Want to adopt a Lab, in the process

:image023: Hi I'm a new member! I need advice. I have a 3 yr old lab which we obtained through an older lady that could no longer take care of her (Star). She was 1 yr old when she joined our family. She did great in the transition. Love her dearly. Previously, we had a lab from a breeder. I was extremely attached to her. She died from diabetes complications. My heart literally broke into grieved for her so badly that I actually had to be hospitalized. Six months went by and we adopted Star. It was very difficult. It felt like I was betraying Suzie. it's been 2 years now and I'm happy to say Star and I am super close!
Now, I need advice. My husband and I have been approved to obtain a rescue Lab. Just need to find one close by - we're in Md and many Labs are in VA. I've had several people say we are making a huge mistake. Especially my sister. She swears I will regret it. According to her - she's had 2 dogs twice - she said they fight non-stop, fight over food, treats and toys. She said they do not give you the same affection, they become closer to each other and eventually ignore you.
I just cannot see this happening with Labs. Am I right? Is my sister giving me any good advice. We want to adopt around the same age as Star is.

Please, advice would be greatly appreciated.

*** oh, I've also been warned that rescue dogs are someone else's problem. Been told the have mega health problems.

The bonding to each other usually happens when you have 2 puppies, litter mates or close to the same age, that are not trained and socialized separately and properly. I have always had at least 2 dogs, several years apart in age, and have never had a problem with fighting. It is important to introduce them properly and do your research on how to have 2 adult dogs coexist peacefully. There are tons of wonderful rescues, most through no fault of their own. The previous owners are often the problem, at fault for not taking the time to train the dog or doing proper research before getting a puppy. One thing I would suggest is to have a few years between the ages of the dogs. It is very hard to deal with losing 2 dogs close together and senior health issues can be expensive as well.

The people giving you advice either don't like dogs or really need to do some research.

Welcome to you and Star!

We've had 7 dogs over the years, all but one had a "brother from another mother" to hang out with. Actually our first 2 puppies were littermates, and we didn't actually see the problems that so many talk about with littermates. We have not really had any issues that your doom and gloom friends are bringing up with having 2 dogs at once, we enjoy it.

A couple things I would mention, having 2 dogs doesn't mean they'll be great pals. Our current 2 dogs are 6 years apart in age and get along OK, but they don't snuggle together to sleep and it took the older one a while to get accustomed to having a pesky, energetic puppy biting on him. He would probably have been happier with a slightly older companion at first but now they're great together. I think it keeps my older boy more active to have a live-in playmate. They play and play-fight but I trained them not to fight over food, toys, treats or anything else. It helped that the older one was well-trained before the next one came along. And they definitely love us better than they love each other.

A second consideration with having 2 dogs close to the same age is that they will be elderly together and the potential of losing them relatively close together is a real possibility. Our first 2 pups, littermates, died within 2 weeks of each other from cancer. Our second 2, who were 2 months apart in age, died within a year of each other. I am only mentioning that is something to consider with getting dogs so close in age. It's heartbreaking no matter when or how old they are, but close together is bad.

I say go for it. Meet the potential new family members. Make sure Star gets to meet them as well, on neutral ground, not walking into your house for the first meeting! Lots of people on here have gotten some really great pups from rescues. If you're familiar with Labs, I think you've got a head start. I suspect many young labs end up in rescue because people think Labs are such great dogs, and they are, but they aren't born trained or well mannered and they're often much more energetic than people expect. Are you going through LRCP?

Of course, you HAVE asked a bunch of lab lovers, so we might be a bit biased! :highly_amused:

Mmm cannot speak for other breeds, but I would say labs love people more than other dogs but still love other dogs, so they won't be ignoring you .... my 3 definitley don't.

As for rescues having health issues - I have only rescued once as she is almost 11 and very healthy (knock on wood), and still goes running with me. My brother also says he never wants a rescue because he is inheritting problems .... which is true sometimes, but that is not to say getting a dog as a puppy is going to prevent problems (health and behavioral), even if you go to a reputable breeder.

