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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I think you're on the right track in terms of establishing a relationship with a local shelter so they can be 'on notice' when a dog that might work for your family comes through. I've personally interacted with the PG County, Arlington County, and Fairfax County shelters via a volunteer role and their adoption staff are all pretty great. PG definitely has the highest need, but it's usually for larger dogs under the 'guard dog' umbrellas (mastiffs, bigger pit mixes, GSDs).

[b]I would not be inclined to go through a home-based rescue to adopt a dog that needs to be good with kids.[/b] I've seen too many negative experiences (even from the 'good' rescues mentioned in this thread) where the dogs turned out to have severe separation anxiety, leash reactivity, or other undesirable and potentially unsafe behaviors when in the new adopter's home, and then the rescue guilted them TERRIBLY (and in some cases put them on a do-not-adopt list) when they tried to return the dog to the rescue. I've seen foster homes with multiple dogs where fights break out regularly, leading to dog-dog aggression even in young puppies. I appreciate the work that rescues do in trying to relieve overcrowding at rural shelters, but they simply can't or don't do the level of behavioral screening that I feel is necessary to place dogs successfully.[/quote]
Could you please explain how municipal shelters are better for assessment of dog/kid interaction if dogs kept in kennels and not in foster homes? Same for unsafe behavior and leash reactivity?
TIA[/quote]

As an AWLA volunteer, I did a TON of dog walking for adoptable dogs. I could tell you all of their walking quirks in the urban environment around the shelter (reactivity to people, squirrels/rats, cars, bikes, skateboards, even horses!). So that one's pretty easy. Adoptions/behavior staff test for separation anxiety by crating or confining the dog in the adoptions office or another closed space and gradually stepping away. Did the dog resist being crated, even if people were nearby? Were they fine being crated or gated with people nearby, but not alone? If initially upset when left alone, did they eventually settle, or get increasingly agitated? All dogs going up for adoption had multi-step dog introduction tests, with the results shared with adopters. Cat tests could be conducted by request. We did meet and greets if potential adopters already had another dog(s). "Good with kids" is subjective, but again, when I was a volunteer we were looking for things like mouthiness, jumpiness, resource guarding, etc. that would make a dog potentially unsafe around younger children.

Most dogs who come through shelters have at least a week where they are off-view from the public, during which time shelter staff engage with them extensively. Obviously a shelter environment isn't a home, but the staff are trained professionals who are proactively looking for health and behavior issues. At AWLA, many dogs get funneled into foster homes, as well, with the shelter still acting as the screener for potential adopters.

I just don't see foster homes as a substitute for the judgement of trained professionals. My friend adopted a dog from a large, established local rescue that the foster said was totally chill and great with kids. In reality, the dog was terrified of all children younger than teenagers, almost impossible to walk on a leash due to fear aggression towards other animals (turns out it had been attacked by one of the foster's dogs), and had what I would consider moderate separation anxiety (excessive barking and stress-shedding but not destructive/self-injurious). So while a shelter's observations might be limited somewhat by the shelter environment, at least their evaluations will be consistent from a risk-prevention perspective.[/quote]
Thank you for detailed response, I appreciate it.
Totally get your point on structured, formalized intake process and agree that foster care is not a substitute for professional evaluation.[/quote]

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