It’s a marketing gimmick used to try and lure people in and then match them with dogs that, realistically, they are not suited for and would never have gone for. But because these charities say these dogs are a good fit…people take dogs they would never, and should never, have considered.
Matching a grown dog - that in these circumstances has spent most of its time in kennels and not in a stable environment - based off a few instances of social interaction with humans or other dogs, to families is downright dangerous. Rehoming dogs should be done through proper rescues where they are placed in foster and the dogs fosterer knows everything about that dog.
I breed and match puppies to prospective homes. But I spend about 20+hrs a day, over 8 weeks, with those puppies. I’ve seen first hand what people assume, incorrectly, about dogs when they’ve spent only a few hours in that dogs company.
Unfortunately, many rescues think they are the experts in animal behaviour and that they can ‘match’ a dog to a perfect home. And they’re not. The dog you see in kennels is not the dog you bring home.
Personally, I think anyone getting a rescue that hasn’t been fostered - so no one’s seen how it reacts in an actual home to certain stimulus, or out in public in new places - is running a huge risk. I’m a big fan of recusing, but I think the kennel system and the current popular practice of matching these dogs to homes, is foolish at best and dangerous at worst.