I say go with your heart and rescue!!!!

My new strategy is to have 2 dogs most of the time, but when one starts getting up there in years, get a third, so I never have to be down to 1 dog and I don't have to have that guilty feeling that I a replacing a dog (which is really not the case, but it sure feels like it).

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Originally Posted by Terry Tucker

:image023: Hi I'm a new member! I need advice. I have a 3 yr old lab which we obtained through an older lady that could no longer take care of her (Star). She was 1 yr old when she joined our family. She did great in the transition. Love her dearly. Previously, we had a lab from a breeder. I was extremely attached to her. She died from diabetes complications. My heart literally broke into grieved for her so badly that I actually had to be hospitalized. Six months went by and we adopted Star. It was very difficult. It felt like I was betraying Suzie. it's been 2 years now and I'm happy to say Star and I am super close!
Now, I need advice. My husband and I have been approved to obtain a rescue Lab. Just need to find one close by - we're in Md and many Labs are in VA. I've had several people say we are making a huge mistake. Especially my sister. She swears I will regret it. According to her - she's had 2 dogs twice - she said they fight non-stop, fight over food, treats and toys. She said they do not give you the same affection, they become closer to each other and eventually ignore you.
I just cannot see this happening with Labs. Am I right? Is my sister giving me any good advice. We want to adopt around the same age as Star is.

Please, advice would be greatly appreciated.

*** oh, I've also been warned that rescue dogs are someone else's problem. Been told the have mega health problems.

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So really - it depends.
If your current dog is social, or relatively social, and you adopt a relatively social dog that's a good fit, and properly introduce them and take things slow, there is no reason to deal with any fighting. and as long as you train the dog new and spend some time with them, they shouldn't "bond more to each other than you".
If your girl doesn'T like other dogs, especially on "her turf" and/or you bring in a dog that doesn't like there dogs, and /or they are not a match then, yeah you may have some quarrels. Or if you don't properly intro then an slowly merge them into a single household (things like feed totally separately an offer separate space as they get used to one another, meeting on neutral territory…).

I have a dog and fostered over 20 dogs without issue (he is bullet proof with other dogs so I actually even fostered some pretty dog reactive dogs too without issue and just some general management). I adopted a dog and continue to foster off and on and dog sit, my second dog needs a bit more time and a better "match" but i don't deal with fights or anything. I just sorta work on a proper intro and some management at first then all good. sometimes management needs to be ongoing for a bit more than a day. She's pretty social and not aggressive just quirky at times.

As for inheriting someone elses problem, well that depends. Not really. Some have had a pretty good background in training and socialization so no different than taking in a friend's dog they can't keep but raised well and loved. Some just need a bit more work on the training bit but a foster generally works on that. Others need lots more work and yes, "have issues". The advantage of working with a reputable rescue is they should be able to TELL YOU about the dog and their needs and you can, together, assess if that works for you (if you don't want a "project dog" then you just don't adopt one!) and the dogs can meet beforehand to see (though first meeting doesn't always mean much, I had dogs hate each other we barely did intro but adopters were experienced and knew their dog - less than a week after adoption the dogs were BFF's and cuddle buddies - not that I recommend this if you are not willing to put the work in to properly integrate, best to go with something that goes more smoothly).

A LOT will depend on the rescue you work with and how long they have the dog and how much they assess dogs before releasing them. I know some dogs are adopted out pretty fast (under 2 weeks) so it's harder to really assess/get to know them. Some fosters will put more work into training than there. Some rescues have a more in depth adoption process than others (ex: allow meeting between dogs on neutral ground then another meeting if required). so it depends on YOUR expectations and then how the rescue works.

