# Rescues



## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Anyone have any idea on the success rate for rehome/rescue type dogs? I tried to do it with a Border Collie from great lines and it was junk, got rid of it. How much would you view the age factor or sex of the dog? Is it real to think that reconditioning it before training will help? 

I heard about a GSD that was rehomed 4 times and is still showing aggression when placed in a kennel, the dog is only 2!!


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

I rescued a Rottie and wouldn't dare rehome her as she could be a nasty fear biter in the wrong hands. If it weren't for my wife, that dog would be PTS already. Until then I think she's in as good a home as possible. At least all of the spookiness in the house is gone.


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

I don't know what the success rate would be percentage wise when re-homing a dog. I've got a Mal that I've had for right at 7 months now. He was 1 year 9 months when I got him and had been kenneled the majority of the time. Thee breeder was looking to thin out the # of dogs he had. The dog has good drive, a good civil side, and is beautiful. It took him 4-6 weeks to get adjusted to house noises, new environment, etc. My wife is a stay at home mom and we home school our kids so getting past social issues happened pretty quickly. He's great with the kids and other dogs. His obedience is great and his protection work is moving along well. I think if you're patient with the dog, regardless of breed and it's not bounced around alot, the dogs adjust pretty well, altough there will always be exceptions.


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## Al Curbow (Mar 27, 2006)

I'm on my 4th rescue in 2 yrs, everyone is happy with their dog. Howard, anybody can train a dog with zero issues and great drives, even little kids and old ladies, people can use a "junk" dog to take a look at how good of a trainer they truly are, that'll always show the truth, every single time,


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

I'm 0 and 1 right now with my first ever rescue, with a dog I produced. Many instances, it's not been the aggression that dissuades anyone, but the fact that he's average in prey drive and nuetered.


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## Wayne Conrad (Jun 8, 2009)

I am on my second rescue dog. Both Mal's both fantastic. The first I received as a rehomed dog from Debbie Skinner. "Caesar" is currently working for the Department of Corrections on a pilot program for detection of cell phones inside the states prison system. The second, Miko, was a last minute rescue from the Martinez Animal Shelter. Approximately 1 1/2 years of age, he was picked up as a stray and was scheduled to be put down becasue he "Mouthed" the evaluator at the shelter. I am currently training Miko for patrol at the SO where my daughter works. Was a bit aprehensive at first, however once he settled in he was great. Hopefully, I will be picking up another Mal from Debbie for the pilot cell phone program. I guess you can say there is good and bad in everything. I have been extremely lucky to have found both Caesar and Miko.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> Anyone have any idea on the success rate for rehome/rescue type dogs? I tried to do it with a Border Collie from great lines and it was junk, got rid of it. How much would you view the age factor or sex of the dog? Is it real to think that reconditioning it before training will help?
> 
> I heard about a GSD that was rehomed 4 times and is still showing aggression when placed in a kennel, the dog is only 2!!


Define success.

Also, a LOT depends on the staff (volunteer and other) at the facility, as well as the kill/no-kill protocol.

Needless to say, reason for initial surrender is huge, too.

Even if success is defined as "finding an adopting home," the rate is way under 50%.

In L.A. County, for example, the most populous county in the United States, figures for 2006 show that almost 60% of dogs and puppies who are take in at a shelter are PTS.

But -- define "success." Do you mean adopted and not re-surrendered?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Howard, 

"Got rid of it" how? Re-surrendered it?

Or gave it away privately?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> .... I heard about a GSD that was rehomed 4 times and is still showing aggression when placed in a kennel, the dog is only 2!!



From a shelter or a breed rescue?


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## Rose DeLuca (Oct 24, 2008)

I have had some good success with some rescues over the years- I think the end results still depend on the genetics in the dog. And I guess its how you define success - is it just saving the dog with a good quality of life or success in selling the dog after some work is put in and how much heart also goes into these situations. 

