How to Pick the Right Dog from the Shelter

I`m Very Pleased to Introduce a Dear Friend; Guest Author of today;s Blog Post: Catherine Thomas, my Dear Friend and Mentor, Dog Trainer extraordinaire and Elementary School Teacher, living and working in New Brunswick. I have made reference to her before as she is someone who has greatly influenced my own journey as a dog trainer, and here she is now - in a brand new shelter adoptions article. She has been involved with the Charlotte County SPCA, and the article was recently written for them - although of course relevant to any shelter adoption. I am thrilled to be able to post it here! It raises some great questions and things worth pondering when looking to adopt a dog from a shelter. Please share with friends, relatives, acquaintances who might find this beneficial!


How to Pick the Right Dog from the Shelter. Written by Catherine Thomas, B.A, Dip. Elementary Education Teacher, Dog Trainer 

I saw his picture on line. He was a beautiful red head with the bluest eyes. He touched me deeply; I just knew he was the one for me! I had known another just like him many years ago. We met. I discovered that his last significant other had let him go because he liked to spend a lot of time outside in the woods and running. Personally, I lead a pretty quiet life. I work long hours, like watching TV, reading and hanging out with a small group of friends. I KNEW I could change him, one look at him told me that we were meant to be. After that first meeting, I insisted that he move into my house.

It took years and many arguments but eventually I persuaded him that the couch was preferable to being out in the woods. Who has the time and energy for all that outdoor activity? It was exhausting to listen to his constant demands ... but eventually, I tuned him out and he left me alone. As time went on he slowed down, I fattened him up and he became less interested in going outside and more interested in sleeping. We made it work.

Can you imagine choosing a human partner this way? We choose dogs this way all the time. I certainly know I have been guilty of it in the past. When I got my first dog from the Vancouver SPCA, almost seventeen years ago, I distinctly remember walking into the shelter with a friend telling her that I wanted a female puppy, six months old or younger who was part shepherd or border collie. I emerged with a beautiful very energetic, not overly social seven week old puppy. She died about a year ago. I cherished her and she taught me a tremendous amount but Oh My! She was a lot of work. Luckily for both of us, her exercise needs suited me to a T, we hiked and biked, swam in the summer and took great joy in being outside with each other.

Picking a dog who is just right for YOU can be a daunting task. Often we don’t put enough thought into our choice. When we buy cars we carefully research what type of vehicle will suit our needs but many people believe in leaving the choice of a canine companion to fate. Or they are willing to simply pick the “cute one” OR choose along breed preference lines as I did.

So, how can we increase the chances of getting the dog of a lifetime every time we welcome a new dog into our home for the next 10-15 years? First and foremost, we must be honest about our lifestyle, temperament and time.

1)  Do you work long hours?

2)  Do you have young children?

If so: how old are they?

Do you plan to have more in the future?

Are your children very social?

Is there a steady stream of other people’s children coming through your home as well as your own?

3)  Do you have physical limitations?

4)  Are you a very social person?

5)  Where do you live?

Where will you exercise your dog?

Do you have a fenced in back yard? Please NOTE: a fenced in space is nice for a dog BUT most dogs need to be walked out of the yard to ensure they get adequate exercise.

Do you live on a busy street?

6)  Is your home busy or quiet?

What does your dream dog do when people come over?

This list could go on and on! Do your best to think of what it would be like to be a dog in your home.

The greater your expectations are for your dog to do things with and for you and the wider the range of situations you need them to be happy and confident in, the more carefully you will need to think through who you choose as a canine partner. I’ve been asking people lately to either write out a detailed description of what they want in a dog or at least take the time to describe in detail what they are looking for verbally. My friend and mentor Suzanne Clothier (www.suzanneclothier.com) taught me how to do this a few years ago and I am truly delighted with the choices I have made for myself and the choices I have helped others to make.

Personally, I want dogs who are able to do a lot. As a trainer, I like having dogs who feel great performing in front of people and dogs, which means I need to pick very self confident, persistent dogs. I like to compete in agility, which means I need dogs with the athletic ability to do dog sports. I truly delight in teaching dogs new things so need dogs who are inquisitive and who like a lot of attention. I work as a teacher and I delight in taking my young dogs to school with me, which means my dogs have to be social and able to settle easily in a wide range of locations. I like walking with my friends and their dogs, which means I need dogs who are social with other dogs. Oh yes, and I want dogs who think that doing all of these things is totally great and fun! A tall order, not impossible to find and worth waiting for!

