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Originally Posted by Amethyst
It sounds like you've had a bad experience. I've had a lot of rescue dogs through my home, and while I don't disagree that it takes awhile to see their "true self" I find that it's not usually a big problem. The vast majority of dogs I've worked with have shown more "bad behaviours" at the beginning (fearfulness around people, not walking properly on a leash, snapping at people, house training problems) and then get much better once they've settled in and are comfortable.
There's also a big difference between a shelter environment (where all dogs are pretty much stressed to some degree) and a foster home (which is just a regular home setting). Most of the rescues in Calgary are foster-based.
Adjustment can take awhile, but a good rescue will work with an adopter to find the right fit and will be there if there is a problem. Sadly, there are some that will give you a dog immediately and then leave you on their own, in the same way there are good and bad breeders.
One way an adopter can avoid these rescues/ breeders is by not being impatient. The good places will want to check out your family (and let you check out them) and it may take a little while to find the right match. If you can show up in the morning and have a new dog by the afternoon, that is a big red flag that it is not a rescue / breeder / etc you should be dealing with.
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There were lots of steps to go through in our situation and I don't know if we would have seen the behavior change unless we had a trial period of over a week unfortunately.
The other issue may have been the foster having dogs while he was being adopted into a no dog household.
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ech·o cham·ber
/ˈekō ˌCHāmbər/
noun
An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.
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