# What helped you choose your rescue dog? I need help getting a rescue adopted out.



## funky_shep

Hey all, I am training problem dogs for a rescue org and I am looking for ideas about what I could teach my current pup that would help him get adopted. So I am wondering if in your selecting a dog he/she knew some trick that made you know they were the one, or some aspect of their personality/manners in their previous foster home or description, something they were trained to do..... 

Any and all ideas appreciated!

something like 'he gets my slippers' 'cant sit on the couch without a lap as well' 'looks me in the eye' 'knows algebra'.... whatever might have made you choose yours over another is what Im looking for here. 

Boomer (the dog- 10yr old pit bull) needs your help, hes been in a foster home for 5 mos and is horrible at first impressions (looks like hes gonna take your head off, but is actually a sweet heart after he knows you- not helpful at all) also any idea to help convince an adopter that he might take a couple introductions to warm up to them, but it would be well worth it.

Thanks for the help! and from Boomer too, but my thanks dont come with excessive slobber.


editing post to include a link to Boomer's bio here: http://www.animalrescueoftherockies.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=6122161

so everyone knows what/who im talking about. i think im going to try to get some videos up, that is a great idea and i know it is possible to do that on our site.
good ideas all- thanks a bunch and keep them coming


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## Arya of House Stark

I met Zoe while volunteering for a local adoption event. Both of the dogs I'd handled (one after the other, not at the same time) found good homes, but no one was even looking at her. The other volunteer was older, so she handed Zoe off to me because she's a Shepherd mix and I adore GSDs. 

Zoe was very loving and snuggly-kept licking my face, nuzzling my boyfriend, nomming on her chew toy, etc. Really alert and inquisitive too. So I texted a picture of her to my Mom, who wound up stopping by a little bit later, fell for the puppy eyes, and the rest is history.

If I was looking to adopt an older dog, I'd be really impressed if he knew basic commands and was a snuggle bug. Esme would cuddle 24/7 if I let her and once Zoe's gotten all of her puppy energy out, she'll curl up next to me too. I love cuddling with my dogs on cold nights, so that would make a favorable impression on me if I was a potential adopter for Boomer.


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## gingerkid

Well, we choose Snowball because we'd originally started out looking for an American Eskimo Dog and then scrapped looking for a specific breed to rescue in favour of a dog that met other requirements... (adult, medium size, medium energy, no really severe issues). He also just wanted pets as soon as we walked in and his tail was wagging so hard...!

A single trick, while impressive, does not necessarily a "good" dog make. Personally, I would work on whatever specific issue seems to be preventing him from being adopted. If he barks like a maniac at people entering, that is something that could be fixed through training or managed while new people come to the door. For instance, if you train a really strong "place" command, it would redirect him from baking directly at whomever has just entered. Or you can manage it by having someone take him outside (or to another part of the house, on leash) while the potential adopter enters. If you describe with more detail what he does or what the issue is, there are lots of very experienced people on here that can give you tips.

Otherwise... a solid handle on basic commands like sit, down, stay, come, shake a paw, etc. can in no-way hurt, since that seems to be the total of what the majority of dog owners require (present company excluded, of course).


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## Kayota

I honestly chose Faxon because I had pity for her--she was a terrified, shut-down dog of a "bad" color rotting away in a high kill shelter. But I'm a Dog Person (tm) and know that that isn't how a dog really is and I knew she had potential even though she was so scared they had to carry her out of the kennel. Her picture online was the worst picture I've ever seen from that shelter too. I think that she was very lucky that I found her. Most people are going to go for the happy-go-lucky, well-adjusted ones. Play up your pup's good points and make a list of commands they know.


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## taquitos

I foster dogs, so I make sure they know the following to be more "adoptable":
1) Basic commands (sit, down, stay, out, come, go to bed, etc.) -- usually I do a demo of all the commands when potential adopters come to visit
2) One or two cute tricks (but this really isn't on the top of the list)
3) I try to get them to be comfortable around strangers
4) No barking at the door
5) Good leash manners
6) I make sure to take TONS of nice pictures of the dog doing cute things at home (cuddling with the cats, playing with the resident dog, etc.)


