Adopting an Older or Recue dog

MOSA believes every dog is a living being and deserves a forever home of thier own with a family to love and that will love them back. They are full of unconditional love and forgiveness for anyone often even those who have abused or abandoned them.

"Every animal deserves a loving safe forever home and to be respected. They are innocent beings that depend on humans."

We work with rescues regularly and have rescues that are and have been a part of our family and life and most likely always will have. (One of my most beloved companions was a rescue that traveled all over Europe with me and passed away at 16 yrs old). We take placement of any of our dogs wether rescues or not very seriously and want the best home for each and every one of them. To accomplish this we beleive in educating people on each dog as best we can to ensure that the family and the dog are a good fit. We also continue to work with them once thier adoption is final and the dog is in the home. This better ensures a successful adoption and both the family and dog being happy.

There are many types of Rescues as well Older dogs and each of these have thier own special circumstances and needs.

To avoid confusion let's define what we are terming on this page as a Rescue dog and an Older dog. As you read keep these in mind.

A Rescue: We are defining a Rescue as a dog that is being adopted out by an individual, a Breeder, or organization that was NOT bred by them and  was not intended to be a permanent resident . It is a dog that for whatever reason came to them from an outside source and is being placed or adopted out to it's forever home. ( Keep in mind that while MOSA does NOT, some breeders call some of thier older dogs rescues for whatever reason. In some instances it may be due to the dog having been in a forever home previously that was disrupted for various reason and the responsible breeder taking the dog back to rehome).

An Older dog: This is a dog that is being adopted either by the Breeder themselves that was a retired show/breeding dog and/or one that was bred by themselves not from an outside source. It is also used to refer to dogs being adopted by individuals who may have adopted the dog as a puppy and  have raised the dog or adopted an older dog and kept it as part of thier family for a period of time. NOT dogs from rescue organizations, pounds, or shelters.

On this page we want to briefly discuss as well we can what it takes or may take to be a good fit for an Older or Rescue dog of any breed not just IGs.

"The  most important things it takes to adopt an Older or Rescue dog is a lot of patience, understanding and most of all ACCEPTANCE of the dog and any issues it may have."

One thing I can not stress enough with everyone: While it is and can be great to adopt an Older or Rescue dog, it is NOT like getting a puppy that has been loved, socialized, and has had nothing but postive experiences in it's short life. Older dogs, especially Resuces (even some puppy rescues) have a lot of life experience wether it is good or bad, it is still experience that as hard as we may try and as much as we may love them, can not be erased from them. Sometimes when those experiences are bad or negative it causes issues that are difficutl to correct and can be very disheartening and challenging to us and the dog, when we are trying to help the dog.

When you adopt an Older or Rescue dog, you have to remember and be willing to accept that dog and it's issues just as they are both good and bad. You have to go into it with the acceptance of those issues, as sometimes no matter how much we love that dog and work with that dog the negative issues never completely resolve. Even though they usually improve to some degree,  the dog adopted may not and most likely, never will be like a grown dog that you or the home breeder have raised from a puppy that has come from a postitive environment. They usually always have some reminants left from the life prior that show up in thier personality and habits for the rest of thier lives.

Accept the dog just as it is and understand it may never be completely the dog you may be envisioning. That does not mean it will not be a loving companion and great member of the family. But understand it can and usually does take a LOT of time, pateince, understanding, and acceptance to bring one of these dogs into your home and live with it.

Many people get disheartened when they bring an Older or Resuce dog into thier home thinking that it is going to change simple because it now has a loving family. When the dog does not immediately respond it can be frustrating, we tend to expect change to quickly or for any negative behavior to automatically or completely disappear. It just does not usually work that quickly and we have to understand this or disappointment will occur and that is when many rescues end up back in rescue because a well meaning person adopted the dog and was either not informed fully of it's issues for whatever reason or they were informed and thought simply by bringing the dog into thier home it would change it's behaviors automatically because it is now loved and has a family.

"Not every breed is right for everyone. The same applies to Older and Resuce dogs, not every one is suited to this type of dog. Not that those who aren't are not loving people who would be great a great family for a dog, just not a match for the challenges of some dogs of this type."

