Rescue Dogs, and Adoption

My beautiful Ben did his bit of the blog last night, now it is my turn.

A lot of people would rather give a home to an unwanted dog for lots of reasons. Although there are puppies in rescue centres or pounds, many people would rather adopt an older dog for a variety of reasons. One of them being, you don't normally have the hassle of toilet training, as an older dog has control over it's bodily functions. Please understand though, many rescues do have "accidents", because of nerves or fear. My Ben had a few at the beginning, but it was only because he was very timid and nervous, and would wet when he got scared. Now he has gained more confidence, it doesn't happen any more. Whatever you do,never scold them, as it will only make things worse. Patience, is the key word.

Another plus to adopting an older dog is that you know roughly what size it will be. It can be difficult to know how big a puppy will be if it is mixed breed. Ben was about a year old when he came to us, so had more or less reached his full size, although he has muscled up, his overall frame is the same.

You must be prepared to give a lot of time and attention to your rescue, as many have never lived in a proper home. Do not think you can bring it to your home and it will learn all of the rules overnight. When we first had Ben, he would take anything he could find around the house and put it in his bed, sometimes chewing the item along the way. I have rescued cushions, mats and various other things, also a pair of mocassins-never did find the laces.

Many rescue dogs have what is called "separation anxiety", which means that they will often misbehave when left alone. Think about it, if a dog is happy when you are around, maybe for the first time in it's life, when you leave it, I feel it is logical that it will panic. We still do not leave Ben for any length of time. You have to work up to things gradually, start off by leaving them for 5 minutes, then 10 and so on. I have found a kong full of cheese will keep Ben occupied for half an hour, so that is the longest I leave him at the moment.

Above everything, you must be prepared for any hang ups the dog will have, and whatever you do, NEVER hit them for misbehaving, as so many have been mistreated in the past.