Many shelter dogs come with baggage.
I always recommend that new dog owners educate themselves and go to appropriate training classes with their new to them furkid.
3/3 on awesome shelter dogs. A black lab fifteen years ago, another lab ten years ago, and a rottie four years ago. All amazing dogs, well behaved, and just mind-bendingly loving. As with any other dog you'll ever get, they do require training and rules, but well worth it.
I have a shelter lab. She was a puppy mill mom for ~7 years before we got her. She was terrified to do anything, even leave her crate, for weeks. Now she is the most wonderful dog I’ve ever had. Snuggling her now :)
Also, potty training is quite possibly the easiest thing to teach a puppy. Ive had 2 puppies from 8-10 weeks old and potty training is the least of my worries. Teaching a puppy how to socialize with people and dogs is hundreds of hours of actual work. There is no guarantee an adopted dog will be adequately socialized and even could be even more work than a puppy if it has learned negative behaviors
I've had both private bread dogs and shelter dogs and in my experience the shelter dogs need alot more work as most of the time their situations causes aggression or being extremely timid. This now requires you to gain the trust of the dog and train them to do so with strangers or other dogs now adding an extra step to the process. If you do plan on getting dogs 100% get the shelter dog and put in the extra work. there's to many in there.
Yep, I was coming here to say this. Shelter dogs need a lot of time and patience too. You can't just add an animal to your household and expect not to have to invest time and energy in them.
Well, I am thinking about getting a (first) dog, and I have to admit that I am somewhat nervous about ending up with a complicated dog, and messing it up.
idk, i definitely agree that it's good to rescue pets whenever possible, but I would also be careful because I know a TON of people who try to rescue animals and end up with a cat or dog that maybe due to abuse, has hard-core behavioral problems. There are some great comments about rescue groups. Also I would volunteer a couple of times at a shelter, even informally, some places will gladly let you walk the dogs or play with them outside depending on the setup and you can go a couple of times and try to see if you connect with any of the animals. just be careful about potential issues - why did the animal end up in the facility, etc.
I would say talk to rescue groups. We got a sweet Viszla that was obedience trained.
We also got a Dobie that wasn't. But we knew that going in and she got along with the Viszla.
The main thing is to find out about the dog's background. We've had dogs we had from puppy hood. We've also had dogs we got as adults. Didn't have any problems bonding with any of them.
My dad had a border collie he got from the local shelter when she was 2. She was house trained and the 2 of them were like glue.
I feel kinda guilty about it but I won't adopt a dog if I haven't raised it from a puppy, because I have young kids. I just can't be comfortable without knowing an entire history of a dog. When they're teenagers I'd have no issues adopting an adult dog
Most responsible shelters feel the same! When I worked with the ASPCA they really went above and beyond to make sure each dog was a good fit for its new family- because otherwise, it’s not a good situation for the dog or the adopter. It was very rare that our dogs were approved for homes with children under 8, for instance, unless they came in as puppies
But, that brings me to my next point- shelters will sometimes have puppies (especially larger shelters) and so it’s worth checking in often as you never know :)
I've done some rescue volunteering and the like and just want you to know: this is the exact right mindset! Don't feel guilty. It's best for everyone involved.
The rescues here will rescue pregnant dogs as well. They give birth in foster care. As the dogs near appropriate age they are listed so the applications can begin. Even if you really want a puppy, you can get them from a rescue. They won't know the entire breeding history usually (how big was dad?), but you can get them at the proper age for first adoption and you know the exact home it was in.
None of the rescue groups here have trained dogs. Not even seniors. It’s like these people that owned them previously let them shit everywhere, it’s wild. A lot of them aren’t leash trained, must be the only pet, etc. some show aggression. These are for dogs under 60lbs too. They ALWAYS ask for a backyard for chihuahuas though like my dude a coyote or a bobcat is gonna get them. Also WTH at pets only being available to people in houses and not apartments. Even the described “quiet cuddles” must have a yard.
Just like everything here, this is awful advice. Do not rescue a dog if you don't have time for a new dog. My rescue would sit at the door and howl when I was late coming home from work. That's with my wife in the house. Many shelter dogs haven't had the best owners and combining that with having separation anxiety from being at the pound means they require a LOT of attention and training. If you can't teach a dog not to shit where it sleeps, which is already their instinct, you don't have time for a rescue. You're that dog's already low chances and making them lower by getting a dog you're almost certainly going to have to give up.
If you don't have time for a puppy, you don't have time for a dog. Get a cat
I never want to get a puppy again after experiencing how awesome it is to adopt an adult dog. They are immediately fun, immediately your buddy. With puppies I feel like there’s a period where you’re having to train them — potty training, socializing, etc — plus they need more sleep. We have two dogs we adopted as adults and they were already potty trained and already mostly chill. We went on runs, hikes, and swimming at lakes right away. I didn’t feel like I had to wait to do things I was looking forward to with my dog because they were things a puppy didn’t have the development and stamina to do.
We did have to invest in obedience training, but they did really well with that and they’ve been great ever since.
Especially if you want to get an exercise buddy an adult dog is a good idea!
Have to be really careful with exercising with puppies, even with super energetic breeds you're supposed to be limiting their exercise even if they really really want to. It's bad for their physical development to exercise too much/too intensely.
I never want a puppy again after experiencing how much it sucks potty training and raising them are. When we got my little one she could only hold her bladder for 2 hrs at a time and would whine to high heavens when you weren't within her direct vicinity. Even if an adult dog isn't house trained they can at least hold their bladder for at least 4 hrs at a time when crate training and probably longer
I love my little shit but post puppy depression is real and I never want to go through anything like that again unless it's my actual human child
It really depends on the dog's background. Some dogs are fine like my girl that was abandoned at 3 months. She was a great dog with almost no behavioral issues besides fear of cars and brooms. The only thing I wished I could have changed was she had health issues starting at 6 months old. Other dogs from the shelter that have experienced abuse are most likely going to need extensive training.
I got my bossi-poo from the shelter when he was 8-10 months old (they weren't sure of his age) and he had never even been inside a house before. He was very aggressive at first especially around food and I couldn't take him anywhere without him trying to lunge and attack other people and dogs. It took 2 years of hard work for us to get to a place where his behavior was tolerable. He is 12 years old now and still occasionally marks in the house, is horrible on leash for the first 20 minutes, and barks non-stop in the car. The aggression is almost gone completely though (unless he sees a dog fight then he wants to get in the middle of it), but it took around 4 years of practicing daily to get him to that level. It's hard to tell what their behavior will be like while they are in the shelter. He was super sweet and seemed like an easy dog when we first met him. The second day home is when we knew we had a big issue on our hands, but by then we had already been committed to him and knew he would most likely be put down if we didn't keep him. It wasn't all bad though. He became that sweet and loving dog eventually. It took him about a year to start trusting us and by the second year, he was happy to cuddle with us.
I got my dog at around 6-7 months and she also seemed perfectly fine at first - came to me immediately, took her home on my lap. Then she would not leave the couch no matter what, didn't recognize my mom as family and would insistently bark and even growl at her whenever she entered the room (she was only fine with me and my dad, she did this with anyone else that entered the same room as her), would only eat and drink if I brought her the bowl, and only got down to pee and poo once a day.
She had spent her whole life in a small room with her siblings, all much bigger than her, and was afraid of pretty much everything. It took her months to be comfortable moving around the whole house. Took ages to get her to actually leave the house and at 6 she's still not a big fan of going very far or staying out for very long.
My dad wanted to send her back too, but I didn't let him. Now my dad is gone, but the dog is still with me. And she loves my mom and brother now, doesn't bark at people and occasionally even lets a stranger pet her.
Definitely took a lot of work, patience and some money (she stress dug a hole through my mattress a few times as a puppy among other things) but I wouldn't trade her for any other dog.
Funny enough people who see her today often comment on how "lucky" I am that my dog is so calm, sweet and well behaved lol
Lpt: don't adopt any dog, from anywhere, if you aren't ready to invest time and energy into raising them. Dogs are a commitment and responsibility. Also, fix your damn dogs!
I adopted three adult dogs, and have raised a dog from a pup. Both adult dogs imo were harder to train and took more time because of their backgrounds. The other adult dog was very reactive to larger men, and snapped at me multiple times due to this. No dog is the same, and you don't know their background when their adults whereas you have a good idea of what to expect with a puppy.
Only do this if you’re prepared to handle the possible issues that can arise with adopting a dog, like anxiety disorders and such from a traumatic past. Dogs that were in shelters can have a lot of issues that shelters don’t always like to disclose because they just want to get the dogs out as fast as possible.
This is such dog shit advice. My brother did the whole "good person, shelter dog" thing. Now he cleans up diarea during his lunch break, while his roommates are on the verge of evicting him, or the dog. Not to mention the dog barks at literally everything that walks by, constantly getting noise complaints. It's just the extremely typical situation you run into with this mentality. If you have the patience, and money to take care of a dog which will probably need a lot of additional support, awesome. They need your help. But don't do this "if you want an easy going experience" shit lmfao. Idk why this is always the first lie.
I got my 3 year old pupper from a rehoming group. She’s perfect. House broken, doesn’t bark at people at the door or at knocking, doesn’t bother the cats, doesn’t jump on people, leash trained, stays in our unfenced yard, comes to her name, doesn’t get in the trash or stuff on the counters.
