# Advice on checking out a dog...



## cafrhe (Nov 4, 2002)

Hi,

A Search and Rescue teammate of mine has looked at a potential working dog in a kill shelter, he is not doing well in the kennel and his time may be short. While I am not really wanting a dog right now, I may be willing to foster him. 

This would be the first time I have done this and would love some insight. My teammate says he seems to have a good temperment and nice drives. He is somewhere around 1 yr. I will be going to look at him on Mon (with her again). I have a male gsd and 2 7 yr old children. I can bring Griffin up the the shelter and possibly meet (if it is a good idea), but will not bring the kids.

With an initial evaluation--how do you determine whether to pull the dog or not (I know HUGE question!!). I can handle a drivey, untrained, butthead of a young dog, but I cant handle aggression or instability. 

Are there any special things you do to weed out possible aggression (again--dont care if he is mouthy, pushy etc) towards kids/small animals with out having kids there? Obviously I will have a much better feel once I see the dog, but it seems kind of daunting right now!!

Thanks for any help!!


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## ninhar (Mar 22, 2003)

Jennifer,
If the dog is in NJ, why don't you contact GSGSR and see if someone is available to help you with the eval.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Your question is tough to answer because I do not believe you can meet a shelter dog, and immediately evaluate the dog. We get evaluations from shelters that are not accurate, and in my experience far to negative. Most of these shelter dogs are happy to be fostered/adopted and do quite well. 

You made the following comment. "While I am not really wanting a dog right now, I may be willing to foster him." That would be great, if you know a rescue group that will help you with a permanent adoption. Fostering would also give you an opportunity to get to know the dog and see if it is a good fit.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Hey Jennifer! Haven't seen you around in forever! Great to see you again!









Hmm... the crapshoot that is a shelter evalution... Well, the one good thing is that usually, and I'm just going to say usually, because it's not always true, if I GSD can handle the shelter and is a nice and friendly dog, then they're even more that way out of it. Plenty of GSDs cannot handle the shelter and are basket cases there, but are fine outside ot it too, so that's where it gets tricky. I have had a small number of dogs who actually became more dominant and stopped getting along with other dogs after getting settled in my home, but it's not as common as dogs that actually turned out better and easier than they seemed at the shelter. 

If he tests fine with other people, isn't funny about food or toys, and gets along well with other animals at the shelter, I'd say the odds are in your favor that he'll be okay at your house. The big thing though is just to have a backup plan in the event there's a problem but it's easy to get into a situation (especially when small kids are in the mix) that a dog is not suitable for the current foster home but is still a good dog and you don't want him to go back to the shelter. 

Couple a questions - 1. why isn't the teammate taking the dog right off? 2. If the dog gets out of the shelter and is a great dog but turns out not to be suitable for SAR do you have a rescue group or plan to help place him? 

If you're not able to find a local rescue to help eval him and you want a copy of our evaluation test sheet, I'd be happy to email it to you.


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

Hey pupresq, can you send me a copy of that eval sheet also.


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## LUV_GSDs (Oct 22, 2006)

Nina is correct to ask a rescue group for assistance. If in NJ then GSGSR and there are plenty of other large breed groups that would help elsewhere

HI Nina...I hope all is well with you.

Karen


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## cafrhe (Nov 4, 2002)

Thanks for the input guys!

Pup--I'd love the eval sheet. 

I think an official rescue hasnt been contacted yet because it looks like he needs to go to a working home and my teammate has been trying to use her working dog contacts for him. My teammate thinks he will make a good working dog. He is quite a handful though. She cant take him because her old lady just had heart surgery and she doesnt want to stress her. At this point he sounds like a high drive, young butthead who is not able to handle be kenneled. He is in NJ.

Would a rescue be interested in a dog who probably couldnt be adopted to the general public? I do occasionally get emails from various SAR contacts looking for working homes when they hear about high octane dogs who need homes.

My main worry is what to do with him if he is not suitable for SAR (if he is suitable, I may keep him *I say as I smack myself over the head repeatedly saying "you dont need another dog yet, you dont need another dog yet......"*), what do I do with him??? While we have a lot of working dog contacts, who knows if people want a neutered, unpapered dog. I guess his options would be schutzhund or police work depending on his suitability.

How would a rescue handle a dog pulled by someone else? I guess everyone has different rules etc, I have no experience with this at all.

Thanks everyone!


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## cafrhe (Nov 4, 2002)

Forgot to leave my email address!! [email protected]

Thanks a lot


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## ninhar (Mar 22, 2003)

I can't speak for GSGSR in whether or not they would be able to pull this dog, but they have volunteers who have been doing evals on shelter dogs for a few years and would at least be able to give you input on what they see about the dog's temperament. Note though that they wouldn't be able to give you any input as to how the dog would be with children. 

The vast majority of rescue applicants are looking for a pet, but Gov agencies and Police Depts have also made inquiries looking for dogs capable of working.


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