If I had a nickle, heck, if I had a penny for every time I heard someone justify the actions of their dog by saying;
"Oh b-but he/shes a rescue..."
I would be a multi-billionaire.
Now, don't get me wrong here, because I am certain that what I'm writing and what you will soon read could be easily misinterpreted. I am not at all against rescuing dogs, truly, I believe that it is a fantastic effort that is being made by millions of people and the lives of the dogs adopted are in most cases bettered immensely. What I have a problem with, is the percentage of these people that feel the need to let their dogs do as they please solely given their sometimes unknown history.
Just because your dog has been rescued does not give it, or you for that matter, the right to bypass all the usual standards society has grown accustomed to in regards to the 4 legged, panting population.
Your dog may have been abandoned, abused, starved, forced to fight, or all of the above. What matters is the present though, not the past. What happened to the dogs before being adopted solely matters for the future you will spend together, it only tells you what to expect and how to prepare for the potential baggage your new house-mate may or may not bring with them.
Just because your dog wasn't taught the ropes of greeting others, doesn't give it the right to barge into other dogs' faces and push them around.
Just because your dog was abandoned does not give it the right to rip your house, including couch, linens, carpets, walls, pillows and anything else to shreds the minute you leave the room.
Just because your dog was hurt by people does not give you the right to let it growl, snap, and endanger the people surrounding it for any given period of time.
When dogs are rescued, a certain responsibility is inherited as well and I am sick and tired of people simply justifying the actions of their dogs as such just because of the way their new pet is labelled. There are many rescued dogs, who have had issues and probably still do, who function perfectly well in doggie society today.
However, I know for a fact, that every dog is different, and different issues come in various concentrations. What I'm expressing my obvious disdain for isn't rescued animals and their issues, its the people who haven't made an effort to lessen the accompanied baggage of their newest companion.
But as stated before, I know dogs are as unique as their owners and sometimes the baggage cannot be lessened. I can understand this seeming relatively contradictory but it is true. And again, it is not the issues accompanying the dogs I dislike but, again, its the people who use the excuse that they've rescued a dog to not teach it proper behavior.
If your dog is bad with others, no matter how much socializing you do... Don't let it go see other dogs!
If your dog is bad with people... Make sure your dog is tightly on leash while walking down the street!
If your dog doesn't like being left alone... Crate train it!
If your dog is afraid of having its food taken away... Teach it that resource guarding is not acceptable or feed it in a safe environment where it doesn't feel threatened!
This blog post was spurred by the backlog of people who have brought their dogs to where I work so that they can have their nails cut or so that they can be groomed. If the dog is covered in mats, its not because it is a rescue, its because you have neglected to brush it! If the dog tries to bite me, while I'm cutting its nails, its not because its a rescue, its because its afraid of having its nails cut, LIKE MANY UNRESCUED DOGS!!!
Another thing I've got beef with (my teenager is showing lol) is the whole "rescued is greater than bred" thing (again, this mindset obviously isn't shared by all families adopting pets). It is my choice whether or not I choose to adopt a dog. For my lifestyle, it isn't what I want and it clearly isn't what I choose, but just because I have four aussies, all coming from breeders doesn't make me less of an animal lover than you, and it definitely does not make your pet, nor you, any better than me or mine.
Yet another thing I'd like to touch base on is what I call the "end of spectrum syndrome" (tongue twister). Just because your rescue came from a shelter does not make its issues any greater than my dogs' or any others'!
Each one of my dogs has a certain behavior that needs to be minded: For example, Zeke, my boy, hates having his nails done, and showed signs of resource guarding at a very young age. Even given his hatred of nail trimming, THEY GET CUT. And a lot of work was put in to making him "share" as a puppy but you can be damn sure that when another dog comes to see me, near his toys or food I, or someone else, has control of him.
All I'm saying is, if a dog is a rescue, so what?! Thats great! Its found a new forever home to spend the rest of its life with, but it is still a dog and it should be treated the same as any other dog would be. Being rescued does not give your pet any extra privileges or lee-way with its phobias, problems or other-wise. What rescuing a pet does give is a certain responsibility. This responsibility is given to the owner to watch over it, and re-assure this dog that, even given its past, the future will remain constant, filled with re-enforcement of good behaviors and the rehabilitation of the bad.
P.S Kudos to all the great rescuers out there, I really do give you creds and appreciate all that you do.
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