[Dogs4Jesus]

So my dad really wants to get a shelter dog to do agility with. He's wanted a dog for a long time, and now seems like a good time. I've never had a shelter dog, and neither has he. I was wondering: Should he change its name? Should he try to crate train it right away? What will make him a more likely candidate for adoption? Should he get a young dog, or is that asking for trouble?

He doesn't have a fenced yard, but his dog can come with him to work all day. I needs to be able to stay with someone else every once in a while, though, because he sometimes travels. Does a shelter dog even make sense? Advice?

Thanks much!

 

[PoppyKenna]

Shelter dogs are great!

I think the best thing for your dad to do would be to look for local rescues/shelters that place their dogs in foster situations. Contact them with a list of what he's looking for (young dog for agility, good with other dogs, friendly with people, housetrained, whatever) and maybe one or two absolute dealbreakers that he's not willing or able to work with. Let them know what he's got to offer - many will overlook a fence if he has an alternate plan for safe exercise. See what they suggest.

The nice thing about dogs that are being fostered is they're already in a home environment so you can get a better picture as to what they're really like.

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

That's what we're looking at today, a beagle/spaniel mix named Peach. She's an owner surrender, 1 year old, house trained sweetheart from a foster home. She struggles with submissive peeing, which I heard agility can help with. Thank you for your advice. Wish us luck!

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

Well, the deed has been done. Somehow we came to look at two dogs, (really only wanting Peach), and left with the one we weren't sure about: Boots, (now Jam), a 5 month old Border Collie/Something.

 

[SusanLynn]

So tell us more about Jam. How is he/she doing? What do you know about his/her background?

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

So tell us more about Jam. How is he/she doing? What do you know about his/her background?

He's doing well. He's really smart, he knows how to sit and stay (to a certain degree) and I can tell he wants to learn so much more. Stubborn at times, though. Like when he found 3 chocolate donut holes. I saw them at the same time he did, so I was luckily able to get the one he grabbed out of his greedy little mouth. After that, though, he wanted more. I told him no and tried to pull him along. Note the "tried." He instead sat down and didn't budge 'til I got stern with him. :eyeroll: Definitely part Shar-pei.
He was a stray, and apparently he didn't have anything like toys or a bed before the shelter. He's gotten quite used to the good life, and managed to snag a stuffed lamb off the Petco shelf.
He's going to be an amazing agility dog, and maybe flyball and dock diving as well.
I'm fighting the urge to do any jumping yet, he's so young. But dad's got a wobble board to train him on for future agility.
I should be able to get some pictures of him. He's the cutest thing. He's black with white socks, and has ears that make a flat hat over his forehead when he's curious. He's already 40 pounds. He'll be at least 55 full grown.
Thanks for asking!

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

And he now knows shake.

 

[traciek88]

To answer some of the questions you asked, yes you should crate train right away. As for the name, if you want to change it that doesn't cause any problems. Words mean nothing to dogs unless we assign meaning to them. If you haven't already I suggest saying "Jam" and giving a treat when the dog looks at you, and giving a treat every single time you say the name and the dog looks at you. Play "puppy in the middle" calling him back and forth between you two and giving a treat until he realizes "Jam" means he should come.

I'd also recommend getting the dog a full physical and all before you start agility training. I would suggest doing this once he's a year old. I was all excited to train my Stella to do agility but then after she was a year old discovered she had luxating patellas, so we need to do something less stressful on the joints instead.

Best of luck with your new pup and training him!

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

To answer some of the questions you asked, yes you should crate train right away. As for the name, if you want to change it that doesn't cause any problems. Words mean nothing to dogs unless we assign meaning to them. If you haven't already I suggest saying "Jam" and giving a treat when the dog looks at you, and giving a treat every single time you say the name and the dog looks at you. Play "puppy in the middle" calling him back and forth between you two and giving a treat until he realizes "Jam" means he should come.

I'd also recommend getting the dog a full physical and all before you start agility training. I would suggest doing this once he's a year old. I was all excited to train my Stella to do agility but then after she was a year old discovered she had luxating patellas, so we need to do something less stressful on the joints instead.

Best of luck with your new pup and training him!

Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[DogSupport]

If you want to adopt a shelter dog, don't forget to do potty train to the dog. It is crucial that you reward the dog for good behavior.

 

[RockApChamp]

Thank your dad for rescuing, he saved two lives! He won't regret it. It's all we do around here and we couldn't be happier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

If you want to adopt a shelter dog, don't forget to do potty train to the dog. It is crucial that you reward the dog for good behavior.

Dad's working on that. Jam's gone up to 36 hours with no accidents so far, and needs about 2 times out during the night. Dad gives him a treat every time he potties, and that seems to be helping.
Thank you for your concern and advice.

 

[SusanLynn]

Terrific! How's Jam fitting in otherwise?

 

[Dogs4Jesus]

Terrific! How's Jam fitting in otherwise?

Quite well. He's stopped getting carsick, and he's also stopped slobbering excessively, which is big.