Any Pound Puppers? (Shelter Dogs)

We got Lucky some 6+ years ago.  He is the all white one in the left side of my siggie.  He was going blind when we got him and the people at the shelter said that is why they thought he was surrendered.  He has been the most dutiful, faithful companions since.  He does have an unusual behavior which we have not been able to teach out of him.  He is a resource guarder but unlike most, he doesn't snap at you.  He just wants to growl (a lot).  We have come to actually believe it is more of a game for him than anything.  When we got Dottie, he would growl at her but (as she was wee little) she would crawl into the food bowl being submissive and he would just look at her like... YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!  So funny.  We have come to learn to live with it.  He isn't mean about it.

he would crawl into the food bowl being submissive and he would just look at her like... YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!

Haha, that is pretty hilarious!

She was such a loveable little thing (and is to this day) that it just never occurred to her that anyone could be mad at HER!  She's my love.  So goofy and cute!

both our dogs came from shelters.

amelia came from a rescue shelter. she was about 4 months old when we adopted her. she had been living on the streets and possibly mistreated by a man wearing a baseball cap. when we first adopted her she was scared of everything. she still has her moments but she is much better now. she is still scared if a man wearing a baseball cap comes to our house though.

sydney came from the humane society shelter in spartanburg, sc. he was only 2 months old when we adopted him. he doesnt really have any weird behaviors. he is a great dog. although he has tons of energy and can get destructive if not given enough exercise.

One of my two's from the shelter, Jasper a 7 month old chihuahua/dachshund mix. Had him for about 2 weeks now. He has some dog agression issues in certain situations but gets along wonderfully with the resident dog a 10 month old chihuahua/rat terrier mix Tucker. Other then that he's a bit skittish and barks and each strange noise he hears but other that he's a cuddlebug who is quite a clown chasing the beam of a flashlight,crawling under my bed,turns and bumps against the sheets/blankets,aggraviating Tucker,struggling to get out then scooting out from under the sheets on his back.....good times...good times...


He originally from Georgia,surrendered  according to the owner because "she didn't have enough time to spend with him but also mentioned to tell the potential adoptee to make sure he has something to chew on because he's in "that stage" so I suspect she just couldn't deal with a puppy. He was eventually shipped  to a shelter in Temperence Michigan and fostered just over the Ohio border when we found him 8 months after we got Tucker. I still believe we were nuts to get 2 pups so close together in age,,,,

Jake was a pound puppy.  He was supposedly found abandoned in a dog run on someone's property.  We got him about 6 months ago and they were estimating he was 2-3 years old at the time.  So far he's been better than we could have ever dreamed.  No accidents, no destruction.  He is content to run or walk as long as you want to, and if you dont want to do that he is happy to snooze as long as you'll let him.
 

Fred (who needs a name change) is a silky terrier from our shelter, Lilly is a mini schnauzer from our shelter, and Lexi is a belgian malinois from our shelter. Well, Lexi never got left at the shelter (I found her and didn't turn her in due to her dog aggression issues) but I still consider her a shelter dog. Lilly is downright obnoxious sometimes, but that's the breed and she's a (now) 7 month old pup - I've still got another year and half of her being obnoxious! [] Fred is very good, if not housetrained, and super sweet.

Lexi though, well, Lexi is my girl. [] This is a dog that knows we saved her life and absolutely adores us every minute. I've not met a more loyal or loving dog (as is typical with shelter dogs) that is so happy to have a home. We couldn't have asked for better...the day she crosses the bridge is the day a huge part of me will die as well. At around 3-5 years old, I certainly hope I have plenty of time left with her as she is irreplaceable.

two of our 3 dogs are shelter dogs.

Kiara,an Alaskan Husky, we brought home nearly 3 years ago.She is a complete scrounger,and though she is fed just what she needs,If you don't keep an eye on her in the house,she will counter surf and raid the garbage.She has also learned how to take full glasses of milk off a counter,and without spilling a drop,set it on the floor and lap it uop..I really need to get video of this some time..

This is Kiara just after we got here home.Looking at this pic I see that she was a bit underweight at the time...She is at perfect weight now,and great form.




And a pic of her recently






Kovu was brought home from the shelter a year or so later as a companion.he had alot of strange behaviours which led me to do a study on wolf behavior..no wolf in the boy though.He would constantly mouth elbows,body block you,stare at you and not let up..he was a bit skittish at first too..We have been working with him all the while and I can say that these issues are much improved today.

Kovu at the shelter

We adopted Sampson from our local shelter here in Fort Worth.  He was only 10 weeks old.  He had
kennel cough when we brought him home, within 4 days we were doing everything to keep him alive.
He wouldnt eat or drink and then started having trouble breathing.  Turned out to be Pneumonia.  He was in the hospital for a few days and those were very hard days.  We thought we were gonna lose him.
He made a full recovery and is now just over a year old.  He is the best dog i've ever had...actually he is the only dog ive ever had.  I can help but believe he knows we saved his life cuz he has never done anything bad.
Not once has he chewed on shoes or furniture or anything other than his toys.  He is very smart and was easy to train.  He is also very spoiled.  I am the luckiest person to have him, he's the best!

Sampson would have a vote from me for All American Dog..Like the girl,or boy next door..lol

He is a great looking pup!

Both my Aussie mixes below are shelter dogs.  We got Tucker first (on the right) at 4 months old.  We think he's an Aussie/Border Collie/?? mix.  Young enough that he was a clean slate and had no strange behaviours to work on.  He's a really GOOD dog, was easy to housebreak, breezed through obedience training, and is a real lover-boy.  He wants nothing more than to please you.

Krystal (on the left) we got at 7 weeks old.  We were told she's an Aussie mix but we think she's a backyard bred mini-Aussie.  Again, young enough that she had a clean slate.  However she's a bit more testy, but I think that was built-in rather than because of her environment.  She was definitely the most outgoing puppy of her litter (we saw them all) and continues to be queen-bee.  She had some resource guarding issues that we have overcome.

My only thing with adopting from a generalized shelter is that they don't ask the right questions to match the dog's breed with the right home.  Aussies (and herding dogs in general) are very high-energy and intelligent breeds that require very dedicated owners to give them the exercise and mental stimualtion they need to keep them out of trouble.  Neither shelter went over this with us to make sure we were a good match for them, but in their defense they have every breed in the book to find homes for, and they can't possibly be an expert on them all.  Luckily I have owned herding dogs and I knew the challenge that I was up for, and I enjoy every minute of it.  I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Here is my aussie/border collie mix, Kiwi. Isn't he a cutie! He's 10 months now and I've had him a week and a half.

SheltieGirl, we must be kindred spirits, I had a Sheltie up until last year when he sadly passed away at age 14-1/2. 

Your Kiwi is adorable!  How big is he?  Tucker weighs in at 50lbs at 10 months old and he's really tall.  I guess Aussie's can get up to 60lbs, but I always thought they were shorter than he is.  He can easily put his nose on our kitchen table with front legs firmly on the ground!  I'm hoping he's done growing, I'm not used to such a biggie, having a compact little Sheltie before!

Here's my Sheltie, he was 12 in these pictures.  Not the best of the breed standard, but I loved him dearly:

I got my dog from the SPCA here in NZ. He was 18 months when I got him and very weird used to run away all the time(lived on a farm so was hard to keep him fenced in) was scared of buckets, very scared of loud noises still spooky with bangs and fireworks. And was horribly underweight but to top it off is a very fussy eater took me forever to get weight back on him. Here is a pic of him when skinny and a pic of now. Not the best now picture