I recd frantic call from Humane Society that a yr old GSD was going to be put down at Easter. He had bitten (4 punctures- fear agression) a satellite repair guy.(the wont rehome a dog thats bitten) They had good background on him, he was physically well cared for but harshly handled. I spoke the breeder at Janzhaus kennel in Alberta, http://www.janzhaus.com/janzhaus/default.asp?Referer=undefined (mother was Ola & and an "undisclosed police dog from USA... supposedly..... ) they were aware of situation with the dog but werent willing to pay to have him shipped back from Kingston Ontario. (I can expand on that if anyone is interested)

I went to see him and he had NO- zero ball prey drive but did tug with rope toy. (powerful deep calm grip) .. he showed no "people agression" with me.(but serious kennel defense agression). AT that time he had been at the HS about a month so he was fairly acclimated there. But I took him and have him placed with police here as a "selection course" practice dog. But in about 2 months this dog has impressed me. He now HUNTS seriously with energy and intensity for the ball. He speaks on command and does barking puppy run away finds and barks without prompting. But best of all he can be around strangers with supervision and if he is playing shows no signs of and agression. He showed some suspicion once at my 6" 6 son who was afraid of him- But here is not left be in charge of anything, he was low ranking in our pack initially- but as his confidence and drive have surfaced I had to take him out of the pack now since he challenged my dominant male once- and once is enough for me. (I wont take the effort to keep him in the pack make it work since he will be going in August) 

anyway; time will tell how he does on the course. I think in the wrong "family" he will be the same dog again. I think he basically has some decent genetics. Though a nice regular straight retrieve (without the use of 2 toy) may not work since I know he played "kid keep away" big time. [-X But in the end- he was/is a terrific dog that didnt deserve to be put down, so I'm glad he gets a second chance at least. 

didnt mean for this to get so long- and I tried not to get on my soap box about rescues/breeders and families that should have gotten a cat instead of a dog !


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I have great admiration for those that take in a rescue dog. Many have a ton of issues to work out and that's not what I care to do. 

Howard said;
"I heard about a GSD that was rehomed 4 times and is still showing aggression when placed in a kennel, the dog is only 2!! "

Could be that dog would have issues no matter how many people tried to work with it. 
That's the big unknown with rescues. The old "Nature vs Nuture" thing.


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

I have the utmost respect for GOOD rescue groups. I have NO respect for rescue groups that pay their own bills from donations and have 15 foster dogs plus their own 7 in their house. That is disgusting IMHO. There is a rescue run like that here close to me. It is sickening. It doesn't help the lady is a 2 faced, lying, caniving busybody. I had her thrown out of PetsMart when I was 16 and she was volunteering at the local AC for trying to charge more than the adoption fee for a puppy that she fostered through them. This is what I classify as a money hungry rescue, primarily taking in small breeds with HIGH adoption fees and mixed breeds that are passed off as purebreds or capitalized on the designer dog status(Jack-a-Bees- Jack russel and BeagleX is the latest). 

Also, my X-roomate/friend in NM, did "rescue". It was a joke. She "rescued" a litter of puppies, charged their care at the vet clinic I worked at. I lent her my kennel to use, which she rarely cleaned for them(I did it as it was outside my door), did NOT socialize them. Then they got parvo and that was a mess. It was ridiculous. So she "rescued" them at 6 weeks old, they finally went to another rescue at the age of 6 months being shy, fearful dogs that were not socialized properly. I have no doubts that they were PTS. Mind you it was on an indian reservation so the plight of the dogs isn't good anyway, but why try and rescue them if you can't afford it on your own and don't plan on doing things the right way. 

So in short. IF there is a rescue that does things right, I'll support them but I've learned that there are far more BAD rescues than good ones. I've also learned that most rescue people are bleeding hearts that can't see that you can't save all of them. I do believe that I was tainted on rescuing by knowing a few bad ones. 

