Opposites often attract, but they seldom make for a rewarding relationship between people and their dogs.
Why People "Divorce" Their Dogs.
Mismatches occur between owners and dogs just as they do between human couples. Sometimes it’s a no-fault situation. For example, a young computer programmer who lives alone in a studio apartment in uptown Manhattan fell in love with a retriever puppy. A dedicated cybernaut, Laura purchased Spot and assumed he would be her patient companion while she spent her evenings on-line. Bred to be both enthusiastic and intelligent, Spot soon grew into a large athletic animal, starved for attention, exercise, and an outlet for his inherited retrieving talents. In his frustration, he became a destructive and noisy nuisance. In her frustration, Laura placed an ad in the paper offering the retriever to a good home. Adopted by a family with three active children who include him in games of fetch and catch, Spot thrives. Meanwhile, Laura felt lonely in her empty apartment and tried again. This time she went on-line and asked her cybernaut friends for advice. They sent information on several suitable breeds and a few leads on available adult dogs. Laura soon found her perfect match in Muff, a tiny Maltese whose owner was moving to a nursing home. Muff is easily exercised in an apartment and loves cuddling on Laura’s lap while she surfs the Internet.
It would be great if all mismatches were resolved so easily, but Spot was lucky. Many human halves of a mismatch resolve their frustration by discarding their dog at an animal shelter and telling themselves that it will probably get a good home. In truth, it probably will not. Many shelters are crowded, understaffed, and poorly funded. They have no choice but to euthanize animals that aren’t adopted within a given brief time period. And depending on the shelter and the situation, that period may be as short as a week.
While housing a large, active dog like Spot in a small space without regard for his physical or emotional needs was an obvious mistake, there are many other potential mismatches. For example, large, active dogs and speedy, small dogs are both a poor match for a senior citizen (or anyone else) who has trouble getting around. Tiny dogs and temperamental breeds seldom fit into families with toddlers. Profusely coated dogs soon become matted if their owners neglect grooming requirements, and tiny, fragile dogs are often overwhelmed by a houseful of lively children.
While mismatches are often tragic for dogs, they are also disheartening for their owners. After all, they wanted a dog’s companionship or they wouldn’t have brought one home in the first place. So when it doesn’t work out, they endure feelings of loss, guilt, and failure. The good news is mismatches are preventable. And here’s how.
Friends Have Things in Common
Think about your close friends. I bet you enjoy their company because you have similar interests. But what about all the perfectly nice people you meet at social functions, talk to politely, and get away from as fast as you can? Are they truly boring people, or just uninteresting to you because you have nothing in common with them?
You may live with your dog for ten years or more, so choosing a dog that matches your personality, activity level, and lifestyle is vital. After all, you can’t be roommates with just anybody. Accessing your likes and dislikes before choosing a dog will provide you with a road map through the maze of adult purebreds, or keep you on the right path at the animal shelter. Once you have charted your course, stick with it. Don’t let pleading eyes or a wildly wagging tail entice you into taking a shortcut or detour. Instead, do yourself and the wrong dog a favor by resisting its appeal if it’s way off your road to a happy partnership.
Dotsie's Perfect Match
“Everyone hopes for the ‘perfect match’ of adopter and dog,” says Judy Marden, of the East Coast German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue Network. Of all the placements she's made, Judy says Dotsie’s was the most satisfying of all.
As Judy tells it:
“Dotsie, a gorgeous, dark-eyed, solid liver Shorthair, was found running loose in Pennsylvania with no form of identification, and extensive advertising failed to turn up her legal owner. When we picked her up for inclusion in rescue she was extremely thin and in poor coat. Myriad spots of lost hair on her head made her appear as if she’d been attacked by a flock of woodpeckers. In addition, she obviously had whelped a litter within the last two to three months. Yet none of this dampened her outstanding roll-with-the-punches attitude toward life and new situations.
“When we had her spayed, we asked the veterinarian to examine a small lump on her spine. The lump turned out to be a glistening, new .22 caliber bullet which was removed! Someone had apparently taken a pot shot at her while she was running loose.
“Dotsie was lovely to look at but it was her intensity on game birds, with high tail, high head pointing style, and excellent retrieving agility, that put the icing on the cake. The first time we tried her on a released quail, she hit her point hard and stood like a statue while we took picture after picture. We vowed that unless we could find a combination house pet and hunting home for her, we would keep her forever.
“Dotsie got along with our dogs and adapted to her new situation with ease. With one exception. She had probably lived outdoors all her life and was never housebroken. This was not a problem with other kennel dogs we had fostered. Two to three days of crating night and day, with time out for play and training only, is our method of housebreaking kennel dogs. Normally that’s all it takes. But in Dotsie’s case it didn’t work. She urinated in her crate by 6:00 a.m. if we didn’t take her outside very early each morning. We had her tested for urinary problems but there weren’t any. So we adapted to her schedule.
