The Delights Of Adopting An Adult Dog.

[Gayle.]

I wanted to get a fourth dog to even up the pack, as I found 3 dogs difficult to manage...two show dogs, one had to stay home alone. Two to obedience training, one stayed home. Biked two (husband and I) and one had to stay home alone. I can walk two but not three......so getting another dog seemed to be the solution, now they always have company.

But not a puppy, having been there recently with the cutest puppy ever, I was not keen to go back there in a hurry due to a reduction in the number of brand new shows I now own, among other things.

So I did some searching, sent off an email and last week, collected a gorgeous 5 year old rescue Australian Shepherd from the airport. I have been spending the weekend getting to know her and integrating her into the family.

And aside from the obvious.......she's already house trained, I have discovered there are other benefits and surprises of bringing an adult dog home.

The people she came from were also her breeders (they run Australian Shepherd Rescue in WA) but they didn't have her back at their place for more than a few days before she came here so they didn't really get to know her very well and couldn't tell me much. So we're learning as we go.

She is fully grown, but she's tiny. No surprises wondering if she's going to get any bigger (unlike Isaak who seems destined to never stop growing!)

She has a very cute baby face and that's not going to change because she's fully developed.

We've discovered she has a ball fetish.....she loves fetching a ball and can run like a rocket, and inside she loves to carry a ball around in her mouth.

I don't have to teach her to walk on a lead, she walks beautifully and also seems to understand "No pulling!"

She herds chickens! One thing I had heard was the she was good with chooks, but didn't really know how to take that....good with them as she wouldn't chase them?, good with them as she wouldn't bark at them?.....but she came with me yesterday into our paddock and I let her go to see what she'd do with the three chooks who'd escaped their run, and she simply herded them towards the gate and they went in. That's a very handy skill!

I don't have to teach her to lie still while I groom her. I got the brush out to give Isaak a going over then called her to me, and she just lay down in front of me and stretched out on her side for me to brush her. When I'd finished she sat up and offered me her paw, no doubt to do her nails, but I took the opportunity to trim the hair around her paw pads.

I am just LOVING having a new dog, but this is the first time I've ever had an adult dog as my new dog. And it's awesome!

So, those of you who got your dogs pre-grown, what surprising things did you discover about them?

[juice]

I recently got a new adult dog too, and i much prefer it.

I didn't want a pup jumping all over my now mature dally, i didn't want my place trashed etc, after having years of foster pups i was over it

I did the same, i found a mature dog from a breeder, and she is a gem.

However, having been a kennel dog, she was rubbish at walking on the lead, she just stood in front of me and stopped, it took a while for her to realise going for a walk was fun, now there is no stopping her.

I don't think i will ever get a pup again, with a mature dog you can match them to your lifestyle, you know exactly what you are getting, i love it!

[Naomi]

Sounds like she is a real delight to have around. I don't think I would ever rule out adopting an adult dog if I chose to get another one in the future. But not owning any dog before, I wanted to experience the puppy stage. I realise it's not for everyone though. Do you find that Shae is bonding with you the same way a puppy would?

And a big thumbs up to the chook herding skills! That would come in really handy around here too.

[Burkes]

I've never had a puppy, all of mine have been mature. The youngest was my Rotty boy who was 18mths and the oldest my German Shepherd girl who was 6. The other two were both 4.

I love the older dogs. They already have their own little habits and I love that they are settled and a bit calmer. I think I am too impatient for a puppy and as a shift worker I love my sleep too much to have it interrupted.

Its probably just me, but I always think they are just that bit more grateful that they have a new loving home.

[Gayle.]

I think she's bonding to me faster than a puppy would (although Dusty as a puppy stuck to me like glue). Puppies tend to love everyone and follow everyone. Shae seems to prefer being near me, or if I'm not here she's happy with my husband.

She doesn't jump! That is awesome after having 25 kgs or so of Isaak hurling himself at me to show how much he loves me.

[Kirty]

That is so lovely Gayle. I feel that adult animals understand when someone gives them another chance. I have not adopted an adult dog but have fostered quite a few and they are always so lovely and so grateful. My gorgeous Dobe boy follows me around everywhere and is definitelu *my* dog.

[persephone]

She sounds just wonderful

[Gumnut]

We recently got an 18mo dog, at first I was very hesitant but now I wouldn't swap him for the world, he has settled in so well, it's like he has always been here. He is great to walk too unlike our younger girl

[dee lee]

LOVE the adult adoptees!!

Honey was nearly 3 when we got her and its been nothing but wonderful!! So easy. So calm and yes they do seem to bond so quickly.

I'm not sure I could do puppyhood again.

[Monah]

I've had a few adult dogs. all wonderful and yes, bonded quickly. Lovely

One of mine was 7 when we got her and lived another 8 years.. I adored her to bits.

I think more older dogs need to be given a chance, they have so much to offer.

