Why Get an Adult?

10 Reasons to Adopt an Adult/Rescue Dog

10. In a word: Housebroken!
With most family members gone during the work week for 8 hours or more, housetraining a puppy and its small bladder can take awhile. Puppies need a consistent schedule with frequent opportunities to eliminate where you want them to. They can't wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to come home from after school activities. An older dog can "hold it" much more reliably for longer periods, and often the Rescue foster family has him housebroken before he is adopted.

9. Intact Underwear.
With a chewy puppy, you can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag" before he cuts every tooth. And don't even think about shoes! Also, you can expect holes in your carpet (along with the urine stains), pages missing from books, stuffing exposed from couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch them, it will happen-- this is a puppy's job! An older dog can usually have the run of the house without destroying it.

8. A Good Night's Sleep.
Forget the alarm clocks and hot water bottles, a puppy can be very demanding at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. He misses his littermates, and that stuffed animal will not make a puppy pile with him. If you have children you've been there and done that. How about a little peace and quiet? How about an older rescue dog?

7. Finish the Newspaper.
With a puppy running amok in your house, do you think you will be able to relax when you get home from work? Do you think your kids will really feed him, clean up the messes, take him for a walk in the pouring rain every hour to get him housetrained? With an adult dog, it will only be the kids running amok, because your dog will be sitting calmly next to you, while your workday stress flows away and your blood pressure lowers as you pet him.

6. Easier Vet Trips.
Those puppies need their series of puppy shots and fecals, then their rabies shot, then a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency trip or two it they've chewed something dangerous. Those puppy visits can add up (on top of what you paid for the dog!). Your donation to the Rescue organization when adopting an older pup should get you a dog with all shots current, already altered, heartworm negative and on a preventative at the minimum.

5. What You See Is What You Get.
How big will the puppy be? What kind of temperament will he have? Will he be easily trained? Will his personality be what you were hoping for? How active will he be? When adopting an older dog from a Rescue organization, all of those questions are easily answered. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sweet or sassy. The Rescue and its foster homes can guide you to pick the right match. (Rescues are full of puppies who became the wrong match as they got older!)

4. Unscarred Children (and Adults).
When the puppy isn't teething on your possessions, he will be teething on your children and yourself. Rescues routinely get calls from panicked parents who are sure their dog is biting the children. Since biting implies hostile intent and would be a consideration whether to accept a "give-up", Rescue Groups ask questions and usually find out the dog is being nippy. Parents are often too emotional to see the difference; but a growing puppy is likely to put everything from food to clothes to hands in its mouth, and as it gets older and bigger the teeth definitely hurt (and will get worse, if the pup isn't being corrected properly.) Most older dogs have "been there, done that, moved on."

3. Matchmaker Make Me A Match.
Puppy love is often no more than an attachment to a look or a color. It is not much of a basis an which to make a decision that will hopefully last 15+ years. While that puppy may have been the cutest of the litter; he may grow up to be superactive (when what you wanted was a couch buddy.); she may be a couch princess (when what you wanted was a tireless hiking companion); he may want to spend every waking moment in the water (while you're a landlubber); or she may want to be an only child (while you are intending to have kids or more animals). Pet mis-matches are one of the top reasons Rescues get "give-up" phone calls. Good Rescues do extensive evaluating of both their dogs and their applicants to be sure that both dog and family will be happy with each other until death do they part.

2. Instant Companion.
With an older dog, you automatically have a buddy that can go everywhere and do everything with you NOW. There's no waitng for a puppy to grow up (and then hope he will like to do what you enjoy.) You will have been able to select the most compatible dog: one that travels well; one that loves to play with your friends dogs; one with excellent house manners that you can take to your parents' new home with the new carpet and the new couch. You can come home after a long day's work and spend your time on a relaxing walk, ride, or swim with your new best friend (rather than cleaning up after a small puppy).

1. Bond--Rescue Dog Bond.
Dogs who have been uprooted from their happy homes or have not had the best start in life are more likely to bond very completely and deeply with their new people. Those who have lost their families through death, divorce or lifestyle change go through a terrible mourning process. But, once attached to a new loving family, they seem to want to please as much as possible to make sure they are never homeless again. Those dogs that are just learning about the good life and good people seem to bond even deeper. They know what life on the streets, life on the end of a chain, or worse is all about, and they revel and blossom in a nurturing, loving environment. Most rescue dogs make exceptionally and extremely loyal companions.

Unfortunately, many folks think dogs that end up in rescue are all genetically and behaviorally inferior. But, it is not uncommon for Rescue to get $500 dogs that have outlived their usefulness or their novelty with impulsive owners who considered their dog a possession rather than a friend or member of the family; or simply did not really consider the time, effort and expense needed to be a dog owner. Not all breeders will accept "returns", so choices for giving up dogs can be limited to animal welfare organizations, such as Rescues, or the owners trying to place their own dogs. Good Rescues will evaluate the dog before accepting him/her (medically, behaviorally, and for breed confirmation), rehabilitate if necessary, and allow the pet to be adopted only when he/she is ready and to a home that matches and is realistic about the commitment necessary to provide the dog with the best home possible.

