Adopt a dog

[Varmintmist]

Anyone ever done it from a shelter?
My Blab is 5y/o and her huskish buddy got buried this spring.
I am in the position that I may retire soon, however the spousal unit will be working for about 4 years +-. At that point, we are planning to hook up to the travel trailer, go on the food network site, find Diners Drive ins and Dives locations and eat our way across the country. At that point I am thinking I might be out of the dog biz. Yes I can take dogs in the trailer, and I have. On an adventure like that, I think it would be unfair the the dog.

So, I have been looking at 4-7 y/o dogs. Just found a choc lab local thats about 5. So far with labs I have been getting 9y + a little. At 5 she would be a companion to the blab. She was a Amish breeder so I would have another little Yoder girl.

Some of their contracts are complete "I'll pass" One that ships from TX reserves the right at any time for any reason to reclaim the dog at your loss. Sorry, I dont trust people that much. A lot just ask what do you have for fence and whats your vets info. I'm ok with that.

[Gila]

Chocolates are the shortest lived of all the Labs. Mine lived to be eleven. It's a real heart breaker losing one.

[jaywapiti]

When we lived in Colorado we adopted Bodie a Husky , they thought he was about 2 years old, no matter he had his problems and became the greatest, we loved each other for 17 years.

Do it, ya wont be sorry.

JAY

[Japhy]

We just rescued a terrier mix from a shelter
Got home read his history
He was picked up as a stray
To an animal shelter in S. AZ
Adopted then returned
Fostered to “socialize” him
Operated on
Sent to the shelter to recover
Then we adopted him. He is still fearful of me but is good with my wife. I told her there is no way he is going to be cycled back through the system after all that even though he is aggressive with large dogs.

[bullsi1911]

Personally, I think I would just hold off on another dog if you think you are going to start traveling in 4-5 years. Just be a buddy to your Blab right now and then start the retirement life after he/she moves on.

[CPJ 2.0]

Personally, I think I would just hold off on another dog if you think you are going to start traveling in 4-5 years. Just be a buddy to your Blab right now and then start the retirement life after he/she moves on.

That, or, just get a dog. A plain ass dog. Some mutt who has been looked over because they arent a cool breed.

[Zorba]

That, or, just get a dog. A plain ass dog. Some mutt who has been looked over because they arent a cool breed.

^^^THIS^^^

[Jerm]

What Chris said. Go to the local shelter. Older dogs have a hard time getting adopted. How about one of them? They have a known temperament, and they are older so it doesn't mess with your retirement plans. I will bet real money that a big portion of those dogs are pit/pit mix. Do not let that discourage you. The vast majority are great dogs.

We adopted Charlie last spring after Dudley died last January. He was a rescue dog and other than the fact that he likes to take knives off the kitchen counter and stash his "shanks" all over the place, he is a good boy. I don't blame that on the breed-- I blame that on the other dogs at the animal shelter.

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[Jerm]

Here he is today at 85 pounds.

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[Justsomedude]

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Yep, get an older dog. Kira here was only two when we adopted her but she is an excellent dog and will gladly mommy any animal that enters the house. We are very glad that we got her over a pup.

[Varmintmist]

If some of you read the post, I am looking at a 5y/o, not a pup. Labs live 9-11ish years. I plan on traveling in 4-5 years.....if you run the numbers retirement travel was already taken into consideration. My last blend lasted 16 years. This is not my first dog. Getting a mutt means that I am likely going to be traveling with it because there is no way to know the longevity. That may happen in the future, but I will have to see if I want to travel with a dog. People do it, not sure I want to. This weekend it t stormed the majority of the time. The Blab was in the basement playing with ghosts while I was reloading. Her nutty meter is showing signs of maxing out.

I wont have a pit. "Its the owner" isnt the whole equation. All dogs can bite. More people get bitten by Golden Retrievers, but those people dont lose their faces or their kids. I have had and or lived with Collies, GSD blends, English Shepard's, Dobermans, Malamute, Husky blend, labs, and Heinz dogs. As a serviceman I have been in homes working around about everything with fur on 4 legs. Every dog shows the nature of their breeding, even if they dont show it outright all of the time, its still there. You can overcome a lot of it with care, but it is still there.

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So, back to the question about shelters.... Anyone have a problem, or real good luck with the shelters or adoption process? The only time I tried to get a shelter dog it was a 7mo old pup. Everything was going fine and it met the kids until a shelter person said the pup cant be adopted to a family with kids. I asked why. They said that it had scratched a baby. So I said that because some moron got a pup the day they gave birth and the pup acted like a pup, you are signing its death warrant.Kind of soured me on the animal husbandry skills of shelter people. Collected my disappointed kids and left. Got a Lab pup soon after.

[Varmintmist]

20220519_211655.jpgYep, get an older dog. Kira here was only two when we adopted her but she is an excellent dog and will gladly mommy any animal that enters the house. We are very glad that we got her over a pup.

Shes a good looking pup

[Wambli Ska]

My son and DIL have had great luck with 3 shelter adoptions. My daughter has one of the best Chocolet Lab mix breeds in the world that also was an adoption. My MIL and FIL had 3 miserable experiences adopting from shelters and ended up with nightmares, one cost them about $3,000 worth of damage to their home.