Some people insist that they “just want a dog” ... I find this to be a very sad comment. I don’t know about you, but there are many people who I like but would not want to live with - heck, they most likely would not want to live with me either! There are other people who I would really most definitely NOT want to live with. As a trainer I meet dogs all the time who I admire greatly and love getting to know but I am very glad that I do not live with them.

So, you’ve defined clearly WHO you are and what your life looks like, then what?

 You see a dog on line who catches your eye. Go and spend time with the dog, listen, really LISTEN to the evaluation that the shelter has done on the dog, really LISTEN. At the shelter we will do our very best to tell you honestly who we think the dog is. After you have listened to the human who has evaluated the dog, listen to the dog. Is he interested in getting to know you?

 I know that it is very difficult but try not to dwell on the dog’s past. The stories of abuse, neglect and abandonment are very difficult to listen to without wanting to save every dog! But this way of thinking can get in our way of finding a perfect match. If you bring a dog home solely because you feel sorry for them and identify them for a lifetime as a “rescue”, are you truly allowing that animal to grow and develop into their fullest self? One of the many brilliant qualities of dogs is their ability to live in the moment.

Take a good long look at your new friend and observe his behaviour very carefully. Does he settle down easily or pace? Is his nose always moving? Does he choose to sit at your side, try to give you a hug or hang out as far away from you as possible? This list could also go on and on! Is he someone you want to live with for the next 10-15yrs? Talk to the shelter staff about the dog’s behaviour, observe and ask about what you are seeing. You might not have the experience to understand what the dog is telling you about his temperament but you can observe and ask.

Will the dog’s temperament change when they are out of the shelter environment ... the answer is IT DEPENDS! The more confident, social and stable a dog is the less likely their behaviour is to change in your home. Sometimes dogs who look pretty shy are actually simply lacking in life experience and can change a great deal. Confidence can often be gained through positive life experiences.

Just over 14 years ago, I picked dog number two for me, my Belgian shepherd Sam. I had fallen in love with the breed when I took a class with an instructor who had one. Sad to admit it but I met exactly ONE Belgian Shepherd and I just had to have one myself. Through a strange series of events, Sam turned up in my life, an emaciated, terrified under-socialized 15 month old dog. I was certain I could change and save him. I paid his breeder a lot of money for him. Sam changed my life. He started out terrified of everything under the sun, then he started to lunge and bite. I knew I needed help. To make a very long story short, I started to look for a trainer to help me with Sam. After a number of false starts, I found a wonderful trainer. I started to apprentice immediately with her. I read, and read and read. I diligently did everything the trainer taught me with Sam. I worked with aggressive dogs, a lot of them. Sam learnt what I taught him BUT whenever he got over-excited by something or at the sight of a dogs or sometimes a person he bit. Luckily for me, he only had the opportunity to bite me. I successfully managed to prevent him from biting anyone else, though there were some scary moments.

In the end, after almost two years of learning and trying many, many different humane, solution based training approaches, I chose to euthanize Sam. With the benefit of hindsight and after working with hundreds of dogs, at this point, I can say that I believe he was a mentally unwell animal. I can also say that dogs like Sam are few and far between. I am extremely grateful for the lessons he taught me, but I never want to live with an animal like him again nor I would never encourage anyone else to do so.

Pick wisely, a dog should enhance your enjoyment of life and not be a burden.

Where is YOUR next puppy coming from?

So – where do dogs come from? And what difference does it make where YOUR next dog comes from?

Let me start this tale by saying that this IS a huge topic and I am in no way speaking against adoptions or trying to belittle the work shelters and rescue groups do with dogs and puppies. What I am hoping to do with this blog post is to offer a different point of view and discuss the BIGGER picture, and hopefully offer some food for thought on a topic I believe should be discussed more. 

Why does it matter WHERE your next puppy comes from?

Over the last two summers my own view on puppy raising and rearing has changed pretty much completely. The bar of what’s possible, what actually can be accomplished and what difference it makes for that individual dog AND subsequently for his people!! has been lifted to a new height, which honestly, I didn’t really know was possible!

Over two summers I have had the amazing privilege of watching Catherine Thomas: a great dog trainer and dear friend raise three litters of puppies.  I say “watch” albeit sadly from afar and mostly though use of emails, internet, photos, video and phone calls.  Through her Email updates, photos and video it is obvious that these puppies have gotten to grow up in an unusually rich and stimulating environment, daily small challenges in their environment have been presented right from the time they started moving about, and the confidence and athleticism of these young dogs has been evident, really since the day they started to really explore and motor around. It was mind-boggling to see a video taken at age 4 weeks; the puppies were demonstrating REMARKABLE athleticism and proprioception!