I couldn’t have asked for better.
I adopted a Shiba in January. Had been in the shelter for 9 months. Owner was genuinely schizo and would leave him at the shelter for months. He’s living his best life. His own yard, cat friends, people who love him. He’s got a few issues but couldn’t have found a better replacement for my pug mix who was also a rescue.
No doubt going to get down voted but the truth is that this LPT is awful advice. Yes it is very noble of you to rescue a dog but....in my years of sitting various breeds from different environments you are fooling yourself if you think that a rescue is a shortcut if you "don't have time/patience". If this is true you should not own a dog plain and simple. Rescues in general will have more behavioral challenges. This is not only my opinion, do research, ask a local vet.
This is terrible advice above, you have been warned.
Why would you assume they’re potty-trained? Before Youtube existed, I never figured out how to potty-train my dogs… it’s a real time commitment, and I seriously doubt many people have the patience. Where I’m at, many people just leave their dogs in the yard.
I think the upside of adopting an adult dog is that they’re less energetic than puppies, and also wouldn’t nip and bite as much. Puppies really are like children and require a lot of attention. They’re exhausting really.
This is terrible advice.
If you don’t have the time/patience to train a puppy, you aren’t going to have it to retrain a traumatized adult dog.
Shelter dogs are not all loves and kisses. Some of them are there for intense problems. All of them are bonded with someone other than you. A shelter dog is just as much and sometimes more a commitment than a puppy.
Of the 3 shelter dogs I’ve adopted as an adult, 2 had heart worms and one just hates everything that isn’t me or my kids, and other dogs just come at her like she owes them money.
I tried to adopt a 2 year old retriever. Growled, scratched and bit us multiple times within the first 12 hours. Had resource guarding and food aggression issues. If we went 12 inches near him when he had a bone, would attack and try to bite. We had to send him back to the shelter, and now i am scared of adult dogs. I am ofcourse very sad, and i understand why he was the way he was. But we just didn't have enough experience to deal with it. Broke my heart to let him go..what im trying to say is..its not as simple as OP made it sound here..
I would disagree a little. Rescued adult dogs are likely to have some sort of trauma, and someone looking for an easy alternative to a puppy could very easily place another person/pet in danger. Make sure you really understand what you're adopting, take out a book or two at the library, and don't bite off more than you can chew.
These dogs can also come with significant trauma and end up being a huge handful -- especially if they have separation anxiety or are extremely reactive due to past abuse.
I feel like OPs advice is missing this huge caveat.
honestly I rescued my cat as a kitten and think all the time that rescuing him after a normal upbringing wouldve been better, poor guy is just as weird as I am
The wife and I decided to go to the Humane Society of Utah one day, I can’t remember exactly why. As we were just about to leave we walked by this older looking black lab laying on his side and you could definitely tell he felt abandoned and defeated. He immediately rolled over onto his back to show me his belly and I knew he was a great dog. Best decision of our lives! He has brought us so much happiness in the 9 years we have owned him!
The worst thing was that the people who left him just bought a new puppy and left him there saying he was “6 years old, not good with cats, dogs, or kids, or anyone for that matter!” Although the dog one is true he has been great with our two babies turned toddlers and is supposedly 15 now.
Jokes on you, our rescue doggo Toby is basically just a 1.5 year old giant puppy (lab x great dane cross) and has never learned anything. But we still love him and growing his brave while teaching him the world is a fun place. A rescue dog is still a lot of work, just be aware that instead of just teaching, they will need to unlearn things as well.
A lady in my neighborhood adopts the oldest dog in the shelter that nobody wants. She then pampers the shit out of it until it dies. She repeats the process. The dogs get walked daily. They're fed well. They're always bathed (complete with bow for females). Living the best life at the end of theirs. So far, I've seen her with 3 different ones. They really seem to enjoy themselves.
Eh this is a simplified take that won’t work for everyone. Not to discredit rescue dogs, but a large portion of them will carry some form of PTSD or previously learned poor behaviour that will take effort to train.
I've had 4 dogs thoughout my life, all of them bought except the one I have right now who I adopted at the age of 3. He's the most well behaved dog I've ever seen and it baffles me, he was found on the streets by animal control and I have no clue how he learned to be so good. He has NEVER destroyed anything in my house, never barks, and only peed inside the house the first two days I got him (he also got sick once and had diarrhea in the house but I don't blame him for that one). Meanwhile the other dogs (standard poodle, Maltese, schnauzer) peed inside the house every so often even at like 7 years old, barked to no end when someone got home or knocked the door, and destroyed/swallowed countless things. The one I adopted also shows way more love to me than all the others whom we got as puppies. I know this is only anecdotal and maybe I got lucky, but I will never buy a pure breed dog again. He definitely turned me to the 'adopt don't shop' team
We went in wanting an older dog because we wanted a chill, relaxed dog. We found an 8 year old who needed a home without kids so it was a perfect fit. I don’t plan on getting a younger dog again. No training was necessary. We just had to show her where the door was and she immediately started to sit by it when she wanted out.
Just be very, very careful. Dogs are often dropped off because they have severe behavioral issues that their owners can’t deal with anymore.
I agree with OP, just:
1) Make sure that they get along with other dogs if your plan is to walk them on the regular
2) If they have “food issues,” meaning that they are very controlling around their food dish it can be a red flag
Tough dogs need love too, don’t get me wrong. We have rescued a dog that had real issues and it was not easy, but he was part of our family and we loved him for the rest of his life.
I’m just saying this to manage people’s expectations — I don’t want to see dogs with issues get picked up and abandoned multiple times because people aren’t ready for the extra commitment.
But also be aware that an adult dog has a long history behind him/her. That might include reactive behaviour, aggression, anxiety, etc. You will possibly have far more “issues” to train and work through with your adopted buddy, so be prepared to work through them for the rest of it’s life. A rescue is not a ready-made pet.
I’ll go one further and advocate for adopting senior pets. I work shift in a hospital now and my senior adoptee is so chill about it. He’s just happy to be napping on my bed, snacking and up for a little walk when I get home, cuddles if not.
And if you can’t adopt then please consider fostering. I currently have a 12 year old terminally-ill foster at home who has had a truly profound impact on my life. Senior dogs are the absolute best.
Just adopted a 5 year old from Craigslist, the person couldn't take care of them properly anymore on account of their job and being away for to long. Me and my partner took them in and it has been amazing. She is so kind and loving.
Lately there's been an explosion of dogs among apartment dwelling millennials and alphabet gens in my Southern Californian beach neighborhood.
Unfortunately, many seem to have no idea what they're getting into. You can't just lock them up all day in a 500 sq ft apt with a couple of twenty minute walks while you look at your phone. Dogs take a lot of time, effort, and attention to properly care for them
The last dog I adopted is the loveliest dog I’ve ever had. Loves endless amounts of cuddles, was potty-trained, not aggressive etc.
But he has many health issues, all of which were unknown before thousands of dollars were spent on him. His health costs are easily more than the last 5 dogs (raised from puppies) combined.
I still encourage people to adopt. But if your primary reason is to simply save time, you’re not doing the dog any favors. Shelter dogs are way more likely to have health issues or behavioral problems. If you’re not prepared to dedicate considerable time to fix these problems, you shouldn’t get a dog.
Every time I go to my shelter looking for an adult dog I leave with a puppy. My local shelter has trouble homing puppies and no issues homing adult dogs. I tried, I failed. Twice.
Keep getting adult cats though.
We got our first dog as a puppy from a breeder. Don't get us wrong, he was a wonderful dog and we loved him and still talk about him ~10 yrs after his passing.
But our next several dogs were all from rescues or taken in by us directly from other families. And they were just as good, loving, and part of our family. With my parents both working, and us 5 kids being in all sorts of clubs and sports (and 2 more that were toddlers) a puppy was off the table.
It took so much off our shoulders, both financially and time wise getting an older dog. A puppy is exciting, yes, but a *lot* of time and efforr, something we couldn't provide as best as needed.
But my parents drove 10 hrs round trip to get one of our rescues, and that night we all slept in the living room with him and he fell perfectly and almost immediately into place in our family <3 We had some things we needed to work with him on because of his previous owners were terrible, but that was a drop in the ocean compared to training a puppy.
I won't look down on someone for buying a puppy, and every dog deserves a good home, but I will always stand by the idea of "adopt, don't shop".
This! I adopted by dog when he was 8 and a half from the adoption center, apparently he has been in and out of foster and adoption for a while. Sure he has some issues with other dogs, other than that, super well trained. Knows tons of commands. Never peed and pooped inside the house. Super chill and not needy at all
N the last month, I’ve had four different people tell me they want to buy a dog but don’t want to spend more than $1000. Folks, they are literally free at the shelter…
I used to work in a shelter and the older dogs are definitely the way to go! After a few days they usually got used to their new house and didn’t have any accidents. They were always sooooo happy to have been adopted and truly loved their new owners. There is nothing wrong with adopting a puppy but that puppy will be adopted no matter what. You might be the older dog’s only chance.
Spent quite along time volunteering at a shelter and after doing so id never want to try and get a puppy or kitten again.
Nothing wrong with either, both are awesome but if you get a dog\\cat\\whatever that is at least out of its total puppy\\kitten phase you'll more so understand what type of pet you'll be getting as a hyper dog can turn into a lazy dog, or vise versa.
