Advice for adopting from a shelter?

[browneyes]

Spent a few hours at the shelter yesterday. Boy was that difficult. Didn't come home with a pup. Came home a little confused, ok, a lot confused.
Kind of fell in love with a Jindo. A Jindo is the last thing that we need. Too high energy, too much shedding, too big, etc. So sweet and playful and just seemed overall awesome. My better half loves German Shepherds, Huskies, Labs, etc. Essentially the big dogs and big shedders. I think he doesn't love the idea of a curly dog but understands that my mom has allergies.
I visited with all the little curly pups. It's so hard to try to judge personality at all in an overcrowded facility with so many dogs in one pen. I tried to sit outside the pen of all the dogs I was interested in. Some just had a hard time warming up at all. I can only imagine it's so stressful for these pups how could they be themselves. There was a darling little terrier who seemed like she'd just melt. She was really tiny though and that made her a little less favorable to DH.

Some of the poor curly pups were so matted and dirty it was heartbreaking. It seems that as dogs are eligible for adoption them have them groomed so a good handful were all pretty (we'll for being groomed too much for my taste).

There was a really cute medium sized black Poodle looking mix who had cute white markings. Could have even been part Portuguese Water Dog. I think she was afraid of men though. She came over to me alone but not the two of us.

As we were getting ready to leave they brought in a new dog who I guess was found loose at park where he was being kicked around by a bunch of kids at an easter party. I'm hoping that's not really exactly how it went down :( He appeared to be grass stained though so who knows. He was a good size and seemed to have a nice temperament. The staff said after the trauma of the park that it'd be hard to settle down. The dogs in his pen also seemed very aggressive and barked incessantly whenever I was at the pen. This guy seemed like he had just been recently groomed though so possibly/hopefully he's got a loving family that might be looking for him.

I'm sad that there were possibly others who didn't show that well in their pens. I tried to sit down next to every pen with a pup that seemed like it could work for us. We were probably there for three hours.

Sorry this is a book! I think we learned from playing with some golden retriever mix pups that we'd really enjoying bringing home a puppy. We seem to be split ont what breeds we're drawn to - we both like our childhood dogs. I have to admit though that I got a very old soul kind of feeling from the Jindo and Husky and felt very drawn to their intelligence. Shedding really rules them out but I do feel for DH who loves them so much. I'd love to have some time with some of the curly pups. I'm worried though about taking a dog out of pity. I'm also concerned about being able to see a dog's personality before committing and taking it home.

So, any advice either in general or specific to our situation? Did you adoppt? Anybody get a pup from the shelter rather than a rescue?

In other news I heard back from a breeder and might be able to get in on a list very early. Talk about confusing...

[browneyes]

I want to add that it was really, really hard for me. I cried when we got there, while I was there, when they put the Jindo who was just so happy to be out of his pen back, and when we left. And now I'm crying. I just feel terrible for dogs in this situation.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I love that my doodle does not shed.  But...man can he mat overnight!  Pick your poison!  I have never gone to a shelter.  I would not trust myself. We went to one breeder and brought Quincy home that day.  Good luck!  

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Tough decisions and I agree , hard to know with all the confusion in crowded pens.  I would ask if I could borrow and office or laundry room or something to spend some individual moments with the put I was interested in.  Don't let the grooming throw you off, you can count on the fact that they will clean up well with proper grooming.  The shedding...I can tell you that I never would have picked out a dog that I KNEW was a shedder, having said that, we rescued Meg in October and she turns out to be a CHAMPION shedder and I admit to being a lazy housekeeper.  This is what I learned from that, I love her so much I am stunned by the strength of it so I just vacuum and dust more than I ever have in my life and it really doesn't bother me to clean up here hair.  I gave up wearing dark colors unless I am running out the door as soon as I put them on and we have tape rollers all over the house.  Do not make an emotional decision but please don't let the shedding keep you from a dog you may love more than anything.  Good luck on you decision.

