I went to the animal shelter and fell in love with an adorable lab/terrier mix. It seems she has been through some hard times because she has a huge scar on her side. She was found abandoned. Nonetheless, she has no human aggression or dog aggression. She is just a bit timid. Like, if you go outside with her and she doesn’t know you, she won’t come to you or try to interact with you at all. But if you approach her, she doesn’t get upset or anything. She warmed up to me quickly and wanted to play though, maybe after 10 minutes.
My only problem is that she’s not spayed yet. The shelter said they would spay her tomorrow and let me pick her up on Monday. I worry that she’ll associate coming home with me with her pain from the surgery and won’t warm up to me as quickly.
Any thoughts? They said there’s no way they can just send her home with me unspayed or keep her there for a few days after her surgery to recover. It’s making me consider calling off the adoption. Maybe someone else can adopt her after she’s already been spayed for a while, even though that makes me sad.
Yeah, you’re over-thinking this. Take the dog and give her a comfortable place to recuperate. It might take her a little time to warm up to her new surroundings, but that would happen no matter what.
Our Simone charged right out of the vet’s office after her spaying and would have jumped in the car if I’d let her. Didn’t seem to bother her in the least.
In particular, dogs do not really have a sophisticated concept of cause and effect. They can link behaviors with an immediate positive or negative stimulus and learn from it, but unlike a human, a dog will not understand the connection between an event and its associated effect at a later time. They won’t understand that the two are connected. That’s why it’s useless to punish a dog for pooping on the rug while you were at work.
Bless your little rescuing dog lovin’ heart! She’ll bounce back from her surgery in no time. Does she look mostly like a Lab? I hope she’s got the terrier nose and whiskers, oh, and that great terrier butt-strut. hugs
If she is already shy, she may take a while to adjust to her new home, surgery or not. Don’t get your heart set on any perfect scenario. Failing to meet owners’ unrealistic expectations is exactly why most adult dogs are up for adoption. You must be prepared to be patient and for there to be the possibility of problems while you get to know each other.
Many dogs are spayed or neutered at shelters before coming home and there are not normally problems, but dogs are individuals, so it’s not an unrealistic concern. I would not let it stand in my way and would bring her home as soon as possible.
What AnaMen said. My little adopted mutt, it turned out, doesn’t play. Not at all interested in toys. Or Kongs. Or chew bones. Doesn’t cuddle. Hates the car. Is deaf. I was disappointed to discover these things about him, but he’s a senior dog and set in his ways. And so damn sweet that the other stuff just doesn’t matter.
If you can count to 2 after the dog does something (chased a car/ chewed something)and you call the dog over and scold it,in the dog’s brain you scolded it for coming to you! Anytime the dog comes when called,it is a GOOD DOG. I don’t care what happened over there…
Find some “Monks of New Skeet”(spelling) puppy training books.
I volunteer at my local animal shelter. Over the last 5 years, I have seen hundreds and hundreds of dogs and cats go home after being spayed or neutered with no ill associations. It is actually the law in our area, with very few exceptions.
As for the being timid, it is quite possible that once she is home with you and feels safe and loved, she will come out of her shell. I have seen that happen many, many times.
Some dogs are just a little bit cautious by nature, too. And any dog that’s gotten into a shelter situation is probably very confused about how he got there and why. Everyone else is right about the spaying. You will be seen as the rescuer, not the perpetrator. Please, please don’t let that stop you from adopting.
You doggie may take a few days to acclimate to a new situation in your home. It will not be because she doesn’t like you, but rather that she’s had a number of changes in her life recently and she will be waiting to see whether you’re in it with her for the long haul.
Let her choose the pace. Reward her when she comes to you and let her go hide behind a chair for a while if everything starts to overwhelm her a bit. Once she, in her own time, convinces herself that you are there for her, she’ll be there for you 100%.
No one can convince me that pets don’t know that you’ve helped them and given them a home when they needed one. Rescue/Shelter pets truly appreciate that they’ve been given a second change. I see it all the time.
Everyone else is right about the spaying part. Once you get her home, be aware that a timid dog can sometimes show a fear-aggression response to strangers after she gets comfortable in her new home. Our rescue dog was sweet and docile for the first month at home, but as she learned that it was her home, she got more protective of it and us. It was easy enough to manage once we realized what was going on and we trained her to not fear strangers. But there were a couple nips of visitors before we realized she wasn’t going to stay timid forever.
Thanks for the thoughts everyone. She isn’t that timid at the shelter (she loves to come up to me when she’s in the cage and lick me through the bars) so hopefully it won’t be a huge issue. I will keep an open mind though!
And yeah, I’m going to go get her in about 5 hours! I’ll post pics!
Edit: I think being around other dogs is what makes her nervous, especially when she’s in a fence and they aren’t. But she didn’t try to fight with a dog when they brought it in to her cage so that’s encouraging.
I didn’t want to say anything before, but your theory that she would possibly be better off being spayed and then waiting and being adopted by someone else was probably not an option for her. They normally wait until a dog is adopted to spay or neuter in case no one comes for them before their time is up.
Wow, I looked it up and her shelter is apparently a high kill shelter with several dogs being killed per week. I know it is necessary sometimes but that’s so depressing. I can’t even imagine that some of the dogs I saw might not survive to find homes.
Maybe someone else can adopt her after she’s already been spayed for a while, even though that makes me sad.
I feel a lot better about it now.