She sounds truly beautiful Gayle, what a lucky girl ending up with you!! :p xxx

[harley]

We adopted a 5 year old Grey. She doesn't bark at other dogs when out walking which is nice and walks really well on lead.

She has a very sweet nature and we love her to bits, as does our other dog.

[tlc]

That's so great Gayle, what do the rest of gang think of her? Any photos yet? Nothing to add from me, I've always had puppies.

[Miss B]

So, those of you who got your dogs pre-grown, what surprising things did you discover about them?

We have a Sibe that we adopted as an 18-month-old. I had previously been of the opinion that you couldn't bond as well with an adult dog as you could with a puppy, but she soon proved me wrong! Despite not knowing much about her before taking her on (she came from the pound), we were delighted to discover that she bonded with us very quickly, was house-trained, settled straight into using a crate, has lovely manners and is not destructive at all. And we missed all the hard work of raising a puppy! Kinda felt like we'd won the doggy lotto

[HugUrPup]

I never get puppies.

I got Ollie when he was a year old and Miley at 2 and a half.

[~*Shell*~]

My first 18 months with Zero was really bad - he had a lot of baggage from his old (horrible) owners. Everything I discovered about him in those first few months was bad. My little man had a lot of issues. I wouldn't change him for the world now though. Zero is my heart dog

[harley]

My first 18 months with Zero was really bad - he had a lot of baggage from his old (horrible) owners. Everything I discovered about him in those first few months was bad. My little man had a lot of issues. I wouldn't change him for the world now though. Zero is my heart dog

Shell, just wondering what made you decide to give Zero a chance considering he was not an 'easy' dog?

[OSoSwift]

I got Lewis at almost 8 months. He had one issue that we have worked on and overcome, but apart from that was a complete joy. We had him on a long lead for the first day then after that he was treated the same as Rommi. He hung around never wanted to go away at all, was easy to have inside, toilet trained, lead trained etc. We just had to work on him being next to, but in a seperate yard from Rommi so when she was in season he would happily seperate. It took a little while but he is now great.

He is easier to obedience train that Rommi, recalled beautifully had great house manners and was no problems around the cats. I would get an adult again quite happily from someone I trusted.

He and I are extremely close and I was suprised at how close we have become especially considering I got him a little older. I am very glad we got him and feel privlidged that he now lives with me

[westiemum]

Gayle that's wonderful - good luck to you and your new addition.

I've only ever had adults and oldies - puppies, cute as they are, just don't do anything for me and there are plenty of others who will always take them - its much harder for an adult to find a home.

My Mac was 6.5 when I got him, Sarebear was 5 and the most recent addition, Andy I was told was 4 (but who knows...). And they have brought such joy into my life :laugh:

So it'll always be adults for me - even if I do have to rehab them long-term and spend the equivalent of the GDP of a small developing world country on them And yes I'd do it all again in a heart-beat.

Would love to see some piccies!

Edited February 7, 2011 by westiemum

[Gayle.]

Gayle that's wonderful - good luck to you and your new addition.

I've only ever had adults and oldies - puppies, cute as they are, just don't do anything for me and there are plenty of others who will always take them - its much harder for an adult to find a home.

My Mac was 6.5 when I got him, Sarebear was 5 and the most recent addition, Andy I was told was 4 (but who knows...). And they have brought such joy into my life

So it'll always be adults for me - even if I do have to rehab them long-term and spend the equivalent of the GDP of a small developing world country on them And yes I'd do it all again in a heart-beat.

Would love to see some piccies!

She is here:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...214633&st=0

[Gayle.]

That's so great Gayle, what do the rest of gang think of her? Any photos yet? Nothing to add from me, I've always had puppies.

Isaak is totally in love, he follows her around like a bad smell, to the point where he's an annoying pest. It's like a teenage boy with his first crush, he is so cute! Dusty is pretending she's not here, and does a certain amount of dominant posturing but is also getting more and more curious and I've seen her occassionally lick Shae's face or let Shae lick hers. They sniff each others bits and each day they are getting more relaxed with each other.

Life rolls of as usual for Benson, nothing much fazes him.

Shae is starting to get more and more integrated.....at first when they were all in the backyard running around, she'd follow behind. Now I notice she is up front more and "part of the gang". When I go outside, she now comes running straight up to me instead of hanging back while the others get pats.

The play in the paddock is interesting....Benson and Dusty love the frisbee and Isaak loves chasing a tennis ball. Shae made a token effort to chase the frisbee but wasn't overly interested, but when I threw the tennis ball, she went after it like a rocket, scooped it up first go and brought it back. She clearly loves chasing a ball, so Isaak has competition. Dusty has NEVER chased a ball, god she wouldn't lower herself to something so mundane, but she will now run with Isaak and Shae and herd Shae away from the ball so that Isaak can get to it first.