We will discuss the challenges of each below. The information is to give those thinking of adopting and Older or Rescue things to think about. Remember each dog is an individual, comes from different circumstances, and was raised differently so this is by no means a discripiton of an individual dog nor does it mean every dog fits one mold. We highly reccommend you speak in depth with those where the dog you are considering is coming from.Get as much detail about the dog as possible and determine from that wether this is a good fit for you, your family, and what you have and are prepared to offer.

Rescue Dogs

We all know there are many rescue dogs available every year for a variety of reasons, wether it be just misfortune on behalf of the family that can no longer keep thier much loved companion, abused animals, unplanned/ unwanted pregnancies due to lack of spaying/neutering and many more reasons, too many to continue listing them. Puppy Mill rescues seem to be the ones with the most damaging of all issues as they have lived thier lives in cages barely big enough for themselves, or in pens with large numbers of dogs being way overcrowded, living in filth for the sole purpose of reproducing high volumes of puppies, with little or no consideration of thier health and well being.

MOSA has no tolerance for Puppy Mills  and we do not beleive in puppies being sold through Pet Stores without regard for thier well being or the family that is adopting them.

There are so many Rescues, this is one reason we only place our puppies/dogs on spay/neuter contracts and why if you ever can not keep your MOSA italian greyhound for ANY REASON we are willing to take them back and either find them a forever home or keep them here. We want to  responsibly breed and place our puppies/dogs as best we can and we do not want ANY MOSA puppy/dog to ever end up in a pound, shelter, rescue, being abandoned or passed from person to person.

Rescues can be wonderful family companions but please educate yourself on the individual dog as much as possible. This is rarely and not always possible as most rescues come with little or no information on the individual dog.  If you can not get information on the dog be prepared to accept the dog just as it is as you do not know what issues it may have.

The issues they have vary greatly and the older the resuce the more severe the issues can be. The causes are many especially in older rescues. If they were lucky they spent thier lives to the point of coming into resuce with a family that loved them, but now are dealing with separation and feelings of being unwanted.

On the other hand there are many older rescues that have been neglected or abused, mis/un socialized ect. These issues can be more complicated to work with and correct. it takes someone with a lot of patience, understanding and acceptance to adopt these dogs. Do not go into it with the "love can fix anything" complex. Love is an important step in healing for a Rescue but sometimes it takes a lot more than just love.

You really have to consider yourself when thinking of taking on a rescue and if your lifestyle is right to accomodate a dog of this nature, especially an older one that has an unkonwn history. If you have children, especially younger ones, you may not want to adopt an older rescue that you can not get the history on, unless you or the person adopting it, have spent a significant amount of time with the dog to ensure it is child friendly.   If you have other pets, does this dog get along well with other pets and what types of pets may it have an adverse reaction too?

If you are adopting via the internet ask MANY questions of the person or organization you are adopting from. They should be more than willing to provide you with any information they can and be willing to speak with you at length to find the righ fit for you.

So while adopting a Resuce can be a wonderful experience, be prepared for it. Don't expect miracles, Be willing to accept the dog as it is good, bad, and indifferent. That way the bad habits don't become frustrations you ultimately decide you can not live with and reason the dog ends up as a rescue again.  Do not be afraid to reach out for resources to help you with whatever issues you may be dealing with in working with your new companion. It does not make you a bad parent because you reach out for assistance it actually makes you a better parent. Any responsible breeder or rescue wants to see you be successful with your adoption and see all dogs end up in a forever home.

Older dogs

Older dogs can be excellent family members if they come from a source that has socialized and cared for them properly. These dogs are sometimes being adopted out by thier family that can no longer care for them for whatever reason, not always due to really wanting to rehome thier family member but due to not having any other choice. Instead of taking it to a pound or shelter they adopt it out  themselves or if it came from a breeder that is responsible they return it to the breeder to be placed. They should not be judged for being responsible in rehoming thier family member, many times it is very difficult and they are doing it out of love for the dog.

