What is your experience with rescuing a dog from a shelter?

Adopting a shelter dog is a wonderful thing to do but please proceed with caution! Because you want a dog for an elderly person, I'd recommend adopting an older dog who has outgrown his/her initial puppy energy and is calmer. Older dogs who haven't had much training are not difficult to train, and may even be easier because they're mellowed out a bit.

The best dogs get adopted out right away, so you may have to make several visits before you find the right dog. Many shelter dogs do have behavior and health problems, and the purebreed puppies there usually come from puppy mills, so avoid those. I've never adopted a shelter dog but a friend did recently, a little Maltese, and it was apparently from a mill because she sticks her tail end up when she potties; the vet said she had probably been raised in a cage so she learned to go that way to avoid soiling the cage.

She's also extremely timid. But they've had her two weeks and she's starting to trust them a bit more. What your grandma needs is a well-behaved and moderately tempered dog unless she's still physically active and up to the challenge of a puppy or poorly-trained older dog.

Here's an article about how to make the best choice when adopting from an animal shelter.

When I was younger we lost a cattle dog when a farmer shot it for worrying sheep ( it didn't, it was another dog, but it was too late by the time they found the real culprit ) We got a new cattle dog from the local shelter. It was pretty thin still and took a fair bit to get him to relax, we used to think he had been treated badly and if that's the case they do need time to adjust to their new home and plenty of love and attention.... We had that dog for about another 10 years :) He was loyal and fun and hard working and got quite fat in his elder years .... I think getting dogs and pets from shelters is a great idea - they sometimes just need that extra time to feel safe and secure again. They've often been neglected and need love and attention before giving you love and attention in return...but well worth the wait and patience....you've saved a life and made someone happy.... oh, this looks just like our old dog Jack

I think adopting a dogs|dog that doesn't have a home is an excellent idea. I just think you have to be really careful. Because your grandmother is older, you probably are not looking to get her a small puppies|puppy.

However, whichever you are looking for, I have a couple of cautions. We have adopted two puppies from a shelter in the past. Both ended up with pravovirus even with vaccines.

One didn't live very long at all and the other, with serious medical care from the veterinarian made it. I hate to say it, but at all cost I'd avoid adopting a small puppy from an animal shelter for this reason. Older dogs have hopefully been vaccinated for things in the past and are out of danger from some things like this.

I would be sure to examine the dog and visit it on more than one occasion. I don't know your grandmother's age or activity level, but I would keep that in mind. You don't want a dog that is going to cause her to trip and fall down.

We have adopted many stray dogs and they have turned out to be the best we've had.

A friend of mine recently adopted a dog for her mum. I went with her to pick the dog she wanted. When we got there, the attendants were very helpful, they asked us who waned the buy the dog for and also if we had a particular breed in mind.

He told us that an older person needs a breed that with a calm predisposition because they always make excellent companions and are easy to train. He added that older dogs are better because they require less exercise and are calmer. Some of the breed he gave us were Toy/Miniature Poodle, Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Basenji, Whippet, Boston Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Dachshund, Tibetan Terrier, Shih Tzu, Bichon Frise, Pekingese and the Miniature Schnauzer.

These are all small dogs and are suitable for older people and can be easily cared for without causing a strain on the owner. Since the shelter is a well known one, the dogs have already been vaccinated and we were even given a certificate that shows the dog’s health history since it has been with them.

I agree about not getting a puppy for your grandmother. A puppy coming from that environment is going to need some serious training. An older dog wouldn’t be so hyper and wouldn’t be in that puppy chewing phase.

I have adopted two dogs. The first one Isabelle, a dachshund mix, from the moment we brought her home she just fit right in. The second one is also supposed to be a dachshund mix but I think that's not accurate.

She is supposed to be 8 months but acts much younger so I'm not even sure how old she is. She has had no training about anything and is very hyper and a bit of a bully. We've recently started her in obedience classes and she's doing very well.

I would recommend checking out the shelter you adopt from thoroughly because Isabelle had the parvovirus when I adopted her; we managed to pull her through. Baby Girl the second one we just recently adopted had kennel cough and was on antibiotics for 10 days. So don’t just assume that because you are adopting from a shelter that it is healthy and everything is alright.

Take it and have your vet give it a thorough examination.

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