[browneyes]

With my mom's allergies I feel like I can't go with a shedder. She doesn't live with us now but she might be visitng for extended periods as she gets older and I don't want to rule out the possibility that she could live with us at some point.
That does make it tough though...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're right, a shelter is about the most stressful environment there is for a dog, so it's very hard to know what their true personalities might be. A lot of dogs just shut down. Others become extremely nervous and skittish. Many of the no-kill private shelters have "get acquainted" rooms or outdoor areas where you can visit with the dogs, which helps, but I don't know about the public shelters. 

I adopted JD from a shelter, but it was a clean, quiet, uncrowded private facility owned and operated by a private rescue group, more like a boarding facility than a shelter. Even so, in the three days between the first time I met him and the day I brought him home, his personality had definitely become more subdued and less responsive to people. But that was temporary. 

It's pretty common for a dog to be timid around strange men, especially a dog who has somehow ended up in a shelter. I would not let that alone deter me from the black possible PWD mix. Out of the shelter, when she has a chance to get to know and trust your better half, that will disappear. She may always be a little uncertain around strange men, but that's relatively easy to deal with. I've seen a lot of adopted doodles who needed some time to warm up to the men in their families, and it always happens with time and patience. 

[Willow and J]

If you are really worried about allergy... I'm also allergic to cats, but each cat is different: some, I can't stand 5 seconds, some, days without symptoms. It seems to depend on each dog / cat rather than a breed. I chose a doodle because of my allergy, but now I know shedding is not the only cause for allergy. My doodle doesn't shed but I am allergic to her, probably to her saliva, and there's no way I can get around it. No amount of bathing or cleaning will eradicate the source. But I chose to up the dose of my daily allergy regimen (pills + I also use prescription nasal spray that has steroid), along with sinus rinse and air purifier. And it's mostly manageable. I don't want to discourage you from getting a doodle/dog, because it's one of the best things that happened in my life, but I don't know if I'd get a dog if my child or my elderly mother has to take max. dose and more prescription medication to control their allergy.

[browneyes]

Thanks for your thoughts.  My mom has a poodle and has had one for almost the last 30 years so hopefully she'll be okay.  She's allergic to dander and not saliva.

[Ginny Nightingale]

perhaps you should get a standard poodle then--the poodle lovers around the county have rescue organizations--many doodles look just like poodles and if you cut the poodle in a doodle style, you will never know the difference! 

[browneyes]

I appreciate your advice.  Definitely don't want standard sized and DH definitely doesn't want a poodle.  I think we'll either be getting a mini F1B or some non shedding guy from the rescue.  Although that's the plan this week.  It could change... 

[Kristin and Sophie]

Have you tried to search for dogs who are already in foster homes?  At first we were going with the rescue route and we found some places where the dogs are in foster homes.  The foster 'mommy' will write a blog to tell about the dog's personality and habits.  This is where you can read whether the dog is good with children, other animals and even afraid of men.

I agree that it is probably hard to get a true and accurate view of the dogs in a shelter.  Those poor babies are probably just so scared and are crying for attention.  I agree - I would cry as soon as I got there.  I can't even watch commercials about abandoned dogs  - I cry because they are so helpless and depend on people to take care of them and not mistreat them.

If I were rich - I'd want to rescue all of them!

[browneyes]

We haven't had the best luck with rescues yet.  The one with all the dogs I seem to like doesn't write me back or respond to my application!  We also had a mean run in with a local one and two others I've applied to haven't updated their lists so we've applied for adopted dogs.  So, I think we're 0-7 so far.  I will keep trying though.

I agree, if I had the means I probably would have left with 6 dogs yesterday.

[Kristin and Sophie]

That happened to us - we applied for dogs - and then were told that we weren't in a 50 mile radius and they require a home check or there were a few that had just been adopted.  I'd fill out these lengthly applications to find out that the dog wasn't available.  Keep your chin up - when it's right - it will happen and you will end up with your furry friend meant for you.  :)