| NEW ADULT DOG
Adopting an adult dog can be a marvelous alternative to raising
and training a puppy. Alternatively, a new adult dog can be a
full-time
project. Adult dogs can be perfect or problematic—carrying
the behavioral baggage of their previous owners. Take your time
to search for the right dog for you and only choose one that
you know your family knows how to train.
Some shelter and rescue dogs are purebred, but most are one-of-a-kind
mixed-breeds. Some shelter dogs are well trained, well behaved, friendly,
and simply in need of a caring human companion. Others may have a few
behavior problems (housesoiling, chewing, barking, hyperactivity, etc.,)
and require their puppy education in adulthood. Other dogs are shy
and fearful and require a dedicated owner who is going to spend the
time that it takes to rebuild the dog's confidence.
Raising and training a puppy requires a lot of time and know-how. The
puppy's behavior is always changing, for better or for worse, depending
on his socialization and training. However, an adult dog's behavior
and temperament are already well established, for better or for worse.
Traits and habits may change over time, but compared with the behavioral
plasticity of young puppies, an older dog's habits are much more resistant
to change. Whereas temperament problems may take longer to resolve
in a adult dog, good habits are also just as hard to break. Thus the
key to adopting a good shelter or rescue dog depends on selection,
selection, selection! Take your time to test drive plenty of prospective
candidates. The perfect dog is waiting for you somewhere. Be patient,
search well, and be realistic about your choice, i.e., choose with
your brain as well as your heart. When selecting an adult dog, you
need to evaluate whether you like the dog, whether the dog likes you
(and other people), and the dog's basic manners and household etiquette.
Mutual Affection
All family members must be involved in the selection process and
agree 100% on the final choice. You must equally check that the
dog likes all family members. Make sure that the dog eagerly approaches
each family member and thoroughly enjoys being handled and stroked.
Additionally, check that the dog likes other people. Observe the
dog's behavior when he interacts with a wide variety of people,
especially children, men, and strangers. The most important quality
in a companion dog is friendliness: he should enjoy the company
and attentions of people. If he is at all fearful or standoffish,
you will need to devote time to teach him that people are non-threatening.
Test-Driving
Make sure that you get a good feel for your prospective dog before
you take it home. First, check her general demeanor. Is her kennel
soiled or clean? Does she play with chewtoys? Is she calm and quiet,
or hyperactive and barking? Make sure all family members spend
plenty of time "test-driving" the dog. Check to see that
everyone can get the dog to pay attention, come when called, sit,
lie down, and roll over. Take the dog for a spin around the block
to evaluate how she walks on leash. Especially spend lots of time
handling and petting (examining) and hugging (restraining) the
dog. Check that she enjoys having her muzzle, ears, neck (and collar),
paws, and rear end handled. If you find she has areas that are
sensitive to touch, check to see how she responds to progressive
desensitization exercises. There is little point in sharing your
home with a dog that you (or others) cannot handle.
Your Dog's First Couple of Weeks at Home
An environmental change offers a wonderful opportunity for a dog
to learn new household rules. First impressions are extremely important
and leave an indelible impression. Regardless of your new dog's
presumed housetraining and chewtoy-training status, teach her where
to eliminate, what to chew, and how to settle down calmly and quietly
during her first couple of weeks at home. In the beginning, your
dog is likely to be somewhat stressed with all the recent changes
in her life. She may be depressed, or she may react with exuberance
(hyperactivity and barking) in her newfound home. She may become
anxious (bark, chew, pee, and poop) when left alone.
It is incredibly important that your dog does not establish any bad
habits during her first couple of weeks at home. Consider a short-term
and long-term confinement program (see our Home Alone blueprint),
so that housetraining and chewtoy-training are errorless. For the
time being, do not feed your dog from a food bowl. Instead, have
family, friends and strangers handfeed most kibble as training lures
and rewards for housetraining, classical conditioning, and teaching
basic manners. Stuff the rest of her kibble into Kongs to teach her
to settle down quietly, calmly, and confidently. Once your dog adapts
to her new surroundings and human companions, she has a lifetime
to enjoy full run of her new home.
Fearful Dogs
Many dogs are undersocialized and may become fearful in the shelter
environment. You are a saint to rescue a fearful dog from the stress
of a shelter environment, but you must realize that for fearful
dogs, confidence-building can be an extremely lengthy and heart-rending
procedure. You must have both the time and the know-how. The last
two dogs that I adopted were fearful and aggressive toward men
and strangers. Both dogs became friendly and confident but it did
take time and patience to help them reach that goal. (For information
on how to rehabilitate a fearful dog read our Fearfulness booklet.)
To learn more, read Doctor Dunbar's Good Little Dog Book. To locate
adolescent and adult dog training classes in your area, contact the
Association of Pet Dog Trainers at 1-800 PET DOGS or www.apdt.com.
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