What makes a dog unadoptable?

[ewarp]

I'm just curious to see what everyone's thoughts are.

For what behaviors would you deem a dog unadoptable? Are there any exceptions to that? What would you do with a dog that exhibits those behaviors?

[calgal]

A dog that is terminally ill and one who is truly agressive!

[TribalRats]

Aggressiveness would be a deal breaker for me especially with the kids.
Terminally ill would not dissuade me, I would like th opportunity to be able to love that dog in it's last days...once again though it would have to wait until the kids are grown. Otherwise the loss would be so terrific for them and I do not want to desensitize them.

[ewarp]

What determines a dog that is truly aggressive? Is it a dog that acts aggressively towards other dogs? What about if it's just toward men? Or women? Children? Is it ethical to place a child-aggressive dog anywhere, even in a home with no children?

[IceyBlueSibes]

What determines a dog that is truly aggressive?

A dog that lashes out at anyone for either no apparent reason, EXTREMELY fearful to the point of aggression, a dog that may seem fine just "hangin out" but if the dog has to be pat, touched, or moved in any way and acts aggressively when done so.

Is it a dog that acts aggressively towards other dogs?

I would not fault a dog for being dog aggressive. Dogs in a way are like humans in the fact that they just do not like every dog they see, and some just cannot tolerate other dogs at all. I just would place the dog as an ONLY dog/pet, depending on how friendly the dog was to cats or other animals.

What about if it's just toward men? Or women?

I think this would depend on just HOW aggressive the dog was towards either men or women. My boxer/GSD was a little more withdrawn from men, and was much quicker to act protectively if men were around. If the dog is able to be rehabilitated to live with either sex they are okay with, and to live peacefully with having the other sex in society (I wouldn't necessarily say IN the home) then I would think it would be okay. Then again, this would take a lot of evaluation to determine whether or not the dog could be rehabilitated, and just how much of a threat the dog would be to the potential adopter and their environment.

Children? Is it ethical to place a child-aggressive dog anywhere, even in a home with no children?

If the dog is fearful of children, then I would consider a home with no children, and to make a homecheck within the area to see how many, if any, kids are present. If the dog is AGGRESSIVE, then NO, I believe that a dog with big aggression problem towards children is a huge no. They're just about everywhere you go, unless you live out in the "boonies" where no children are ever present. THEN, I think that would be an okay situation.


But that's JM2cents

[Carrie]

I think there are a lot of variables there. It depends on who is adopting the dog. In general...for most people, I would think aggression of any kind would be a deterrent. I think an older dog who has never been potty trained would be a turn off. Probably a super, out of control, untrained, hyper dog might tend to steer people away.

Yes, I think it's unethical to place a dog who has bitten people, any people. It poses a real danger. My opinion is that dogs who are severely aggressive should be pts and make room for other dogs. I'm not talking about a little possession guarding issue. I think that can be worked with pretty easily most of the time. But other forms of aggression are a real liability and danger to society.

[calgal]

Not many folks out there that would adopt a terminally ill dog, so I salute you! I even had a very difficult time getting the seniors adopted and one even died while if foster care because no one wanted him. I wish it were that easy to adopt out, but it isn't. I wish there were some hospice homes thru the rescues I volunteer, for these guys with all their medical problems. I'd gladly donate money each month to help support those, but I'm not going to be fostering anymore after Aariel.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

What makes a dog unadoptable? Well, I guess that depends on exactly what you mean by unadoptable....are you talking about "the dog" that sits at a shelter or rescue for months on end and isn't adopted for one reason or another and there seems to be no hope or when does a rescue or shelter classify a dog as unadoptable? The hardest to adopt out for us - terminally ill, senior dogs and those who have never been potty trained.

We handle each dog that comes through our door on a case by case basis, for the most part I agree with Carrie on aggression however, in rescue, nine times out of ten we don't have enough history on the dog to know why the dog may have bitten and it's up to us to find out.

An example would be one of our rescues ( long since adopted and passed away at a ripe old age in a loving home ) Chubby, she was released to us from a shelter after a bite incident, her owners had dumped her there after she had bitten their five year old son. The child required stiches from the bite. The family said the bite was unprovoked. When the shelter called me they gave me the info and asked if I even wanted to come look at her......typically I refuse to take in "aggressive" dogs but will still evaluate each one before making my decision.