Older dogs are also often retired show/breeding dogs or ones that for whatever reason just did not make it in the show ring (not every show potiential dog has the desire to show, but are excellent pets) that are offered by a breeder. It is important to know the background on these dogs as all breeders do not raise thier dogs the same. Dogs raised in different environments such as kennels (not that some kennel dogs do not make excellent companions, because some transition well) have different needs than those who come from private homes or smaller breeders that raise them in thier homes as part of the family.

We have had our share of experiences with adopting older dogs wether they were teenage puppies or dogs  3-4 years old. Some of our IGs came to live with us when they were teenagers or older. With this experience we have had dogs on each end of the scale of socialization, training, and environments in which they were originally raised.

In respects to socialization we have had some dogs that came to us older who have been wonderful companions and adjusted to family life quite easily. We have had some who were what I consider to be mild cases, they were just not accustomed to the type of freedom and family environment that we provide. These are dogs that did well in most aspects but just needed to learn how to do simply things such as have freedom in the home, go out for walks, even learn how to play with a dog toy because they were not use to toys and were just a bit shy with people and needed more socialization.

 Finally we have had the extreme case dogs that were totally unsocialized towards people, so much to the point that letting them out to go to the bathroom or for play time was a chore for us because they would not readily come to us or allow us to approach them easily. They were totally unhousetrained because they were only use to kennel life and had accidents inside the house on a regular basis.  

It took a lot of patience and work for the most severe cases.. There was a lot of frustration in the begining, but we successfully rehabilitated them to the point that we rehomed them and they are now successful family companions. We could never show them because we felt it was not in their best interest due to the noise and excitement of the show ring  that could have made them regress.

You must ask questions of the person adopting the dog, again each dog no matter where it is from is an individual and no matter how well it is raised, will have a distinct personality that is not fit for every home.

Kennel dogs, often are not housetrained as they are not accustomed to being in the home and will require pateince in housetraining them. Quite often with these dogs it is very helpful to have a dog door installed in your home (only if you have a well secured yard) because this is what they are accustomed to using and it can speed up the proccess. When we speak of kennel dogs we are reffering to any dogs that primarily live and are housed in separate living from the owners of those dogs such as in other buildings (kennels), barns, or other accomodations.

Dogs raised in the home wether as an individual in a home or by a person who breeds (which are also sometimes reffered to as kennels just because they breed, but is not an accurate decription) are usually housetrained but the training varies. Some people train thier dogs to only go indoors with an indoor training system or pads (this is a personal choice.), some train thier dogs to only go outside, and some use a dual method of indoor systems (for times when they are aways from home longer than expected) combined with the primary being outdoor training.

It is very important to keep in mind even if you adopt a dog that is completely housetrained. They are accustomed to the place they currently live and therefore houstrained in that home. When they are rehomed it is upsetting everything they are accustomed too and taking them from the environment and people they may have lived with for some time.  When they arrive to your home they will most likely have accidents, they will need to learn what you expect of them as well get aquainted with thier new life and people in it. Do NOT expect this to be an overnight or quick process. Depending on where your dog originally came from (ie. kennel or home raised) and how the dog was originally trained it could take several months to re/train them. Accept this and it will go much smoother!

 Other considerations even when adopting these dogs are what thier personalities are. Some dogs are socialized quite well with multiple situations and some are not.  Some dogs like children and some that have not been accustomed to being around children may not get along well with them. It is very important to ask questions. It is also very important to fhe person adopting the dog to ask many questions, this enables them to get to know you, your lifestyle, living conditions, ect. and is a sign of responsbililty on thier behalf.

Don't be offended if you are asked to fill out an application, provide refferences, and sometimes required to have a home visit.  This is all done to help you, the dog and to ensure that both are matched with the best fit to better ensure the adoption is a successful one.

 Regardless of the type of dog you adopt remember patience is key, Don't expect too much too fast. Read as much as you can to assist you. Do not hesitate to call the individual that the dog came from if there is a problem, they should be more than willing to answer questions.

Obedience classes are a great way to both train and bond with your dog and they are offered at very affordable rates.

We will post additional resources in the future that you can utilize to help with your Older or Resuce dog.

Please check back.