We often hesitate to adopt a dog from the Humane Society because we figure we don't know what we're getting into adopting somebody else's used dog. We assume that if the dog is at the pound, there must be a reason. He chews up your smelly shoes, he pees on Aunt Molly when she comes to visit, he rummages through the trash.... there must be something really wrong for the dog to be at the pound.

But that's the big myth. In fact, when you adopt a dog from the pound they often have some kind of record about the dog: any training he's had, whether he's been an outdoor or indoor dog, plus they've spent a few days around him and know if he's friendly, aggressive, fearful, etc. Dogs don't just appear on their doorstep. People turn them in, and in doing so, they fill out a fact sheet about the dog.

My very first dog was a dog pound special. She was a year and a half old, and knowing nothing about dogs, boy was it a tough choice! I didn't want to train a dog from scratch, so I didn't want a puppy. I wanted the dog to at least be housebroken and maybe sit or lay down on command.

According to their records, Gypsy Rose was housebroken, knew SIT, and preferred the outdoors. I liked what I saw in her eyes. They were calm. She wasn't jumping around and barking like the other dogs. There was no sign of aggression or fear. She sat calmly, looking at me with a question mark in her eyes.

Today her eyes are full of joy and laughter and love. And the question mark is in my eyes. Because I don't understand how she came to be abandoned by two different families. Somebody, somewhere, spent a lot of time with this dog. And it shows.

She knew a lot more when I adopted her than just SIT. She's about the closest thing to the perfect dog that I could ever imagine, and it baffles me utterly that anyone would have gotten rid of her. And to think how close she was to the gas chamber. She'd been there for a week already, and I don't know the time limit they try finding a new home before the axe falls, but I don't think it's much more than a week.

Gypsy Rose is an incredibly good natured dog. We've taken her on many road trips with us. She's a great traveler and welcome in people's homes, she's that good and she came to us this way.

Obviously not all pound dogs are going to be as perfect as Gypsy Rose. And she's got her quirks, as do all of us. But the moral of the story is, never to assume that just because somebody dumped the dog, that there's something wrong with the dog. Maybe it's the owner that was the problem.

Dakota is our newest addition, we adopted her in June 2007 from a shelter. She was 7 months old and yup, she's another dog pound special. She's what they call a Yo-Yo dog, shuffled from home to home until she met us. She'd been at the dog pound twice, plus two other places. She isn't as perfect as Gypsy Rose (yet) but we've worked hard to help her adjust and she's with us for life. My favorite saying as that she's in training to be the perfect dog :-) As you can see, she's quite striking. They told us she was an Australian Cattle Dog mix, we're guessing the mix is Husky.

Dakota didn't come to us as well behaved as Gypsy Rose. We suspect that her previous owner adopted her, stuck her in the backyard, tossed her a ball every now and again, and left her to her own devices. Then she grew up and they didn't know what to do with her, so they took her back to the pound where they'd adopted her from. That's the theory. Dakota's previous owner's were not good teachers and that's probably why they abandoned her.

This happens a lot with dogs. People get a cute puppy, they don't take the time to train their puppy, it grows into a big dog, not as easy to control, so they dump it. Approximately 56% of all dogs taken to shelters do NOT find new homes. These dogs are euthanized.

I look at Dakota and Gypsy Rose, my lifelong companions, and when I think of what could have happened to them I cry. Even now, after having Gypsy Rose for so many years, I cry at the thought of this beautiful, loving dog being abandoned by her owners with a 50/50 chance of being put down for it.

As for Dakota, she's extremely intelligent, she makes us laugh a lot, she's got a fun personality, and she's a bit of a brat. Dakota is in training to be the perfect dog :-) I believe that virtually any dog can be the perfect dog and that it's our job to teach them.

If you're a good teacher, your dog will learn. If you're not a good teacher, learn to be one. Watch the many dog training shows on TV, read books, take a class, and you will learn how to teach your dog. Even us people folks can learn new tricks!

The following will take you to Dakota's story:

Chapter 1 - Training Our Problem Dog
Chapter 2 - Potty Training An Adult Dog
Chapter 3 - Dealing With Dog Chewing Problems
Chapter 4 - Training Your Dog To Be Home Alone
Chapter 5 - Proof That Any Dog Can Be Trained
Chapter 6 - Interviewed for Victoria Stilwell
Chapter 7 - Motivating Your Dog To Honor And Obey You