naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,432 
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Post by naby64 on Aug 9, 2024 14:56:43 GMT
We have always been pound and found dog people. We have always gotten them as puppies though. I am looking at my local shelter right now. They got a pack of Spitz from a person going into assisted living. His family are not dog folks so they were taken to our shelter. I had a Spitz when DH and I got married. He was the sweetest and most protective dog to me. And very smart.
Well, cut to Wednesday. Our shelter throws up 7 photos of Spitzs on FB and they are available for adoption. They have received a grant so all adoption fees waived, first round of shots, spayed/neutered, and microchipping are covered. One photo just jumped out to me. A little male. I called yesterday and got info on him/them. He's about a year old, maybe a tad older. 18#. He can be held and handled without issue. They don't know how he is with other dogs but gets along with his brothers and sisters.
Here is my question. They have been outside dogs. Our dogs stay in and are housetrained. So one rings a bell to go out and the other will sit at the door. Love being outside chasing squirrels but for the most part, love their soft beds and AC. The shelter guy said these dogs are not housetrained. But he said having the other 2 on a schedule of sorts and them going out, it should be easy enough for him to catch on. Have you ever housetrained an older dog? I know consistency is key. Praise is key. I suppose it is just like puppies. How easy has it been if your were working with an older dog.
And we will crate train him. The guy I was speaking with said the shelter encourages crating. We have crated our last 3 dogs and that has worked out great! I just think he will need his space. Our 2 will need their time to adjust. It is just better.
Tell me all your hints and tips with an adoption like this. Please and thank you. I am also aware of the 3/3/3 rule on bringing home rescues.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 9, 2024 15:38:48 GMT
Thanks for choosing shelter dogs!
My only concern is what will happen if the new dog cannot/will not accept the indoor life? The next decision would be very difficult for you.
That is a situation where fostering for learning would be so much better for the dog as well as the adopter...
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,734
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Aug 9, 2024 15:59:55 GMT
All our doors have been rescues, 2 of 3 as older dogs.
1st dog, was about 3yo, I think he was a backyard only dog. He was very comfortable and preferred to be outside. Slept in the dog house we made him until he was 13/14. Until the last few years we had mostly carpet in the house. He kept to the tiled areas and his bed and rushed through the one part of carpet to get outside. He was a great family dog and passed at 15. I don't remember potty training him. But he was so timid in the beginning about being inside, he knew it wasn't his space, there was no way he was going to potty inside. Only had accidents if he was sick or at the very end.
3rd/current dog adopted at 3ish (debatable 🤷🏻♀️)
Street dog from Mexico but had an injury as an older puppy and had treatment. He is an inside dog, barely likes to go outside unless being fed or we go with him. LOVES his people and his crate. He is a happy pee-er. It has gotten much better but we still have to watch it. Thankfully we have almost all hard surface flooring downstairs (not allowed upstairs which has carpet). Again didn't have to do much for potty training, as I don't really remember. We adopted him in 2020.
Obviously YMMV, the other dog we had we adopted as a puppy. It didn't go well and we had to re-home him for his best interest and ours. I much prefer adopting older (3-5yo) dogs. We also just got a 4yo cat, our first, this year.
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,432
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Post by naby64 on Aug 9, 2024 16:03:06 GMT
Thanks for choosing shelter dogs! My only concern is what will happen if the new dog cannot/will not accept the indoor life? The next decision would be very difficult for you. That is a situation where fostering for learning would be so much better for the dog as well as the adopter... We have thought about this. We would be willing to keep him as an outside dog. I don't know anything about those as I've never had one. Proper shelter, social time, etc. Our major worry is him not accepting our dogs or vice versa. DH said it would rip his heart out but we would have to take him back. They were here first. I don't know if there is a foster situation for these dogs. |
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Post by epeanymous on Aug 9, 2024 16:03:55 GMT
I adopted my dog at six months, so younger than a year, but definitely later than you want to be training your dog. It took about a month before he was completely reliable and it involved taking him out *a ton,* but he caught on. To my understanding he too was an outdoor dog (which is not great for a pug!)
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,432
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Post by naby64 on Aug 9, 2024 16:08:46 GMT
This is the little guy.  |
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Post by Lexica on Aug 9, 2024 16:14:26 GMT
Would it be advisable to take your dogs with you to see this pup? Maybe they have an area big enough to let them run around and check each other out? Or would they allow you to take the dog to the local dog park with your dogs if they don’t have a big enough area? I personally would need to see how they interacted before bringing him into my home. As your husband said, your dogs were there first. And I think having them meet away from your home would be better because your dogs wouldn’t immediately get protective and view him as an intruder.
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Post by Lexica on Aug 9, 2024 16:15:11 GMT
Aw, what a cutie! I so hope it works out!
