Quote: Matt Lang

After I struck out on the 8 yr old German Shepherd at the Shepherd rescue (they don't have a volunteer in the area for the home inspection, and the dog has since been adopted), I got my eye on this one: http://www.gcgsr.org/dog_pages/dana.html She seems like a great fit but they have the same problem as the other rescue (no volunteer up here). I could try pushing them by sending in an application with references and information, but the ones I've got my eye now are: http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=HMCO.A058943 and http://www.petango.com/Adopt/Dog-Retriever-Labrador-Terrier-Pit-Bull-14335795 and possibly this one, depending on how she is with cats: http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=HMCO.A056734

The cat thing is a training issue. Most dogs aren't "good" with cats unless they're brought up with a cat and then they're only halfassed good with that specific cat

On a semi-related note:

http://www.cesarsway.com/newsandevents/cesarsblog/Solving-the-Stray-and-Unwanted-Dog-Problem

The older ones just break my heart........

Quick update. I met with the little lab pup last week. She's an awesome little puppy but I decided that she wasn't the perfect fit for us. Then we met with Lillie yesterday:
http://www.petango.com/Adopt/Dog-Retriever-Labrador-Terrier-Pit-Bull-14335795

She has great potential. The trouble is that she is currently very timid, especially of men. She does, however, do ok once she knows you apparently. The humane shelter worker (male) said it'd taken about 2 weeks for her to warm up to him but now she is very friendly with him. She's not fear aggressive, just timid. Apparently she loves kids. She wasn't socialized at all as a puppy it seems, but she must have had good experiences with kids. Over the course of an hour, she gradually warmed up to me somewhat. At first, she was very nervous and didn't want to have anything to do with me, but I finally brought my dog in and that gave her confidence so that she was eventually able to take treats from me. She was afraid of my treat bag though, when I put it on the ground, so she's just not been exposed to much in life so far. I think she would gradually come out of her shell in the right situation, but she was still nervous enough of me that I couldn't just adopt her then and load her into my car. I'd need to go back a few more times and build up her trust before I could do that - the trouble is, that shelter is 4 hrs away (I was up there on a trip with my friend this weekend).

This might be a good situation for her though, so I have to think about it and maybe go back up there this weekend.

Matt,
You're thinking of choosing a very timid dog? I would tell you to run from that. There's TONS of good solid tempermented dogs out there, why in the world would someone even think about anything other than a solid minded dog? I'm not getting it I guess. I'll shut up now.

I'm with Al, I'm afraid.

This is a huge mark against success right from the get-go: "... she was still nervous enough of me that I couldn't just adopt her then and load her into my car .... She was afraid of my treat bag though .... I'd need to go back a few more times and build up her trust before I could do that ...." .

Someone else (perhaps a small woman, who knows) may possibly be able to start out without such bad footing with this dog.

JMO, but I think this is not a favor to you or the dog. (I do a pretty significant amount of work with reactive, fearful, etc., dogs. I find the work rewarding .... but to start out with this obvious handicap would be something I would not, as a shelter person, recommend.)

Yep - understood. I hadn't known that she was so timid. They hadn't told me that before I'd gone there.

Work with a timid dog is a LOOOOOOONG process sometimes (like years without a sit-stay or recall or want for affection from you) While I won't say it can't be a rewarding experience to assist a dog through fear, I would also say if women don't make her fearful, allow her to go into a female oriented home where she would be more comfortable. It will set her up for better success and the dogs are what it's all about right?

The dog liking you is the basis for all of your training.
My dog doesn't really like people too much, it affects desire to please, you can only get so far with food.
Starting again, I'd pick one that was open-hearted.

Ugh I just read Ceaser's article/propaganda on mandatory spay/neuter. I used to like him, but am loosing respect fast. I followed a link in this thread to it...sorry, its just disturbs me.