Well, honestly speaking, I do not consider what you are doing as odds.
You are doing standard operant conditioning. You know the natural disposition of the animal in question, you assess what are the behaviors that it exhibits and you then apply a new set of conditions to replace the poor ones using proper rewards, attention, and all the natural needs of the animal are being met.
Wonderful.
I mean that.
But, then, that animal, is sent out, into unknown, uncontrolled and I am sure, an environment where the caretaker is significantly less skilled than you. aka, a standard “we want a dog” customer.
And at that point, you have an animal that is MORE of a risk than one which has never been abused or whose history is unknown. Period. Yes, that is true.
Now, if you wish to say that I am wrong here, and that a puppy is equal in risk to a “rehab” dog, or even suggest that a “rehab” dog is safer... I am just going to have to “agree to disagree”.
Okay, you are wrong here.
I have always lived within a very short distance of every rehomed dog and in constant contact with the new owners.
I never even had to go and “address any issues”.
When I train a dog, it stays trained.
[yeah, I’m just that damned good...let’s call it a “gift”]
In fact, for years, it became very time consuming because other people were always bugging me to come and “fix” their dogs...or horses.
>Now, if you wish to say that I am wrong here, and that a puppy is equal in risk to a “rehab” dog, or even suggest that a “rehab” dog is safer... I am just going to have to “agree to disagree”.<
Let’s say, just for kicks, that all purchasers of puppies have a better chance of ending up with, regardless of skill in training, knowledge of dog behavior, commitment to overseeing pup/child interaction, etc. “safe” dogs. If this is correct, why is it that the number one reason dogs end up in shelters is for behavior problems ranging from housebreaking failure to obsessive barking or chewing - not necessarily aggression?
Could it just possibly be that many individuals doom themselves to having problem dogs because they shape the animals’ behavior from PUPPYHOOD to be problematic?
My question above is posed simply to point out that there are more than a few people who will, no matter how many pups they acquire, end up with animals that exhibit problem behavior. Therefore, they are more likely than average to end up with a “defective” canine, despite never having adopted an adult animal. This is why shelters and rescues have “do not adopt” lists.