Having hard time adopting dog

[Anonymous]

Don’t rely on stories berating either designer dogs or mutts without knowing the training.

People get dogs without realizing the amount of training needed.

For ex. the PP said the dog chewed all the cabinets. The dog needs to be monitored and trained and have proper chew toys (probably hard toys since dog chewing on something hard).

When my dog does something I don’t like, I know it is because I haven’t trained the desired behavior. Training takes time. Most people don’t.

[Anonymous]

Check out the local beagle rescue, BREW. https://brewbeagles.org/

[Anonymous]

Two more recommendations, both in Howard County.

Small Miracles

Canine Humane Network - I have fostered for them before.

[Anonymous]

Look at Petfinder for more rural animal shelters...I got a cat who came from Bedford county VA and I knew someone who volunteered in Berkeley county WV. There are non pit dogs regularly. Rescues pull them and bring them to DC, but you can just get them from the shelter if you are willing to go out there.

[Anonymous]

I agree that working with a breed specific rescue is a good option, especially if you are willing to adopt a dog that is not a puppy (though sometimes they have litters to place). You must be comfortable that the dog is bombproof around your children, and these rescues generally require a period of fostering before they adopt out, to assess the dog's personality and suitability for given situations. For a different perspective on breeder dogs, we adopted a dog from Lab Rescue that was left at a shelter in PA breeding dog country. She obviously was used for breeding, and, yes, these dogs are treated like livestock, not pets. She is the sweetest temperament, mild-mannered, "can I just hang out with you" dog, not a flicker of any kind of aggression, dominance or obnoxiousness (we've had her over 2 years). She may be an exception, maybe they treated her better than most, and she was middle-aged when we got her, so there's that. It can be a long process to find the right dog, so take your time, and good luck. (Full disclosure: when our children were young, we did get a puppy from a reputable breeder (expensive, yup), and put a LOT of time into training with the guidance of a professional to make sure we ended up with the dog we wanted--there's no guarantee there either).

[Anonymous]

We have given up on rescuing a dog for now as it seems only pitt bulls need to be rescued and my last leashed dog was attacked by an unleashed putt bull so know one needs to me just how wonderful pitt bulls are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have given up on rescuing a dog for now as it seems only pitt bulls need to be rescued and my last leashed dog was attacked by an unleashed putt bull so know one needs to me just how wonderful pitt bulls are.

There have been many, many suggestions upthread about where to go to find non-Pit dogs (I'm the Big Fluffy volunteer upthread; you can find some of our available dogs here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BFDRAvailableDogs)

[Anonymous]

OP here - we have had a strong dog prior to this (bulldog) so am used to stubborn and hard to train dogs.

We really want a puppy (under 4 months old) if possible. We got our previous dog at 10 weeks old and were really the only hands involved in training him. Given that we have kids this time around I am nervous about having someone else's training/experiences/emotions involved with the dog at such a young age.

A lot of the dogs we have found are older than 4 months, which also makes it harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I foster for one of the rescues mentioned here.

Recently I fostered a little of rat terrier/pittbull terrier mixes. They were docile and trainable, even as a group. Many dogs you get from rescues, despite not looking like pitts, could potentially have pittbull genes, so you'll have to determine whether you're comfortable with any admixture of pitt and if so, how much.

There's a whole other conversation about whether it's sufficient for the dog to not have the pitt jaws, which were bred to never let go, and exert 242 pounds of pressure per square inch, or whether pitts have innately aggressive personalities (which I don't believe, personally). And if the former is your concern, ***then you need to also avoid any dog that has a jaw structure with the strength similar to a pittbull's***: German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Bulldogs, and Mastiffs, Chow Chows, Belgian Malinois, Dobermans, and Boxers. Labrador Retrievers also have a strong bite, but they are the American family dog par excellence, so people don't want to believe it...

for someone who works in rescue your ignorance is astounding. There is nothing about a pit bulls jaw that makes it not let go. Lock jaw is not a thing either… just hysteria brought on by the masses….

