It Doesn't Have to be Puppy Love
Bentley has come a long way since he was found tied to a tree beside an abandoned house in Joliet, Illinois. Chip and Janet Warrick adopted the starving Mastiff and quickly discovered he had a great smile and a jolly nature in spite of his past. Through a bit of babying and a nutritious diet, the Warricks added ninety pounds to Bentley’s big, bony frame and he now weighs a formidable 210.
Last year the Warricks’ neighborhood voted Bentley “Dog of the Year.” “He’s everybody’s best friend,” says Chip Warrick. " He loves his daily walk and visits all his young friends along the way. Our own three grandchildren are crazy about him and the feeling is mutual. Since they are two, four, and six, Bentley has to put up with a lot of aggravation but he seems to look forward to it.”
The Warricks’ success with Bentley is repeated thousands of times every year by people who realize the advantages of acquiring an adult dog. But what about puppies? Isn’t it a shame to miss all the cute stages?
Yes, puppies are precious. Some are softer than a stuffed teddy; others have winsome ringlets framing their charming faces; and all of them feel wonderfully warm in your arms. Puppies are vivacious and fun-loving and indulge in antics guaranteed to elicit your love and laughter. In fact, puppies have a lot in common with human babies. While lovely to look at and delightful to hold, they need constant supervision and frequent feeding. They also eat sloppily, go potty often, teethe on whatever they can reach, and sleep a lot (but not on your schedule). Curious and bright, puppies learn quickly, as long as their owners are consistent and take the time to teach them. Are they worth it? Of course they are—provided you keep a regular schedule, have plenty of patience, and enough time for long-term training.
So before falling in puppy love, ask yourself if you, or someone in your family, will be available to look after a puppy every time it needs food, a potty break, or general supervision. Without constant supervision, your puppy may teethe on the furniture, soil the rug, or even lap up something poisonous. Sure your puppy will eventually grow up to be a clean, sensible dog. But only if you keep it on a regular schedule and teach it good house manners and social graces.
Are you fated to be dog-deprived because of your work schedule? Or because you don’t relish the time-consuming task of raising a puppy? No way! You don't have to go dogless just because you can’t make it home every three or four hours. If you have time to enjoy a dog, but can’t (or don’t want to) meet a puppy’s demanding schedule, there is a solution. Skip the frequent feeding and teething stages. Open your heart and home to an adult dog.
Advantages of an Adult Dog
Many adult dogs are already housebroken and limit their chewing to their own toys. Such dogs are extremely desirable as they will need only a little guidance to transfer their good habits to your home. Mature dogs also have bigger bladders and longer attention spans than puppies. So even if the grown dog of your choice isn’t housebroken, it will probably learn house manners much quicker than a puppy would.
You can learn a great deal about an adult dog’s personality before deciding whether to take it home. Plus, you won’t have to guess about its mature size, appearance, and how much grooming it needs. Another bonus of adult dogs is that they often become family guardians within a few weeks of entering a new home, while puppies seldom bark a warning until they are between seven and fourteen months old.
As you will see, both dynamite dogs and destitute dogs are available if you know where to find them, and both of them need a second start. Dynamite dogs have beautiful bodies, shiny coats, great dispositions, and previous training. They are lovely, affectionate animals you can enjoy and take pride in from the first day you bring one home. Destitute dogs, on the other hand, are survivors. They’ve been through tough times and it shows. Their coats are matted and dry, their bodies emaciated, even scarred. In many cases, their lives depend upon someone giving them a second start right away. If you choose a destitute dog, the period of adjustment will be longer. Your dog will need time to learn to trust again, and its body may not glow with health for many months. But when it does (and it will), you’ll feel the special pride of not just having saved a life, but of having re-created one! Wait a minute! Aren’t dogs supposed to be beloved family members? So if an adult dog is available, doesn’t that mean it has a serious behavior or health problem, something that keeps it from being a good companion?
Where Adult Dogs Come From
Mature dogs lose their homes for a wide variety of reasons, and many of those reasons are not the animal’s fault. Some disappointed their owners by not growing up with the superior conformation (appearance) necessary to win dog shows. Others won a championship title, were used by a fine kennel to breed the next generation of champions, and are now ready for retirement to a private home. Corporate moves, divorces, terminal illnesses, allergies, and the owner’s death are all reasons why perfectly nice dogs need a second start. Another reason is unrealistic expectations. Some people fail to do any research before getting a dog and purchase the wrong breed for their lifestyle. Yet that same dog might be the ideal match for another person. For example, a terrier that belonged to the vice president of a garden club lost its home because it persisted in digging around its owner’s prize roses. A rural family gave it a second start. Today it plays tirelessly with the children and pleases the parents by digging up and killing the gophers that damage their pasture. The digging instinct that was so objectionable in the dog’s first home is highly prized in its second and permanent home.