Courtney


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> I have the utmost respect for GOOD rescue groups. I have NO respect for rescue groups that pay their own bills from donations and have 15 foster dogs plus their own 7 in their house. That is disgusting IMHO. There is a rescue run like that here close to me. It is sickening. It doesn't help the lady is a 2 faced, lying, caniving busybody. I had her thrown out of PetsMart when I was 16 and she was volunteering at the local AC for trying to charge more than the adoption fee for a puppy that she fostered through them. This is what I classify as a money hungry rescue, primarily taking in small breeds with HIGH adoption fees and mixed breeds that are passed off as purebreds or capitalized on the designer dog status(Jack-a-Bees- Jack russel and BeagleX is the latest).
> 
> Also, my X-roomate/friend in NM, did "rescue". It was a joke. She "rescued" a litter of puppies, charged their care at the vet clinic I worked at. I lent her my kennel to use, which she rarely cleaned for them(I did it as it was outside my door), did NOT socialize them. Then they got parvo and that was a mess. It was ridiculous. So she "rescued" them at 6 weeks old, they finally went to another rescue at the age of 6 months being shy, fearful dogs that were not socialized properly. I have no doubts that they were PTS. Mind you it was on an indian reservation so the plight of the dogs isn't good anyway, but why try and rescue them if you can't afford it on your own and don't plan on doing things the right way.
> 
> ...


Agreed!
To often these "rescuers" would be better defined as "hoarders".


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

I have a complaint against the Northern Colorado German Shepherd Rescue. Maybe a year ago, I identified a dog that I was strongly suspicious of having produced from one of my litters, so emailed them and stated that I may be able to lead them toward his rightful owner, though he was tagged "abandoned", which I highly doubted. Good looking, happy dog, in their pics. When the first email went unanswered, I sent another, and again no response. The dog was listed for months, and the rescue group is a joke, as far as I'm concerned.


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

I meant to say, Front Range German Shepherd Dog Rescue.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

I have done rescue for years, but formally began a GSD breed rescue back in April. Since then, I have placed (or helped place, via courtesy listings on Petfinder) 13 dogs. So far, none of them have been suitable for any kind of work, though a couple did require active owners.

I currently have 3 foster homes, plus my own, and am working on building up that number. I will take in owner-surrenders conditionally, but the majority of dogs that I have taken in have been from a gassing kill shelter 2 hours away. For some reason, they get a LOT of GSDs and GSD mixes in, and the staff there is terrified of shepherds, so when they get one in, it gets bumped to the front of the euth list. I also took in a litter of Mali puppies from another kill shelter nearby. They were only 10 weeks old at the time, and skin and bones, literally. 

Right now, two of my foster homes are on vacation, so I have the dogs that they were caring for at my house until they return. That means I have 5 rescues at my house, in addition to my own 3 dogs. The rescues don't come in the house, though. They each have their own kennel, and get yard-time and individual walks each day. And I certainly do not use the money from adoption fees to pay my own bills. If there is any 'left over' after deducting the cost of speutering & etc. it buys more food and/or vetting supplies.


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

Kristen Cabe said:


> I have done rescue for years, but formally began a GSD breed rescue back in April. Since then, I have placed (or helped place, via courtesy listings on Petfinder) 13 dogs. So far, none of them have been suitable for any kind of work, though a couple did require active owners.
> 
> I currently have 3 foster homes, plus my own, and am working on building up that number. I will take in owner-surrenders conditionally, but the majority of dogs that I have taken in have been from a gassing kill shelter 2 hours away. For some reason, they get a LOT of GSDs and GSD mixes in, and the staff there is terrified of shepherds, so when they get one in, it gets bumped to the front of the euth list. I also took in a litter of Mali puppies from another kill shelter nearby. They were only 10 weeks old at the time, and skin and bones, literally.
> 
> Right now, two of my foster homes are on vacation, so I have the dogs that they were caring for at my house until they return. That means I have 5 rescues at my house, in addition to my own 3 dogs. The rescues don't come in the house, though. They each have their own kennel, and get yard-time and individual walks each day. And I certainly do not use the money from adoption fees to pay my own bills. If there is any 'left over' after deducting the cost of speutering & etc. it buys more food and/or vetting supplies.


Yeah but 2 of your foster homes are on vacation making your rescue dog numbers less than they are now. Honestly, Kristen your rescue is one of few that I'd support. 