I picked Meeko because I saw potential in him to become a good dog. When I first met him he did not care for me. He was a little black furry ball of energy and had the attention span of a goldfish. Despite this, he came to come sit next to me and got some pets, and seemed very food motivated. I also saw how happy-go-lucky his personality was. He honestly was not very adoptable when I met him though. He lucked out with me  haha


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## LaneyKate

I chose Buddy out of an adoption day at a pet store. I watched a toddler bite him on the head (no joke) and he sat and wagged his tail. That was all it took. No matter what other issues he had-- brain damage, joint issues, partially blind, dog reactivity, no idea how to deal with other dogs-- it didn't matter. That was (and is) his heart. Seeing his heart was all it took. Of course, I had fostered and always had a dog in the past, but I don't think that would have mattered. 

If you can get people to see Boomer's heart that should help. Is there anything that he already does that is representative of who he is? If you can exploit that and let people see it, that may help. Maybe get a video of him cuddling with someone?

Also, anyone who may be interested in him is probably already going to be a dog person. A 10-year-old Pit Bull is already not exactly at the top of most people's lists. If you can play off of those things it may help. It sounds manipulative and I don't mean for it to (you should be honest with people) but sometimes playing up the pity aspects are enough to get attention. Then you can separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak. When I adopted Buddy the rescue group said "we just bring him along so he doesn't get lonely at home; we don't expect anyone to adopt him". Not in a mean way, just truthful with a hint of pity. He's the best dog ever (for me at least) but he wasn't exactly adoptable!

Best of luck with Boomer!


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## Shell

VIDEOS! Get videos that show him being loving and cute and reasonably obedient. Be creative, I've gotten a lot of attention out of videos showing a dog playing in a baby pool and another watching a music video. If a potential adopter has already started to fall in love with his personality on screen, they may be more patient with his need to warm up. 

If he's comfortable around other dogs, a photo of him around another dog is good. 

Same with really good photos and description on petfinder and facebook pages. Here are a few of my previous fosters' pages that got a good response
Frankie
Luna
Alma

As far as commands or training, I agree with Taquitos on the basics. 

If he is good on a leash and mild mannered inside the house (minimal exercise needs), then maybe play up a "seniors for seniors" type angle where someone may be looking more for just a household companion rather than a dog to go to the park and hike etc.

What drew me to adopt my own dog was just a sweet photo of his face got me to the shelter but what really did it was that when I walked down the aisle of big dog kennel runs, he was the only dog that didn't start barking his head off and leaping on the front of the kennel. He walked up, looked at me, and walked off to get a drink of water all very confident and relaxed.


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## dagwall

With my fosters I mostly focus on teaching them good house manners, walking well on leash, and the basics (sit, down, stay). If/when they are good with all that I might move on to more advanced training. Other than the training mentioned above I take lots of cute pictures that helps show off their personality and post updates on their profiles on the rescue's website and on their facebook page. 

If they have any "bad" habits or fear behaviors I'll usually start with those as they can be big hurdles towards adoption. 

As for my own dog. First of all he's a gorgeous brindle boy. Second he was the only dog to remain calm and chill in his kennel when we walked by looking at all the dogs. He was just curled up in the front corner of his run, relaxing and just calmly looked up at us. Third, out of all the dogs we walked he's the only one who really seemed to connect and interact with us rather than just charge along on their walk without a care at all who was on the other end of the leash.


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## d_ray

What attracted us to Jewel was how calm and quiet she was. We met her at a huge dog event and all these other dogs were barking, pulling on the leash, jumping, etc. She was just calmly sitting. Some of the things on her petfinder ad that appealed to us was that she tested positive with cats and was really good on a leash. She also was fully house trained and knew the basic commands. I think most people only care about the basics.


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## Dog Person

We adopted Zoey as a pup and my wife thought she just looked adorable and what really won us over was her personality - she is just a happy to see people dog - she came out wagging her tail and licking us!

But I have seen photos of dogs licking children/babies and videos of dogs playing with other dogs or fetch. I agree that if the dog has issues then work on that but highlight the positives in a video. I think most people want to see a friendly dog interacting with people and other pets, tail wagging and basically looking like they enjoy being there.


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## Greater Swiss

I agree with everyone else's suggestions. For basic commands, I'd work on "Come", might not be a super bonus for adoption, but IMO, it'll be good for his future! A couple of really solid basic commands are excellent. 

I'd say work on handling, as in, him being handled. Nail trimming, checking ears, bathing etc. If you can say he takes grooming and vet visit type of stuff well it could be a bonus for many potential owners. Leash manners are nice, but other than stopping excessive pulling, I wouldn't worry about a perfect heel. 