Of course, not every adult dog needing a second start is an ideal companion just waiting to brighten your life. Some are in mourning for a beloved owner who died or abandoned them, and will need a few months of one-way affection before they bond with a new owner. Others have behavior problems their previous owners couldn’t or wouldn’t tolerate—problems that can be cured through simple, consistent training. In fact, objectionable behavior sometimes disappears as if by magic when a dog moves to a different environment. Of course some behaviors, like the terrier’s instinctive digging, don’t change, but are either neutral or desirable in the new home.
Sadly, some dogs problems result from neglect, or even abuse. Such dogs need a special person as their new owner—someone with the patience to understand the dog’s initial fear and distrust, take it one day at a time, and not get their feelings hurt when they encounter minor setbacks.
A few dogs have behavior problems that are beyond rehabilitation. Their previous owners couldn’t handle them and neither should you. Don’t worry. This isn’t one of those “the dog is always right and the owner is always to blame” websites. Some dogs, like some people, are impossible. This website will tell you how to recognize and avoid the few truly bad ones—those that bring nothing to a relationship but havoc and heartache.
Sometimes dogs with physical defects are given up for adoption by owners who can’t afford the price of treatment. Some of these dogs would live long, active lives following a routine surgical procedure. Others will stay healthy for years provided they get daily medication. Are they worth the effort? It depends on the dog and the situation. The article Making a Match will help you find the right dog for your personality and lifestyle, a search surprisingly similar to finding the ideal human mate. When the right one comes along and you know it, it’s prudent to overlook minor imperfections. Besides, too much perfection, in dogs or in people, can be downright boring!
So where do adult dogs come from? They come from show dog kennels and they come from "death row” at the pound. They come from purebred rescue groups and they come from service dog organizations. They come from field trailers, hunters, and “free to good home” ads in the newspaper. They come from college kids who graduate and move to the city to begin careers, and they come from the death beds of the terminally ill. Some have had years of top-notch training. Others were never even taught their names. Some are so beautiful strangers on the street ask permission to pet them. Others are so wretched you wonder if they will ever look better. Some are young adults, barely past puppyhood. Others are long past their prime. Some are registered purebreds. It’s impossible to guess the ancestry of others. What do so many diverse dogs have in common? All of them need a second start, and most of them will make wonderful companions.
BUT WHAT IF ... ?
Acquiring a dog is a major emotional investment, so you may be asking yourself, “What if the Warricks were just especially lucky, and an adult dog brings me nothing but heartache? For example, will I have lots of veterinary bills with a mature dog? What if I fall for an older dog, only to have it die in a few short years?”
When it comes to long-term health, there are no guarantees, not for puppies, adult dogs, or even people. In truth, an adult dog that has been well cared for during its life often has fewer health problems than a young puppy, and is usually through with messy puppy problems such as diarrhea and vomiting. And while it’s true that older dogs can develop heart trouble or kidney disorders, puppies can get their share of serious problems too. The bottom line is healthy middle-aged dogs are at no special risk, but you should expect higher veterinary bills during the first year if you adopt a destitute dog. It may be several months until such a dog is completely healthy.
While most adult dogs in need of a second start are relatively young (usually between one and five years of age), life span is certainly a consideration if your search for the perfect dog leads you to an animal well past its prime. But think hard before turning away. Even a few fabulous years with just the right dog is an opportunity worth seizing, as illustrated by the story of this golden oldie.
MAGNIFICENT MAXWELL
Found by a fisherman, the forlorn, old Doberman Pinscher was waiting beside a back country bridge for owners who never returned. The fisherman took him to the pound where the employees hearts went out to the gentle red dog with the graying muzzle. They called volunteer Myni Ferguson and told her to come down and see their “old baby” because they knew Dobes were her favorite breed.
Myni wasn’t in any hurry to see the dog because she was afraid she would end up taking him home and she really didn’t want to adopt an elderly pet. So she procrastinated. Hours later, when she felt she couldn’t put it off any longer, she made the visit. On her way, she stopped by the office of the veterinarian who worked for the shelter and asked him if he had seen the old Dobe yet. He told her the dog had undescended testicles (orchidism) and the testicles were tumorized and should be removed immediately. Other than that, all the dog needed were regular meals and affection and he’d be in fine shape for his advanced age.
When Myni arrived at the pound, she was greeted by a sad employee. “That sweet old Dobe has tumors,” the young woman said with tears in her eyes. “He has to be euthanized.”
“Not if the person who adopts him pays for an operation,” Myni said. “I just talked to the vet and he said it’s a simple surgery.”
The employee’s face paled and her breath caught in her throat. “Oh no,” she wailed and ran from the room. A few minutes later she returned, helping her co-workers lug the nearly unconscious dog down the hallway. The shelter workers were laughing through their tears. In another moment, the big dog that had captured their hearts would have died by lethal injection. Now he was almost unconscious because they had sedated him heavily to prep him for euthanasia. They didn’t want the trusting old soul to realize something bad was happening.