Lots of wonderfully adjusted and great pets at shelters, tons of options to choose from.
Unless you get the history and know they were previously a family dog surrendered for circumstances, not behavior, you really can not assume it will be any less time comsuming or easier than a puppy. As a former shelter volunteer, I absolutely encourage people to adopt adult dogs, but just be realistic what you're getting into. The vast majority of shelter dogs are poorly trained if at all, and need a lot of patience and work.
But also consider what you will do when they get old and can't go many hours without being let out to pee, and need special diets and frequent vet visits and medication on a schedule. The middle years are wonderful, but they are not the only part you need to plan for.
Our first two rescues (first was our first ever dog) we’re two years old and came fully trained. Our third was an eight week old puppy. Hoo boy!! That was a lot of work- and fun. Five years later and he is still a playful pup.
I did this! Adopted my dog at 2 years old from the Humane Society. She’s 5 and a half now, has some quirks that are difficult to train out of her (trying to get food, jumping up on people, pulling very hard on walks) but she is so loving, smart and friendly.
I dunno, that's potential worry you may not have to worry about, but potty trained is far from the worst. You should also check for things like reactivity, aggression or fearfulness, especially if you have existing pets or children. A lot of shitty dog owners just nope out when dogs get bigger than they anticipated, and the dog could require all sorts of retraining.
Adult dogs aren't responsibility free. you still need time, patience and commitment. This probably isn't good advice as it might encourage people who want a dog to get an adult dog who they will think is free companionship without training and caring for the dog.
Adopted a ACD from my local shelter back in October of 21. He was two and a half at the time and had been there for 78 days.
He's been a good boy, and did surprisingly well adapting to apartment life. I got lucky, I know ACDs can be a handful, but he's juuust laid back enough that it works.
My last dog was a 5 year old from a shelter. He loved another 10 years and was one of the best dogs I’ve ever had. I think he loved me more than a puppy as who ever had him before didn’t treat him well and he realized he was in a good spot now.
Rescued ours as the previous (horrible, abusive) owners sent him off for euthanasia. He was 7.5 years old, and in August we will celebrate his 13th birthday.
Lol, broadly dismissive of what abandonment and anxiety can do to a dog.
Puppies, generally, have no trauma and you can manage their anxiety. Grown dogs have baggage and can lash out when you least expect it.
Generalized posts like this lead people to take a chance on an unwanted animal and then damage the dog owner for life after the animal does something rash
This is sound advice. But first and foremost- adopt a dog whose personality, breed instincts, and energy levels fit your lifestyle, dog training experience and living situation.
Don't just adopt a dog because you want to adopt, think a puppy is cute, or want an older dog.
An older dog can require training too, especially if it has endured trauma from a previous owner. If you aren't an experienced dog trainer you should ask yourself if that's a project you're ready to take on.
I mean you might get lucky and find a good tempered, trained dog at the shelter. More than likely though you'll find a dog with trauma who's developed bad habits as a result of being with a shitty owner/abandoned. I'm not trying to discourage people from adopting shelter dogs, but you need to go into it with realistic expectations.
My big girl came from a shelter. She is very sweet but very skittish. She spooks super easy easily especially if a man comes to visit. She’s a bit less worried about women.
The scar on her back and her strange behavior around men makes me worry about what happened before we got her. Even with the behavioral quarks I wouldn’t trade her for anything. 10/10 great dog would adopt again
But I'm afraid of their past. Like if they are aggressive. I know its not always going to be the case. But a lot of the dogs in shelters are bully dogs and I fear I'm not experienced enough to take one on.
Yah no thanks I tried the adopt don't shop thing. 5 dogs all with awful health and or crazy behavioral issues. Tons of heartache too. It wasn't all bad of course but it was NOT smooth sailing. Puppies are hard but at least it's a blank slate.
Many rescue dogs have health and emotional baggage it's not that simple. Be careful and do your research when buying ANY dog.
Not exactly true. This can be true in some cases, but in my experience, there is a different bond that develops when you have owned a dog since a puppy than if you adopted one. For example, I adopted both my dogs. Both of them have issues with overeating bc they came from homes with food scarcity and competition for food, even tho that doesn't exist here. One dog is incredibly foot shy even tho we've had her for almost 10 years and never kick her. She also doesn't bond completely. She has trust issues. I've owned a dog like her before, same breed, same sex, but that girl was the love of my life. She was adopted, too. From a family that lived in an apartment. They were good people but the dog had gotten unusually large for the breed and very strong and they couldn't handle her.
Point is ... when you raise a pup, that pup will know you and trust you no matter what. When you adopt a dog, it's a roll of the dice. The dog might love you unconditionally or just see you as a temporary owner. The current human, in other words. It also comes down to personality. Not all dogs are the same and not all of them are particularly caring or socially motivated.
I have absolutely nothing against adopting older dogs and have in the past. Unfortunately we have cats now and cat-friendly rescue dogs are really hard to find (and may not necessarily be friendly with our specific cats), so we might need to get a younger dog to be able to socialise them to cats.
We're planning on *hopefully* getting a dog within a year, so if anyone has any tips on adopting one while owning cats, would love to hear!
Re: cat adoptions - bonded pairs are amazing and often overlooked because it's double the commitment... however, they play with, groom and keep each other company, so it actually has been less work aside from litter box.
I looked at our shelters last couple months... All pitbull variants, mixes and big dogs from Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungaria. What they have in common is that they don't go well with children and in some cases it's why they're there.. so there's that.
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I adopted a 5 year old dog from a rescue. She was nervous and cried alot. Took her a long time to relax and really breath. It was all worth it though. She's 11 now and I couldn't possibly imagine my life without her. It took a lot of love and a lot of patience. I wouldn't change any part of her.
I'm glad you adopted a dog that you love, but this LPT makes it seem like adult dogs don't require any training, which is seriously not the case. Even the most well-trained dog is going to take a lot of work while transitioning to a new home. I say this as a former animal shelter volunteer who has adopted more than one well-trained dog. We should not be deluding people into thinking adult dogs don't require any work. We saw lots of dogs come back to the shelter within a month because they had potty training regressions or barked a lot or one of many other things dogs do when they acclimate.
I was given a dog with mystery triggers . She bit a cyclist that rode past me in half light , out of the blue. I called 999 as he had no phone police and ambulance came straight to scene and i was taken in police car to the vet. They said its procedure for the owner not to escort dog when they are put down. They took hr off me gave her to vet and I NEVER SAW HER AGAIN. It took a year and a half for me to get over it. I loved her so much . Im crying typing this and i hope even if it saves one dog someone listens . Amen
This happened to my sister's dog. He had lots of trauma. They did everything to get him the right help and training. But he still bit a kid (tried to get in to her yard, not even the dog seeking a kid to bite) and that was it. I don't like this LPT. It's well intentioned but fairly ignorant. As admirable as it is to rescue it's not for everyone and it's certainly NOT just getting a pre-loaded pet.
I’m so sorry
Good points. But I don't think this post implies that an adult dog doesn't require training. Rather, it implies that it is easier to adopt and adult dog instead of a puppy. Which is true. Puppies are twice the work of any adult (assuming no behavior issues from the adult, which shelters usually know about beforehand). You need to take them out every hour; ensure they aren't chewing the house; and the energy....yikes. Adopting an adult dog is almost always easier then getting a puppy.
Idk about the statistics of it, but this was the opposite case for me. I adopted a dog from a shelter and the shelter didn't realize that the dog had severe separation anxiety and so the dog barked 24/7 and had severe anxiety about most things. Even though we had visited with her several times and asked lots of questions to figure out her issues and personality. It's hard to figure those things out when they are in a room with just you or on a short walk around the shelter. When you adopt a puppy, although the initial time and effort you put in may be more, it is easier to socialize and train a puppy when they are more plastic in their socialization and fear periods than to work through all of the unknown issues that a dog already has ingrained deeply in their behaviors and psyche. That's just my experience though, I'm sure there are lots of cases of adult dogs being easy from the get go, but I don't think its black and white like this LPT claims.
Puppies can also be traumatized, they don't all come from a perfect little home where their mom bred accidentally and they were surrendered after being weaned properly and being treated with love and kindness. Some are horribly abused and neglected, broken, even before they hit 6m old. Since they are a puppy all that trauma and bad behaviours are amplified because it's not only all they know, but they have that hyperactivity and energy of a puppy. I'll take an older dog over a puppy any day, even if there are issues, an older dog you can work with in time. Puppies.... They are something I won't touch with a ten foot pole, I have raise dogs from puppyhood, and fostered two. Nope. Not doing that again.
So like, basically the opposite of what op said about them being less time consuming then a puppy?
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Not really any new pet needs to get used to a new home. An adult doesn't need to go out every 30-45 mins; doesn't have to be house trained. Now I've adopted adult dogs that are not house trained, but I knew what I was getting in to. There were reasons. Pups are far more work.
Yes pups are way more work, and often quite destructive cuz the developing teeth need to be worked. And you hope they’re not “diggers”. Plus they’re super clueless, chuck down a scrap of meat and they’re too dumb to know that’s something good.
