[RachelFaith]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

Ever. You do not know what behaviors, triggers, emotional baggage the animal carries. Or if it will turn at something totally off the mark.

If you want a pet: get a baby animal. A puppy, kitten, chick, whatever. Raise it, train it, care for and nurture it. And do NOT have a pet BEFORE you have children.

Your doggy loves YOU and will see the new “pets” aka your children, and lessor animals in the “pack” and will attempt to dominate them, forcing them to submission. And human children have NO PACK instinct, they will do the human thing: RESIST.

You might as well TRAIN you dog to attack and kill your children as at least then you won’t be shocked when it happens. /s

[LongElegantLegs]

Right, because we all know that if you raise a dog from puppyhood, it's guaranteed not to ever attack.

How about putting in the time and effort required by your dog's breed and personality, instilling a sense of self-discipline and adequately restraining and supervising your dog at all times? Has that been proven ineffective, somehow?

[Eaker]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

First, what the hell is an "Animal wacko"?

Second, it will simply be ignored by normal pet owners because it is stupid, knee jerk garbage.

You really should learn something on the subject before you spew crap like this.

[Boxsford]

I agree with you. It’s just good common sense.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

Ever. You do not know what behaviors, triggers, emotional baggage the animal carries. Or if it will turn at something totally off the mark.

If you want a pet: get a baby animal. A puppy, kitten, chick, whatever. Raise it, train it, care for and nurture it. And do NOT have a pet BEFORE you have children.

It is sad, but I think you are absolutely right. Excellent advice.

Thank you.

[Jean S]

Interesting points Rachel and I think you're on the mark.
We've always had dogs but we never adopted one until after our first child was born. All the dogs we've owned have been wonderful with children, ours and other children. Our most recent dog was adopted when our grandson was two years old and she loves him and all other children too.

I adopted an adult dog on a trial basis only once, he hated my current dog and wouldn't let her near me. He also bolted out the door into the street any time you opened a door. I gave him back to her desperate owner who needed a home for him after three days. I felt terrible about it because I think she eventually had to have the dog put down.

I won't own a dog that doesn't tolerate the kind of abuse the young children often impose on them.

[chae]

I adopted a 5 year old dog. It’s a Min pin/Chihuahua mix. He is very protective of his home and of me and my son when it comes to other dogs. He’s all of 8 pounds of fluff. So I’m not the least bit intimidated. He absolutely loves little children. He trots up to them and begs to be petted. Also, he has only a couple broken off teeth, so I don’t see an 8 pound dog with a couple teeth as being too dangerous. He’s more of a lover than a fighter anyway.

[altura]

I disagree with you completely. Most rescue services foster dogs and are completely honest about any behavior problems. We got Bubba at age two and there is no sweeter, more loving dog in the world. We’ve had him for 7 years.

[Downsouth55]

I had two Saint's when my son was born 4 years ago. The female I raised from a puppy and the male I adopted from rescue.
Sissy was indifferent towards the baby but Jack was curious about him. He would lie next to his bed and not move for hours. When my son started to crawl Jack was with him at every move.
They were best friends Jack would lie down and let him crawl all over him I have never seen anything like it that was his baby as far as he thought.
Jack would not allow a stranger near my son and you better not correct him to loudly or the dog would let you know about it.
I miss both dogs now that they have gone on to their rewards due to old age but Jack dearly loved children.

[OldPossum]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

Yeah, as a certified animal wacko, it pisses me off. I have adopted only adult dogs (five to date) and have never had a problem. I tend to adopt dogs which are 10 years of age and over because those are usually the ones that no one wants--listening to people like you, I guess.

And there's a reason they're old. They've been good, Ms. Faith, they have obeyed their masters, they don't pee or defecate on the floor, they don't bite, all those qualities that are desirable.

So, don't be spreading misinformation. It's unbecoming.

[Salamander]

I’ve rescued more adult Dobermans than I can count.

Except for *one*, I hadn’t the foggiest notion of what their “history” was.

The -longest- amount of time it ever took for me to rehab one of them was 30 days and that was only because she had been so horribly abused that she simply was afraid to trust a human touching her.

In her broken mind, “touch” equaled “pain”.

At the end of those 30 days, however, she’d become the typical “Velcro Dobe” whose greatest joy was was to be petted, hugged and cuddled until *I* was exhausted.

Every time I sat down, she would trot over and plop her butt on my feet and await the loving caresses that she’d learned would always happen.

FYI, -no- breed remembers cruelty and abuse like a Dobermann does...yet not a single one ever failed to become a model canine citizen, ecstatically happy, well adjusted and joyfully obedient dog.

Thanks for attempting to condemn all the perfectly nice and deserving adult dogs in shelters to certain death with your “sage advice”.

/s

[Brad’s Gramma]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

Unbelievable post. I take it you don't care for dogs.

[CatQuilt]

Thank you... It’s good to give a dog a home but you need to know what you’re doing. We got a daschund/basset hound mix from the shelter. We returned her 3 days later as she did a couple of things that concerned me... My daughter was around 3 at the time...