Rescue dog

Woman kisses rescue dog at animal shelter. Image for rescue dog tag page.
When you bring your new rescue dog home, the first week is critical in ensuring that they settle into family life successfully.

When adopting a new pet, choose a rescue dog, and visit your local shelters and rescues.

But you need to know rescue dogs can be nervous and fearful. But once you can their trust, these dogs will love you forever.

There are three common age categories of shelter dogs: puppies, young adults, and seniors.

Puppies tend to be eight weeks to nine months old. Most are from unplanned pregnancies from parents that were not neutered or spayed. Some of these puppies may wind up with health issues because the mother dog didn’t get proper prenatal care.

Young adult dogs are 10 months to two years old. Many of these dogs have been abandoned or surrendered because of poor behavior, inadequate obedience training, or their owners’ lifestyle changes.

Senior dogs are eight years or older that, unfortunately, are often surrendered because their owners are too old or ill. Occasionally, the dogs end up at the shelter because their owners have died.