At last count the other "rescue" lady had 11 fosters in her house PLUS her own 7 dogs. To me that is WAY too many. Those are just what she has listed on petfinder. I have a feeling there are more than that. 

I guess when I think about it, I'm "rescued" out. There are so many bad rescues just like BYBs. I'll just stick to the couple rescues that I'll support.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Thank you, Courtney. I agree with you fully. I couldn't imagine having that many dogs. For one, I don't have the room, but secondly, there wouldn't be enough time to take care of them all! The sad thing is that the lady you're referring to probably feels that she's doing what's in the best interests of the dogs - just like most hoarders. They believe that no one else could possibly care for the animals as well as they do, and don't realize that they are in way over their heads. Most times, the animals in situations like that are living in their own filth, eating whatever they can get ahold of, and not receiving necessary vet care. Hoarders, I believe, truly suffer from an illness, and they really do have a deep love for the animals in their care. The problem is the blinders that keep them from seeing what is actually happening.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> I've learned that there are far more BAD rescues than good ones.


How?

I've run into my share of what I thought of as very bad rescues, but I didn't learn that.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Howard Gaines III said:


> Anyone have any idea on the success rate for rehome/rescue type dogs? I tried to do it with a Border Collie from great lines and it was junk, got rid of it. How much would you view the age factor or sex of the dog? Is it real to think that reconditioning it before training will help?
> 
> I heard about a GSD that was rehomed 4 times and is still showing aggression when placed in a kennel, the dog is only 2!!


I'm having good luck with the rescues over here. I don't view gender as a factor. I won't work with a rescue over age 4, simply because there are fewer potential adopters.

At this point, I'm looking for potential Therapy Dogs and potential Service Dogs. I'm strictly limited intake - I won't take on a dog that hasn't passed a CGC. I typically can work out situations where I can evaluate a dog for a period of time. I have a dog pending intake now. I've had him here for almost 2 months. He passed a TT and is probably ready for the CGC. He's already working as a Therapy Dog. He has to lose 10 - 15 pounds before I'll bring him on board! ](*,)

I previously worked with rescue dogs that had aggression issues and had good results. I had to have 2 PTS out of about a dozen. The others were human/handler problems more than dog behavior problems. 

I've seen some amazing things come out of rescues. Usually they are the "bad" dogs that are pending euthanasia. www.wallacethepitbull.com


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Kristen Cabe said:


> Thank you, Courtney. I agree with you fully. I couldn't imagine having that many dogs. For one, I don't have the room, but secondly, there wouldn't be enough time to take care of them all! The sad thing is that the lady you're referring to probably feels that she's doing what's in the best interests of the dogs - just like most hoarders. They believe that no one else could possibly care for the animals as well as they do, and don't realize that they are in way over their heads. Most times, the animals in situations like that are living in their own filth, eating whatever they can get ahold of, and not receiving necessary vet care. Hoarders, I believe, truly suffer from an illness, and they really do have a deep love for the animals in their care. The problem is the blinders that keep them from seeing what is actually happening.


I had a dog come out of a "rescue" like that. I got screwed over badly, but I was able to work with the State Veterinary Board and the Ag Department to get her shut down (for the second time.) :evil:


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Connie the BC came from folks in their 70s and they were not able to deal with her behaviors. I had the dog for about a month and saw too many issues that I didn't want to "fix" and to use with my goose control business. The liabilities would make me poorer!

I took it to the SPCA and they in turn gave/sold it to someone in the area. I know because they called me and asked about the dog. I also made it clear that it wasn't from MY breeding as the SPCA told them. I am sure not every dog can be "fixed" and sometimes you must cut and run. 

Al said something about the proof of a good trainer is what you can do with castaways, some truth to it. Kind of like being a teacher and reaching the shop kids who can't make academic connections. Show them how it relates to them and their world and you have them hooked!

This may go back to the very thing of K-9 education. They make young folks go through marriage classes so the success rates stay high. Maybe someone should tell would be pet owners to go through a 2 hour workshop on training, keeping, and rewarding a dog or cat. Cover in-house first aid and the spay/neuter issues.


