How to get rescue dogs adopted

How to get rescue dogs adopted - VIDEOS!

I work with and help many animal rescue groups. Unfortunately, they mean well, but many do a lousy job marketing their dogs. They post the most dreadful pictures of the dogs and then put write-ups out there that mean very little. Rescues and shelters could move more animals into homes by simple shooting fun, but honest videos of their dogs. This is a video I have on SuzyQ that I put together. The short video clip shows off SuzyQ and is only a few minutes long. Very entertaining, but does it really show her personality? Yes and no, I do have Jade in the video so it shows she's dog and human friendly, and very toy motivated.

The second video is a little different shows SuzyQ, but without music or narration. I think the videos need music or narration (for training videos). The second video shows me working with SuzyQ. Each one of these have their pro's and con's.

The third video of SuzyQ, has subtitles to highlight certain portions of the video. You need to point out the good spots on the video. The video incorporates me working with Suzy and actually training her a bit.

The next video is way too long. It's shows off a dog named Chuckles and goes for 13 minutes. I would limit dog videos to no more than 3 minutes if it's an adoption video. I put this on together to show my fellow volunteers that Chuckles is fine with dogs and also showcases how to work three dogs with a single ball. I will take portions of this video and change it into a training video.

In your write-ups of rescue dogs, stay away from stating the dog is dominant alpha or needs a strong owner. State in nice simple terms, how the dogs acts in different situations. If they don't get along with other dogs state it just that way. Likes some, hates other, state that way. The more you can show off the dogs personality with a video the quicker they will go out the door and into a permanent home.

You don't know if it is with all dogs. If the dog is good with other dogs, show with other dogs in the video. Great with people or kids, show it off in a video. Wayside Waifs does a fantastic job of getting videos on may of their dogs, and people watch them and then come out to the shelter.

The next video shows a 100lb Akita. - Smokey. He's been adopted, but I know for a fact that the adopters watched this video over and over. I show the soft side of a the big and also show him with other dogs, us handling him and letting people know what he really is like. I like to show the dog in real world situations that they will experience in a home. The more you can make potential adopters "connect" to the dog the quicker they will go to their forever homes.

Comments

How to maintain a nice yard, despite your dog's best attempt to destroy it.

I have had up to four at time dogs at a time and almost an acre of backyard. My wife and I like a nice yard, but not necessarily a manicured lawn. The biggest plus of a nice thick lush lawn is a lot less mud and dirt comes in on the 16 paws. Our dogs have open access to the yard through a dog door all year around. People stop over and are amazed that the backyard is a thick lush green carpet of grass. No dirt spots from the dogs digging and there are no discernible paths in the yard from 16 doggie paws walking their daily routes. Know thy dog Dogs are territorial by nature and creatures of habit. Each and everyday my four dogs walk the exact same route around the yard, stopping to pee on everything from a fence post to an old basketball . If an animal has gone through the yard during the night before, the dogs feel the need track the varmints steps through the yard, often several times. Combine this with the occasional st...

Puppy and Small Dog Crate Training Set up

Puppy and Small Dog Crate Training Set up Small dogs and puppies can be difficult to housetrain, especially when many of us work all day. In some instances tea-cup dogs may never be able to go more than 6-8 hours without needing a potty break. This set up allows you to teach your puppy or small breed to go on grass and enable you to go to work or be away for more than 8 hours is necessary. Fig 1 Fig 1 shows the set up, a crate, exercise pen (Foster and Smith) and a doggie litter box with a piece of sod in it. The set up should be initially set up where the puppies will spend most of their time with humans. Over the next 6 weeks this set up will be moved into the laundry room and the litter box will be treated much like a cat litter box. In this example it’s being used for 2 tea-cup Pomeranians. At 12 weeks of age one of the Poms was already using the litter box consistently enough to be left out several hours if needed. The puppies were also taught to go outside and since ...

Shelter Dog Playgroups - More than just pla

Shelter Dog Playgroups - More than just play Updated 1/2020 Wow, 20 years doing playgroups at shelters. When I started it was unheard of to put shelter dogs in play groups. There was too great of a chance for disease, fights or the mental barrier related to how can you put strange dogs together. Now we have great organizations like Dog Playing For Life and shelter playgroups are slowly becoming the norm. Even with that, people fear the fight when introducing dogs to each other. I originally wrote this article in 2013, updated again 2018 and now in 2020! If you were to watch me put together playgroups nowadays it may still look like I am choosing random dogs and hoping they get along. It couldn't be further from the truth. Shelter dogs need dog to dog interaction, but they need the right interactions to grow and acclimate into a home. It serves many purposes, from exercise, maintaining social skills and decreasing stress - IF DONE RIGHT....

The KC Dog Guy

Search This Blog