Work on greetings, from the sounds of things, if you need to pick one thing, work on that! Enlist others, practice having him give his first impression. A cute trick is a nice addition, maybe teach him to "wave" when you say "say hi boomer", might give him something to do other than look like he is going to take someone's head off lol. A lot of people have a thing for "shaking hands", another option for him. 

Know him, know him well and share that information with potential owners. Make a list of his commands so there is less confusion (in my case, with Dexter "Down" meaning lay down vs. "Off" meaning off the couch, or off of the human you want to jump on), list his quirks and awesome points, you could even put that stuff right into a video you can put together for him (there is some pretty easy video editing software out there for free). I've noticed that a lot of potential owners are very happy to know more about the dog and how to handle him, even the down sides so they can decide "I can deal with that", it may not help him get adopted, but it might help him STAY adopted.


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## Kudzu

I found Scrappy on petfinder when searching for a schnauzer mix and fell in love with his face. When we went to meet him at the adoption event, he was in a pen with six other small dogs that were all going ballistic at the sight of us approaching with our big lab. Scrappy just looked at us with friendly curiosity and wagging tail, like he'd been expecting us. He fit our little family like a glove from day one. I'm so grateful to have him.

For your guy, I'd focus my attention on improving that first impression.


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## SDRRanger

I picked Ranger because he tested awesome with cats and we had three here at the time. The shelter I got him from posts a lot of pictures, updates, and videos which shows the dog's personality. He'd also been there for six months and was black....so we figured he might not get picked up for a while so adopted him. 

Pictures I think are the most important. Ranger's original petfinder main picture was dark and far away....I passed over him a few times before they updated it.


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## Canyx

For me the biggest thing might be "crate trained." And I mean a dog that is happy and comfortable to be in a crate. Everything else (barking, housebreaking, boundaries, etc) I can work on if the dog is crate trained. Not that I couldn't work on it if the dog wasn't... But if the dog already has a concept of a safe place to be, that would make everything a thousand times easier, and also easier for me to get down time in the midst of it all.


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## Rescue_lover

For us, we went into our local shelter and were looking at all the pups(heartbreaking by the way) I wanted to take them all home. We were interested in a puppy bc we have cats and I wanted to make sure they would get along. Our cats get very spooked at big dogs. We walked through the pups that were fenced in. They were all black pups except for this white pup in the back corner by himself. My boyfriend spotted him out before I did bc I was so occupied looking at all the ones closer to us. All of a sudden this white pup comes up and runs over all the other pups and put his paws on the gate...that was it! I always so he picked us we didn't pick him. It's so funny too because now looking back that's not his personality at all. He's very laid back.

But I think people should focus more on the personality of the dog more so then their looks. I think people tend to be attractive to the cute excited dogs with out realizing, wow maybe try are too energetic for me? 

I think as long as you socialize him & train him to do the basics (house break, sit on command) he should be very adoptable. When getting a dog it's like having a kid IMO. You're always going to have to keep training and repeating yourself. Also, a lot of ppl have other pets and if they get along with other animals that's great! Good luck!


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## Samantha1703

I went around plenty of shelters looking for a rescue dog and none seemed to be the one for me  however I found out about a lady who had a 13 week old puppy and she was not walking him, she said he was afraid of the lead (that was a lie we had him on a lead the first day) and she was saying she didn't really want to clean up after him so he was going to a shelter. When I met ted I honestly couldn't understand why no one would want to love him! He was the happiest dog in the world! As soon as people walked in he wanted to cuddle and play he took to me immediately so I took him home. He's friendly with everyone but he has an extra special bond with me. Some people just know their perfect dog


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## skibloo

Jewel is just a beauty, she looks just like my catahoula, temperament you nailed it, sweetest easygoing dog.One question though how does she handle the cold? Serenity can't stand it! And I'm from fl., so you know the coldest she sees is app. 30 f during jan-feb.What a hoot, I love it a catahoula in canada! Too Cool.


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## skibloo

Just one more quick note, there are people out there thar adopt older dogs only.Ihave seen them on our local news show and also on talk shows, I will see if I can get info for you.Best of luck to you and boomer.