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 9, 2024 16:20:35 GMT
This is the little guy. Oh my, he is cute.. (Note, I am not a dog person). But he is still cute.. I like Lexica 's suggestions. Maybe the meet and greet would be good. Hard decisions!! |
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Post by FuzzyMutt on Aug 9, 2024 18:45:46 GMT
OH DEAR GOD he's adorable!!! I always had fancy purebred dogs and got them as puppies, because I liked to train them. Both the process of training and teaching the dog from the start. Then, I found this dirty, stinky, wet dog in January in the parking lot of a store along the highway near my house. When I got out of the truck, the dog fell on my (nice!) boots. I petted it, noticed it had a collar that was too small, and went into the store. When I was checking out, I asked the person checking me out (son of the owner) why they didn't have the dog indoors. It was cold and raining and it could get hit. They needed to do better. He looked at me and said that wasn't their dog. Someone dropped it and it's friend off about a month ago, and no one could get near them. The other dog got hit a day or so earlier. So I told him if the dog came back to me, I was taking it. He said go on. Well.. When I went outside, it met me at the door. Long long story (nearly 12 years now) I took that dog home and she has been my best dog EVER for the last 12 years. She is perfect in every way. When I found her, it turned out she was pregnant, so we raised a litter of puppies with her. She'd likely never been indoors, or in a car. She'd never gone up stairs, and she definitely wasn't used to the noises of the house- tv, shower, alarm clocks etc. Training her was tough (big dog big puddles.. plus pregnant/just had puppies) but she learned faster than any puppy I'd ever had. She's incredibly smart and wants to be good. She is the goodest girl. She's the most gentle dog, and she loves her people. She loves her beds, my bed, my son's bed and cozy house. I don't think she misses outside for a minute lol If you can have them meet away from your house (even if you choose to commit) that will be best. When I found my girl, I already had an elderly dog who didn't like other dogs- not aggressive, just had no interest and didn't want to be bothered. I was worried about bringing a young dog into the house. Turns out, they ignored each other. It was funny though, because she hated her puppies- still doesn't like most other dogs- but the puppies loved my elderly girl. They used to go sleep with her and she'd let them pile in her bed. If one got too rambunctious, she'd bump it out and when the puppy came back it would settle immediately. It was hilarious. I really hope it works out for you! That dog just pushes all my buttons! <3 If you are in MA, you're welcome to have them meet at my house. I might snatch him up though  |
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,432
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Post by naby64 on Aug 9, 2024 20:45:14 GMT
I didn't get to go do paperwork this morning. Leaving town and they closed at noon for lunch. Told them I would be there Monday afternoon. Which works out since DH can go. If everything works out and we get him, he will be on hold until the 20th. They have an outside fenced in play yard. I'm going to ask if we can bring our two up and meet one on one.
Thanks everyone!!
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 9, 2024 22:01:26 GMT
I didn't get to go do paperwork this morning. Leaving town and they closed at noon for lunch. Told them I would be there Monday afternoon. Which works out since DH can go. If everything works out and we get him, he will be on hold until the 20th. They have an outside fenced in play yard. I'm going to ask if we can bring our two up and meet one on one. Thanks everyone!! Be sure to let them know you are used to being a multi dog family over the years. |
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,665
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Post by bethany102399 on Aug 9, 2024 23:05:14 GMT
ok, 1. He's beautiful and I hope this works out for you.
2. I'd absolutely ask about a meet and greet with your current dogs.
I will say George came from being outside on the farm at settled in quite happily inside, but he was a puppy, maybe 4-5 months old so I can't speak to an older dog. I think it's just going to depend on his temperament and willingness to adapt.
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,432
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Post by naby64 on Aug 10, 2024 12:56:27 GMT
Well, it may be that my thoughts for the last 24 hours doesn't matter. I just looked at the post on the AC page. It seems a Spitz rescue has stepped in. I'll call Monday. Since I hadn't done any paperwork, there was no claim on him. I would assume that means the rescue would be set to take all 7. And honestly, maybe the rescue would be better.
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Post by FuzzyMutt on Aug 10, 2024 16:30:13 GMT
Well, it may be that my thoughts for the last 24 hours doesn't matter. I just looked at the post on the AC page. It seems a Spitz rescue has stepped in. I'll call Monday. Since I hadn't done any paperwork, there was no claim on him. I would assume that means the rescue would be set to take all 7. And honestly, maybe the rescue would be better. I love that you want what’s best for him ❤️ I’d suggest finding out what rescue, and seeing if they will consider you. Some rescues are ridiculous though. Don’t be offended if they won’t. Ironically the rescue that I used to find homes for and get vetting for my found on the side of the road dogs puppies (whew that’s confusing!) would have never adopted to me. 1. No fence. 2. I work and no one was home during the day. Maybe you become a foster for the organization and “try him on for size.” Either way, at least he’ll get to decompress in an environment and be more of himself before you have to make a decision. I hope it’s still your decision, no matter what you choose. |
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,071
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Post by pinklady on Aug 10, 2024 16:53:03 GMT
All 3 of my dogs have been rescue dogs that were about 4yrs old when I got them. There wasn't much history on them but I brought them home to be indoor dogs. There were a handful of accidents with some and none with others. I just put them on a potty schedule and stick to it everyday. If I have to, I bribe them with food to go outside and pee.
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Post by Just Beth on Aug 10, 2024 16:58:13 GMT
We have two dogs. We got the second dog at age 11 months. We are an inside dog family. It was super easy for the new dog to catch on to house training. He was already used to going outside, he had an older dog to model the desired behavior, and we have a dog door so he could go out whenever he wanted.
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Post by jackietex on Aug 11, 2024 1:42:03 GMT
I've never trained a puppy, but housetrained young adults (1-3 years) and it was easy peasy.
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Post by rahnee on Aug 11, 2024 12:19:16 GMT
We adopted a 9 year old staffordshire bull terrier (King) about 12 months ago. We had two other medium-large dogs at the time. He was in an interstate pound. We saw him on Facebook and he was due to be PTS that day. We worked with a rescue in that state to have him transported down. It's clear that King has always been an outside dog but our other two have always been inside dogs. To be honest he has just slotted in here like he always lived here. He has adjusted really well. They are not crate trained. It's not really a thing here. We lost one of our girls to cancer in March and our other girl has now really taken to him. I'm so thankful that he came to us. We've have the odd little accident but he's learnt really quickly. He will now wake hubby up if he needs to go out at night. He's a bit of a chewer but that's to be expected. Our previous staffy was also.
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