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Adopter Information Sheet
Taking your new companion home should be an experience to be remembered – for good times and not bad. In order to make it as simple as possible, we have some processes to follow and some recommendations to make.
Veterinary information
At the time of your adoption, your foster home will give you:
- A copy of the SRGA Vet Record Form that you can take to your vet. It will tell him/her everything Sheltie Rescue of Georgia has done to get the dog ready to go to its new home. If your vet has questions, the vet we used for your dog will be noted on the form.
- Southside Animal Hospital – 770-228-2595
- A copy of the Adoption Agreement you read and signed.
- A copy of the Checklist the SRGA volunteer went over with you at the adoption.
- The original rabies certificate from the above named veterinarian.
- Two months supply of Heartworm preventative.
The microchip information paper shows us as the implanter. You need to complete the rest of the information and submit it to register your dog with the microchip vendor. This is a very important step!!
The foster home will keep:
- The original Vet Record Form
- The original Adoption Agreement that you both signed
- A copy of the rabies certificate
- All other paperwork we have on the dog. For privacy reasons, we cannot release this information to you. If your new pet has previous medical conditions, we will be happy to provide the pertinent medical information directly to your vet upon request.
Supplies to purchase BEFORE bringing your pet home
Before you take your dog home, there is some equipment you should have in your possession. These should be brought to the meeting with the foster parents where you expect to take home the dog:
- A choke collar (chain, nylon, or preferable Martingale)
- A sturdy lead
- A crate (for most Shelties a “medium” is sufficiently large)
- A worn article of clothing that you don’t mind if it gets destroyed to put in crate with new dog so that they can get used to your smell
Collars and Tags
Shelties’ heads are smaller than their necks, so collars easily slip over their heads. It is *HIGHLY* recommended that you purchase the appropriate sized choke collar to use with your Sheltie. The clip-lock collar that comes with your dog at adoption should be left on the dog at all times, with the tags in place, even inside the house. To walk your dog, or otherwise take it outside the home environment, you should add a regular chain or nylon choke collar. Martingale type collars (collar and choker-in-one) are also acceptable, as they can be adjusted easily to fit snugly (when the leash is pulled as tightly as possible without cutting off the dog's air flow, the two rings holding the smaller loop should be no closer than 2"-3" apart, for a normal sized Sheltie) over the dogs' heads and, when leashes are attached, will act as chokers. Alternately, a harness can be used, as long as it is adjusted to properly fit the specific dog snugly and securely (see instructions below). This will keep the dogs from pulling out of their clip-lock collars and bolting. Any time a choke collar (either the regular chain type or a Martingale type) is used, it should ALWAYS be removed from the dog’s neck when not being used in conjunction with a leash that will actively be in your hand.
All dogs adopted from Sheltie Rescue of Georgia will come with an SRGA tag with our phone number and the dog’s SRGA number. The contract you signed states that you will not remove this tag. Leaving this tag on will help us reunite you with your pet, should you ever become separated. They also will have on a rabies tag and a microchip tag. Should you wish you, you may additionally add a tag with your information on it, but this should not replace our tags. There are conflicting recommendations regarding what should be on your personalized tag. Some people will say put your dog’s name, but there are others that say this will help a thief get your dog to come to them more easily. Some people will say to put your address and phone number, while others will say only to include the phone number so that people don't know where you live. [Editor's Note: My dog's personal tags say, "I escaped from (my address and number)". A friend uses, "Please return me to: (address and number) – CASH REWARD". You can be as creative as you like.] It is up to you what you put on this secondary ID tag.
Your foster family will show you the proper technique for putting a choker on the dog, but the highlights include slipping the chain through one of the end rings until it looks like a circle or a "P". The "tail" of the P, to which you clip the leash, should hang down on the left side of the dog's head and as you put the collar over its head. Walking the dog on your left allows it to then release properly. The choker should be used to make quick corrections, not to keep a consistent choke hold on the dog. Please note that "flexi" type leashes are NOT recommended. A sturdy leash less than 6' long should be used with your new Sheltie. Tie-outs and tethers are NEVER recommended, but if you must use one temporarily, consider it VERY dangerous to do so with a choke collar. A tight harness needs to be used instead.
