I have a difficult to place Rottweiler/Pit Bull dog who's 1 yr old. He's good with adults & teens, but when it comes to young er kids, he doesn't act appropriately. He also has issues with dominance towards male dogs. All of this is explained to potential adopters.

I recently placed him with a family that seemed great. They were going to obedience train him, work with his issues, understood that they probably weren't ever going to be able to trust him off leash or take him to dog parks, etc. They had a younger boy (10 yrs old) that had grown up around a dog, so I felt based on what they told me, that this dog would be fine. I laid it on the line. Keep him on a leash until he calms down or crate him if he is getting too excited. This was supposed to be the protocol for the younger boy as well as visitors. Basically, any time this dog got out of hand, he was to be corrected and socialized to act appropriately. Well, the dog was harassing the boy (or was it the other way around...we'll never know) constantly, so they returned him. No harm, no foul. No bites or damage done. I've added "No kids under 12" to ward off anyone with young kids.

My real question is what types of questions should I be asking to REALLY find out if someone is willing to work with this dog. It won't work out any other way. The person/people who take him HAVE to be willing to allow him time to adjust to their home, the people who live there and TRAIN him to do what they DO WANT.

The people who took him checked "YES" when it was explained a dog could take up to 2 weeks or more to adjust to a new home setting. It is very disappointing to get a call a day and a half after placing him, but at least they called & fufilled their part of the contract (return clause). Now I'm back to square one with him. I wonder if anyone realizes how much work a "rescue dog" (or any dog for that matter is). All they could tell me when they returned him was how much they liked him. It killed me, but now they are "getting a Weimeraner"...so I wonder how THAT will work out.

What questions exactly have you been asking? It might be helpful if you give us a list of what you're currently asking.

That is very disappointing for you! I'm sorry. He sounds like he might be a dog best placed with a more experienced home, so I would ask questions around that.

This contact was actually from a courtesy posting a rescue group did for me. They ask general questions, such as:

How many adults in the home? Children? (Adopter did tell me he had 2 kids from a former marriage that visit on the weekend...he did not list this on his application, though)

What kind of home? Own/Rent?

What kind of dog looking for/what purpose?

Experience with dogs? (Adopter had a Golden Retriever from puppy to 13 yrs of age)

Where will the animal be kept - day/night?

How will you housetrain the animal?

How much time are you willing to spend training?

Financial questions - ie How much do you budget to spend on a dog?

Vet reference

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These are the questions asked by the rescue organization. I talked with these adopters in detail about Riley's pros and cons (active, needs structure, continue crate training, recommended prong collar & showed how to fit, talked about his dog aggression, explained that it wasn't a good idea to try to introduce him to friend's dogs, explained that he had never been around kids & needed to know that all human family members were "over" him in rank).

I also gave them the link to this website.

I'm just wondering if there are specific questions that seem to direct people towards their "real" answers and not what they want me or the rescue organization to hear. I'm thinking about starting to ask, "If the dog shows "xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" issues, what will you do?" and basically going down the line to see if they're willing to work with an animal on its misbehaviors or if it pees/marks in their house once, it will be back with me...all the while them complaining that I said he was housebroken.

I would add:

-Have you ever had an animal(s) you no longer have? If yes, what happened to that animal(s)?

-Under what circumstances would you no longer be willing to keep an animal? (i.e., not housebroken, moving, aggressive, doesn't match the furniture, etc etc)

I would also, for this guy, say to them:
'He has dog aggression problems (give an example)' and then ask them what they would do to address the problem and how they would work with him.

Hopefully that would not only allow you to measure their commitment and dog knowledge, but it will also hopefully make them think about the reality of having a more difficult dog and what that would mean for their daily lives.

Thanks, guess I'm just finding out that a "2 week adjustment period" means something different for everyone. Apparently for some people, it's 36 hours. I think they just found a "better" dog, actually, but maybe I am wrong. I hope I am.

I will start asking a lot more questions about behavior training. I figured someone who'd had a dog before would know how to deal with this guy, but apprently not.

 Quote: Angela Martin

I figured someone who'd had a dog before would know how to deal with this guy, but apprently not.

I would say not necessarily. Temperament can vary so widely and experience with one dog won't necessarily prepare someone for a more difficult dog. Heck, when I adopted Teagan, the shelter said she needed someone experienced with GSDs, and I was like 'I already have a GSD! What could the big deal be?'....yeah. VERY different.

Ms. Martin,

One thing that is unclear to me is how long has the dog been under observation at the rescue or foster environment?

That asked, there are questions I try to ask myself when I get a foster. Is the dog trained? Is the dog fearful, aggressive, dominant, whatever? Puppy, older, teenager... How much enthusiasm. How much prior boundary work. Will it adapt to a crate - some don't like crates. And then I try to see how it gets along with other dogs, the cat, etc.

I'm not too worried about how the dog will get along with me because it does not get a vote. Mostly it works out. Mostly it has to do with consistency and rules - in my opinion.

Children and other adults are a cautiously tested set of circumstances.

The dog needs a fair chance to show its character, and the foster person needs to spend enough time with the dog so as to help it begin to achieve its potential - in my opinion.

I really don't want to have a dog I'm involved with adopted until I am confident in the dog's assesment, can accurately discuss the dog's behavior, and can clearly explain to the prospective adopter and family - all gathered - what their obligations are. No surprises from my side or the dog's - I hope.

I always explain the bad stuff along with the good. Almost every foster dog has tested its limits... A test is good. A no response or correction is not.

The prospective adopters need to show me they are able to manage the relationship. And you can tell pretty quickly who is the dog wanter and who will be the dog keeper in a family. In truth they all have to play a role or the dog is at risk - in my opinion.

A potential adopter needs to fully understand that they can walk away from an adoption. There is no inertia associated with a dog's adoption, as far as I am concerned - the rescue may have an alternative view. Filling out paperwork, getting vetted, visiting the dog, having a meet and discuss... Does not equate to an automatic adoption - in my opinion. A potential adopter has to be given the opportunuity(s) to walk away before they adopt. They need to be sure of their decision - in my opinion.

For the most part, it has little to do with the dog and almost everything to do with the adopters. The dog will interact in response to their leadership.

And some people of good will and intention should adopt a rock.

It's an interesting question though, don't you think.

How does one separate the shoppers and ribbons clerks from the buyers without sacrificing the dog's well being?

Is it just a gut feeling thing?
Randy

I wish I knew.... I've had two fosters here for over a year!!!!

I know when we rescued our first dog, the foster "parents" came to visit the home before they even agreed to let us adopt. She wanted to see if we had room and stuff for the dog. She asked very specific questions. Like, How much time do we spend in the home? What kind of activities do we do that the dog can participate in? She wanted to see the back yard, since it was a larger fenced in yard, she walked the perimeter to see if there was any way the dog could escape. She also asked about our vet. I think she actually called his office to verify and ask him questions about us.