Rescue Dogs for Adoption

The Right Choice for You?

If you and your family plan on getting a dog, consider a rescue dog for adoption instead of buying one. This country literally has millions upon millions of dogs that need good homes on a daily basis. You can easily pick up the local penny-saver classified ads from your local grocery or convenience store. When it comes to getting a rescue dog for adoption, ask the following questions to make sure you get the right kind of dog for the family.

Why are you getting rid of the dog?
If you found the dog advertised as up for adoption on the Internet or from the local newspaper, drive over to the current owner’s house while it is still well lit outside. Take note of the current conditions of the house and how the people are acting.

Does the house look well kept or is it beat down to pieces? Are the people moving out of the state or to a new area that does not allow dogs? Can the people getting rid of the dog financially no longer care for the dog? Has there been some kind of medical condition that would prevent the owner from properly caring for the dog?

You want to make sure you do not inherit someone else’s problem unless you really and honestly plan on giving lots and lots of attention and patience to a ‘new’ dog.

What is the history of the dog such as medical and behavioral? Are there anything special about the dog such as dietary restrictions, allergies or any other kind of psychological habits the dog may show while under stress?

What is the current medical condition of the dog? Why is the dog not in good health right now? Again look at other physical signs of the environment you are entering.

The owner could just be plain lazy, not walk the dog on a routine basis and feed it occasionally. The dog could be very intimidated by strangers. Therefore, it may not be excited to see you at all. Don’t take this as a personal rejection. The dog needs to relearn how to trust humans. You of course could very easily be the right owner.

Rescue dogs for adoption may need a lot of work – whether that means training, attending doggy classes or seeing other dog professionals. The only person who really can determine that is you. And you can discover this by observing and spending a lot of personal one on one time with your rescue dog for a while.

When considering a rescue dog for adoption, check out your local pet adoption shelter as well. Before adopting a rescue dog, many city pet agencies require the dog to be spayed or neutered before being allowed to leave the shelter. Many dogs will come with updated vaccinations which have been provided by the local shelter. This is another added incentive for checking out the local pet shelter.
If you go to a pet shelter, see if you can take the dog for a walk. See how it reacts to you, to other people in your family and observe how he or she acts while on a leash. Does the dog want to take charge and pull your arm out of its socket? Or does the dog want to stay in its jail-cell because it is intimated by a group of people?

By reading the dog’s behavior, you can get a sense of its energy and see if it is a good fit for your family. However, if you are willing to put in the work, effort and time to help condition a rescue dog, then this is a wonderful and very rewarding option and you just gained a new best friend for life.

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