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## Mo Earle (Mar 1, 2008)

we rescued a lot of dogs over the years, but most recently an 18 month old male gsd, originally working line from Katzenblut's kennels-beautiful dog that bit his previous family members and visitors- I feel the owners didn't know the first thing about handling a dominant dog and he told them so... in addition to being a beautiful dog, he was a real butt head when we first got him- bit me the first day- taking him out of the kennel , another time during training- it has been almost a year now- I am so glad we took the time to work through his issues- now he has awesome obedience, and is doing great in his protection/bite work training!!


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Mo I know that there are MANY success stories out there and just as many bad ones. When the issue ends well, then great, and if it is a bad one...yipes! :-k :-o


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> .... Maybe someone should tell would be pet owners to go through a 2 hour workshop on training, keeping, and rewarding a dog or cat. Cover in-house first aid and the spay/neuter issues.


Some would-be adopters are enraged when asked whether they have surrendered other animals, whether they already own 11 dogs, etc. 

Imagine requesting THAT.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Class or not, there are still going to be the people who will answer all the questions 'correctly' on the adoption application and during the 'interview,' and then call you up less than 24 hours after getting the dog and leave a very nasty voicemail wanting to know when you can come and get the dog because it's pissing/shitting on the carpet and tearing up rugs when they leave it loose in the house, jumping out of their yard when they put it back there unattended, and that it slipped out of its flat collar and ran off when they took it for a walk. All this _after_ being told that the dog needed a crate for when it would be left unattended, a prong collar for walks (both of which they were 'on their way to get from the store on the way home') and that it should not be left out in the yard unsupervised until it settled in and felt like part of the pack. They said they understood that a change in a dog's environment could cause regression of housetraining, and that they would 'work through it' with the dog. They said they understood that the dog needed a crate to feel more secure whenever it was going to be left alone, and that they would not walk the dog on the flat collar because I showed them how the dog would back out of one in seconds. Oh, and the dog was only going to be out in the yard when they were out there with it.

To meet these people, I would have never guessed that they were pretty much flat-out lying to me about everything. Their other dog seemed to be happy and well adjusted, and had a little bit of obedience training (he knew how to sit and walk on a leash, and did not bark or jump all over me when I arrived), so I figured they were more than capable of handling this particular dog (who, incidentally, never caused the first problem at my house or in her foster home - she's super easy!). They did not seem taken aback when I discussed the use of a prong collar or crate, or even when I got onto them about feeding Kibbles n Bits. All in all, they seemed very open and willing to do whatever they needed to do to make it work.

Point being that this type of person/people is still going to be a problem, whether taking a class on dog care, etc. is made mandatory or not. They're going to do what they need to do (ie: take the class and say what we, as rescuers, want/need to hear), and then they're going to do what they're going to do as soon as they get the dog home and blame us when it doesn't work out perfectly.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

_"Point being that this type of person/people is still going to be a problem, whether taking a class on dog care, etc. is made mandatory or not. They're going to do what they need to do (ie: take the class and say what we, as rescuers, want/need to hear), and then they're going to do what they're going to do as soon as they get the dog home and blame us when it doesn't work out perfectly."_ (Kristen)



Yep.


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## Tracey Hughes (Jul 13, 2007)

Not sure what the success to failure rate would be but I have a soft spot for rescued dogs. My first dog was a Pit Bull I rescued, took her from SchH 1 to SchH 3, Regional competitor. 

I have rescued 2 French Bulldogs that were slated to be put down both were/are biters but in the right home that isn't a concern. There are a lot of Frenchies needing homes many are aggressive and/or have health problems which the owners won't or can't deal with.

I rescued a Boxer bitch last year, started her in SchH but she wasn't intense enough for my liking so I placed her with a friend of mine who competes in Agility and the dog loves it. 

I work at a Shelter and I see all kinds of dogs I would love to take home and train IF I just had the resources to do it. But there is only so much of me to go around

Tracey


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> How?
> 
> I've run into my share of what I thought of as very bad rescues, but I didn't learn that.


You are right. I should have worded that different. I have run into far more bad rescues than good ones. 

