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Being a shelter dog is hard. But if you’re one of these 3 types of dogs it’s nearly impossible to find a home. Here’s why. And how you can provide hope to these special faces…
You see assumptions made about dogs every day but amazingly, I’ve never seen a Dalmatian with close to 101 offspring nor a Labrador puppy show any interest in playing with toilet paper. As you’ll see though, so much of what people believe about a shelter dog’s personality is based on similar assumptions, associations and long held beliefs rather than actual fact. Here’s why these are the most misunderstood in the shelter…
1. The Staffy. Often a victim of their tough looking exterior, Staffordshire’s are often brought into homes as a security dog and as a result, aren’t socialised properly with other pups. But they are true sooks (did I say needy?!) around people and bond incredibly strongly with families.
2. The Bull Arab. Similarly tough looking and in some parts of Australia are used for pig hunting. Despite this, in a well socialised, family environment, they can be more like lap dogs. Incredibly they’re the second most commonly surrendered dogs in the Animal Welfare League’s shelters.
3. The Shar Pei. Probably a surprise they’re in the top three for many. For some, all that skin makes them cuddly. But for a majority of people, it points to the breed’s origin as a fighting dog. Again, if they’re well socialised and given a chance to bond with a loving caring family, they can be quite doting.
So much of what allows a dog to make the leap from the shelter to your lounge room has nothing to do with looks. It’s the deeper stuff that makes a difference. Thankfully most shelters will perform that necessary personality testing to give you the heads up on what you can expect when you get home if you decide to ‘do life’ together.
Finding that perfect pet isn’t meant to be easy. But maybe they have come from a far from perfect past. I’m seeing so much of this working on a show trying to match shelter dogs with the right people so if you’ve been thinking about adopting then please let us know at thedoghouseaustraliacasting.com.au
