Classified Ads in the Newspaper.

“Free to good home: five-year-old Labrador mix. Good with children. Phone: 555-555-2123.”

Classified ads similar to the one above appear daily in many newspapers and offer a variety of adult dogs for sale or for free. While some of these dogs are darlings, and others are destructive devil dogs from hell, all of them have owners who are responsible enough to find them a new family instead of dumping them at the shelter. This gives you the advantage of being able to talk to the dog’s owner in addition to testing the dog’s temperament. Phrases like “He needs room to run,” could simply mean the dog needs more exercise than the owner has time to give, but it could also mean the dog never adjusted to being a house pet and paces or whines continuously or is destructive or noisy. Rather than trying to read between the lines, ask honest questions. If you live in an apartment house and it’s important that your dog be reasonably quiet while you are at work, say so. Here are some examples of questions that could be worked into your conversation, and you can tailor others to your needs:

• How long have you had your dog?
• Why are you getting rid of your dog?
• Did you get the dog as a puppy? If not, when did you get it and who had it before you?
• What training has your dog had?
• Can it be trusted around children, men, women, and strangers?
• Is it housebroken?
• What are your dog’s favorite games? (If you get a blank stare in response, you’ll know the dog doesn’t get a lot of attention.)
• Does your dog have any habits that a new owner should be aware of? For example, is the dog an escape artist, or a furniture muncher, or does it make so much noise that the neighbors complain?
• What time does your dog eat and what brand of dog food do you feed? (A dog with no regular schedule, that is fed whatever brand happens to be on sale, might be impossible to housebreak. Dogs need to be fed on a regular schedule and are healthiest and easiest to housebreak when they receive the same high-quality dog food day after day without variation.)
• Are you going to get another dog when you find a home for this one?

Asking the Dog

Making a match with your dream dog doesn’t entail a long engagement, but it’s good to find out as much as you can about your intended companion. So learn about your potential partner by asking questions of the rescue volunteer, current owner, or shelter staff—but above all, ask the dog. Whether you want a registered purebred or a pet from the pound, putting it through the tests described below will help you discover its disposition.

Testing for Temperament

• Pet and talk to an adult dog to check for mental stability and a willingness to please, but don’t force it to stay close to you. Does it enjoy affection? Is it loving and attentive? Or is it excitable or independent? Does it overwhelm you with affection or does it show its delight delicately? Does it tense up at your touch or cringe in terror? Is the dog so passive that it doesn’t seem to notice if you pet it or not? If so, it may be traumatized by its stay at the pound or mourning the loss of its owner. Time and loving attention may give it back its spirit and personality. Do you have the time? If so, you could have the satisfaction of seeing this dog learn to live and love again. If not, select an adult dog that doesn’t need so much extra attention.
• Ask if you and the dog can have a few minutes alone together in a room with the door closed so the dog can be off lead. Now watch the dog. It may be confused at first, but does it orient itself quickly and start exploring its new surroundings? Or is it afraid to move when it finds itself in a new situation? How fast does it move during its exploration? Does it trot around or take its time? That gives you a clue about its activity level. When the dog is on its own, does it ever check to see where you are or what you are doing? After watching awhile, walk to the other end of the room. Does the dog follow? Call it and walk away again. Does it come?
• Take a ball or dog toy out of your pocket or purse and show it to the dog. Is the dog interested? Is it eager to frolic with you, or is it fearful? Is it so bold that it tries to snatch the toy? Roll the toy on the ground away from (not toward) the dog. Does the dog respond? Roll the toy three times to give the dog time to understand the game. Does it chase or examine the toy, perhaps even pick it up in its mouth and carry it toward you?
• Wait until the dog is looking away from you, then blow a whistle or drop a metal pan about ten feet behind it. Watch the dog’s reaction. After being startled, does it recover quickly?
• Put a long leash on the dog and take it outside. Does it still show interest in you? Will it play? Or is the dog so distracted by the outside world that it no longer notices you?
• If the dog knows how to walk on lead, take it for a walk. Does it trot along by your side or a little in front of you? Or does it hang back in fear, tail tightly tucked between its legs? Does it notice which direction you turn and go your way, or does it choose the direction and stretch your arm hauling you down the street? If the dog is pulling, don’t give up on it right away. Perhaps no one ever trained it to walk nicely.
  
