Zoe, a shelter doggie from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, https://www.barcs.org/came to be part of our lives almost 2 years ago, and she has changed in so many ways, and here are a few of those changes:
- Sleeping – Zoe used to sit down in her bed for a while fighting her sleep. Now, she gets in bed, twirl a couple of times and down she goes to sleep. I love to see her do that.
- Pacing – seeing her pace showed how anxious she was and so she was given a bed and a crate where she could go if she were unsure of what to do next. As time went by, I find this funny, the minute she is indoors she runs for her bed.
- Walking – to put it bluntly, Zoe did not know how to walk, but she did know how to pull. As time goes by, she gets better and better and the walks with her are enjoyable.
As you can see, a shelter dog comes with a lot of baggage, and what I mentioned above has to do with behavior therefore finding a dog trainer that understands behavior modification is very important. Also, please understand that behavior requires: consistency, patience, time, repetition, and discipline, but from experience I can tell you that all that hard work is worth it.
And so, if you are planning to adopt a dog, I’d urge you to visit your local shelter and see if you find the dog that is right for you. You could start by fostering. And for those that have already adopted a dog, how was your experience? Til next time!
AllMyCanineCompanions 
I agree 100%. I’ve worked in rescue for over 40 years, and many times you never know what kind of trauma an adopted rescue has survived and may still be dealing with. All cats and dogs process trauma differently. But like you said, a good trainer well versed in dealing with these issues is a must. Plus, it’s important to realize the majority of dog training is “training” the dog owner. But once you tackle that learning curve, life becomes easier. lol!!
Beautifully said.
It is great that Zoe has made so much progress. We had two shelter dogs but we got them via family (who had picked them up), so they had already been out of the shelter for a year or two by the time we got them, and they were already well trained.
That’s wonderful.