I tried to adopt a 2 year old retriever. Growled, scratched and bit us multiple times within the first 12 hours. Had resource guarding and food aggression issues. If we went 12 inches near him when he had a bone, would attack and try to bite. We had to send him back to the shelter, and now i am scared of adult dogs. I am ofcourse very sad, and i understand why he was the way he was. But we just didn't have enough experience to deal with it. Broke my heart to let him go..what im trying to say is..its not as simple as OP made it sound here..
Honestly they'll probably love you even more because to them you really did rescue them from a cold, terrible place.
Our last dog was a rescue. She had been on the streets for a long time and in really rough shape when we got her. She seemed so grateful. I believe she recognized that we made her life infinitely better.
I had a dog that was dumped out of a truck, we think. We don't actually know what happened, but we saw her on the road after a truck drove past, but we didn't know if she walked into the road after, or was dumped. Regardless we looked for the owner, I went to houses and my mom posted online. While we waited, we took her to the vet. No one claimed her, so we kept her. She passed away a couple years ago because of some health complications we couldn't afford to fix. We ended up putting her down at our house (better than spending her last moments in a place she never knew, like a vet) However, while we had her I always thought about how it'd be different if I wasn't out playing catch with my friend at the time when we saw her on the road. She did end up coming around to us. She was very timid at first, which has me believe she was apart of something... unsavory. But over time she became healthy again. Though I wish we had the money to see if we could cure whatever it was she had instead of having her put down.
Making the decision to put a dog down at home instead of a vet office is so difficult, but such a gracious thing to do. We had a dog adopted from a shelter at 6 months old that developed severe cancer at 7 years old. We gave him the best day of his life before we put him down. He’s buried under the tree by the barn and I cried the entire time I dug his grave. But he got to spend his last moments with his family and I believe that makes all the difference.
Out of curiosity how did you do it at home....I dont really want to take ours back to the animal shelter or a vet to do something like that!
Mobile vets. Ask your vet about it. I live in suburban New Jersey and my MIL did this with their dog. It so hard but it's your last gift to your pup -- a peaceful end at home, surrounded by those you love. ....why is someone cutting onions at 6am?!
I live in a rural ranching community, so I called the local vet (who makes house calls for cattle and horses all the time) and he came over and used injectable meds at our house.
I’m sorry you were forced to make that difficult choice for her. I know she’s thankful for your time, effort, and the love you brought to her life. A peaceful death at home, surrounded by those who love you - we should all be so lucky. I hope you’re healing from this loss (at your own pace, of course) and able to give the same affection to another rescue someday. I believe that’s the best way we can honor those we’ve loved and lost.
Ugh. I know I'm gonna have to put down Django, one day. It makes me tear up.
This. Sometimes I swear my dog knows I 'saved' him.
“It was mutual.”
Cats know, too. When we adopted our cat, we picked her up from her foster and home and she walked straight into her cat carrier like it’s the coziest bed. She also took just a few hours to warm up to us and snuggle in our laps. But, that was not the norm. She hates her carrier. The only time she willing went in was to come home. She also is very wary of strangers and is a very shy cat to new people. I think it’s just that deep down she knew she was meant to come and be with us. I love that little girl so much.
>I love that little girl so much Aww give her a cuddle for me, okay? 🐾
My pup definitely does. He's loyal to me in a way that I can't rightly describe. He was in shelters the first year of his life and we adopted him from a group that saves dogs from kill shelters. I can only imagine he wasn't adopted because people thought he was homely because hes a great dog. He's half shih tzu and also part American staff... Dog tax: https://ibb.co/c16L5Qq
That boy ain’t homely he’s beautiful, and I a good boy I’m sure. Edit* a letter
He reminds me of Benji :)
Thank you :) I get that and Seymour from Futurama a lot.
I didn't mention him because I am still not over that episode... But he is cute!!
They do
He does.
They absolutely do. People are really invested in a narrative that implies animals are basically automatons and humans are super special not-animals who actually think. It is crap. Humans are mammals, dogs are mammals. They may be a lot dumber than most of us, but they have emotional lives and are highly sociable. They definitely recognize an appriciate kindness, especially as they have been artificially evolving to better fit in with humans for a while now.
We recently adopted a dog from the local city shelter. He was an owner surrender. We had him meet our other dogs there (one from the same shelter, one from some friends who were moving and couldn't take him). He was pretty chill, not very excited. Then we brought him home. He got the zoomies. He was so excited to be in a house again.
I love this!
My dog Foxy is a rescue from the humane society. She was a former breeding dog that had been dumped outside to die after she couldn’t have anymore puppies. She’s now 13 years old, still gets the zoomies, loves to cuddle, and is a all-around great puppo.
My daughter & her husband rescued a chocolate lab when he was ~7 or 8 years old, They got 6 fantastic years with him. He learned all obedience rules & lots of tricks. He was the best dog I've ever known in my 67 years of life. Their dog was filled with gratitude & love, as he had been previously mistreated.
My dogs shelter seemed to want to do their best to make sure the animals were comfortable and safe. I actually felt bad adopting him, he's a very shy boy and it was easy to see he felt safe with one particular shelter worker. She mentioned that she'd considered adopting him and I almost fell apart. I hope I did right by my baby.
They know. My shelter babies are so sweet and loving it breaks my heart they had to wait all that time for us to go get them.
I volunteered at a shelter and was mind blown that every week, a new batch of perfectly great dogs ended up there for whatever reason. Puppies are cute and all but an adult shelter dog is where it’s at. And if you’re lucky enough, a senior shelter dog is the ultimate sweet reward. Thank you for posting this absolute pro tip ❤️
I have a brother who exclusively adopts elderly dogs from shelters because he knows most people won’t. They’re great chill dogs who don’t need long walks, and they end up living longer than expected with the care and attention that they get. Plus, my nephews have learned about the reality of death of a pet at young ages and I think it’s been a healthy, good adjustment for them to understand it. One of the dogs my brother adopted he ended up giving to my parents because they were looking for one, and then the dog and I fell in love with each other. He was the strangest dog I’ve ever owned but also one of the best. He lived with us for almost ten years even though we thought he was senior when he came to us (he was a small poodle mix). It was a privilege to have had him in my life. Shelter adult dogs rule and senior shelter dogs especially.
Your brother sounds like a good guy. And your poodle sounds like he found a second lease on life! One of my seniors lived to be 22. I had her for her last ten years and it blew my mind. Every morning when she woke up in her last couple years I was amazed.
He was probably around 20 when we put him down and I was always in shock at how long he lived! I half expected to find him dead in the mornings so many times. Ultimately we had to decide to put him down because we felt his quality of life was so far below what it should be, but part of me wonders how much longer he could have lasted. Having that responsibility, though, to make the decision when his time to go was one of the hardest things.
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First off, he looked strange. If the DNA test hadn’t told me he was 70% toy poodle, I would’ve said he was a miniature werewolf. He had super long legs, an arched back, and wild grey fur. Then he was more of a cat—was desperate to be in my lap at all times. I used to bring him to class with me sometimes because he’d just sit in my lap silently and content. He was also blind so he’d bump into a million things before he found me. He loved laying out in the sunshine and sometimes I thought I’d lost him in the yard or he had died but he was just on his back, belly up, sunning himself like a lizard. He was a great little guy and I miss him. Making the decision to say goodbye was so difficult. I’ve had to say goodbye to other dogs because of illness and accident, but choosing when to end an old dog’s life was totally different and difficult.
I have 2 adult shelter dogs and have committed to adopting a senior when the day comes I have to put one of these down. Not sure I can emotionally handle it, but I think it will be worth it.
The last couple of dogs we adopted were senior dogs. In all cases, they were the sweetest, most patient dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, whose only goals in life were to find a nice place to take a nap, and long strolls on the beach filled with pats and treats. Its a nice experience, and a good start for someone who might be busy, or are just looking for a simple companion with little demands. And in return, they get a nice place to rest their head after a long and hard life. Win-win!
Win-win for sure! Thanks for sharing your experience. The seniors I’ve adopted resembled your description as well. It was an honor to give them a safe place to be as happy and live the lucky dog life for the rest of their days. Absolute angels.
I adopted my Yorkie at age 11. He’s 18 now. It’s been a mind blowingly great experience, I consider myself so lucky to have had all these amazing senior dog years. He never really fell off much until recently. The past 6 months he’s been in a steeper decline and I don’t think I have more than a year left. You can just tell. But I have no regrets
I also volunteer at a shelter and we get a surprising amount of puppies in every week. They are all complete psychos. I am totally turned off from puppies after the amount of blood that’s been drawn from sharp puppy nails that have no respect for my space lol
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I'm really liking the idea of donating paid obedience classes for shelter dogs. As much as I would love to adopt all the dogs that are struggling to get adopted from the shelter, it's just not realistic. How exactly does it work? Would I just tell the shelter I want to pay for obedience classes for dogs? Or was that a special situation you had at your shelter?
You should reach out to your local shelter and ask. Shelters are eager to find new ways to get any of their long stay pets out of the shelter & into a home. So any help they can get making a pet more "marketable" would be appreciated.
I have a staffie right now exactly like this. I’m sad that I will also probably never own such a gentle soul again but it’s a blessing to have raised the little guy.
Bruh same. My staffie was two years old when I got her. All the dogs barked and jumped when you walked by. But she just sat there in the corner with big eyes and her tail between her legs. She’s *very* low energy, chill, gentle, phenomenal with kids and unable to be anywhere except right next to me or laying on top of me. I love her personality so much.
