K9 Rescue Rant

[Cyrano]

We had a dog when I was a teenager. He came in or out as he wished. He liked to sleep at my mother's feet. My father built a doghouse for him, with a canvas over the doorway and filled it with cedar shavings that take away a lot of the doggie odor. At night, the house got too hot for him and he wanted to go out. We'd chain him and he'd go into the doghouse, turn around a few times, and we'd see his nose come out past the canvas. He was perfectly content to stay all night in there even in winter when the temperatures might get close to 0º. He had a wonderful coat, it must have been due to sleeping out in the cold.

 

[rwsmith]

Dogs used to live outside all the time....

With shelter and a fur coat what's wrong with a dog being outside. People have made dogs be more like them and moved them inside and more or less spoiled them. If it's 40 degrees out my wife won't leave the dogs outside because they'll "freeze". (OK, she has an ultra big heart.)

Our dogs are indoor/outdoor. I think that is a bizarre rule put in place by some terminally bleeding hearts. I would hope that if you showed them where you live and where the dog will stay. They may not budge. I'm sure you can find the right dog from someone who is a little more 'real world'.

My dad made a place in our pump house for our OUTSIDE cat with thick carpet and a heater. The cat lived many a freezing night in there and lived to be 18 when it seemed that someone shot him. No telling how long he would have lived.

Our neutered female super affectionate cat goes on walkabout for sometimes a couple of weeks in all kinds of weather. We think she's probably dead and one day she just shows up.

I suppose these animal people would think that was cruel, that we should keep her locked up in the house because she might get run over. Well, she's survived being run over one and these cruel people (us) spent a small fortune to get her screwed back together.

Anyway, I'm about as angry as you are, and it's not even my dog. These people are idiots for denying the dogs a good home and probably keeping them locked up in a kennel, where they are 'safe'.

I can't shut up. This is akin to keeping kids locked up inside because they might get hurt.

 

[rwsmith]

Yeah, it's sad.....

true, but if one adopts a pet from a kill shelter (and at least when we were in SC, there were a LOT of cats and dogs put down), then in effect they are rescuing that animal.
At least that's how i see it, in this old mind anyway

There's just no way they can begin to keep all the dogs that come in, especially if they have an uneven temperament. They only keep the dogs that are highly adoptable. One good thing at least is that when you get a dog from the pound, it's been watched and observed for negative behavior. SOME owners can put up with a not-so-perfect dog, but they have to cull out so many, only the best ones get the privilege to be adopted.

 

[Rpg]

Part of my dog's job is to let me know when something is amiss outside; or when someone comes off the highway. It's hard for him to do that from inside the house. My wife has said she has missed the security of knowing someone would have to go through a dog to get to the door (I work mids & she is basically confined to a wheelchair[/QUOTE]

I don't agree with the idea that a dog has to be outside to alert to long range approaches.

My Springers will alert to anything approaching the house from 75 yards from inside the house.

Dogs have such refined hearing and sense of smell that they only need a bit of encouragement to alert to fairly distant events.

With a bit of training, they'll let you know about events occurring a good deal away even when they're in the house.

I wouldn't give OP a rescue GS either.

Sounds like a lazy owner or poor dog trainer.

 

[Alpo]

There's just no way they can begin to keep all the dogs that come in, especially if they have an uneven temperament. They only keep the dogs that are highly adoptable. One good thing at least is that when you get a dog from the pound, it's been watched and observed for negative behavior. SOME owners can put up with a not-so-perfect dog, but they have to cull out so many, only the best ones get the privilege to be adopted.

when you get a dog from the pound, it's been watched and observed for >negative behavior<


That's a good theory. Ain't necessarily so. We got a part-Akita from the pound. Took her back the next day. Dog was crazy. And vicious. And we had small children.

 

[pawngal]

I've had both indoor and outdoor dogs. The totally outdoor dog was a Norwegian Elkhound, she hated to be inside. Would try to bring her in in the coldest weather and she would lay by the drafty old farmhouse door and cry to go back outside. She had a nice dog house but would she sleep in it? No, would make herself a "snow nest" and sleep there so she could watch the farm.
Current dog is a lab/elkhound mix. Adopted her from a local shelter when she was about 1 1/2 yr. 1st winter she spent a lot of time outside and did the same snow nest thing on the deck of the house. Over the years she has become a total inside brat. About 5-10 minutes of snow play and wants back in.
I don't recall the shelter drilling us about indoor/outdoor but we really never had a vetting process, discovered everybody there knew us and knew of our dearly departed labs that we had previously.

A pound/shelter/rescue/Humane Society, there will be different adoption processes. Breed Rescues will be the strictest and will have taken the time to get to know the dog and what home environment they think will be best as in other dogs/no dogs/ok with cats/good with kids and so on. I follow several of them on Facebook and some are about like PETA.

OP, you will find your working buddy, just keep you eyes & ears open.

 

[mike from st pete]

I'm just a yard dog thats grown accustomed to sleeping by your fire.

 

[Steve912]

Yes, some rescuers are nuts.

The really extreme animal-lovers often exhibit an equally strong dislike of humanity. A few that I spent time with eventually revealed some traumatic/unpleasant episode with another human, in their past. Understandable, but nonetheless what the shrinks might call 'maladaptive behavior'.