When I got to the shelter and went through the dog's history I found that Chubby had not only bitten once but twice, the child and a few minutes after that the adult owner. The shelter keeps dogs for three days before putting them down, they will not place dogs who have bitten up for adoption....period. Chubby was on her third day on death row and I asked the employees how she had been with them. Not one shelter employee had seen anything from this girl other than a lovable lump of bully. I went in to see her and there stood a very overweight but happy little ball of wiggles. We spent three hours together and at no time did I see anything that would indicate aggression. She did well with everything I put her through so, naturally I was curious..............

I made contact with neighbors where she used to live and found out that the "owner" had a habit of beating the dog often, she had been left chained outside for days on end without much human contact and that the day she had been brought the shelter was the very same day she had bitten both the owner and the child. Turns out that Chubby was sleeping and the child was running past and stomped on her nose, she woke up and bit the child's leg and after the owner found out what happened he started beating the dog and she in turn bit him.

A long story I know but my point is, without all the facts Chubby would have been put down at the shelter and while they themselves still would have classified her as "unadoptable" no matter what because of the two bites, I didn't and took her in. Chubs spent six years in her new adoptive home before passing away in her sleep and never once during those six years bit again. Yes, I made sure she was placed in a home with no children and yes I made sure she was placed with someone who would make darned sure she never came in contact with a child but she most certainly wasn't unadoptable. Each dog is different and each in my opinion deserves a second chance at life if possible but yes, there are those that I would classify as unadoptable and out down but not until I'm sure that's the only option. jmo

On a side note - Even when a dog must be put down I strongly believe that they shouldn't have to go through it alone. They didn't come into this world alone, it was a human that in one way or another made it possible for them to be here on this earth and they shouldn't have to leave it alone. Every dog I've had to put down, no matter for what reason....I'm there with them and I tell them how very loved they are and how very sorry I am that this has to be. At least in the end there is someone who cares enough to be there and let them know that someone did care.

[Carrie]

Wow Sonja. That's a terribly sad story... the beginning...but it turned out happily for that dogs. Well, you're right. There are extinuating circumstances that should probably be checked out. So sad how people treat animals.

[Sheltiemama]

A dog that is human aggressive is a danger to his owner as well as anyone else who gets too close.

I would not include a dog that is dog aggressive however. They can be adopted into a single dog home with the owner aware of his aggressiveness to other dogs.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Wow, that's really unfortunate that the poor dog had to go through most of her life being beaten. So sad. Glad she was placed in a loving, forever home.

Bless you Sonja for being there with the dogs that are PTS. I, too, will never have any of my own animals PTS without being there with them. But for you to do it with even "foster" dog... that's amazing. You're a wonderful lady.

[Beryl]

A dog may be adoptable to one person and not another. I didn't adopt a cute little Pom mix a month or so ago because the dog needed more personal time than I could provide. It would have been the wrong move for me, the dog, and Latte. If he was to be my only dog, I would have adopted him with quickness.

Originally Posted by IceyBlueSibes

I, too, will never have any of my own animals PTS without being there with them.

My GSD, Lance, was PTS last November and it was very tough watching Lance take his last breath and hard for a long, long time afterwards. I don't know if the dying image was good for me. (I'm unsucessfully fighting tears right now thinking about it and Latte is watching me curiously.)

The vet asked me if I wanted to say goodbye and have him taken to the back. The vet was very loving while administering the procedure so perhaps I should have done that. I don't know if I'd feel better or worse.

[IceyBlueSibes]

It's very hard. Not everyone can do it. But I don't want my animals last image being surrounded by strange people and no one to say good bye to them. Both of my cats we PTS while holding them. Sarge and Sheiba (GSD/ChowChow) we laid our heads down on their head while they passed. One thing I don't like, is having my dogs ashes. To me, it's like keeping them locked up in a box. And secondly, I have no idea whether or not those are actually my dogs ashes. So my new thing is to keep a shaving of their fur, a long with their name tag and make a keep sake box with their picture on it. I have made one for Bubby and plan to do the same with the rest of my animals I have PTS.

[ewarp]

Everyone, thanks so much for your input! I've really been giving this a lot of thought lately as my roles in my job and in my personal life shift, and it was wonderful getting input from other people.

I've held so many dogs in their last moments on earth, and it really makes you think about each dog, their behavior, and their role in this world. Why must this one go?

I really do appreciate everyone's thoughts.