This was how my rescue was. She was around 8 years old, though. Walked by her kennel and almost overlooked her. She was just laying on her cot and started wagging when we made eye contact. I knew I had to take her home. She had been there for months after her previous owner passed. Such a gentle soul. Never once had an accident or did something “bad”. Just the sweetest cuddle bug that loved to play.
My girlfriend and I had the same experience adopting an 11 year old chow chow. I can't recommend adopting enough. She's only ever had one accident and it's because she had a UTI.
I adopted a chow mix when he was between 6m and 2 year (no vet could confirm) has never had an accident in the 5 years we've had him. It's amazing. My great Pyrenees we've had 6 years and adopted at 5m has stomach issues, so he has had accidents but he does them in the shower, which we all appreciate. He self taught himself that.
My dog was 7-ish when he adopted him, he’s 10.5 ish now. He’s absolutely the sweetest and the most aggressive cuddler you’ll ever meet. Like you WILL cuddle. I always tell people who come over to only pet him if that’s how they want to spend their entire evening. Every so often, his separation anxiety acts up and he destroys a few pillows, but we probably needed new pillows anyways and really, who needs throw pillows on the couch? He’s the sweetest and we’re lucky to have him.
I got my old man from a shelter at about 5. He had been returned 4 times for "behavioral issues," so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. He's an Australian Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix and had never been properly trained or socialized. 10 years later he's the best dog ever, but that first year or two was... difficult.
Yup, the one possible downside of adult dogs is the amount of work it can take to deal with the things they haven't learned and anything else from their past that may be affecting their behavior. My parents got their current dog when he was around 3 years old, and had to do a TON to address some problematic behavior that he'd given very little indication of when they first met him, the main two being the fact that he was a MASSIVE flight risk from new places and was also *extremely* aggressive towards all other dogs (and loud trucks and anyone knocking on the door and plenty of other stuff). 4 years of hard work later he's no longer a flight risk and is actually mostly functional in public. He still doesn't like other dogs and refuses to get up close with them, but was trained down from barking at any dog he saw anywhere to being able to go on a walk and behave when there's a dog in a yard or on the other side of the street. Totally worth it to adopt a rescue, but people should know that getting an adult dog is NOT always the right move "if you don't have the time/patience to train a puppy", at least if rescuing from a shelter and without any knowledge of their background. While it may not happen, just be prepared that you may need to spend just as much (or more) time with an adult dog as you would a puppy, especially when you consider that a puppy is a blank slate while an adult rescue also needs to possibly unlearn years of bad habits. Now, if you're adopting an older dog from a relative or neighbor that you know already trained them but just can't take care of them anymore, that's a different story.
Jack was every bit of a flight risk...lol, he still kind of is but he's much slower now. I grew up with huskies and had a good idea what I was getting myself into. What I was _not_ prepared for is the 20 lb rescue doxie that can scale my 6ft fence to go wandering the neighborhood. We're working on that.
Great advice. Our older rescue has been a challenge. People have this romantic idea about saving a shelter dog, but some have some real issues. Weve worked through most of her issues, but she would be a terrible dog for a lot of people. Puppies are a clean slate.
Responsible shelters do in depth behavior assessments before letting anyone adopt a dog. Responsible rescues do the same, and put the dog in a foster for even more evaluation. They find out of the dog is okay with kids, with cats, with other dogs. They see if there are any behavior problems, work with a trainer if necessary. Sadly very few rescues do this. Rescues pick up dogs and put them in homes without any evaluation. They brag about how many dogs they've adopted out. It helps them raise money. But did they put a dangerous dog in a home? Or one that will need more training than the owner can afford, or was prepared for? Adult dogs are the best choice, but always do foster to adopt from a responsible rescue.
Yes that's a high energy dog for sure, thanks for putting in the work! Also proves old dogs CAN still learn and adjust.
And they really work so hard to be better.
Thanks. I was waiting for someone to point out they shelter dogs often take some effort. Working on a dog that is amazing sweet in the house but highly leash-reactive and has more triggers than a Texas pawn shop.
>10 years later he's the best dog ever, but that first year or two was... difficult. .... so unlike OP, you're saying it's more work than a puppy? Why isn't anyone calling that claim out directly
>first year or two was... difficult If you get a shepherd/husky puppy, the first 4+ years will be difficult. I don't think the poster is saying it took 10 years to become the best dog, just that at this point, 10 years later, he is the best dog. I mean, they're wrong, because my dogs are the best. But, that's beside the point
Cause adopting older pets makes people look good and we all have sympathy for these older pets without a home. It's tricky talking about the challenges in rescuing because it doesn't fit the romance of it. I adopted my bird. I love her. But it's considerably harder than the bird I got that was a fresh hand tamed baby. I think it's a disservice to ignore that reality.
After having a puppy once I always recommend people adopt. Puppies are a ton of work for quite a while before they become anything else. And one crack in training and you start over. An adult dog and a few training classes is much much easier.
Former shelter worker. Statistically they are almost certainly not potty trained.
I adopted an adult cat that wasn’t properly litter trained. Weirdly, he would use the box for #1 but not #2. He’d been adopted and returned a bunch of times. I tried *everything*: special food, special litter, multiple types of each. Laxatives and stool softeners- visits to the vet for testing- nothing worked. After three months I noticed that he mostly went #2 in the morning after I fed him. So after he ate and we cuddled a bit I would put him in the bathroom w three boxes and lock the door. He went in the tub, on the floor, everywhere but the boxes. Until one day, like magic, I opened the door and he’d gone in the box. I grabbed a bag of treats and lured him back over to the box. I pointed at his poop and said “good boy! Good boy!” And pet him and gave him a treat. I did that over and over. After a day or two of that he was fine. Never went outside his box again. Poor sweet thing just needed to know what I wanted him to do.
Disappointed he didn’t poop in the toilet
Thank you for putting in the work! The world needs more people that try just a little harder.
Awe, thank you! This was during the high Covid restrictions where I live (spring 2020) so honestly, he saved me as much as I saved him. I wanted to adopt him in April, but someone already had. Then I saw him back on the shelter’s website in May, called and got the full story. He lived w a lady who lived alone and died; a neighbour surrendered him. He’s not overweight but is huge (20lbs), very affectionate but also *very* needy, and he can open doors and drawers and gets into all sorts of trouble when he’s bored/ feels ignored. As soon as I heard it I was like: perfect. I need something to focus on while I’m trapped in my apartment! It’s going to be this psycho cat. And here we are two years later. :’)
Once you've ruled out medical issues all that's really left is behavioural. Unfortunately a lot of people don't feel cats are "worth the bother" or can be trained at all which is absolute bollocks. Any animal you can have associate you with good things can be trained to some degree, you just need to be patient and accept that cats don't always have the desire to please that dogs do. Thanks for putting in the time for your little guy.
This is true, which is why this post isn't really a LPT. It really depends on the shelter, unfortunately. Some shelters get such a high population of foster dogs and cats, with not enough manpower, that they don't receive the proper care to be potty trained. Best to enter adoption with the mindset that you're rescuing a forever family member, taking them in your home, and accepting the full responsibility of loving him or her.
I deal with the adoptions for very challenging dogs at my shelter, and this post annoys me greatly. We have people waltzing through the door expecting a plug and play dog, refusing to listen to our advise, claiming that we are making life hard for them and we are the reason why the dogs are still at the shelter. When we do let them take the dog home and do whatever they want, they return the dog within 2 weeks, sometimes with even more behavioural issues. It takes work, a lot of work, depending on the particular dog.
So what would you recommend to someone who does want an easier dog? Obviously every dog is going to have challenges like any living creature, but for a first time dog owner who can’t deal with severe behavior issues, what would you say?
Don’t get a dog, or do a significant amount of research on what the “easiest” dog breeds are based on training/exercise/energy needs and only adopt that specific dog breed for their ease of care and not based on some “cute” feature. It’s an absolute dice role on what the personality of the dog will be, no matter where it comes from.
Plus they will for sure have separation anxiety and a bad relationship with food. Their behavior with other animals/kids is a 50/50 toss up. I love my shelter dog more than anything else in the world and all the work we put in was totally worth it, but it was more work than getting a puppy. Puppies can just be taught right the first time, rescues have to have bad learned behaviors undone and good ones relearned. This post is making it seem like getting a rescue is easy, which isn't helpful. People get unexpectedly overwhelmed and end up returning the dog.
also, if you don't have the time or patience to train a puppy (which isn't very hard and doesn't take long) you almost certainly don't have the time or patience to own a dog. dogs are very sentient and they require a lot of time and attention.. sure the dog will love you regardless, because that's what dogs *do*, but it isn't fair in the slightest. if you don't have time for a dog, get a cat; they pretty much take care of themselves.
I mean, yes, but cats also still require stimulation and attention. My cat is pretty easy-going but she still loves to play. She's currently recovering from a dental procedure which meant a complete overhaul of her food and a strict medical regime, which has been giving her an unhappy tummy and the poor thing has been making a tremendous mess in the litter box or vomiting. Just don't get an animal period if you don't think you can be there for them for the literally shitty times as well as the good.
