Help! I'm looking for a dog breed that....

[chickentrains]

I don't know if they lied to us, if they just didn't see the signs, or if the dog changed once we brought her home. We took her to classes after we had her for a few weeks and she was barking at kids out of fear and obviously more wary of men than women. I guess she wasn't fearful of dogs at the beginning, but she was rough and dominant with the other dog in the class.

Usually they change for the better after they come home, not for the worse. Interesting.

 

[StinkyAcres]

The shelter lied to us, too.

So sorry. What happened?

 

[chickentrains]

So sorry. What happened?

They said he was good with dogs, house trained, crate trained, outgoing..


He is dog aggressive, wasn't crate trained, wasn't house trained, and was very nervous with anybody who wasn't my immediate family

 

[StinkyAcres]

They said he was good with dogs, house trained, crate trained, outgoing..


He is dog aggressive, wasn't crate trained, wasn't house trained, and was very nervous with anybody who wasn't my immediate family

That's awful.. Did you meet him before you went to pick him up? How did he react to meeting you? I'm asking only because I want to know if my theory is correct.

 

[chickentrains]

That's awful.. Did you meet him before you went to pick him up? How did he react to meeting you? I'm asking only because I want to know if my theory is correct.

He greeted us in a nervous way, but he warmed up to us pretty fast once we had him home. When he walked up to us, he was low to the ground, with his tail tucked, wagging it just a little.

He is awful with new people, he stands away and barks and barks, but he gets used to them. His name is zeus.

I got deacon at 8 wks old, nothing was said about him. he was just "puppy #5"..

 

[chickentrains]

we've had worse.

used to foster dogs, they would REALLY sugar coat the fosters because they NEEDED them out. I don't blame them.. but SHEESH. We are still missing a huge chunk of our kitchen floor thanks to a foster dog

 

[NatJ]

1."He also has a lot of energy and will need an experienced owner committed to giving him enough exercise. Bucky has some herding behaviors and would be best as the only dog in the home. A fenced-in yard would be a plus for Bucky and we recommend a home with teens and up. He is a friendly, social dog and will make someone a great pet!"

I may just have a nasty, suspicious mind, but that description made me nervous.
Here's what I thought as I read it:

"has a lot of energy and will need an experienced owner committed to giving him enough exercise" (might mean "never settles down, constantly gets into mischief." How destructive is he when bored?)

"Bucky has some herding behaviors" (might mean "he tried to herd the cat" or "he nips people's ankles," no idea how serious of an issue it is.)

"would be best as the only dog in the home" (probably means "does not get along well with other dogs," but no clue HOW badly it went when they tried.)

"A fenced-in yard would be a plus for Bucky" (I assume they say that for all dogs.)

"we recommend a home with teens and up" (probably means "bad with small children," but no clue how bad. Or is it a policy of the organization to say this for all dogs?)

"He is a friendly, social dog and will make someone a great pet!" (considering the rest of the description, I'm a bit doubtful.)

Of course, all of those things COULD be read differently.
And most of the other descriptions can be read in a similarly unflattering way, too.

Meeting the dog, and having a conversation with anyone who's lived with the dog, would tell you a lot more than my guessing from the description

 

[black_cat]

I read through this thing the other day, a study about common lies shelters put out. LOTS of shelters will lie and sugar coat the dogs issues to get them adopted.

https://blog.dogsbite.org/2020/07/125-behavior-terms-for-shelter-dogs-decoded.html

I'll give it a read!

 

[black_cat]

I may just have a nasty, suspicious mind, but that description made me nervous.
Here's what I thought as I read it:

"has a lot of energy and will need an experienced owner committed to giving him enough exercise" (might mean "never settles down, constantly gets into mischief." How destructive is he when bored?)

"Bucky has some herding behaviors" (might mean "he tried to herd the cat" or "he nips people's ankles," no idea how serious of an issue it is.)

"would be best as the only dog in the home" (probably means "does not get along well with other dogs," but no clue HOW badly it went when they tried.)

All good points.

"A fenced-in yard would be a plus for Bucky" (I assume they say that for all dogs.)

"we recommend a home with teens and up" (probably means "bad with small children," but no clue how bad. Or is it a policy of the organization to say this for all dogs?)

I can check with other dogs from the same rescue to see if they both have these two points, but some dogs just play rougher than others, and I'd assume that herding small children wouldn't go well, so the second one seems like it could be dog specific.

"He is a friendly, social dog and will make someone a great pet!" (considering the rest of the description, I'm a bit doubtful.)

Of course, all of those things COULD be read differently.
And most of the other descriptions can be read in a similarly unflattering way, too.

Meeting the dog, and having a conversation with anyone who's lived with the dog, would tell you a lot more than my guessing from the description

Definitely! I'm just trying to do all that I can right now to get out some nervous energy because I can't MAKE people respond to adoption forms faster.

 

[black_cat]

After looking at some other dogs from the same rescue, the descriptions tend to vary and not be the generic 'A cute, smiley boy/girl that will be an amazing addition to any family!' type.