The Top 5 Reasons Dogs Get Surrendered to Shelters
The reason most dogs are surrendered to shelters is for unwanted behavior. Unfairly, none of these dogs have received any formal training. Untrained dogs act like untrained dogs. Responsible dog parents know they have to provide training so their dog understands how to behave in human environments.
Part of my mission as a dog trainer for dogs with emotionally driven behavior problems is to help them stay with their families. So this week, I'm outlining the top 5 unwanted behaviors people cite when surrendering their dog to a shelter along with how to turn those "naughty" behaviors into good manners.
Living in a dog shelter sucks
Domestic dogs evolved right alongside humans and now all they want is to live with families. Don’t get me wrong, the people who run good shelters are awesome and love the dogs they care for but it’s still a far cry from family life.
Getting adopted is the holy grail for shelter dogs and most of them eventually get adopted by a loving family that commits to them for the entire rest of their life, provides the training & enrichment they need and everyone lives happily ever after.
Sadly, for around 160,000 dogs a year adoption doesn’t end in a forever home. These unlucky dogs are returned to the shelter, some of them even multiple times, through no fault of their own. I’m working with a dog right now who was abused by his original family for the first three years of his life, got adopted for a couple of weeks and is now looking for a new home again. It’s a heartbreaking case but I’m optimistic for this wonderful dog and look forward to the day when I can share his success story with you.
Why dog people surrender their adopted dog?
When rescue dogs are surrendered, it’s not because they are “bad dogs,” it’s overwhelmingly because their adopters failed to provide the one thing they needed most to be successful in their new home. In short, TRAINING – 96% of the dogs who are returned to shelters have received ZERO training from their adoptive family. ZERO!
(A note about the remaining 4% of surrendered dogs. These dogs are surrendered for reasons such as death of the owner, financial crisis related to the needs of the dog and/or the family and other extreme situations.)
It's not the dog's fault
Think about it like this, if you went somewhere you’d never been before that was completely different from anything you knew where nobody explained the rules to you, how well do you think you would fare in that environment? On top of that, your hosts gave you mere days to fully adapt and make zero mistakes or else. If it were me, I’m guessing it would be hard to fit in and that probably I’d do things that those around me didn’t like. Maybe even get asked to leave even though I would honestly be trying my hardest to be the most good girl I could be.
Adopters are awesome
I’m not trying to bash adopters here. Nope! I love everyone who adopts a dog and tries to do their best. I adopted my own dogs. What I am questioning (and totally judging) is the perception around adopting dogs (and even around getting puppies) that training is an extra rather than a necessity.
This is especially true when people adopt adult dogs or have been told by the shelter that the dogs are already house trained or whatever. It’s not that the shelters are lying, or even wrong, it’s that the dog isn’t always capable of transferring his skills to a new environment without help or has trouble communicating with his new family because they don't know each other very well yet.
Put yourself back in that unknown environment from an earlier paragraph. Now, let’s say you have to go to the bathroom but you don’t know how to convey that information to the people around you, you can’t find anything that looks to you like a familiar bathroom and, despite your efforts to communicate, nobody shows you where to go to the bathroom. Eventually, you pee your pants and everyone is really mad about it. You know you’ve been potty trained for years but you didn’t know where the bathroom was in this new place. Then you just couldn’t hold it anymore. Nevertheless, your housemates think you’re gross and throw you out.
Well, that’s what it’s like for adopted dogs all the time. It’s even more confusing if they’ve passed through many temporary situations, only now they have the added stress of not really expecting you to let them stay. It's extra hard to focus and learn new rules when you're feeling sad and confused.
Just like me in the story above, dogs are trying to be good and simply don't know the rules due to a lack of training. As a person, you might describe this as a lack of information or communication which is essentially also the definition of dog training: ensuring that your dog understands the behaviors that are expected of them so that they can live in harmony with their human family.
So, here are the top five “miscommunications” that cause dogs to be surrendered to shelters by their human families.
PROBLEM #1
Dog exhibited destructive behaviors such as soiling in the house, chewing furniture, etc.
SOLUTION #1
You have three options here for a solution depending on the cause of these destructive behaviors:
Make sure the dog isn’t suffering from a medical problem. Medical problems cause behavior changes so always take your dog to the veterinarian when these changes first occur.