To put a harness on a Sheltie, it has to be very secure. You should not place it above the hair. Put the harness on the dog and cinch it as snugly as possible, pulling the hair through, so that you are close to the skin. You should not be able to put more than two fingers side-by-side (not on top of each other) under the harness. This will give your dog plenty of room to breath, but not give them the opportunity for stepping out of the harness with ease.
Crates
Your new companion has been trained to use a crate. It is important that you continue this behavior. A crate is useful for transportation, separation, sleeping, feeding, and relaxing. There are any number of websites dedicated to crate training your pet. Some of the ones we can recommend are:
Transporting your animal
While your Sheltie should always be transported in a crate to ensure safety in the car, yours and theirs, you should not attempt to carry your Sheltie to the car in said crate. Your movements will cause more movements from them, and with some dogs, this will be strong enough to make you drop the crate, thereby giving them an easy escape. Always secure your Sheltie with their choke collar and leash, and then walk them to the car with the crate already inside. Remember to remove the choke collar carefully after placing them in the crate. If possible, put them in and take them out of the crate in a closed environment, such as in a garage with the door down, especially on their first trip to your home. Your rescued dog has been through a lot and is likely to run from fear. Since it will be a new environment for her/him, s/he will not know where home is and will be difficult to recover.
Introducing your new dog to your resident animals
When bringing your new dog into your home, it is advised to not immediately allow it free-reign of your house. Also, you should not immediately introduce any other animals you may have without taking proper precautions. We at Sheltie Rescue recommend what we call a “three-day crate rule”. The time it takes varies with each particular dog, but most will benefit from using the full three days. A dog’s crate is like its den. It is not a punishment to be crated. The basic steps of the three-day crate rule are:
- Put all family pets in secure areas away from the path to be walked when entering the house and going into the yard for the first time.
- Place the new pet’s crate in the center of the busiest room of the house. (This allows the dog to see and be seen without risk of being hurt. S/he can get used to the smells, sounds, and other animals in a safe place.)
- Take the new pet outside, walking through the house, and give it the opportunity to use the bathroom outside. Do not remove the leash, and take it to where you want it to eliminate. Praise her/him after s/he finishes.
- Bring the dog back inside and put it in the crate, closing the door. Remember to remove the choke collar!
- Allow the other pets to enter the room, one-by-one, until have had the opportunity to check out the new kid.
- Go about your normal business.
- Depending upon what the foster home tells you, every two to four hours put all your other animals away again, and take the new dog out on a leash to eliminate. Remember to give high praise for going where you want it to go.
- Continue this separation technique for two to three days, depending upon the interaction you see with your pets.
The next step is to introduce your current pets to you new one outside the confines of a crate. It is best not to do this inside the home because it gives a perceived advantage to the resident dogs and can lead to additional situations. The best way to achieve neutral territory is to take the new dog on a walk with each resident dog. The initial interaction needs to be closely supervised and you need to be prepared to pull one dog or the other off of the other one. Do so by using the leads, NOT by putting any part of your body between them. Remember, your new dog is still a stranger here and dogs naturally try to find a pecking order. YOU should always be the one at the top of the food chain. If you have multiple dogs, repeat the introductions individually.
The rescue dog should not be left alone with your other animals until you are certain of their behavior. Once you feel comfortable to allow the dogs to interact off leash, all interactions should still initially be supervised. If you have to go away, put the rescue back into its crate until such a time as you return. It usually takes a dog two to three weeks to be comfortable enough to show their true colors, so it is important to keep up the monitoring. Escalations can occur at any time, not just the first time the dogs interact.
Fencing
Sheltie Rescue of Georgia, Inc. does NOT support the use of invisible or electronic fences for use with Shelties. With only rare exceptions, we require a visible barrier-type fence. Lockable wooden privacy, chain-link, vinyl, wrought-iron, etc. type fences are acceptable for all dogs that we place. Shock collars have been known to badly traumatize some dogs, which is certainly not what any owner would want. Because Shelties are such thick-coated dogs, there is also the possibility that the probes on the collar may not even be making contact and the dog will feel nothing when close to the perimeter. Herding breeds are known to love to chase things, and when they get excited, are known to go right through the perimeter and then what? Underground fences also do not keep out predators, whether human or animal, therefore we do not consider underground fences to be safe and do not knowingly place any of our animals into homes known to have these types of fences.
