This is a rant. And to be honest I am as mad at myself as I am at the idiots who got the dog. This is Joey. He was picked up by AC and deemed to aggressive for adoption by the humane society. JRTRO grabbed him before he was PTS and he came here to be assessed. HE was great. I could take food and toys away from him, I could come up behind him and 'nab' him, with no issues. He was a very happy 6 month old Jack Russell terrier. These people applied to adopt him. (it is very hard to adopt from the JRTRO, they are awesome at rigorously screening people.) They sounded great on the application, their references checked out etc etc. As the foster mom I talked to them on the phone. They sounded ideal. I was estatic when I heard that they had a daughter who wanted to get into dog sports as was willing to take lessons with their new dog. Joey was a very bright and active pup, even by JRT standards. They were approved. The day comes for them to pick him up. They know they are coming to a farm to pick up an adolescent JRT, so I would assume they would know not to wear your sunday best.
They pull up. Joey runs up and jumps on the mom. I smile and tell her just to say "off". She makes a big production of wiping the non existant paw prints off her pants. All the time saying "down, down, down." In case she didn't hear me in the excitement of meeting her new puppy (to be honest, I would likely be so excited I would not notice a human when meeting my new dog) I repeated he was trained to not jump up with the cue "off" She still would say "down, down, down." And spend 30 seconds brushing off her pants, which thrilled Joey, he liked this new game. Great. The daughter is mentally challenged. I have nothing against mentally children working with dogs, but don't saddle the poor kid with an over the top JRT puppy. The dad seemed decent. I did not feel this was a good ideaT but they liked Joey and decided to take him home. I should have said no. But at the time I did not know a foster home could veto the adoption process. I did find that out when I went in the house and promptly called the rescue co ordinator and told her I thought they were a bad fit.
Fast forward a year. They took him to someone for training, that I know. He was a mess, and they didn't stick with the training.
Fast forward almost another year. He is now biting people. The daughter is too afraid to enter her room if he is on the bed. So what do they do? They dump the dog back on rescue. I get a phone call asking if I can foster him because as usual the rescue is short on foster homes. So of course I said yes.
Really he wants to be a good dog, just all this nonesense has been working for him. *sigh. He has been here a month or so now, and is doing much better. I am hoping a new foster home opens up soon though, as he as to spend waayyy to much time in a crate right now.
10 comments:
Oh gosh. I agree with you on the title!
Such a shame that he went through a year like that, poor Joey.
Glad he is with you know, and not somebody that doesn't know how to listen, etc etc.
-Ali
I don't think it's just your fault as a foster parent either -- I think it comes down to the fact that a lot of rescues feel to need to "push" their dogs through to new homes.
I've fostered several dogs (including the Toy Poodle who currently graces my profile) in various stages of health/training and had groups downright gloss over the issues I brought up -- or, in the case of a dramatically obese Corgi (we're talking to the tune of 50lbs. here), just calling the dog "overweight". I've had them gloss over the fact that the Toy Poodle has luxating patellas. I've seen them downplay toy/food aggressiveness issues.
As a foster parent, I push to have the future adopter informed, but it's hard when the person is convinced that they're bringing home the perfect dog ("Oh, the founder of the rescue didn't tell me that, they must be exaggerating.") not to take the pup home.
I think a lot of rescue groups could stand to be more responsible themselves, but that issue deserves an entire post unto itself.
No the rescue group wasn't at fault. I talked to the woman on the phone too, and she seemed great. The JRTRO is a fantastic rescue, and never push to home dogs. Which may be why there is a shortage of foster homes...
Why on earth would someone choose a breed that is smart and super high energy for a child that is developmentally challenged? Sure, get the daughter a dog, if appropriate support can be provided. But why would they set her up for failure with a dog that has the potential to be a challenge for a seasoned dog handler? Go figure...
Had they been honest in the first place about the daughter, it seems likely that an appropriate match could have been made.
Why is it that non-dog people always say 'down' even when you tell them what the correct command is? It's like they're thinking, "Oh, they say it's 'off' but I know better than them and I heard that all dogs are secretly trained to respond to 'down'. Obviously if the dog doesn't listen then it's the dog's fault and not my own." It's freaking annoying. Not to mention that you think most people would know by now that 'down' is the standard command for the dog to lie on the floor.
*groans*
That's just too bad... Had the family done any research on the breed?
I mean I for one, chose an Irish Terrier knowing VERY WELL what I was about to take on my hands. The only thing I had omitted to find out was that they are barkers... But patience and rigorous training and good surveillance has been fruitful and she behaves decently for a puppy.
But I wasn't a first time dog owner, I had a whole family to back me up and I had many useful contacts and seasoned trainers to help me when needed.
And in the long run I ended up being lucky,because for an IT, Geisha is extremely affectionate and sociable and she has that sweet but lively eye. She, when introduced to new dogs has never been aggressive towards them as I had been warned she might be. Although now that she's getting older she gives them the evil eye when they get near 'her' fence or try to take her bone, but I think that is to be expected from any dog.
And really you aren't to blame the had been good background checking and I think you really wanted to trust them, but I think now you've learned from your slight mistake.
Kudos for your blog.
"Not to mention that you think most people would know by now that 'down' is the standard command for the dog to lie on the floor."
Or maybe that they'd realize that if you want a dog to do something, shouting the command over and over while the dog pays no attention to them, but rather the treat they're waving wildly over their heads would NOT be the best way to accomplish it? Or that maybe that the dogs have to sit and down before they can roll over...
(Note: this behavior is usually performed directly AFTER watching an experienced handler having the dog sitting in two seconds, by performing none of the above manuevers)
LMAO!!! Yes! Completely agree with kryrinn. Absolutely. Shouting is going to make the dog listen, because volume = respect! NOT. I've seen that dogs respond better to quieter people. My own dog will listen to a quietly muttered "Go away you little pest" better than when someone is shouting at him. For christsakes, please, please, PLEASE listen to people who know better than you. PLZ? KTHXBAI.
Oh, my. I volunteer a bit for Malinois Rescue and we do home checks before we adopt out a dog. We insist that all household members be present for the home check. Some people balk at the mention of the home check, and that's fine. We would rather keep the dogs than have them go to a home that's not right.
It IS hard, though. As you mention, the dogs don't move on as fast. I've had my current foster for 9 months now. :-(
While we MIGHT have approved the family you mentioned for a dog, it would have been for an older, much quieter dog.
At least they sent him back to you rather than to a shelter where he likely would have been euthanized. :-( I hope the dog finds a wonderful new home soon!
Ann
I'm sorry, and I totally agree. I have a JRT, I did LOADS of research before I bought him. I got Exactly what I wanted. He is a hunting bred JRT to a tee. I have had him for 2+ yrs, and I have spent every day of it on training. I have found I can't let up once or he finds a loop hole, but I can call him off a squirrel that he's a foot away from!!
Good luck finding this guy a real JRT home!
Maybe the rescue should have poeple come out to visit before the real adoption?!
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