Sunday, May 24, 2009

Getting The Facts: Age and Size


Poor Kody has two of the largest factors determining adoption success against him: age and size. This factor may often even overrule the breed stereotype. A young puppy in a shelter will most likely get adopted within the week while dogs of older ages may sit months or never get adopted at all. There are a few reasons why this would be. One has to do with visual appeal. Plain and simple, the cutest most attractive looking dogs will go very quickly hence why a puppy will never sit long in a shelter. People tend to believe that if an older dog is in a shelter it means something is wrong with it since it was given up. It would be like taking on someone else’s problems that could mean more work and sometime more money. But, once again this is not necessarily the truth. Most older dogs that end up in shelters are there due to changes in the previous owners lives such as: death of guardian, no time to care for the dog due to work schedule, new baby, allergies, or moving where dogs are not permitted. These are all real case scenarios just like with Kody. It is extremely uncommon that a dog that was loved for years by a family would be given up when it got sickly. A lot of older dogs not only are perfectly healthy, but unlike a puppy, they often have already been obedience trained, socialized and have good house manners. This could be a great advantage when looking to get a dog because a large portion of the work has already been done. There will be no worries of them having an accident in the living room!
Another advantage to getting an older dog is personality. A dog’s true character comes out at about a year an a half. A puppy is cute for the first six months, but the majority of time with your companion is spent in the dog’s adult life. For example it is important to me that my dog loves the attention that I love to give him. When I would return home from college after not seeing my pets for five months, I cherished the moment when my 140 pound dog would cry in excitement and knock me to the ground try to licking me. But for an older couple, they may much prefer my other dog who would stand back and simply wag his tail. These are serious factors to consider when getting a dog.

Large dogs are often more difficult to place. This could be because space in homes is limited, or the common assumption that large dogs are aggressive. The truth is a lot of people fear larger dogs, but it is important to remember that the two traits do not necessarily run hand in hand. Kody here is a very big boy, but a big sweetheart as well. People at the shelter tell me that they have all fallen in love with the big pup and are just waiting to place him in a loving home!!

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