What Shelter Dogs Go Through…
Hello again, I’m Jason Rae and today I want to talk to you about what rescue dogs go through. So many times we see people go to a shelter or rescue, choose a dog, take him home and then when he does one bad thing they take him back. What I want talk about is making a shift in our thinking … changing the way we look at a situation and adopting a different attitude when it comes to getting a dog from a rescue or shelter. Here’s what I mean. All of these dogs are in a shelter or rescue because they’ve had a bad owner or had an owner who just couldn’t keep them anymore. Then they get put into a shelter which is definitely unbalanced. By that I mean this. Imagine being put in a small room and have someone on your left or right or when you look through the bars yelling or barking in your face for hours and hours. It’s not the shelter’s fault; it simply is what it is.
It doesn’t mean these dogs are awful nor have bad behavior problems. What it does mean is that these dogs are coming from an unbalanced situation so I believe it’s only fair that we give them a thirty day grace period. We need to exercise them, give them some space and time to settle down a bit … to really see what kind of dog they’re going to be. Hopefully, now that they’re going into a more balanced situation we’ll find it easier to use positive training methods with the dog.
Again, I’m not saying all rescue or shelter dogs are bad, I’m just saying most of them are coming from an unbalanced environment. If we can be the balance for them and let them iron out their issues it will definitely work out for everyone involved. Try to think of it from their point of view. Here’s another point. When you take your shelter or rescue dog home, be sure to give him tons and tons of exercise to get that weird energy out of his system. You may be surprised at how fast he adapts to you and his new environment and end up being a fantastic companion and family member.
