A while back, a couple approached me to discuss their dog and his behavior issues.  They found an Australian Cattle Dog, I’ll call him Mikey, roaming on a construction site where one of them worked.  The dog was with them.  He was a beautiful Cattle Dog who was a wonderful example of his breed.  As I spoke with the couple, Mikey continued to repetitively jump 6 feet straight up from the floor so he could look me in the eye and try to get some attention.  The couple was looking to rehome him.  I asked the couple why they could no longer keep Mikey.  In short, they said he was crazy.  He was jumping on their kitchen counters and running across them when they came home from work, he would never stop moving, he would often walk and run behind children nipping at their heals, he was mouthy and had a mind of his own…the list was long.  I asked the couple a few questions and found out that they lived in a town home with a small “postage stamp” backyard.  I learned that they worked long hours and did not have much time or energy to walk Mikey during the week  They adopted him because they loved the way he looked and they really liked his personality.  They wanted to keep him, but they had no idea how to change his behavior.

I asked the couple if they knew anything about Mikey’s breed.  They did not.  We talked about Mikey and that his breed was developed to herd cattle.  That meant that Mikey was likely to try to herd people, children or other dogs when no cattle was available and that he would likely circle his herding target and nip at its heals to keep it in place or make it go where he wanted it to go.  We discussed that Mikey was bred to run miles and miles every day moving cattle where the rancher wanted them to go.  We talked about the independent, decision making mind of a cattle dog and how strong willed a 50 pound Cattle Dog has to be to get a bunch of 1,000 pound cattle to go where the rancher wants them to go.  And, we talked about where and how Mikey was likely to burn off his extra energy in inappropriate ways if he didn’t get the mental and physical exercise he needed every day.  When we finished that part of the discussion, the owners’ eyes were quite wide and their faces were a little incredulous. 

I had good news for the couple.  Together, we could fix their issues.  After speaking for a while about potential solutions, we determined that they had a neighbor who was a teenager who was willing to take Mikey every day on a run or a run while the teen rode a bike.  We made a plan to do training and enrichment exercises with Mikey every day and we figured out some ways to let Mikey exercise his herding instincts without scaring the local children.  The couple went on their way with new enthusiasm and determination.  The couple came to see me a few weeks later with beaming smiles on their faces.  They had been following our plan and had decided that Mikey was the best dog ever.  Mikey’s home had become his forever home.

The moral of this story is that adding a new pet family member to your family whether a dog, cat, bird or other exotic pet is a big decision.  Whether you think it will happen or not, your lives change when your new pet arrives.  Finding a breed or species and specific pet that fits your family’s lifestyle can make the difference in whether the change is a positive or negative one.  The breed or species traits and needs are important considerations in your decision.  A thorough evaluation of a rescue pet by a professional helps your family know what to expect when the pet comes home.  An evaluation can help you  assess any behavior issues your new family member may have and develop a plan for how to manage them.  A pre-adoption pet consultation can help your family have a plan to address the emotional and physical needs of your new pet making the adoption process a positive one for everyone involved.

We offer pet selection consultations for all types of pets.  Some of the areas we can help address in a pet selection consultation:

Determining if a breed, species and particular pet is a good fit for your family.

Creation of a plan to address the pet’s emotional and physical needs.

Dietary food recommendations including feeding quantity, food type, brand recommendations, treat recommendations and potential toxins and poisons.

House pet proofing for safety.

Temperament evaluation to determine if the pet is dog, cat and exotic pet friendly.

Behavior evaluations to make a plan to address unwanted behaviors and to determine if training may be needed. 

Meet and greets to determine if potential new family member will get along with current household pets and children.

If you have any questions about bringing a new pet into your family, please feel free to contact us.  We offer a free initial consultation to evaluate your needs and to discuss how we can help you meet your goals for adopting your new family member.  We look forward to meeting you and your pet family members.

~Rob