Shelters and rescues do have puppies, but most recycled dogs are young adults and older. It’s hard to resist the ridiculous cuteness of a puppy, but adult dogs have their own special talents:
Housebroken
Housetraining a puppy’s small bladder can take awhile. Puppies need a consistent schedule with frequent opportunities to learn where you want them to “go”. They can’t wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to come home from school. An adult dog can “hold it” for longer time periods, and usually the Rescue will have him housebroken prior to adoption.
Matching Socks
With a chewy puppy, you can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and don’t even think about shoes! You can expect: holes in your carpet (along with the urine stains), pages missing from books, unstuffed pillows, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch them, it will happen–this is a puppy’s job! An older dog can usually have the run of the house without destroying it.
A Good Night’s Sleep
Forget the alarm clocks and hot water bottles, a puppy wants his momma and littermates. Usually at 2am and 4am and 6am. If you have children, you’ve been there and done that. How about a little peace and quiet? How about an adult rescue dog??
Rest & Relaxation
Do you really think you’ll be able to relax with a puppy running amok in your house? Do you think your kids will really feed him, clean up the messes, and take him for a walk in the pouring rain every hour to get him housetrained?
Fewer Vet Trips
Puppies need deworming and fecal tests, a series of puppy shots, then a rabies shot, then a trip to be spayed/neutered, and maybe an emergency trip or two after they’ve chewed the wrong thing. These puppy visits can add up – on top of what you paid for the dog! Your donation to the rescue when adopting an older pup should get you a dog with all shots current, already altered, heartworm negative and on preventative at the minimum.
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
Rescues are full of puppies who became the wrong match as they got older. When you adopt an adult dog from a rescue, you won’t have to guess how big will that puppy be, what kind of temperament will he have or if his personality is what you were hoping for. Large or small; active or couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sweet or sassy – rescue can guide you to the right match.
No scars
When a puppy isn’t teething on your possessions, he will be teething on your children and yourself. A growing puppy is going to put everything from food to clothes to hands in their mouths, and as they get older and bigger it definitely hurts (and will get worse, if they aren’t being corrected properly.) Most older dogs have “been there, done that, moved on.”
No Puppy Love
Puppies are ridiculously cute and hard to resist. But “Puppy Love” is not much of a basis on which to make a decision that will hopefully last 15+ years. A cute puppy may grow up to be superactive (when you hoped for a couch buddy); she may be a couch princess (when what you really wanted was a running companion); he may want to spend every waking moment fetching tennis ball (something you think is as much fun as watching paint dry). Pet mis-matches are one of the top reasons Rescues get “give-up” phone calls. Good rescues do extensive evaluating of both their dogs and their applicants to ensure both will be happy, until death do they part.
Traveling Companion
An older dog can go everywhere and do everything with you NOW. There’s no waiting for a puppy to grow up (and no hoping he’ll grow up to travel well). You will have been able to select the most compatible dog: one that travels well; one that loves to play with your friends’ dogs; one with excellent house manners that you can take to your parents’ new home with the new carpet and the new couch. You can come come home after a long day’s work and spend your time on a relaxing walk, ride or swim with your new best friend (rather than cleaning up after a small puppy).
Instant BFF
Dogs who are uprooted from their first homes or had a rough start in life are more likely to bond very completely and deeply with their new people. A dog who’s lost his home through death, divorce or lifestyle change can go through a terrible mourning process. But once attached to a new loving family, they seem to want to please as much as possible to make sure they are never homeless again. Dogs who are seeing the bright side of life for the first time seem to bond even deeper. Most rescues make exceptionally affectionate and attentive pets and extremely loyal companions.
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Special thanks to Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc for this information.
From Ally:
Im quite excited to try. I have a recycled dog too and he happens to have brain damage but we love him anyway.