Myni took him straight to the veterinarian who quipped, “Looks like he’s already prepped for surgery.” When Myni returned to the veterinarian’s office the following day to pick up the dog that had never met her, a grinning nurse said, “Wait till you see the old boy now.”
A few seconds later, the door to the kenneling area opened and a jovial red flash bounded through. He trotted around the waiting room visiting each dog owner and staff member briefly, then circled Myni, sat by her side, and leaned against her leg.
Myni named her new dog Maxwell Plum and took him along when she gave animal education presentations at the mall. “His idea of heaven was being covered with babies,” she said. Maxwell also became a therapy dog, cheering other oldsters at the local nursing home. He lived three more years and brought smiles to hundreds of faces.
Since Maxwell, Myni has continued rescuing abandoned or abused Doberman Pinschers, carefully matching them up with new families and educating their owners in dog care and training. It’s an ongoing avocation. “Only one in five dogs remains in its first home forever,” she said. “There are always wonderful pets in need of new homes through no fault of their own.”
If you are captivated by a graying muzzle and don’t know if you should take a chance, this bit of philosophy may help. At best, dogs have short life spans when compared to people. Almost everyone who loves a dog eventually endures loss and grief, but we cherish our marvellous memories and learn to love another dog.
CANINE SPECIALISTS
With so many opportunities to acquire an adult dog, finding one that already has good house manners may be easier than you think. But many people have done even better than that. Mature dogs with specialized training are often available. For the livestock owner, this could mean a herding dog that’s already accomplished at working stock. For the animal-assisted therapy volunteer, it could be a retired show dog who loves hamming it up for an adoring audience. For the hunter, it could mean a professionally trained hunting companion, like George R. Quittner’s second start English Springer Spaniels, Chip and Dream.
Until a few years ago, George competed in field trials and went hunting with dogs he had raised and trained from puppies. But when cancer took the last one just as the 1990 hunting season was about to begin, George needed a dog who already knew how to hunt. He wanted a trained adult.
George called some of the kennels that advertise in Gun Dog magazine and inquired about purchasing a mature hunting dog. He was soon networked to a kennel where there was a five-year-old English Springer Spaniel named Chocolate Chip. Originally purchased as a puppy by a family with young children, Chip had been professionally trained for the home before being sent out for field trial training. But she failed as both a field trial competitor and a house dog, and was returned to her breeder. Believing she could still become a winner in the field, the breeder sent her to several professional handlers, but nothing helped. Bred and trained for excellence, Chip’s field work was considered only “very good,’’ and that’s not enough to win in tough competition. Her breeder told George, “Chip did everything right, but she never did win a field trial.”
Many dogs that aren’t quick enough to win field trials are exactly the right speed to be ideal hunting companions, and George knew it. Two weeks after he purchased Chip they went hunting and have been successful partners in the field ever since. During the mid-90s, George wanted a second dog and acquired Dream, another field trial dog who failed to win trophies. “I waited only three weeks after getting Dream till I hunted over her and she is the happiest and most biddable dog I’ve ever worked,” George said.
Now George is an advocate of acquiring older dogs and says the advantages far outweigh the cuteness of those puppy years. “I can’t imagine anyone really enjoying the teething, puberty, or the terrible twos stages of a growing dog,” he says. His wife agrees. She calls Chip “robo dog” because the first day Chip entered the house she was shown her place in the family room and stayed there until told it was okay to go elsewhere. Chip never has had an accident in the house and doesn’t touch anything unless someone gives it to her. Dream also has impeccable manners, and both dogs are good travelers.
George also found that older dogs bond easily. “Early in its first week of transition, I fuss over a new dog,” he says. “This includes generous doses of petting and gentle talk, making sure it eats, and brushing its coat. Spending time together helps us get used to each other. Also, I do nothing negative during the transition period so the dog builds trust in me and my family. Chip adjusted instantly while Dream took about a week until she eagerly came to any family member who called her. Both are extremely affectionate and obey all of us. Some dogs I’ve raised from puppies only responded to me as their trainer, in spite of being raised as family dogs.
“The bottom line is I am committed to buying older dogs and letting others raise pups,” George says. “The cost of a fully trained gun dog is about the same or less than that of a good pup, and a pup has to go to the veterinarian regularly and may need professional training to hunt as well as my old girls. It’s such a pleasure to go afield right after acquiring my new partner without having to go through the frustrating years of yard work and field training. There are so many opportunities to ruin a pup, and sometimes it doesn’t even have the strong hunting instinct it was bred for. With a grown dog, you see what you get and you can get what you want. The older dog just wants someone to care for it and fuss over it. It’s a fair trade and the owner wins. Who knows how many older dogs would relish a home, close friendship, and an opportunity to do the work they were bred for?"