Health - well the only real way to get the odds on your side for health is to find a reputable breeder that does ALL the clearances and knows their dogs parents, grandparents and so on. Otherwise there is no advantage to going with a "breeder" who may be nice and breed their wonderful family pets but without clearances there is no more guarantee the dogs will be "healthy" than a shelter dog VS a rescue.

my two don't play much at all. but they more than "tolerate" each other, i think they enjoy each other's company and get along well.

your sister's experience is pretty limited and I am guessing there is likely a reason things didn't work out both times. her experience isn't common at all. i won't say it's "uncommon" but not what one should expect.

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Originally Posted by Terry Tucker

:image023: Hi I'm a new member! I need advice. I have a 3 yr old lab which we obtained through an older lady that could no longer take care of her (Star). She was 1 yr old when she joined our family. She did great in the transition. Love her dearly. Previously, we had a lab from a breeder. I was extremely attached to her. She died from diabetes complications. My heart literally broke into grieved for her so badly that I actually had to be hospitalized. Six months went by and we adopted Star. It was very difficult. It felt like I was betraying Suzie. it's been 2 years now and I'm happy to say Star and I am super close!
Now, I need advice. My husband and I have been approved to obtain a rescue Lab. Just need to find one close by - we're in Md and many Labs are in VA. I've had several people say we are making a huge mistake. Especially my sister. She swears I will regret it. According to her - she's had 2 dogs twice - she said they fight non-stop, fight over food, treats and toys. She said they do not give you the same affection, they become closer to each other and eventually ignore you.
I just cannot see this happening with Labs. Am I right? Is my sister giving me any good advice. We want to adopt around the same age as Star is.

Please, advice would be greatly appreciated.

*** oh, I've also been warned that rescue dogs are someone else's problem. Been told the have mega health problems.

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Hello and Welcome Star and family.

We've always had two dogs, not related. With an introduction in neutral space, a walk together, once they walked through the door, no problem. Once thing to watch is being possessive with toys and most important, eating/food guarding. I feed in the kitchen which is big, one on one side, one on another and I stand in between. Right now we have a lab and a GSD. It's the lab who tries to encroach on the GSD's bowl and he will give her a warning growl but I don't let her bother him. However, they sit side by side for treats.

Inheriting someone else's problem, didn't happen with Suzie. There are so many dogs with similar backgrounds/history just looking for a forever home. You will want to train separately, especially the new dog.

Don't think you betrayed Suzie. In fact you honored her by opening your heart to another who needed a home.

I think it is great you are rescuing. Congratulations. We always have two dogs.I think it's easier. Our labs get along great. We usually get a puppy when one is about 4 1/2 or 5 years old. That way I always have a trained hunting dog ready to go.

Thank you for wanting to rescue a dog. We have four dogs, all rescues: two labs, an 11 year old yellow and a 7 year old chocolate, a 3 year old CBR mix and a 9 year old English Cocker Spaniel mix. The retrievers are all female and the cocker is male. They do not food or toy guard, although the cocker hoards tennis balls and toys but not maliciously. They don't snuggle but the retrievers will share the couch together. Don't be afraid to rescue a lab or any breed for that matter. Reputable rescues/shelters will walk you through the process. You and all members of your family that will interact with the dog on a daily/frequent basis should meet the dog. if everyone is comfortable, including the dog, let your dog meet the prospect in a neutral place. Then walk them together and, if all goes well, let them get together in your home. You may want to keep them leashed until you're comfortable with their behavior together.

The rescue/shelter should give you an animal that is in good health, with as complete a medical history as possible - full disclosure, and that is current with all vaccinations OR they may require you to neuter/spay the dog down the road or have the animal inoculated at their expense. If you have a problem with the dog, reputable shelters will take the dog back and in most cases their contract will require you to return the dog to them if there are issues no matter how long you have the animal. Make sure the shelter/rescue you're dealing with has this language in their contract. Search Petfinder for available dogs in your area or you may wish to contact Lab Rescue LRCP in Annandale, VA.

Good luck and thanks again for choosing to rescue/save a dog.