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Rottweiler FAQs
This page is still under construction. Thanks for your
patience!
Top 10 Reasons You Should Consider a Rescue
(A more amusing look at a rescue dog vs. a puppy)
10) In a Word--Housebroken. Housetraining a puppy can take awhile.
Puppies need a consistent schedule with frequent opportunities to
eliminate where you want them to. An older dog can "hold it"
much more reliably for longer time periods, and usually the Rescue has him
housebroken before he is adopted.
9) Intact Underwear. With a puppy, you can count on at least 10
mismatched pairs of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the
"rag bag" before he cuts every tooth. And don't even think about
shoes! Also, you can expect holes in your carpet (along with the urine
stains), pages missing from books, stuffing exposed from couches, and at
least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch them, it will
happen--this is a puppy's job!
8) A Good Night's Sleep. A puppy can be very demanding at 2am and
4am and 6am. He misses his littermates, and that stuffed animal will not
make a puppy pile with him. How about a little peace and quiet? How about
an older rescue dog??
7) Finish the Newspaper. With a puppy running amok in your house,
do you think you will be able to relax when you get home from work? Do you
think your kids will really feed him, clean up the messes, take him for a
walk in the pouring rain every hour to get him housetrained? With an adult
dog, it will only be the kids running amok, because your dog will be
sitting calmly next to you, while your workday stress flows away and your
blood pressure lowers as you pet him.
6) Easier Vet Trips. Puppies need a series of puppy shots and
fecals, then a rabies shot, then a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency
trip or two if they've chewed something dangerous. Those puppy visits add
up (on top of what you paid for the dog!). Your donation to the rescue
when adopting an older pup will get you a dog with all shots current and
already altered at the minimum.
5) What You See Is What You Get. How big will that puppy be? What
kind of temperament will he have? Will he be easily trained? Will his
personality be what you were hoping for? How active will he be? When
adopting an older dog from a rescue, all of those questions are easily
answered. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy or
brilliant; sweet or sassy. The rescue and its foster homes can guide you
to pick the right match. (Rescues are full of puppies who became the wrong
match as they got older!)
4) Unscarred Children (and Adults). When the puppy isn't teething
on your possessions, he will be teething on your children and yourself.
Rescue Groups ask questions and usually find out the dog is teething or
actually biting. A growing puppy is going to put everything from food to
clothes to hands in their mouths, and as they get older and bigger it
definitely hurts (and will get worse, if they aren't being corrected
properly.) Rescue dogs are carefully evaluated and the 'teethers' are
retrained so they don't chew on their people. Biters are not accepted into
Rescue.
3) Matchmaker Make Me a Match. Puppy love is often no more than an
attachment to a look or a color. It is not much of a basis on which to
make a decision that will hopefully last 10+ years. While that puppy may
have been the cutest of the litter; he may grow up to be superactive (when
what you wanted was a couch buddy); she may be a couch princess (when what
you wanted was a tireless hiking companion); or he may want to be an only
child (while you are intending to have kids or more animals). Pet mis-matches
are one of the top reasons Rescues get "give-up" phone calls.
Good rescues do extensive evaluating of both their dogs and their
applicants to be sure that both dog and family will be happy with each.
2) Instant Companion. With an older dog, you automatically have a
buddy that can go everywhere and do everything with you NOW. There's no
waiting for a puppy to grow up (and then hope he will like to do what you
enjoy.) You will have been able to select the most compatible dog: one
that travels well; one that loves to play with your friends' dogs; one
with excellent house manners that you can take to your parents' new home
with the new carpet and the new couch. You can come home after a long
day's work and spend your time on a relaxing walk, ride or swim with your
new best friend.
1) Bond--Rescue Dog Bond. Dogs who have been uprooted from their
happy homes or have not had the best start in life are more likely to bond
very completely and deeply with their new people. Those who have lost
their families through death, divorce or lifestyle change go through a
terrible mourning process. But, once attached to a new loving family, they
seem to want to please as much as possible to make sure they are never
homeless again. Those dogs that are just learning about the good life and
good people seem to bond even deeper. They know what life on the streets,
life on the end of a chain, or worse is all about, and they revel and
blossom in a nurturing, loving environment. Most rescues make
exceptionally affectionate and attentive pets and extremely loyal
companions.
- Written by Mary Clark at LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE, INC.
Permission has been granted to freely reprint and distribute this document
as long as LRR, Inc at http://www.lrr.org/
is credited.
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