Choosing a rescue dog over a purchased pup will not solve the pet overpopulation problem (only responsible pet owners and breeders can do that), but it does give many of them a chance they otherwise would not have. But, beyond doing a "good deed", adopting a rescue dog can be the best decision and addition to the family you ever made. Rescue a dog and get a devoted friend for life!

NOTE: The above "10 Reasons" list appears on several sites all over the Internet. While I did not write it, I feel that the message is very important and bears repeating and emphasizing, so I have re-posted it here.

This article has been modified from its original format. The original article was written by Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc. Permission has been granted to freely reprint and distribute this document as long as LRR, Inc at http://www.lrr.org/ is credited.

Dog Agility

Agility is a fast paced timed obstacle course in which the dog runs in, out, over, through, and onto a series of obstacles. The obstacles are jump,teeter,A-frame, dogwalk, chute, weave poles, broad jump, tire and table. We train our dogs for agility because it increases their confidence,helps them to be more focused, calms them down, and gives them a channel for their play drive, training drive, and energy. In the picture you can see my sheltie Colina OA NAJ going through the weave poles, doing a sit on the table, and jumping through the tire. To learn more about dog agility go to:

AKC Agility

             

Dog Obedience

 

In obedience a dog is required to be able to sit, stand, down, stay, come, leave it, heel, retrieve, and walk well on a leash. We enjoy training our dogs for obedience because it improves dog behavior when in a crowd or going for a walk. It helps solve behavior problems such as pulling, barking, stealing food off the table, aggresiveness, overly dominant behavior, overexuberance, snapping, jumping, and running away. It is a good foundation for dog sports, and competitive obedience is a sport in itself. Trials for obedience, agility, and other sports are held all over the U.S. In the photos, Colina OA NAJ the sheltie is doing a sit stay and a down stay. To learn more about obedience go to

AKC Obedience

 

Carting

Carting is a fun and useful sport in which one or more dogs pull a vehicle. Like with other sports there are competitions you can enter and titles to win, but carting is also useful. The best thing about carting is that any dog can cart from a chihuahua to a great dane everyone enjoys it. With your cart you can haul garden equipment, a picnic lunch, a little kid, go in a parade, and anything else you can think of. We like to train for carting because it is useful and fun and you can do it while you are on a walk, hike, or in your backyard. While some of the older dogs might not be capable of the physical exertion it takes for agility they still enjoy being active. In the photo you can see my current two dog team. Rollin a 7 month old sheltie and Colina OA NAJ a three year old sheltie. To learn more about carting go to the following websites:

Carting with your dog Photo Gallery

Carting Plans

 

Flyball

Flyball is a relay race for dogs and their handlers. When a dog is released it runs over a series of jumps to a ball machine gets a ball and runs back to it's handler. The goal is to go as fast as you can. This is the ideal sport for ball loving dogs. In the photos you can see my dog Colina OA NAJ a sheltie, and Jose a 10 month old chihuahua. As shown in picture three it is important to introduce a future flyball dog to balls at a young age. To learn more about flyball go to:

Flyball

 

Nutrition and Weight

Good food and a proper weight are an important part of your pets health and longevity. Most pet foods use meat and/or poultry by-products as one of their main ingredients. Corn, wheat, soy are usually other main ingredients. They then spray on restaurant grease to make the animals eat it. All these ingredients are very bad for pets and can cause many health problems. In photo number one is a chinese crested dog "Lo-tse." When he arrived at SBRSC he was on a low quality food. Cresties are prone to skin problems so when he arrived he had clogged pores and his skin was full of blackheads. He also had very short hair on his head, ears, legs, and tail. We switched him to a high quality food and as you can see in his picture by the time he left he had clear skin and long hair. Weight management is also a major factor in keeping your pet happy and healthy. In picture two is "Honey," a beagle that arrived here severely overweight. Because of her extra weight her face was to wide, her legs appear short, she has flaps of fat hanging of her belly, and her belly is huge. In picture three you can see her after she lost 14 pounds. In this picture her step is springy, her tail is up, her legs are their proper length, she has an abdominal tuck, she has a rather slender build, her head is up, and her eyes are bright. It is apparent that she is a happier dog now. To learn more about dog food go to :

Dog Food Ratings

Premium Foods Online

To learn more about proper weight control go to :

How to Tell if Your Dog is Overweight

 

Herding

Herding is one of the oldest sports. It consists of a dog guiding sheep under the directions of its handler. In a competition the sheep are guided through a series of gate and other obstacles. To learn more about herding go to:

AKC Herding

Red Creek Farm

 

Rally

To learn about rally go to:

AKC Rally

 

Freestyle

Freestyle is a canine sport in which the handler and the dog dance together to music. It is basically advanced heelwork. To learn more about freestyle go to:

Freestyle