[Anonymous]

We gave up trying to find a rescue after getting the run around from them for several months. The dogs on the websites are never available, the rules are absurd and so many tried to convince us to take dogs that were in need of major medical care or had been returned. We went to a breeder and got a yellow lab. He’s the coolest dog ever and training him is fun. OP, just go to a breeder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I foster for one of the rescues mentioned here.

Recently I fostered a little of rat terrier/pittbull terrier mixes. They were docile and trainable, even as a group. Many dogs you get from rescues, despite not looking like pitts, could potentially have pittbull genes, so you'll have to determine whether you're comfortable with any admixture of pitt and if so, how much.

There's a whole other conversation about whether it's sufficient for the dog to not have the pitt jaws, which were bred to never let go, and exert 242 pounds of pressure per square inch, or whether pitts have innately aggressive personalities (which I don't believe, personally). And if the former is your concern, ***then you need to also avoid any dog that has a jaw structure with the strength similar to a pittbull's***: German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Bulldogs, and Mastiffs, Chow Chows, Belgian Malinois, Dobermans, and Boxers. Labrador Retrievers also have a strong bite, but they are the American family dog par excellence, so people don't want to believe it...

for someone who works in rescue your ignorance is astounding. There is nothing about a pit bulls jaw that makes it not let go. Lock jaw is not a thing either… just hysteria brought on by the masses….

It's not a mechanically locking jaw. It's a ridiculously strong and tenacious dog bred to bite other dogs and not let go even when being attacked in turn. They're just so. freaking. strong. I agree that people shouldn't have GSDs, Rottweilers, Chow Chows, etc if they can't handle them either. If you can't pull your dog off another dog, you shouldn't have that dog.

[Anonymous]

https://www.lostdogrescue.org/events-archive/dog-adoption-event-7-corners-petsmart-2023-01-07/#sl_embed&page=shelterluv_embed_69541610558516399%2Fembed%2Fanimal%2FLDAC-A-35183

There will be several lab mix puppies at this event tomorrow. Not sure where you live, but you could likely get one if you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we have had a strong dog prior to this (bulldog) so am used to stubborn and hard to train dogs.

We really want a puppy (under 4 months old) if possible. We got our previous dog at 10 weeks old and were really the only hands involved in training him. Given that we have kids this time around I am nervous about having someone else's training/experiences/emotions involved with the dog at such a young age.

A lot of the dogs we have found are older than 4 months, which also makes it harder.

Why not sign up to foster with Wolftrap? This gives you first dibs on adopting, and their "bespoke" option gives you some input on what you're looking for (though may slow down the process).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we have had a strong dog prior to this (bulldog) so am used to stubborn and hard to train dogs.

We really want a puppy (under 4 months old) if possible. We got our previous dog at 10 weeks old and were really the only hands involved in training him. Given that we have kids this time around I am nervous about having someone else's training/experiences/emotions involved with the dog at such a young age.

A lot of the dogs we have found are older than 4 months, which also makes it harder.

Why not sign up to foster with Wolftrap? This gives you first dibs on adopting, and their "bespoke" option gives you some input on what you're looking for (though may slow down the process).

Agreed. This is a great way especially since OP wants a young dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.lostdogrescue.org/events-archive/dog-adoption-event-7-corners-petsmart-2023-01-07/#sl_embed&page=shelterluv_embed_69541610558516399%2Fembed%2Fanimal%2FLDAC-A-35183

There will be several lab mix puppies at this event tomorrow. Not sure where you live, but you could likely get one if you go.

This looks like a really good option, OP.

If you're willing to wait, Big Fluffy has a bunch of young puppies (we place them around 12 weeks old) coming up.

5 'C' litter puppies - Hound/Pyrenees/Anatolian mixes
9 'E' litter puppies - Dad's a Pyrenees, mom we don't know (dad/puppies dumped at a shelter)
5 'Q' litter puppies - No idea what they are, besides cute. Tan and Black/tan puppies
2 'M' litter puppies - Black and brindle

These are in addition to a litter of bottle fed puppies that are still very young (a week or two old), and another litter of 8 or 9 that are less than a week old. These are just the ones I'm aware of, so there are probably more. If you're interested, you can put in an application, and specify that you're looking for a puppy under 16 weeks old (and any breed requirements).