  To find out if the dog will easily accept you as leader and learn to walk with you, put it on a six-foot-lead. Hold the loop of the lead tightly against your waist with both hands and start walking without talking to the dog. After a few steps, change directions quickly and silently by making a sudden right turn. If the dog is momentarily yanked off balance, so much the better. Keep moving, and eight or ten steps later, make another right turn. If the dog catches on and starts to watch where you go and keep up with you, praise it and keep going. Repeat the test continuously for two minutes by walking about eight or ten steps and then suddenly making a right turn. When you finally stop, ask yourself: Has the dog learned anything? Have I learned anything about the dog?
• While parents can select a puppy and bring it home as a present for their children, an adult dog should never be a surprise. Something in the dog’s past may cause it to be aggressive with men, dislike children, or fear women, so every member of the family should meet the dog before a decision is made. While these meetings take place, the dog should be on leash and under control. The children must also be under control and not approach the dog. Walk the dog near but not within touching range of the children and watch its reaction. If it seems nervous, angry, or frightened, don’t let the children pet it. When a dog reacts badly to any member of your family, look for a more suitable dog—one that reacts well to all of you.
• Most important of all, there should be some chemistry between you and the dog. Do you automatically smile when you see the dog? Is the dog happy to see you and content in your company? Is this the dog you want beside you as a constant companion? No dog is perfect. Some day even the nicest dog may leave dirty paw prints on your newly washed floor or get sick on your carpet. That’s why the chemistry is so important. It makes life’s little accidents more than worth the trouble.

Adopting a Retired Racing Greyhound

Until rather recently, young Greyhounds that weren't speedy enough on the track, and successful racers past their prime, were euthanized to make room for faster stock. Thankfully, that’s changed at most dog tracks in the United States. In the last ten years, agencies have sprung up all over the country dedicated to matching retired Greyhounds of all ages with loving owners.

Retired racers make wonderful companions, but because they were raised in kennels and trained for the track, they have to make a few unique adjustments. No one can explain the process of adoption and adjustment better than someone who is enjoying a retired racer’s company right now.

Pedigree or Purebred?

Every dog can have a pedigree, but not every dog is a purebred. A pedigree is simply a list of ancestors, just like a family tree. For example, one of your grandparents may be Irish, another Cuban, another French, and the fourth, Australian, but you still have a family tree. Along the same line, a dog’s four grandparents may be a Collie, a Boxer, a Springer Spaniel, and a Golden Retriever, and that is the dog’s family tree. The dog has a pedigree even though he isn’t a purebred. Generally, when you see an ad for a “pedigreed dog,” the seller really means a purebred dog and is guilty only of improper usage of the word “pedigreed.” But just in case, ask to see an AKC or UKC registration certificate if owning a purebred dog with “papers” is important to you.

Purebred dogs are descended from dogs that were all of the same breed. That means a purebred Doberman Pinscher’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all Doberman Pinschers, as were all the other ancestors as far back as records were kept.

A purebred dog’s pedigree can tell you more than just the names of the dog’s ancestors. If any of those ancestors won a title, its abbreviation will appear as part of the ancestor’s name on the pedigree. For example, if a dog earned a championship, the letters Ch. will appear before its name. If it won an Obedience title, such as Companion Dog, the abbreviation (CD) will follow the dog’s name on the pedigree. Performance titles such as Agility, Herding, Lure Coursing, or Hunting will also appear on the pedigree. But no matter how outstanding it appears, a pedigree is only as impressive as the dog it represents. A quality dog with a quality pedigree is a treasure, but an inferior dog with a magnificent pedigree is still an inferior dog.