The early socialization and exposure she provided has been second to none and beyond the daily walks on her own property, they ALL receive individual training and solo time with her learning about the Human Language (this was started as small groups away from Momma, then in pairs and finally the pups are getting solo attention with a human!!!) Beyond all of this, of course there were visitors of all ages and sizes – as well as puppies meeting friendly adult dogs. Further, their routines  included daily field trips to new, safe locations –yes, I said daily (!) – which took place from about week six.

This is a typical set-up in a Wags Puppy Foundation Skills class.
We play around a lot with "stuff" but ideally a puppy should be
exposed to navigating things like this, long before they are old
enough to be in a Puppy Program!

What an unbelievable start!

She told me many times, that when in conversation with “breeders” about just how much time she is devoting to these youngsters -- I say “breeder” in quotations, as contrast to her, who is not actually a breeder (maybe yet??) but more so a Phenomenal Trainer who has taken on raising a few litters; the “breeders” have replied by saying “Oh it`s great what you are doing, but I don’t have time for that. I just can`t do that!”

Yet, shouldn`t doing exactly that be part of the deal, when breeding dogs? To do the very, very best by any standard, and to keep raising the bar to see what`s possible? To share with future puppy owners just WHAT a big difference it makes when the young ones have had a start like this?! Because the difference will be evident to anyone who has been around puppies a few times…these guys are athletic, bold, brave, confident, resilient and pretty well unflappable! The individual attention and training will mean that she also knows these puppies inside out as individual beings and can do a most phenomenal job of matching the right prospective owner with the best fit from the litter of puppies.  The future owners (all in place already by the time the puppies are motoring around!) have had a chance to watch them grow up, read the daily accounts of what they`ve been up to and can see and share in the joy of personalities develop over video clips. What a true blessing and what peace of mind for everyone!

But back to Reality and the Sad fact, that the large majority of puppies have a start that is nothing like that.

I still hear a LOT of accounts of people making a quick Sunday visit to pick up a puppy from a breeder who they are actually not very familiar with at all. In some situations people may not even really know what to ask breeders and don’t know how to identify the Great ones and what sets them apart from the "so-so" ones or even how to spot potential red flags. In a few cases the prospective puppy buyers might suspect the quality of breeding program is not the best, but go and see the litter anyway and when a puppy is offered on the spot – they are unable to walk away. Many puppies that come to my puppy classes are also purchased over the internet, where a seller does little more than post a few adorable puppy photos to an unsuspecting buyer. The buyer does little to verify the circumstances or check background - just pays a fee and might meet the breeder to pick up the new puppy at a "neutral location". Yikes!

A few months back, a puppy in my puppy class stayed after class each week for extra problem solving help as it was obvious this puppy was just a bit “more puppy” than the owner was prepared for.  It quickly became evident that the puppy came from a-more-than-questionable background and the “breeders” had actually raised puppies in a very small, non-stimulating and tight environment that promoted competition and fighting, and while they admitted they had seen it as a bit of a problem in this particular litter, they did nothing about trying to resolve it – but rather stated “this is how we have always raised puppies and we’ve actually never heard complaints before” (Gee, isn’t THAT scary – “the breeder” doesn`t even stay in touch long enough after the puppy is sold to see how things are going??)

In this particular case, I actually advised the owner to call the “breeder” back and ask them what their take-back ”Warranty” was. I honestly felt that the breeder was completely irresponsible and needed to be held accountable for this puppy`s very difficult behaviors.  But of course, as suspected, there was no gesture toward being of assistance and granted: no offer to take the difficult puppy back! And how horrible, their justification was that that they thought it should be OK because they weren’t  “real breeders” and had stated “we only have a couple of litters per year”!

Does that somehow justify poor breeding and really bad puppy raising practises?

So, with this particular puppy – obviously the owner did call the breeder back on my encouragement, but found out that the breeder would never take a puppy back after its sold  - the new owner resigned as if inflated and just said OK, well, maybe better with me than with someone else?

Of course, one way of looking at this is saying that this is a noble and a very heartwarming way of thinking. BUT on the other hand – if we, as puppy buyers (read “consumers”..because in effect that is what we are when we buy a puppy) if we never start to demand a change and insist that breeders either do a better job raising their puppies – OR insist that they take a problematic puppy or dog back – or start to ONLY SEEK THE EXCELLENT ONES OUT -- we will also never change the whole pet overpopulation and sheltering dilemma.  Right? It`s all part of a VERY BIG puzzle and I really believe breeding practises should be considered in the whole big “adopt from shelters” debate, too! Maybe there is a way to educate people and affect chance BEFORE we have the shelter problem?