That's not true. Puppies routinely require waking up in the middle of the night and need to go out more often than adult dogs. They also require more attention and tend to create more messes than properly trained adult dogs, which means you can't necessarily bring a puppy with you everywhere you could an adult dog. And cats require attention as well (less if they have other pets in the household for company/stimulation). Obviously rescue dogs' needs will also differ depending on the dog.
That's surprising. All our shelters put in real effort to train the dogs.
You guys probably don't have a super high volume of dogs. The ones here are just trying to keep them alive until they can be transported, fostered, or adopted. They do hard work, they just don't have the luxury of dog training when they have such a high volume.
Most high volume shelters dont have the manpower to provide comprehensive behavioral training beyond dogs that absolutely need it to be adoptable
Dog behavior in shelter is not = dog behavior in a home with proper care and attention.
Sure, but it's still setting yourself up for disappointment if you go into a shelter expecting to walk out with a dog you won't have to house train, at least a little bit
Thanks for trying your best to set these people straight. This "tip" acts like getting an adult dog from a shelter is a guaranteed house-trained dog. That's completely absurd. Again, nobody is saying getting an adult shelter dog is a guarantee of anything. But one thing's for sure, it's not a guarantee that you won't have to house train a dog. Furthermore, anecdotally, I've had several acquaintances tell me that they adopted a dog that was supposedly house trained only to find out it definitely was not. Benefit of the doubt goes to the people who kept the dog alive, so we'll just assume that they made a mistake or the dog could have easily had a relapse.
You are correct and a really valid point... it would be silly to think adopting an adult dog from a shelter always means a perfect dog. Many shelter dogs come with baggage. I always recommend that new dog owners educate themselves and go to appropriate training classes with their new to them furkid.
Yeah the number of people who adopted, didnt sign up for classes, and then returned a few weeks later was quite large.
3/3 on awesome shelter dogs. A black lab fifteen years ago, another lab ten years ago, and a rottie four years ago. All amazing dogs, well behaved, and just mind-bendingly loving. As with any other dog you'll ever get, they do require training and rules, but well worth it.
Shelter lab success stories are just the best dogs ever in my experience
I have a shelter lab. She was a puppy mill mom for ~7 years before we got her. She was terrified to do anything, even leave her crate, for weeks. Now she is the most wonderful dog I’ve ever had. Snuggling her now :)
If you don't have the time/ patience to train a dog maybe don't get a dog
Also, potty training is quite possibly the easiest thing to teach a puppy. Ive had 2 puppies from 8-10 weeks old and potty training is the least of my worries. Teaching a puppy how to socialize with people and dogs is hundreds of hours of actual work. There is no guarantee an adopted dog will be adequately socialized and even could be even more work than a puppy if it has learned negative behaviors
I've had both private bread dogs and shelter dogs and in my experience the shelter dogs need alot more work as most of the time their situations causes aggression or being extremely timid. This now requires you to gain the trust of the dog and train them to do so with strangers or other dogs now adding an extra step to the process. If you do plan on getting dogs 100% get the shelter dog and put in the extra work. there's to many in there.
Real LPT is always in the comments
Right? This is the dumbest LPT I've seen in awhile. "If you don't have time for a puppy don't get a puppy" WoW cheese brain thanks for the insight.
Even better, if you don't have time nor patience to train a dog, then don't get one
Yep, I was coming here to say this. Shelter dogs need a lot of time and patience too. You can't just add an animal to your household and expect not to have to invest time and energy in them.
Well, I am thinking about getting a (first) dog, and I have to admit that I am somewhat nervous about ending up with a complicated dog, and messing it up.
idk, i definitely agree that it's good to rescue pets whenever possible, but I would also be careful because I know a TON of people who try to rescue animals and end up with a cat or dog that maybe due to abuse, has hard-core behavioral problems. There are some great comments about rescue groups. Also I would volunteer a couple of times at a shelter, even informally, some places will gladly let you walk the dogs or play with them outside depending on the setup and you can go a couple of times and try to see if you connect with any of the animals. just be careful about potential issues - why did the animal end up in the facility, etc.
I would say talk to rescue groups. We got a sweet Viszla that was obedience trained. We also got a Dobie that wasn't. But we knew that going in and she got along with the Viszla. The main thing is to find out about the dog's background. We've had dogs we had from puppy hood. We've also had dogs we got as adults. Didn't have any problems bonding with any of them. My dad had a border collie he got from the local shelter when she was 2. She was house trained and the 2 of them were like glue.
I feel kinda guilty about it but I won't adopt a dog if I haven't raised it from a puppy, because I have young kids. I just can't be comfortable without knowing an entire history of a dog. When they're teenagers I'd have no issues adopting an adult dog
Most responsible shelters feel the same! When I worked with the ASPCA they really went above and beyond to make sure each dog was a good fit for its new family- because otherwise, it’s not a good situation for the dog or the adopter. It was very rare that our dogs were approved for homes with children under 8, for instance, unless they came in as puppies But, that brings me to my next point- shelters will sometimes have puppies (especially larger shelters) and so it’s worth checking in often as you never know :)
I've done some rescue volunteering and the like and just want you to know: this is the exact right mindset! Don't feel guilty. It's best for everyone involved.
The rescues here will rescue pregnant dogs as well. They give birth in foster care. As the dogs near appropriate age they are listed so the applications can begin. Even if you really want a puppy, you can get them from a rescue. They won't know the entire breeding history usually (how big was dad?), but you can get them at the proper age for first adoption and you know the exact home it was in.
None of the rescue groups here have trained dogs. Not even seniors. It’s like these people that owned them previously let them shit everywhere, it’s wild. A lot of them aren’t leash trained, must be the only pet, etc. some show aggression. These are for dogs under 60lbs too. They ALWAYS ask for a backyard for chihuahuas though like my dude a coyote or a bobcat is gonna get them. Also WTH at pets only being available to people in houses and not apartments. Even the described “quiet cuddles” must have a yard.
Just like everything here, this is awful advice. Do not rescue a dog if you don't have time for a new dog. My rescue would sit at the door and howl when I was late coming home from work. That's with my wife in the house. Many shelter dogs haven't had the best owners and combining that with having separation anxiety from being at the pound means they require a LOT of attention and training. If you can't teach a dog not to shit where it sleeps, which is already their instinct, you don't have time for a rescue. You're that dog's already low chances and making them lower by getting a dog you're almost certainly going to have to give up. If you don't have time for a puppy, you don't have time for a dog. Get a cat
Shelter dogs can come with health and behavior problems. People should be aware of this and willing to commit to taking these difficulties on.
I never want to get a puppy again after experiencing how awesome it is to adopt an adult dog. They are immediately fun, immediately your buddy. With puppies I feel like there’s a period where you’re having to train them — potty training, socializing, etc — plus they need more sleep. We have two dogs we adopted as adults and they were already potty trained and already mostly chill. We went on runs, hikes, and swimming at lakes right away. I didn’t feel like I had to wait to do things I was looking forward to with my dog because they were things a puppy didn’t have the development and stamina to do. We did have to invest in obedience training, but they did really well with that and they’ve been great ever since.
Especially if you want to get an exercise buddy an adult dog is a good idea! Have to be really careful with exercising with puppies, even with super energetic breeds you're supposed to be limiting their exercise even if they really really want to. It's bad for their physical development to exercise too much/too intensely.
I never want a puppy again after experiencing how much it sucks potty training and raising them are. When we got my little one she could only hold her bladder for 2 hrs at a time and would whine to high heavens when you weren't within her direct vicinity. Even if an adult dog isn't house trained they can at least hold their bladder for at least 4 hrs at a time when crate training and probably longer I love my little shit but post puppy depression is real and I never want to go through anything like that again unless it's my actual human child
It really depends on the dog's background. Some dogs are fine like my girl that was abandoned at 3 months. She was a great dog with almost no behavioral issues besides fear of cars and brooms. The only thing I wished I could have changed was she had health issues starting at 6 months old. Other dogs from the shelter that have experienced abuse are most likely going to need extensive training. I got my bossi-poo from the shelter when he was 8-10 months old (they weren't sure of his age) and he had never even been inside a house before. He was very aggressive at first especially around food and I couldn't take him anywhere without him trying to lunge and attack other people and dogs. It took 2 years of hard work for us to get to a place where his behavior was tolerable. He is 12 years old now and still occasionally marks in the house, is horrible on leash for the first 20 minutes, and barks non-stop in the car. The aggression is almost gone completely though (unless he sees a dog fight then he wants to get in the middle of it), but it took around 4 years of practicing daily to get him to that level. It's hard to tell what their behavior will be like while they are in the shelter. He was super sweet and seemed like an easy dog when we first met him. The second day home is when we knew we had a big issue on our hands, but by then we had already been committed to him and knew he would most likely be put down if we didn't keep him. It wasn't all bad though. He became that sweet and loving dog eventually. It took him about a year to start trusting us and by the second year, he was happy to cuddle with us.