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## funky_shep

Hey all, thanks for all the ideas, theyve been very helpful. Im going to get some videos up of him, and Ive already taught him how to put his head down (he adds the puppy eyes to the trick all by himself) next Im going to teach him how to stand on his back legs. He walks like a gentleman now and we just started an obedience class so he can get some more exposure to strange people and hyper dogs. He was the star of the class when we did the eye contact exercise, he just looks at me even if he has his back to me. He does the Pit Bull thing where he looks backward by almost flipping his head upside down- hes a comedian. When we get close to his 'graduating' Im going to get a better description on his bio page plus some videos. He is just the best pup when he is with someone who knows how to handle him, but still not a fan (at all) of anyone he doesn't know. Sooner or later he'll find the right person, and it has been almost a year since his family was foreclosed on and had to give him up so I think he is about due for things to start going his way. When it warms up a bit I will be able to work with him more often (After our first few meetings I didnt think there was much that would deter Boomer from doing what he wanted, but this big tough Pit Bull wont even go outside to pee when there is a stiff wind coming down from the mountains. He cant even sit because he shivers so bad!) 

So thank you everyone, all your stories at the very least put a smile on my face, and hopefully will help the Boom-dogger find his retirement home before too long. Keep 'em coming!!


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## Cheryl A Sophie

I have volunteered with a rescue group a few years. I had a senior kitty so at the time I wasn't ready to adopt, but knew I would be adopting a dog when I was ready. 

My wants were basic I think, I wanted an adult as they are easier to house train. As well as most tend to go for puppies at events. I wanted one that didn't need professional grooming, as I prefer to bathe them myself. 

It was to be my first dog, I live with my mom, although yes I am adult, and as she used to be afraid of dogs, (but tis no longer) that was a factor. 
We live in a condominium, no yard, and fair number of families with toddlers on up, as well as some older people, so while I work with the phobic dogs at events, I wanted a dog that liked all people. Sophie was strongly recommended by several people, I hadn't even met her really until the day I brought her home as a FTA as she's a happy confident dog. 
oh and also wanted a small dog on the larger side as complex has under 25 lbs rule but didn't want to be concerned a dog would hurt itself jumping off a bed. 

I was afraid she would be adopted out from under me the day I was taking her home as she loves kids, ond one 2-3 year old little girl was gently lifting her up, to standing, giving her a kiss letting her down, then Sophie stood up on her own, gave her a kiss, then the little girl lifted her to kiss her and back and forth. 

As we were going to foster to adopt to be sure of fit, if they wanted to directly adopt her they got first dibs. Happily she came home with me, Mom fell in love and we got her perm ID tag made the next day. Her worst issues were pulling on leash, and trying to run up to greet everyone she saw, even if they were across a busy street. 

She had a few housebreaking accidents while we learned to communicate with one another but not many. 
The groups helped me with personal issues, and now Sophie is helping me every day.


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## Calah

Honestly....just happened for most of them:

Dog 1 - Inherited. Black lab from great grandmother.

Dog 2 - Back of a truck at Lowe's. We weren't aiming to get a dog but they were there. Guy had a litter of pure-bred labs, papers and everything, and was just trying to get the last of them gone. Really great dog.

Dog 3 - We went looking for this one. We chose him because we wanted another dog, but there were only two and we didn't want to separate them. He was one of three so we felt okay taking him. Those two were the only ones we just felt like we neeeeeded to have. Ended up being a good decision in the end.

Dog 4 - Thought it was really cute...it was at a vet's office I worked at. Another dog bit it on my watch (through the kennel door) and I felt bad so I took it home for New Years to make up for it...never took it back. 

Dog 5 - I walked in and said "I don't know who that dog is but I need it." 

They've all basically been accidental and based on just...connection. They've all been big dogs except the New Years one. Out of the big dogs - all but one were labs. The other was a generic mutt that ended up looking like a Golden. So...we like Retrievers? lol


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## mzink

For me it was how intensely focused on me the little chi mix was lol. Two chi mixes were brought into the room to meet me. One was real calm and polite and seemed like it had a really nice gentle temperament, but it didn't really show much interest in anything in particular. Didn't pay much attention to the fact that there were people around her other than to slightly acknowledge them if they focused on her. The other one was NAUGHTY lol but she was super into anything I was doing, watching my every move, constant eye contact, super responsive. She didn't have much else goin for her, she was hyper and had no manners and was not potty trained and was nippy and mouthy and very yappy. But she thrived off people interaction and I clicked really well with her. She ended up being a super fast learner and really fun to train because she was always so intensely focused on whatever I was showing her.


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