Adopting an older dog

Are you considering adopting an older dog instead of a puppy? Adopting an older dog can be an extremely rewarding experience.

By adopting an older dog, you bring into your home a more mature thinker, and in many cases a very intelligent dog (intelligent dogs can be hard to handle- which is why so many end up in rescue) so while they may have emotional issues to overcome, they more than make up for that in the fact that they learn FAST.

Adopting an older dog is like a pass to skip the chewing phase and fast-forward through housebreaking. Many older dogs up for adoption are housebroken, but if they aren’t, housebreaking can be accomplished over the course of a few days instead of weeks or months.

Older rescue dogs up for adoption are just like any other dog, and if you treat them just like you would a puppy you can prevent many problems.

Unless you get a dog from a purebred rescue group that found themselves in rescue through owner-surrender- adopting a rescue is a lot like getting a puppy- you usually have to start training from square one. As long as you set boundaries and get into an obedience class and practice that training in little ways all the time, most older rescue dogs can be very well behaved dogs in 6 months to a years time.