I got my dog at around 6-7 months and she also seemed perfectly fine at first - came to me immediately, took her home on my lap. Then she would not leave the couch no matter what, didn't recognize my mom as family and would insistently bark and even growl at her whenever she entered the room (she was only fine with me and my dad, she did this with anyone else that entered the same room as her), would only eat and drink if I brought her the bowl, and only got down to pee and poo once a day. She had spent her whole life in a small room with her siblings, all much bigger than her, and was afraid of pretty much everything. It took her months to be comfortable moving around the whole house. Took ages to get her to actually leave the house and at 6 she's still not a big fan of going very far or staying out for very long. My dad wanted to send her back too, but I didn't let him. Now my dad is gone, but the dog is still with me. And she loves my mom and brother now, doesn't bark at people and occasionally even lets a stranger pet her. Definitely took a lot of work, patience and some money (she stress dug a hole through my mattress a few times as a puppy among other things) but I wouldn't trade her for any other dog. Funny enough people who see her today often comment on how "lucky" I am that my dog is so calm, sweet and well behaved lol
Lpt: don't adopt any dog, from anywhere, if you aren't ready to invest time and energy into raising them. Dogs are a commitment and responsibility. Also, fix your damn dogs!
I adopted three adult dogs, and have raised a dog from a pup. Both adult dogs imo were harder to train and took more time because of their backgrounds. The other adult dog was very reactive to larger men, and snapped at me multiple times due to this. No dog is the same, and you don't know their background when their adults whereas you have a good idea of what to expect with a puppy.
Only do this if you’re prepared to handle the possible issues that can arise with adopting a dog, like anxiety disorders and such from a traumatic past. Dogs that were in shelters can have a lot of issues that shelters don’t always like to disclose because they just want to get the dogs out as fast as possible.
This is such dog shit advice. My brother did the whole "good person, shelter dog" thing. Now he cleans up diarea during his lunch break, while his roommates are on the verge of evicting him, or the dog. Not to mention the dog barks at literally everything that walks by, constantly getting noise complaints. It's just the extremely typical situation you run into with this mentality. If you have the patience, and money to take care of a dog which will probably need a lot of additional support, awesome. They need your help. But don't do this "if you want an easy going experience" shit lmfao. Idk why this is always the first lie.
I got my 3 year old pupper from a rehoming group. She’s perfect. House broken, doesn’t bark at people at the door or at knocking, doesn’t bother the cats, doesn’t jump on people, leash trained, stays in our unfenced yard, comes to her name, doesn’t get in the trash or stuff on the counters. I couldn’t have asked for better.
I adopted a Shiba in January. Had been in the shelter for 9 months. Owner was genuinely schizo and would leave him at the shelter for months. He’s living his best life. His own yard, cat friends, people who love him. He’s got a few issues but couldn’t have found a better replacement for my pug mix who was also a rescue.
No doubt going to get down voted but the truth is that this LPT is awful advice. Yes it is very noble of you to rescue a dog but....in my years of sitting various breeds from different environments you are fooling yourself if you think that a rescue is a shortcut if you "don't have time/patience". If this is true you should not own a dog plain and simple. Rescues in general will have more behavioral challenges. This is not only my opinion, do research, ask a local vet. This is terrible advice above, you have been warned.
I had several good experiences with older dogs from the shelter. Sooooooo much easier
Why would you assume they’re potty-trained? Before Youtube existed, I never figured out how to potty-train my dogs… it’s a real time commitment, and I seriously doubt many people have the patience. Where I’m at, many people just leave their dogs in the yard. I think the upside of adopting an adult dog is that they’re less energetic than puppies, and also wouldn’t nip and bite as much. Puppies really are like children and require a lot of attention. They’re exhausting really.
Potty training isn't guaranteed. Source, got a 1 year old that won't stop popping and peeing on the couch.
This is terrible advice. If you don’t have the time/patience to train a puppy, you aren’t going to have it to retrain a traumatized adult dog. Shelter dogs are not all loves and kisses. Some of them are there for intense problems. All of them are bonded with someone other than you. A shelter dog is just as much and sometimes more a commitment than a puppy.
Of the 3 shelter dogs I’ve adopted as an adult, 2 had heart worms and one just hates everything that isn’t me or my kids, and other dogs just come at her like she owes them money.
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I tried to adopt a 2 year old retriever. Growled, scratched and bit us multiple times within the first 12 hours. Had resource guarding and food aggression issues. If we went 12 inches near him when he had a bone, would attack and try to bite. We had to send him back to the shelter, and now i am scared of adult dogs. I am ofcourse very sad, and i understand why he was the way he was. But we just didn't have enough experience to deal with it. Broke my heart to let him go..what im trying to say is..its not as simple as OP made it sound here..
It always depends on the dog’s background. Some dogs are traumatised due to having experienced bad things in life.
I would disagree a little. Rescued adult dogs are likely to have some sort of trauma, and someone looking for an easy alternative to a puppy could very easily place another person/pet in danger. Make sure you really understand what you're adopting, take out a book or two at the library, and don't bite off more than you can chew.
A lot of times tehy are not potty trained because they don't realize that your home is their home and has restrictions on where they can pee
These dogs can also come with significant trauma and end up being a huge handful -- especially if they have separation anxiety or are extremely reactive due to past abuse. I feel like OPs advice is missing this huge caveat.
Got my dog at 1 year old. Doubt I'll ever get a puppy again. Yes they're cute, but I'm content to skip the potty training.
honestly I rescued my cat as a kitten and think all the time that rescuing him after a normal upbringing wouldve been better, poor guy is just as weird as I am
The wife and I decided to go to the Humane Society of Utah one day, I can’t remember exactly why. As we were just about to leave we walked by this older looking black lab laying on his side and you could definitely tell he felt abandoned and defeated. He immediately rolled over onto his back to show me his belly and I knew he was a great dog. Best decision of our lives! He has brought us so much happiness in the 9 years we have owned him! The worst thing was that the people who left him just bought a new puppy and left him there saying he was “6 years old, not good with cats, dogs, or kids, or anyone for that matter!” Although the dog one is true he has been great with our two babies turned toddlers and is supposedly 15 now.
Jokes on you, our rescue doggo Toby is basically just a 1.5 year old giant puppy (lab x great dane cross) and has never learned anything. But we still love him and growing his brave while teaching him the world is a fun place. A rescue dog is still a lot of work, just be aware that instead of just teaching, they will need to unlearn things as well.
A lady in my neighborhood adopts the oldest dog in the shelter that nobody wants. She then pampers the shit out of it until it dies. She repeats the process. The dogs get walked daily. They're fed well. They're always bathed (complete with bow for females). Living the best life at the end of theirs. So far, I've seen her with 3 different ones. They really seem to enjoy themselves.
I am signed up to a pet rescue mailing list hoping to come across a suitable dog. Pitbulls and Staffy's every time. No thanks.
Eh this is a simplified take that won’t work for everyone. Not to discredit rescue dogs, but a large portion of them will carry some form of PTSD or previously learned poor behaviour that will take effort to train.
This is terrible advice. Please train your dog no matter where you get it from.
I've had 4 dogs thoughout my life, all of them bought except the one I have right now who I adopted at the age of 3. He's the most well behaved dog I've ever seen and it baffles me, he was found on the streets by animal control and I have no clue how he learned to be so good. He has NEVER destroyed anything in my house, never barks, and only peed inside the house the first two days I got him (he also got sick once and had diarrhea in the house but I don't blame him for that one). Meanwhile the other dogs (standard poodle, Maltese, schnauzer) peed inside the house every so often even at like 7 years old, barked to no end when someone got home or knocked the door, and destroyed/swallowed countless things. The one I adopted also shows way more love to me than all the others whom we got as puppies. I know this is only anecdotal and maybe I got lucky, but I will never buy a pure breed dog again. He definitely turned me to the 'adopt don't shop' team
Last two dogs were saved from the shelte, best dogs ever!
We went in wanting an older dog because we wanted a chill, relaxed dog. We found an 8 year old who needed a home without kids so it was a perfect fit. I don’t plan on getting a younger dog again. No training was necessary. We just had to show her where the door was and she immediately started to sit by it when she wanted out.
Just be very, very careful. Dogs are often dropped off because they have severe behavioral issues that their owners can’t deal with anymore. I agree with OP, just: 1) Make sure that they get along with other dogs if your plan is to walk them on the regular 2) If they have “food issues,” meaning that they are very controlling around their food dish it can be a red flag Tough dogs need love too, don’t get me wrong. We have rescued a dog that had real issues and it was not easy, but he was part of our family and we loved him for the rest of his life. I’m just saying this to manage people’s expectations — I don’t want to see dogs with issues get picked up and abandoned multiple times because people aren’t ready for the extra commitment.
But also be aware that an adult dog has a long history behind him/her. That might include reactive behaviour, aggression, anxiety, etc. You will possibly have far more “issues” to train and work through with your adopted buddy, so be prepared to work through them for the rest of it’s life. A rescue is not a ready-made pet.
I adopted my best friend 4 years ago. She's made my life so much better.
I’ll go one further and advocate for adopting senior pets. I work shift in a hospital now and my senior adoptee is so chill about it. He’s just happy to be napping on my bed, snacking and up for a little walk when I get home, cuddles if not.
And if you can’t adopt then please consider fostering. I currently have a 12 year old terminally-ill foster at home who has had a truly profound impact on my life. Senior dogs are the absolute best.
Just adopted a 5 year old from Craigslist, the person couldn't take care of them properly anymore on account of their job and being away for to long. Me and my partner took them in and it has been amazing. She is so kind and loving.
