Dog and Cat Behavior | Article of The Month

This Dog No Longer Has A Past: It Just Has A Future

As our society becomes more aware of the wonders of adopting our dogs from shelters and rescue organizations, many amazing dogs are finding forever homes.

Rescue groups and shelters are going out of their way to place as many of these homeless animals as possible. While this is a laudable and necessary service, inevitably some dogs with troubled pasts are being placed. When this happens, the dogs are often fine and adapt to their new lives with no real evidence of the abuse or neglect they suffered at the hands of humans prior to their placement. Sometimes however, they do exhibit signs of fear, anxiety, stress or aggression.

Many people when presented with the knowledge that their new pets have had a difficult journey feel the need to “make up” for their dogs past.

Are we doing these dogs a disservice by treating them as if they are broken? Would we be better off trying to help them become absolutely the best that they can be?

The mantra with your new pet should be “this dog no longer has a past: he/she just has a future”. Most of these dogs are incredibly adaptable, and able to recover remarkably well.

When you add a dog to your home, whether it is a puppy from a reputable breeder or an adult “rescue dog” from a shelter, you should be looking forward to your future together, not back at a past that you cannot change.

In our society we encourage our mentally and physically challenged  human friends to be their very best, why would we offer any less to our four footed friends.

By making excuses for our pets, we may be preventing them from the very growth that will allow them to move past their fears and insecurities.

This doesn’t mean that you should not seek help from a qualified professional to help you and Fido reach the level of comfort and happiness that you want for him if necessary. Some adopted dogs can and do benefit greatly from experienced behavioral training. A trained behavioral professional will focus on helping Fido overcome his past rather than trapping him there.

When we expose these dogs to the joys of obedience lessons, social outings and the chance to make new friends, we open up a whole new world for them.  

Adopt a dog to be your friend and help him reach his full potential.