“Eventually, Dotsie was matched with a retired couple from New England. She accompanies them on frequent camping expeditions and the husband is an avid hunter with membership in a local hunting preserve. Best of all, he doesn’t mind getting up in the middle of the night to let Dotsie go potty. Truth is, he gets up every night to go to the bathroom anyway, so he lets Dotsie out at the same time. He goes, she goes, then she’s back on their bed for the rest of the night. How’s that for the perfect lifestyle match-up?”
Your Ideal Dog
Your ideal dog likes as much or as little activity as you do, has as much hair as you want to groom, is as friendly or as aloof as you prefer, enjoys some of your hobbies with you, loves your children, and is of a size you can train and handle. How will you recognize your ideal dog when you find him (or her)? Start by considering the following questions.
What Does My Dream Dog Do?
Close your eyes for several seconds and visualize your dream dog. What is your imaginary dog doing? Is he jogging beside you during your daily run? Or is he basking in the warm glow of the fireplace, the picture of canine contentment? Are the two of you play-wrestling on the rug? Is he jumping for a Frisbee? Retrieving a ball? Pointing a covey of quail on a crisp autumn morn? Is he snuggling on your lap as you watch TV? Guarding your home? Romping in the yard with the kids? Flushing a pheasant? Performing tricks during a party? Greeting you at the door with happy kisses? Watching you with loving eyes as you knit mittens for your grandson? Swimming after a stick? Retrieving a duck? Winning a ribbon in Obedience competition? Racing across a field? Hiking through the woods? Sharing the sofa as you read a book? Maybe your dream dog enjoys several different activities—some active and some quiet.
What Does My Dream Dog Look Like?
Now visualize what your imaginary dog looks like. Is he big, medium-sized, or little? Is his hair long or short, straight or curly? Is he black, white, brown, or spotted? Are his ears alertly erect, or long and bouncy? Do his looks matter, or is happy and healthy beautiful enough?
Besides giving you unconditional love, Mr. or Ms. Right Dog will enrich your life by sharing many of your favorite activities. So let’s continue searching for your kind of dog.
Searching for Superdog
You’ve listed your likes and dislikes, faced the realities of dog care, and researched the breeds that seem most suitable. You're ready to move on. Where to? Out of the library and into the world of dogs. It’s now time to go looking for love in all the right places.
A dog that is nothing but trouble for one person could be exactly what another person wants. After reading this story, imagine a dog like Gator living in a small apartment with no one at home most of the day. Then imagine how hard it must be for people who want a dog just like Gator to find one with the right combination of speed, intensity, intelligence, determination, and coordination.
Gator Finds His Niche
Lonnie Olsen came home from a trip to find an extra dog in her kennel. Her husband Ed confessed that the Australian Cattle Dog hail been rescued from the shelter by the local herding breed rescue group and he brought it home because he believed it would make a great flyball dog (flyball is a fast, competitive relay team sport for dogs). “Let’s see,” Lonnie said, and took a ball along when she went out to meet the dog. Lonnie held the ball high and the muscular dog ran toward her full speed and gave her a full body tackle. She held the ball out at arm’s length, about five feet off the ground, and the dog leaped up and snapped most of her hand and wrist in his jaws along with the ball. Lonnie looked at her husband. “We’re keeping this one,” she grinned. Lonnie named the dog “Gator and he responded to the name quickly. In fact, even before he had training he would spin in his tracks and come galloping back when he heard his name, even though he had been heading off at the dead run to chase the neighbor’s horses. With training, Gator became a well-mannered and playful housedog; gentle with puppies and tolerant of the family cat.
Lonnie, who served as president of the National Association of Dog Obedience instructors, understands that a dog as intense and active as Gator is certainly not for everyone. But he was perfect for her. “Gator has exactly the traits I was looking for in a good flyball dog,” Lonnie said. "He has a strong prey drive, limitless energy, is possessive of his ball or toy, and is dauntless in his effort to capture and control any plaything. These are exactly the kinds of traits which could cause a dog to lose his happy home. I could just see this guy zooming up on a baby with a blanket, Snoopy and Linus style, and zinging off with the blanket, baby still attached or not. Or I could visualize him chasing joggers, knocking down little kids, or killing livestock.”
Of course Gator did none of these things as Lonnie and Ed’s dog. Instead, he behaved at home, excelled at his game, and won his Flyball Championship. “Gator is loving, playful, and very expressive,” Lonnie says, “and when I think about how he was almost put to sleep because nobody wanted him, it makes me want to cry. We love his adorable personality so much that we bought another Australian Cattle Dog. Our Gator’s story has a good ending, or rather a good middle. I hope Gator will be with us for many years. I know he’ll be with us for the rest of his life.”