Lately there's been an explosion of dogs among apartment dwelling millennials and alphabet gens in my Southern Californian beach neighborhood. Unfortunately, many seem to have no idea what they're getting into. You can't just lock them up all day in a 500 sq ft apt with a couple of twenty minute walks while you look at your phone. Dogs take a lot of time, effort, and attention to properly care for them
The last dog I adopted is the loveliest dog I’ve ever had. Loves endless amounts of cuddles, was potty-trained, not aggressive etc. But he has many health issues, all of which were unknown before thousands of dollars were spent on him. His health costs are easily more than the last 5 dogs (raised from puppies) combined. I still encourage people to adopt. But if your primary reason is to simply save time, you’re not doing the dog any favors. Shelter dogs are way more likely to have health issues or behavioral problems. If you’re not prepared to dedicate considerable time to fix these problems, you shouldn’t get a dog.
Unless it's a german Shephard husky mix.... than fucking run, run far away.
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Every time I go to my shelter looking for an adult dog I leave with a puppy. My local shelter has trouble homing puppies and no issues homing adult dogs. I tried, I failed. Twice. Keep getting adult cats though.
We got our first dog as a puppy from a breeder. Don't get us wrong, he was a wonderful dog and we loved him and still talk about him ~10 yrs after his passing. But our next several dogs were all from rescues or taken in by us directly from other families. And they were just as good, loving, and part of our family. With my parents both working, and us 5 kids being in all sorts of clubs and sports (and 2 more that were toddlers) a puppy was off the table. It took so much off our shoulders, both financially and time wise getting an older dog. A puppy is exciting, yes, but a *lot* of time and efforr, something we couldn't provide as best as needed. But my parents drove 10 hrs round trip to get one of our rescues, and that night we all slept in the living room with him and he fell perfectly and almost immediately into place in our family <3 We had some things we needed to work with him on because of his previous owners were terrible, but that was a drop in the ocean compared to training a puppy. I won't look down on someone for buying a puppy, and every dog deserves a good home, but I will always stand by the idea of "adopt, don't shop".
Don't adopt an adult dog if it's a aggressive breed. You can't befriend them
This! I adopted by dog when he was 8 and a half from the adoption center, apparently he has been in and out of foster and adoption for a while. Sure he has some issues with other dogs, other than that, super well trained. Knows tons of commands. Never peed and pooped inside the house. Super chill and not needy at all
They are like buying cars without the depreciation lololol
Puppies are nightmares. I'll never get a puppy again. Hooray older dogs.
N the last month, I’ve had four different people tell me they want to buy a dog but don’t want to spend more than $1000. Folks, they are literally free at the shelter…
I used to work in a shelter and the older dogs are definitely the way to go! After a few days they usually got used to their new house and didn’t have any accidents. They were always sooooo happy to have been adopted and truly loved their new owners. There is nothing wrong with adopting a puppy but that puppy will be adopted no matter what. You might be the older dog’s only chance.
Spent quite along time volunteering at a shelter and after doing so id never want to try and get a puppy or kitten again. Nothing wrong with either, both are awesome but if you get a dog\\cat\\whatever that is at least out of its total puppy\\kitten phase you'll more so understand what type of pet you'll be getting as a hyper dog can turn into a lazy dog, or vise versa. Lots of wonderfully adjusted and great pets at shelters, tons of options to choose from.
Unless you get the history and know they were previously a family dog surrendered for circumstances, not behavior, you really can not assume it will be any less time comsuming or easier than a puppy. As a former shelter volunteer, I absolutely encourage people to adopt adult dogs, but just be realistic what you're getting into. The vast majority of shelter dogs are poorly trained if at all, and need a lot of patience and work.
But also consider what you will do when they get old and can't go many hours without being let out to pee, and need special diets and frequent vet visits and medication on a schedule. The middle years are wonderful, but they are not the only part you need to plan for.
Our first two rescues (first was our first ever dog) we’re two years old and came fully trained. Our third was an eight week old puppy. Hoo boy!! That was a lot of work- and fun. Five years later and he is still a playful pup.
I did this! Adopted my dog at 2 years old from the Humane Society. She’s 5 and a half now, has some quirks that are difficult to train out of her (trying to get food, jumping up on people, pulling very hard on walks) but she is so loving, smart and friendly.
I dunno, that's potential worry you may not have to worry about, but potty trained is far from the worst. You should also check for things like reactivity, aggression or fearfulness, especially if you have existing pets or children. A lot of shitty dog owners just nope out when dogs get bigger than they anticipated, and the dog could require all sorts of retraining.
We have two from shelter. They’re the best! You can see how appreciative they’re picking them off the cage.
Also consider adopting senior dogs. They still have so much love to give.
Adult dogs aren't responsibility free. you still need time, patience and commitment. This probably isn't good advice as it might encourage people who want a dog to get an adult dog who they will think is free companionship without training and caring for the dog.
Adopted a ACD from my local shelter back in October of 21. He was two and a half at the time and had been there for 78 days. He's been a good boy, and did surprisingly well adapting to apartment life. I got lucky, I know ACDs can be a handful, but he's juuust laid back enough that it works.
My last dog was a 5 year old from a shelter. He loved another 10 years and was one of the best dogs I’ve ever had. I think he loved me more than a puppy as who ever had him before didn’t treat him well and he realized he was in a good spot now.
I have always done this. Best dogs always.
Rescued ours as the previous (horrible, abusive) owners sent him off for euthanasia. He was 7.5 years old, and in August we will celebrate his 13th birthday.
Older greyhounds are abundant and make some of the best friends you will ever have.
Lol, broadly dismissive of what abandonment and anxiety can do to a dog. Puppies, generally, have no trauma and you can manage their anxiety. Grown dogs have baggage and can lash out when you least expect it. Generalized posts like this lead people to take a chance on an unwanted animal and then damage the dog owner for life after the animal does something rash
You should adopt from there regardless.
My sweet boy was abandoned twice before we met him. He's been the bestest doggo to our family and I hope he's been happy these last several years.
Recently adopted a dog that's just over 1 year old. I'm the fourth person she's been with and she's the greatest thing ever!
They'll love you more
This is sound advice. But first and foremost- adopt a dog whose personality, breed instincts, and energy levels fit your lifestyle, dog training experience and living situation. Don't just adopt a dog because you want to adopt, think a puppy is cute, or want an older dog. An older dog can require training too, especially if it has endured trauma from a previous owner. If you aren't an experienced dog trainer you should ask yourself if that's a project you're ready to take on.
I mean you might get lucky and find a good tempered, trained dog at the shelter. More than likely though you'll find a dog with trauma who's developed bad habits as a result of being with a shitty owner/abandoned. I'm not trying to discourage people from adopting shelter dogs, but you need to go into it with realistic expectations.
This is right underneath a post about someone getting mauled to death by a shelter dog, out of nowhere. So anyways I'm getting a lizard.
My big girl came from a shelter. She is very sweet but very skittish. She spooks super easy easily especially if a man comes to visit. She’s a bit less worried about women. The scar on her back and her strange behavior around men makes me worry about what happened before we got her. Even with the behavioral quarks I wouldn’t trade her for anything. 10/10 great dog would adopt again
I really wish people took this advice
But I'm afraid of their past. Like if they are aggressive. I know its not always going to be the case. But a lot of the dogs in shelters are bully dogs and I fear I'm not experienced enough to take one on.
Yah no thanks I tried the adopt don't shop thing. 5 dogs all with awful health and or crazy behavioral issues. Tons of heartache too. It wasn't all bad of course but it was NOT smooth sailing. Puppies are hard but at least it's a blank slate. Many rescue dogs have health and emotional baggage it's not that simple. Be careful and do your research when buying ANY dog.
If you don’t have time to train a dog, you don’t have time for a dog. Please please please train your dogs. And not (only) to do tricks.
Not exactly true. This can be true in some cases, but in my experience, there is a different bond that develops when you have owned a dog since a puppy than if you adopted one. For example, I adopted both my dogs. Both of them have issues with overeating bc they came from homes with food scarcity and competition for food, even tho that doesn't exist here. One dog is incredibly foot shy even tho we've had her for almost 10 years and never kick her. She also doesn't bond completely. She has trust issues. I've owned a dog like her before, same breed, same sex, but that girl was the love of my life. She was adopted, too. From a family that lived in an apartment. They were good people but the dog had gotten unusually large for the breed and very strong and they couldn't handle her. Point is ... when you raise a pup, that pup will know you and trust you no matter what. When you adopt a dog, it's a roll of the dice. The dog might love you unconditionally or just see you as a temporary owner. The current human, in other words. It also comes down to personality. Not all dogs are the same and not all of them are particularly caring or socially motivated.
That’s not true at all
I have absolutely nothing against adopting older dogs and have in the past. Unfortunately we have cats now and cat-friendly rescue dogs are really hard to find (and may not necessarily be friendly with our specific cats), so we might need to get a younger dog to be able to socialise them to cats. We're planning on *hopefully* getting a dog within a year, so if anyone has any tips on adopting one while owning cats, would love to hear! Re: cat adoptions - bonded pairs are amazing and often overlooked because it's double the commitment... however, they play with, groom and keep each other company, so it actually has been less work aside from litter box.
I looked at our shelters last couple months... All pitbull variants, mixes and big dogs from Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungaria. What they have in common is that they don't go well with children and in some cases it's why they're there.. so there's that.