Once a medical cause is ruled out, make sure the dog is getting enough exercise and enrichment. Not unlike human children, bored dogs invent their own entertainment which can appear “naughty” to humans. So, walk your dog, play with your dog, give your dog enrichment items such as a peanut butter filled Kong toy to chew or treat puzzles.
A general lack of training can lead to misbehavior because the dog doesn’t know what is expected. Take a manners class with your dog, do a potty training refresher, stimulate your dog with a fun agility or nose class. You can also hire a professional trainer to help you with this. When working with a trainer make sure you only hire someone whose methods are 100% positive reinforcement based.
PROBLEM #2
The dog was disobedient in general
SOLUTION #2
A simple solution for a rather vague complaint is to get your dog some basic manners training. You have options in how to do this so you can make it work with your lifestyle. Take a training class or work privately with a professional dog trainer online or in person.
PROBLEM #3
The dog barked too much
SOLUTION #3
So...dogs bark. It becomes a problem when it drives you crazy or you get constant complaints from the neighbors. Luckily, you have options here as well.
First, try to figure out what triggers your dog to bark (sights, sounds, etc.).
You can often solve this problem with environmental management which means that if your dog likes to sit on the chair in front of the window and bark at passers-by, move/block the chair or cover the window. Limiting your dog’s access to the trigger will limit the barking and make training easier.
If your dog barks at the mail carrier every day. Train your dog to love the mail carrier. Give your dog treats just before the moment they start barking to teach your dog that the mail carrier = yummy treats. Instead of barking, your dog will look for treats when they see the mail carrier.
EXCESSIVE BARKING can feel like an overwhelming problem. Take my Bark Free Blueprint course to end your dog's nuisance barking. Use code: CGDTTEN to get 10% off the enrollment fee.
PROBLEM #4
The dog was too active or energetic
SOLUTION #4
This can be tricky as sometimes there truly is a mismatch between what someone wanted in a dog and what they got. The best solution here is to fully understand what you want and can handle in a dog and the breed/personality of the dog you are adopting. You can ask the rescue for a trial run of a few days to a week to be sure the dog is right for you (please note, not all organizations are able to provide this option).
You can get an idea of whether this is the case by assessing how you are bonding with the dog. You and your dog are in a relationship, if you are not falling in love, you may have a mismatch. I have helped people surrender dogs in this situation as it can be better for both parties. This is different from giving up on a dog because you don't want to put in the work of training them.
Mismatches are uncommon so, assuming that isn't the case, the simplest solution to a highly exuberant dog is to give them the right amount of exercise and enrichment.
For exercise, go on more walks, hire a dog walker or try an agility or other active class together.
Since mental stimulation can be as tiring as physical exertion, giving your dog treat puzzles, peanut butter filled Kong toys and other types of enrichment will also help get out that energy. Even taking a basic manners refresher course will help as it will be filled with different people and dogs and will be a fun activity to do together.
PROBLEM #5
The dog was aggressive toward family members, other animals and/or strangers
SOLUTION #5
As I mentioned earlier, start at the veterinarian if your dog starts to show signs of aggression as it can be caused by physical and neurological problems. Also, install some environmental controls immediately while you work on the problem so no one gets hurt. That means, keep any children, guest or other pets in the house away from the dog.
Once that’s done, have your dog assessed by a professional trainer who has experience working with aggressive dogs or by a veterinary behaviorist. Dogs will aggress for a variety of reasons. Some are resource guarders and will growl or snap when approached while eating or playing with a toy. Other times a dog will growl if you are playing too roughly with them, try to pet them while asleep or startle them. Aggression can surface during walks as some dogs become frustrated when leashed.
MOST dog aggression is based in fear and often called reactivity. It’s a complicated issue and my recommendation here is to work with a professional rather than try to handle it yourself. As a certified trainer, I specialize in working with unwanted behavior - including aggression - caused by fear and anxiety. If you are experiencing this with your dog, schedule a free phone consultation with me to see how I can help you.
Training is always the solution
As you can see, in the vast majority of instances, training will solve your dog’s behavior problems. Even if you have a perfectly well-behaved dog, training together is a great way to have fun and feel closer with your dog. Contrary to the old saying, you actually can teach old dogs new tricks so plan for a lifetime of training together. You will both be the richer for it.
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