I adopted a dog from a rescue just over a month ago, and one thing that has surprised me is some other people's attitudes to rescue dogs. Lots of people tell me I am brave, as if he must have problems. That's not so bad, but some people have been half-way through patting the dog, saying how lovely he is, and then when I say he is a rescue dog they recoil as if they think he is some kind of psycho-dog. They've already seen that he is beautifully behaved!
I won't deny that we had to teach him a few manners, such as not to pull on the leash, and that it took him a little while to settle in. But it's been a pleasure to see the transformation in him as he's realized that this is his home now. That is really rewarding. And after all, if we'd have got a puppy (from rescue or elsewhere), we would have had to teach it a few things, like not peeing in the house, that this dog already knew.
I think this attitude shows that some people don't understand how dogs end up in rescue. There are lots of reasons, many of them no fault of the dog (e.g. it was a stray, the owner fell on hard times like divorce or illness, etc). I also think it shows that people don't realize how much influence they have on a dog's behaviour.
Has anyone else with a rescue dog been finding this? It is probably old-hat to lots of you, but as a new dog owner, it's surprised me to see how many people have this attitude.
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Attitudes to Rescue Dogs
RedwingWinter · 11/07/2011 20:25
NOTHING surprises me wrt some peoples attitudes to dogs as a whole, let alone rescues! 
I know what you are saying though - so many people say "oh no, I would never get a rescue as you don't know their background/temperament". Good rescues assess the dogs and will only place suitably. I suppose in the "old days" you went to the pound and picked a pot luck dog up though so it's possibly a hangover from that.
I'm taking rescue OldLady to meet another rescue old lady on Wednesday, kicked out in her retirement just like OldLady was btw. OldLady is the sweetest thing. She has her quirks and particulars but I have got to know them, just like you would with any other dog.
Where I live, we are the Only Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the Village 
I think that most people upon asking what breed she is are just flabbergasted that they have met a Staffy that hasn't automatically attacked their dog or child in my case, in all honesty. The rescue aspect becomes a sideline 
I've never actually had that experience, though most people don't get close to our boy. If they are walking a dog, he doesn't exactly show off his winning personality 
In a sense, you are actually changing lots of minds simply by being out with your lovely rescue dog, especially if he/she is well behaved and sociable. We found this doing our KC classes with one of our greyhounds - it was great that the other people in the class (and the other dogs) were able to see his lovely temperament, asked lots of questions and were hugely impressed by the fact he brought his own sheepskin to class every week and promptly lay down on it, in best regal sighthound style.
Attitudes are slowly changing and while there are some people who will never be persuaded, you've got the satisfaction of knowing you've done a good thing by giving a dog a second chance who would probably be dead by now otherwise.
Ironically, many pedigree dogs do end up in rescue, they are certainly not all Heinz 57 mongrels (although we had these growing up and they were wonderful). I know several people who do things like agility, flyball and obedience and generally their whole team/club will have rescues. And sadly there are many pedigree dogs churned out by puppy farmers and BYBs who are prone to terrible health and behavioural issues, just as much (if not more) than rescue dogs.
Why not just say proudly "This is my lovely dog Bert" ? And then if someone is interested, they can ask more about his background. We also found that some family members were a bit nervous to start with around our greys (the boys are such big dogs) but are now really besotted.
Most of ddog's gang are rescue dogs . Those who aren't seem to have as many quirks and foibles as the rescue lads. But I do find a lot of people think rescue dogs are mad, bad and dangeous! My main problem is ddog loos like a teddy, and small children try to hug him a lot.
I NEVER get tired of you saying that Staffies are nice dogs, just like any other, DBF
I always point out that my better behaved ones are rescues. We don't talk about the Devil Dog, he is not the best advertisement 
, although in fairness to rescues he is a 'pot luck pound dog' not a rescue. My foster Grey is awesome and brilliantly behaved and very friendly.
We were supposed to be getting a greyhound - we took dd2,aged 11, to choose one - hence ending up with a whippet/teddy. I am 'mentioning' greyhounds a lot to dh.... The staffies i know are a soppy lot, even the ones with hard looking owners, and I know a rottie who is being very 'well trained' as opposed to most of my friends who cross their fingers whn giving commands!
Redwing, that's really sad that you've encountered that attitude. Bet he is really handsome, given his breed type. Yes, we want pics!
Def agree about fostering - it's difficult for many rescues to find enough foster homes though. 
But yes, fostered dogs are always much easier to rehome, partly because for instance website writeups can be so much detailed and can include things like pics of dog on sofa, dog in garden, dog on bed and can say things like " Bert is a happy snoodle doodle who likes nothing better than chilling out on the sofa watching Dr Who after a happy day with his foster carers knitting bedsocks " rather than " Bert is a snoodle doodle who is aged aobut 5" which is pretty much all you can say when they are in kennels. The pics help too in that by seeing pics of dog in a home environment, potential adopters find it much easier to picture dog in their home, rather than looking at a pic of a dog usually standing on a yard, or in an exercise paddock, or even worse, still in a cage. I am sure this subliminally suggests a prison and all the associated negative connotations.
hee hee - I did actually type "just ask Dooin" after the bit about pot luck dogs but deleted it. Hello Dooin .
(Dooin is a dog's angel btw RedwingWinter)
i am amazed when people say we have children so we want a puppy/we have a cat so we must have a puppy/we already have a dog so we are getting a pup so that they will get on..........why??? if you want to know a dog's temperament then get an adult rescue dog. the dog will already have been assessed if from a reputable rescue. there is no guarantee what pup will turn out like, you only have to look on breed rescue sites to see pups from 6mths plus who are being rehomed because they chase the cat etc despite being in that home from 8wks old
i havent had any negative comments in rl about my dogs being rescue, but have had a few comments about their breed
MJ - at Only Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the Village
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haha yes i can tell you all about the greyhound we met on holiday but i dont even know the owner's name
when i take my little jrt to the shops i swear it takes me longer to get round the shop than when i had a baby
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