It’s a mixed bag but I think the difference is both my son and daughter grew up in a household were dog training was a family affair and know how to “make” a good dog and work through problems. My in laws? Not so much.

I think all I’m trying to say, it’s more on you than what you start with, but I agree with you about genetics. My wife and I look for certain traits in dogs and that basically requires you to be breed specific out times. But may kids dogs are all mixed breeds and amazing dogs, so there is that.

And as far as adopting from shelters. It used to be an easy thing! They were grateful you took a dog and would basically just ask for a small donation. Now that it has become fashionable to adopt dogs they are turning into EFFING divas on their requirements. Stupid fees (just say one that wants $400 for adopting one of their mutts), all sorts of requirements of medical treatments and procedures you have to do through them (shots neutering etc and you have to pay a premium when you use them as opposed to your own vet), right to take the dog away from you with no recourse, etc. Some you'll be lucky to get away without handing over $300-$500 to get a dog. I'm also HIGHLY suspicious of all online shelters/breeders. A good friend of mine got burned out of $2500 in an online scam through a "reputable" site trying to buy one of the new invented poodle mixed breeds which are basically high end mutts. Another paid probably TWICE what the dog they bought was truly worth. My answer to all of them is EFF'em...

Many counties and Sherriff depts still have government run shelters and they tend to run the old fashioned way, give a $50 donation and all away with a dog that they already neutered and gave shots too. So it pays to look local and talk to them because they will call you if what you are looking for shows up. So as long as you have a little patience you can get what you want.

[CPJ 2.0]

A dog would be a far better traveling companion than a wife.

[Wambli Ska]

A dog would be a far better traveling companion than a wife.

Yep, we'll be driving separate cars to AZ. Wife drives her car, dog travels with me

[Justsomedude]

Sorry, many of us did gloss over the actual questions you posted. I've had the same luck when trying to adopt a pet. I actually just went through it trying to get a cat for an elderly friend of mine. His cat of 15 years passed and he was about ready to just call it quits in life so I wanted to surprise him with a new one. I found out real quick why there's an over abundance of cats, nobody wants to get rid of them easily. Some people wanted to not only talk to our vet but also come look at our home. Nope. Some were cash and go. Some a contract. I did finally get him a cat btw. Such a simple gesture can give an 82 year old man a reason to push on.

[Jerm]

When I adopted my most recent dog from my local shelter, it was a breeze. We loaded up the Labrador and chihuahua into the car and went to the shelter with them for a meet and greet with their potential new housemates. First dog we wanted to see was Charlie. A volunteer brought him out to meet the family and the other dogs. He got along great with everyone so we said we would take him. From there, we had to fill out some paperwork and pay $80 while they chipped him. For $80, I got a chipped dog (minus the nuts) with his first round of shots, a leash, a collar, some dog toys and treats, plus a voucher for a half dozen donuts from the local donut shop.

We were in and out of there in less than an hour. It was very easy for us.

Also consider an even older, senior dog. Nobody wants those at all and they can sit at a shelter for a year or more sometimes. That is what my brother did 6 years ago. His girl is still doing pretty well but she is old as dirt.

[Varmintmist]

A dog would be a far better traveling companion than a wife.

Or will give you someone agreeable to talk to. But you dont have to walk the wife in the rain....

[Zorba]

With regards to shelter dogs - you just have to "interview" the dog, and learn its history as best you can. In about 1967, my father told my mother to go to the pound and get a GSD. So she did, I was with her. We came home with "Gretchen", who was probably about 2 or 3 at the time. She was a washout from the US Army Canine Corps, and like my father said, "When that dog got through with me, I was a broken man".

1) When my father came home from work that day, it took me, my mother, and our friend "Martha" all to hold Gretchen down - she was trying her best to attack/defend!

2) She terrorized the neighbors' chickens, so...

3) My dad built a 6 foot high redwood fence around the yard. Gretchen was walking on the top rail like any cat before my dad even finished building the thing. She could scale that fence like it wasn't even there. I don't know the what or why of her washing out of the army, but she certainly aced the fence scaling class!

4) Dad put up barbed wire. That "mostly" kept her in, but if she was bound and determined to get out, she'd get out, injuries not withstanding. She also dug huge holes, both to get under the fence and to chase gophers - some were large enough for me to crawl into - they were literal caves! Finally, electrifying the barbed wire stopped the escapes.

5) She had apparently been trained to inspect the barracks when hearing gunfire - if someone in the neighborhood was shooting, she wanted to come in and inspect. She'd check every room, and then be perfectly fine to go back out. BUT - one time we didn't hear the gunfire, or see her distress, so she let herself in. Through the window in the back door!

6) Dad thought that getting a second dog might calm her down, so we came home with a new GSD Pup, that I named "Sam". To a certain extent, Sam did help Gretchen to calm down, but OTOH, Gretchen taught Sam most of her tricks! He was never as good a scaling fences as she was, but he was no slouch in that department either. Being bigger, he could dig bigger holes faster too.

NONE of this was the dog's fault, and we knew that. It didn't make dealing with it any easier. Both dogs lived long and happy lives with us, and I miss them to this day. But I sure wouldn't want another GSD, army washout or no...

[CPJ 2.0]

A dog would be a far better traveling companion than a wife.

Or will give you someone agreeable to talk to. But you dont have to walk the wife in the rain....

It’s worthy trade off.