I’m going to talk a little about finding a dog from a shelter or rescue, and some special considerations when choosing a rescue or shelter dog.

You may be saying to yourself, “what is the difference between a dog from a rescue and one from the shelter?” Maybe you think they are both the same.

In reality, rescues typically foster out their dogs so the dogs live in a foster family’s home. A dog being fostered in a home will have exposure and normalcy in its life unlike a shelter dog.

Shelter dogs are typically in a kennel most of the day, and isolated from everything. Shelters will let you visit with the dog same day you see the dog at the shelter and will want a deposit if you need some time to get stuff for the dog before you adopt it and take it home. When you are ready to take a shelter dog home you pay for that dog’s adoption fee and you must have a collar and leash for the dog, then you’re good to go. Most shelters do not require much for you to be able to adopt a dog. What you need to consider is when viewing a shelter dog you must be able to see for yourself all the positives about the dog the shelter describes in the dogs bio. You will want to ask if the dog is good with children the same age as your children and or younger. You will want to ask if the dog is good with ALL dogs and you will want to witness all of the positive statements the shelter makes about the dog. Watch out for certain words being used in the description of the dogs bio because it can possibly say something that means something else. For example if the description says the dog can be a bit shy with other dogs, well that can mean the dog has fear aggression. If it says the dog needs to warm up to people before being cuddly well that can mean The dog can be fearful of people. Shelters will use certain lingo sometimes to make the dog sound more mentally sound when really how can the dog be that way especially if it’s been in that environment for long.

Having said that, I have had experience finding and evaluating potential service dogs at shelters that have fantastic service dog qualities and are now full fledged service dogs. It comes down to making sure you hire a qualified trainer who knows how to evaluate a dog properly given the environment and circumstances the dog has been dealing with day in and day out.

With regard to considering a foster dog, these dogs definitely are going to be in an environment that’s safe, healthy, happy and you’ll know a lot more from the foster parent about the dogs true personality with people, other dogs and possibly cats. A rescue will want to come see where you live and be very concerned with what the dogs living environment and day to day life will be like. When considering a dog from a rescue you need to go online and fill out the application as soon as possible because sometimes that application process can take up to three weeks and during that time you’re unable to see the dogs from that rescue until your application has been excepted.

First and foremost before considering a shelter or a rescue dog you need to ask yourself if you have enough time to provide for this dog and the possible worst case scenario which could be separation anxiety. Separation anxiety can exhaust the pet parent the most out of any type of mental instability that a rescue or shelter dog can come home with.

Making sure that you have the means to fill up the dogs emotional and physical cup on a daily basis is crucial for the success of the dog living a happy healthy life now with its new family. I’ve been a dog trainer for 20 years and the last 13 years I have not owned a dog because my life is too busy training other people’s dogs, and I feel it wouldn’t be fair for a dog to live with me since I don’t have time for it. 

Contact us if you would like our assistance in these matters.