Kristen- The lady I referred to actually is on the "other" board. She has been bad news since I met her at 16. I met her while I worked at PetsMart and she was doing border collie rescue, then that turned into fostering for the shelter and after she was outed for trying to make a profit on adoptions at the store, she started her own rescue. That said, her dogs do get vet care as she has a lot of good donaters and are fed decently. She pretended to like APBTs and helped a few to get more donations from other people on the APBT forum we were on. She has been kicked off a few forums for soliciting too many donations for "rescue" dogs being that she took them in from owners. 

Courtney


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## Sarah Atlas (Dec 15, 2008)

I have worked with (as an instructor) folks who have adopted rescues. Several things to consider;

Genetics, i believe is the number 1 factor. and then socialization/upbringing. many times a well bred dog will love and take abuse..a dog with poor genetics and lack of social skills will not have the genetics to help it .Many people i have tried to work with get a rescue and totally let the dog do what it wants becasue"poor thing was abused" resulting in a dog taking over and not necessarily being the wonderful pet they had hoped for.

now I know I will get slammed for this but.in their zest to find homes for many of these dogs rescuers place them in inappropriate homes. In addition, I find it usually takes a rescue 2 months to settle in, so he may be great in forster , goes to a new home then 2 months later the true dog comes out.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Some of the issues with shelter dogs is the damage done at an early age. Imprinting is a very powerful thing and sometimes it CAN'T be fixed. Can all dogs be turned around for the better? By bet is they can't!


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

I've had a few fosters that were probably just about lost causes, but I do think with excellent management, MOST dogs with a poor start to life can have a better quality of life as a pet with their owners even if they don't have the benefit of perfect genetics or a good environment. Remember, genetics cannot be untangled from environment. They're both strands that make up a rope we call temperament.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> Can all dogs be turned around for the better?



No.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> I've had a few fosters that were probably just about lost causes, but I do think with excellent management, MOST dogs with a poor start to life can have a better quality of life as a pet with their owners ...


Yep!


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## Annika Friberg (Mar 27, 2009)

> now I know I will get slammed for this but.in their zest to find homes for many of these dogs rescuers place them in inappropriate homes. In addition, I find it usually takes a rescue 2 months to settle in, so he may be great in forster , goes to a new home then 2 months later the true dog comes out.


I sometimes think there is too much of a focus in this country on saving dogs' lives and too little on life quality for those dogs. 

Sometimes we should recognize that it's more responsible and kinder to the dog to put it down rather than to hand it over - health/fear/aggression issues and all - to it's fourth or fifth not so great pet home. Sometimes, there's just no happy ending in store for some dog coming out of a puppy mill or BYB, having been tied up on a line for the first couple of years of it's life.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Annika Friberg said:


> I sometimes think there is too much of a focus in this country on saving dogs' lives and too little on life quality for those dogs.
> 
> Sometimes we should recognize that it's more responsible and kinder to the dog to put it down rather than to hand it over - health/fear/aggression issues and all - to it's fourth or fifth not so great pet home. Sometimes, there's just no happy ending in store for some dog coming out of a puppy mill or BYB, having been tied up on a line for the first couple of years of it's life.


I have to say that I agree with you. The idea of no-kill shelters sounds so nice -- until you do some work at some shelters, or maybe a rescue, or anything else that brings you into frequent contact with dogs who have zero quality of life -- until you learn what "shelter stress" and "shelter-crazed" mean.

And yes, plenty of dogs are damaged beyond redemption before ever being seized or surrendered.

I do aggro- and fearful-dog intake assessment and rehab. I'm no PTS enthusiast. But yes, I sure do agree with you.

Most dogs probably _can_ be rehabbed at least to the point of living a comfortable life as a companion animal. But by whom? 

The shelters where I live are constantly stressed by the Central Valley's overflow, and particularly dogs who they don't think can survive unless they can get them over here to the cooler ocean air.

There is no pack of volunteers qualified (or even willing!) to work with the aggressive dogs, believe me.