Grooming
Shelties require regular grooming. We recommend at least monthly baths and nail trimmings, in addition to the daily top brushing and weekly line combing your dog needs to keep a healthy coat. Top brushing is done in the direction the hair lays. It is meant to remove loose hair and keep out tangles. Getting 2-3 brushes full of hair out of the dog’s coat when top brushing is not unusual, and it keeps that hair from being shed in your home. Line combing is done by back brushing your dog’s hair (opposite to the way it normal lays), and then in small sections using a fine toothed comb to rake through the undercoat. If done on a regular basis, your dog will need fewer baths and will have significantly less tangles. If there are tangles (better known as mats in doggiedom), you can use a detangler/conditioner. Horse Mane and Tail Conditioner is good product for this and it can be purchased in bulk. It is NOT recommended that you ever shave the coat of a dual-coated breed such as a Sheltie. They are very susceptible to sun burn and can easily get sun poisoning. Not to mention that their coats sometimes do not grow back as luxiously as they previously were.
Appropriate grooming tools you will want to keep at home for those “in-between” grooming times:
- Pin brush
- Fine toothed comb
- Undercoat rake, optional
- Coat detangler (to save money, buy the large bottles of horse mane and tail conditioner and fill into smaller squirt bottles to use while grooming)
- Round tipped grooming shears for cutting the hair out from between the pads of the feet
Food and Water
It is important to keep your pets adequately hydrated with fresh water. Having multiple bowls inside the house and out will help your animals to always have water available. Paying attention to how often each animal drinks and eats (or does not) can potentially help you pro-actively identify health issues before the symptoms are full-blown. If you notice a change in their intake, please consult with your vet immediately.
Shelties should not be free-fed. That means to either crate-feed or separate them in some other way while eating, and pick up the bowls as soon as they are finished, no more than thirty minutes at a time. Most of them will eat until they literally burst, given the opportunity. Again, it is important to monitor their individual food intake. Your foster home will recommend the amount and type of food your new pet is currently getting. Most of them are fed small amounts twice a day. It is important to keep your new pet on high quality food without a lot of fillers. Maintaining a healthy weight is as important for your pet as it is for you. Please do not over-feed your newly adopted dog.
Knowing where your dog eliminates is important so that you can go behind them in order to remove the feces as soon as possible after it has been produced. This is better for the environment. It allows you to notice if there is anything wrong (poop should be solid and a brown color) or different than usual. It keeps your other animals from eating it. And, it keeps you and them from walking in it when you walk in the yard.
Training
The training technique recommended by Sheltie Rescue of Georgia, among many others, is a technique known as Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF). You can read all about it by going to http://www.k9deb.com. This is a positive reinforcement technique that helps set you up as the alpha of your pack. It is extremely important that your dogs know who is in charge, and that it is not them.
An invaluable website to help you understand the signals your dog is sending you is http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/calmingsignals.html. The article is about Calming Signals. Understanding these signals will help you to recognize when your dog is under stress and help you to avoid dangerous situations.
Children
Interaction between your dog and any children needs to be supervised. Shelties are a herding breed and they have a tendency to want to herd any and all children around them. The children need to be taught how-to interact with the dog (a good resource - http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/teach.htm) and the dog needs to be monitored when with them. Numerous dogs have been surrendered to rescue due to their interactions with children, while others have never been exposed to them. We do try to evaluate how the dogs respond to them while they are in our care, but there are never any guarantees. Children should NEVER be left alone with your new dog, for both their safety and that of the dog.
Return Policy
Should you, at any time after you take home your new pet, find that you cannot keep it, you must return it to Sheltie Rescue of Georgia. The only exception to this is if your pet needs to be euthanized for health reasons as recommended by your vet. It is better for the animal to spend its last moments on earth with the family that he or she has grown to love.
If you return your new dog within one month of adoption, SRGA will either refund your adoption fee or try to match you with a different dog, depending upon the reason for your return. After this time, no monetary reimbursement will be made by SRGA and a donation will be requested to get your pet up-to-date on all medical care.
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