Let`s say, we could get word out there to EVERYONE who is in the market for a puppy, and plead and ask that they go in with strict criteria looking for the best of breeders, settling for nothing less: maybe then and only then can we affect change and start to slow down the production of the sadly and badly bred and raised dogs who end up becoming shelter-dogs later in their lives (many due to behavior problems that started already in the litter!).  

If you strip the emotion out of it, it becomes a business of market and demand. There should be no more demand for pet store puppies, for internet sales or puppy mill puppies or poorly raised puppies only bred for an easy dollar - because we should want QUALITY: a sound puppy raised in the best of circumstances: a puppy raised in a RICH, healthy and physically safe but challenging environment with lots of early experiences and exposure. What you buy,  DOES make a difference!  When  buying from someone, you support the way they handle their dogs and how they go about their breeding program!

Another Puppy Foundation skills lesson with
odd surfaces to become familiar with.

"Novel" experiences should already have been introduced on so many
different levels in the litter, that by the time a puppy reaches class-age,
a well-raised and exposed puppy is pretty well familiar with it all!
and have a "Been there, done that!" kind of attitude :-)

I do believe that in the Big Picture, we have to really start looking at the breeding of dogs/ where they come from in the first place. IT`s NOT that breeding dogs is bad or that breeders are bad – it is that there are MASSIVE differences and we need to get better at highlighting and supporting the Best ones who care for the overall welfare of dogs/ and we need to educate people to stop supporting questionable breeding practises and instead Walk Away. If we could eliminate support for poor breeding practises and only go to the best of the best for breeders, we would be one step ahead!

PLEASE help affect change!!! I do believe we can all make a difference in just openly talking about this!!!

The easiest way to “know” who a breeder might be, is of course to do your homework well ahead of time. Establish a relationship and get to know who your breeder is! Meet them, talk dogs, meet their other dogs! Or at very least: email - chat on the phone/ communicate and get references (=meet other dogs they have bred!) do what you can to find out who they are and tell them who You are, too! 

It's not a good idea to go looking at a litter or a puppy (from someone who sells a puppy like a loaf of bread on the whim), hoping to be able to walk away and say “No, Thank you” if you see behaviors or things that raise concern. A lot of people are not cut out for that. That's why it's important to be prepared ahead of time and KNOW who the breeder is and exactly what they do with their puppies! Know the parents of the litter, too! Ideally you would have time to meet several breeders and litters of dogs so that you can start to identify things you like/dislike and things you want to prioritize!

Realize that it will TAKE TIME to find a breeder you are going to be happy with! Good  breeders also mostly work from waiting lists, don`t sell puppies on the spot but have established relationships with people and will breed when they know they have buyers.

Don`t forget  the option of turning to a dog trainer BEFORE you have your puppy or dog!  You can get great help with “matching” and trying to find the very best match for YOUR life and desires….whether you are looking for a puppy or an older dog. I think a great service can be done by dog trainers as the connecting hand between “I  want a dog, now what?” to actually finding a good match, whether in defining breed, breed type or helping to select the actual dog!

And just a small final note: RED FLAG NUMBER ONE…if you interview a breeder who says that they do not take a puppy back after he or she is sold: RUN AWAY!! A great breeder will ALWAYS take a puppy of their breeding back. No matter at what age. ALWAYS! The answer to THAT question alone will tell you a massive amount about the breeder! Are they truly interested in the welfare of their animals, or are they just interested in a few easy dollars?? IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK!!!
You only need to briefly consider the implications this answer has on SHELTERS, too to see just HOW important this question is to ask! Don't compromise on this one!




Must add as a final footnote that John Rogerson, one of the leading behaviorists of the world speaks a great deal to this subject matter. The thinking that I have done is really a product of hearing him on this big topic. He has come up with some really unique ideas and concepts as to how shelters, trainers, rescues, and dog people of the world could "unite" in an effort to expose the bad and uplift the good of breeders to put pressure, globally, on better, higher quality, more ethical breeding and higher standards of raising of puppies. Two of the important points being, it starts with the realization that:
a) not all puppies are created equal - they are NOT blank slates
and
b) when we, as puppy buyers support one breeder over another (whether by going directly to a breeder, Internet Purchase or buying through a Pet Store; consider what breeding and raising practices you are thus supporting and ensuring will be repeated.