So there is no possible choice but to assess the "problem" dogs on the basis of which ones are most likely to recover (fastest).

sigh


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## Becky Shilling (Jul 11, 2006)

I guess you could call one of our dogs is a "rescue". He was imported from Germany at 8 wks old, a half brother to the infamous Boban. At 11 months old, he was far too big for his britches and was intimidating his owner and her parents. My husband drove down to Georgia to pick him up and after several "Come to Jesus" meetings on the ride home, Ivo decided that he liked ball-playing much better than butt-kicking and he has been a super good dog ever since.

We are constantly rescuing strays and placing them, either with various breed rescues or directly to families.


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## Tammy McDowell (Dec 4, 2006)

I started volunteering with a local GSD Rescue about 9 years ago, quit about 3 years later and started the first 'real' Labrador Retriever Rescue for the Houston area. While it is always a learning process, my group has turn into a GREAT organization ran by the best volunteers. We have people joke to us that they could more easily adopt a child than to adopt from our group and that is just perfectly fine by us...we have a pretty extensive application and require a home visit before approval.

One of the big factors in our rescue is picking the right dogs from the shelter. Obviously it is pretty much a crap shoot because you never really know how a dog will be until it settles in and receives medical care but we tend to be fairly picky about what we take in. The Houston Shelters are all VERY high kill, every single one of them, and are constantly beyond full so we are bombarded daily w/ requests to pull dogs. I am one of our shelter evaluators and will walk through looking at different prospects for both Lab Rescue and other breeds. If it jumps at the kennel gate, barks obnoxiously, is pushy, jumps on me, shows any signs of dog aggression, hides in the back of the kennel, etc...I don't give it a second look. Those are the dogs that will sit in our program w/out a single bit of interested which holds up spots for the more adoptable dogs. It is very silly thinking about it, these are Labrador Retrievers for crying outloud but our adopters want the calm, more mature sort and do not have interest in the 'normal' labs. I do however keep an eye out for those w/ working drives that show interest in balls/toys and will occassionally pull those on my own...as well as other misc breeds that may catch my eye. 

Each breed in a shelter of course has to be looked at a bit different. One of our personal dogs is a female Boston that Boston Rescue passed on, she had been labeled aggressive by the shelter and supposedly growled at the Boston volunteer. I picked her up from the shelter and she has never left. She is not aggressive but will snap if a stranger stupidly makes her feel uncomfortable. Do we let her hang out w/ just anyone? No way, but she is great w/ our family and all other respectable dog people, lol. I can only imagine how terrified our other Boston would be if he were in a shelter. He is super social but I would not put it past him to snap at someone if in a shelter. My lab on the other hand probably wouldn't even notice she was in a shelter as long as she had food. :lol:




Al Curbow said:


> I'm on my 4th rescue in 2 yrs, everyone is happy with their dog. Howard, anybody can train a dog with zero issues and great drives, even little kids and old ladies, people can use a "junk" dog to take a look at how good of a trainer they truly are, that'll always show the truth, every single time,


While this is true, sometimes you do have to look at the bigger picture. I can do all the training in the world w/ certain dogs but that does not mean when placed in a new home that the new family will even remotely keep up w/ the training. Most times w/ the more difficult dogs, they quickly take over and end up back w/ the rescue groups. I am completely of the opinion that rescue groups should typically not waste time rehabing dogs w/ any sort of aggression issues when there are other great dogs awaiting euthanasia in shelters. 

There is a group here in Houston that simply put, will not put dogs down no matter what. We've had 4 from their program come here for training/eval's because of aggression...all had already bitten numerous people before even being accepted into the program. These people are spending so much $ boarding these dogs and paying for training at different places and its basically for nothing. Each dog does well while here or w/ other trainers but of course once adopted out the new owners again slack off and old habits return. One of their dogs was here for 4 weeks, never tried anything with us and then one day lunged at my stomach over absolutely nothing...they had already been told by other trainers that he was a huge liability and should be put down. Now nearly 2 years later, he is with yet another trainer and 'doing great' :lol:..they'll never 'get it'.

Okay so obviously I got a bit carried away...a subject I'm a bit passionate about, LOL!

What was the original question now anyways? #-o:lol:


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