Comments on: Adopting a Dog from a Private Party: 20 questions to ask

By: funny

funny — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:57:37 +0000

@threadbndr: LOL!!! That’s so funny. Anna H. Banana, the German shepherd par excellence, was convinced that she was a cave wolf, cars were buffalo, and trucks were mammoths. She wished to bring them all down by the oil pan and carry them home to the lair. If it was dusk or after dark and their eyes were glowing, that was REALLY exciting!

Then there was the garbage truck, some sort of gigantic predator trying to steal our ripening food stores away from the Territory…o….m….g….! If she could have got that thing by the jugular, she would have been very, very pleased.

By: threadbndr

threadbndr — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:45:17 +0000

Another thing to ask is about “herding” or “hunting” behavior – some breeds will take out after a cat or rabbit or squirrel.

My late dog, Dutch, thought that bicycles were just very mobil squashed looking cattle. It took me AGES to convince him that they were NOT items to chase. And even as an elderly canine gentleman, his ears were forward and he was ‘tracking’ any passing cyclist.

By: Miss M

Miss M — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:59:00 +0000

If only more people thought it out as much before getting a dog, I’m sure there would be less animals needing to be rehomed. Two of mine came from shelters so there was no opportunity to ask such questions, thankfully their issues are not more than we can deal with!

By: Shakela

Shakela — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:17:07 +0000

Thanks! You’re timing of this is great for me at least since I’m starting to look into dog adoption. And I think the questions would also be useful for a shelter dog. I would also add making sure the new dog can get along with any existing animals. Our local shelter (the good one anyway) requires you to bring along other dogs. My sister’s dog is horrible around other dogs but got along just fine with my childhood dog. So it worked out ok, those kind of things can make a previous “dealbreaker” more manageable if you truly are attached to the animal.

Also maybe consider the age of the animal. A young puppy that walks perfectly on the leash probably doesn’t exist. Temperament matters more then manners at that point because you’re still training the manners

By: Colin

Colin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:24:07 +0000

Enjoyed today’s post. On a related note to anyone interested, I had a pet related post on Generation Finance…notably how expensive owning a pet is…

http://www.generationfinance.com/2009/09/expensive-little-balls-of-fur/

Keep up the great posts…
Colin

By: funny

funny — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:59:41 +0000

@ Katelyn: All these are good points and true. My point is not that you shouldn’t accept a dog for whom the answers to these questions might be construed as “negative,” but that you should be aware of what you’re getting into.

M’hijito has a job. Although he does come home over the lunch hour, he is gone all morning and all afternoon. Sometimes he’s forced to work on the weekends. Because the back end of the house is all French doors, the structure literally has no place–not even in the walls–to install a dog door. Since it’s downright immoral to leave a domestic pet outdoors in 116-degree heat, the right dog for him is one that can live at large in the house without doing a lot of damage.

For a person who doesn’t have a job that takes him or her out of the house for lengthy periods, a pooch that has to be watched and tended to all the time might be a fine choice. I think you need to pick and choose the questions that fit your circumstances…the challenge is to identify an animal that can fit into your setting and that you can adjust to comfortably.

By: Katelyn

Katelyn — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Overall, these are a wonderful set of questions to get a good idea of what you may be getting into with a strange dog. However, a few of them concerned me.

A dog that destroys things may be a bored dog that has not been given enough attention by its owners. Same for digging and depending on the breed of dog, some are just diggers by nature.

Also, my dog does not heel. I do not wish her to heel and have never taught her to heel. She likes to range a few feet in front of me when we walk and I am okay with this. On the other hand, we do not walk in a crowded city near busy roads so this is not a safety issue as it may be for some.

I would also like to point out that the general commands of sit, stay and heel are not used by everyone. My dog would not know what to do if you told her to stay, but she will obediently “wait.” It’s important to find out what commands the dog does respond to and not assume that a dog is disobedient just because it doesn’t respond to the particular words you happen to use.

I know this is a long comment, but this topic touched my heart. My own dog is a stray that showed up at our door and was never claimed. She showed signs of having been mistreated and did not respond in the way a “good” dog might to our initial commands. It has taken some time for her to learn that from our hands come petting and treats not blows, but she is the smartest dog I’ve ever owned.

Some dogs take more of a time investment than others and it’s important to recognize that at the beginning. Sometimes, those dogs are the best kind.