Rescue dogs are a personal passion of ours at the VDTA and we can help you smoothly integrate your new rescue into your household.

If more people not only considered adopting a dog but were more equipped with the knowledge to do so in a way that is mutually beneficial, it would go a long way to help the hundreds of thousands of dogs who need a home in Australia.​

Choosing the right dog

Many people with good intentions get a rescue dog from an organisation or shelter only to gradually understand that the dog is not as they imagined and they are compelled to give the poor thing back. These boomerang dogs are common in shelters and often get stuck in the system where they do not last long.​

To help this process run smoothly we recommend contacting us to assist in selecting the appropriate dog for you,  we can help you choose a personality that is best for your lifestyle. If you are imagining your selection criteria with any preconceived aesthetic characteristics you will more often than not be selecting the wrong dog. Temperament should be the main concern and this is the essence of what getting a suitable rescue is about. This will ensure a lasting relationship where you will really appreciate your new pet and develop that really strong bond that all owners dream of.

Selecting the right dog is only the first hurdle, once you get it home there are many other considerations to take into account.

There is a very good reason people often have to give their rescue dog back, and for those that call us for help instead of giving up, we always hear the complaint, “the dog was fine for two weeks, now I just can’t handle it.”

This phenomenon is due to location. Location is very important to the vast majority of dogs, only the most properly socialised and confident dogs can be completely happy and relaxed in any location. In the case of rescue dogs they almost certainly have lacked an optimised upbringing and the way they feel and behave is heavily influenced by environment.

Think for a minute about where they have come from, we may not know  the experiences they were exposed to before they went to the kennel or foster carer. Each time the dog is moved it is temporarily affected, feeling less comfortable. What this does is mask the dog’s true traits, often making the dog seem quieter, calmer, and less aggressive in some cases. Shelter staff will also tell you anything to get the dog into a good home, and quite often they themselves are also unaware of the dogs “actual temperament”.

It can take anything from 2 weeks to 2 months for the dog to feel comfortable in your home and its true traits to be revealed. Hence, the remarks from owners about the dog “changing”. We are not saying that these types of dogs should not be rehomed, quite the contrary, in fact this change in location is a golden opportunity to eradicate problem traits before they re-surface, and to set the tone for strong leadership and a beautifully behaved dog.

Unfortunately though the mentality of the “rescuer” is to feel sorry for their new downtrodden pet and provide endless amounts of inappropriately applied love and reinforcement for everything the dog does. This not only brings the undesirable traits to the surface faster, it also serves to intensify them to a level worse than before.

It is essential to see a professional during this time to avoid the typical pitfalls of rescuing a dog, we can provide the right advice, and show you exactly what needs to be done to make sure the individual you bring home makes a suitable companion.

Rescue Dogs Melbourne

Rescue dogs are a personal passion of mine, and helping families get this right is one of the most rewarding things I do.

If more people not only considered adopting a rescue but felt genuinely equipped to do it well, it would make an enormous difference to the hundreds of thousands of dogs in Australia who are still waiting for a home.

Choosing the Right Dog

One of the most common and heartbreaking patterns in rescue is the boomerang dog — the one that gets adopted with the best of intentions, gradually reveals itself to be not quite what the family imagined, and ends up back in the shelter.

Often stuck in the system, these dogs don’t always get another chance.

A big part of avoiding that outcome starts before you even bring a dog home.

I can help you select the right dog for your lifestyle and household — and the most important thing I will tell you upfront is this: if you are choosing based on how a dog looks, you are almost certainly choosing the wrong dog.

Temperament is everything.

Get that right, and you are setting yourself up for a relationship that genuinely works — one where the bond you always imagined actually has a chance to develop.

What Happens When You Get Them Home

Selecting the right dog is only the first hurdle.

Once they are through your door, there is a lot more to navigate — and this is where most people run into trouble.

There is a very good reason so many rescue owners call me saying the same thing:

“The dog was fine for a while — now I just can’t handle it.”

This comes down to location.

Most rescue dogs have not had an optimised upbringing, and their behaviour is heavily shaped by their environment.

When a dog is moved — from wherever they came from, to a kennel or foster placement, to your home — the unfamiliarity temporarily masks who they really are.

They often appear quieter, calmer, and easier than they actually are.

Shelter staff and rescue organisation volunteers will sometimes tell you what you want to hear, and in many cases they genuinely don’t know the dog’s true temperament either.

It can take anywhere from two weeks to two months for a rescue dog to feel settled enough in a new home for their real traits to surface.

That is not a bad thing — in fact, that window is a genuine opportunity.

If you use it well, you can set the tone before problems take hold, establish strong foundations, and shape the dog you want to live with.

If you don’t, those traits tend to surface faster and with more intensity than they would have otherwise.

The instinct most people have with a rescue — to feel sorry for them, to be gentle, to let things slide — is completely understandable.

It is also one of the fastest ways to make things harder than they need to be.

How I Can Help

I work with rescue families at every stage — from helping you choose the right dog before you commit, to being there in those critical early weeks to make sure you don’t fall into the usual traps.

The advice I give is practical, honest, and specific to your dog and your household.

There is very little I haven’t seen, and the vast majority of rescue dogs can make wonderful pets with the right help and guidance.

If you are thinking about rescuing a dog, or you have already brought one home and things are not going the way you hoped, get in touch today.

Get In Touch

If you’re considering adopting a rescue dog or need help with a recently adopted dog, get in touch today to discuss how I can help.