Adoption meet & greet guide
Setting up for success
Introducing your dog to a prospective family can put a lot of pressure on the dog. People are often (understandably) excited! Depending on their personality, select the type of introduction that will help them shine:
Go for a walk
Inform the prospective adopters ahead of time of the plan. Ask them to ignore the dog (no talking to the dog, eye contact, or reaching to touch). Meet on the street and immediately start moving. Try to avoid walking towards each other, but instead, keep it a single file or parallel. This is the same strategy for dog introductions.
Enter the home in this order: Visitors, You, Foster Dog.
Ask folks to sit and ignore until the dog comes to them. Once the dog approaches, let them investigate first without the person reaching. Keep your prospective adopters engaged with questions and chatter to alleviate the focus on your dog.
If the dog looks loose allow brief pets under the chin.
Once loose, drop the leash and allow the dog to move freely.
Start in the crate
Crate the dog before the guests arrive.
Select an area in or around your home to meet. It’s best to have a place for everyone to be seated and, if possible, outside is best.
Chat for a moment (they’ll likely be excited so this is a great time to remind them to ignore the dog at first until the dog loosens up).
Bring your dog out on a loose leash ask them to ignore the dog at first, and once you feel comfortable, drop the leash.
Keep an eye on body language and ask guests to take breaks from engaging with the dog. If needed, offer a couple of treats from guests to toss to the dog (only when 1 dog is present).
Meet at walk class
As the adopter approaches, offer to go for a walk or stand with some distance apart until your dog is comfortable. Be sure not to hold any tension on the leash.
Position yourself between the dog and the new person
Chat for a bit then ask them to allow your dogs to sniff first before any petting or reaching.
They can invite the dog by patting their thigh and calling the dog’s name.
If the dog shows loose body language, allow them to offer chin scratches and/or a treat. It may take a moment to loosen up, go slow depending on your dogs temperament!
Tips & questions to ask
Meet at a place familiar to your dog! Walking class, a nearby park, your yard! Outside is usually best if possible.
Ask about yard safety. What’s the fence height/material? What about the gate? Do they share fence lines with dogs? Who has access to the yard? Is there a pool? Do they plan to leave the dog unattended outside? If so, can this be done safely? (The team likely has some of this information already, but it’s good to hear them talk about and get a sense for how they plan to handle things.)
Ask about their usual schedule. How many hours will the dog be home alone? Where will they be left? Will they be out with other animals? For longer days, what's the plan? ie daycare/walker/friend visiting etc. Consider if that’s a good fit for your dog. (Again, the team likely has this information too, but hearing directly from them can be helpful).
Ask about their plan for continued socialization. What does keeping up on social skills look like with dogs, people, and places? As a general guideline, younger social dogs need this 2-3x weekly.
Ask about their daily walk route. Homes with recessed yards tend to have fewer barking dogs. Consider how your dog might do in the area they describe.
After getting acquainted, go for a walk and demonstrate what you've learned and how your dog is expected to walk. Then give them a shot to try. Look for handler confidence, relaxed body language, and leadership. Do they seem comfortable handling the dog?
Always look for cues from your dog like AVOIDANCE (ignoring being called, no eye contact, moving away from people) or STRESS (panting, restlessness, alert barking, ducking head, tail tucked, appeasement rolling over). Ask people to disengage if you see any of this. Ignoring is the best way to get your dog to come around. YOU can show them how sweet they are when they bond by demonstrating once or twice.
Explain the structure and routines that has set your dog up for success. Let the know that the dogs in our program have begun house, crate, and leash training and that DCLA fosters follow a handful of house rules. Reiterate that the transition to a new home is easiest for your dog when these structures are carried over for some time and privileges are gradually introduced. This helps minimize anxiety and behavioral issues. Ask if they've watched the NEW DOG HELP VIDEO .
FYI
We don't hold dogs. If they want to move forward, plan to go to the shelter in the coming days once supplies are prepped. If they are unable to adopt in the next couple of days and you are willing to foster for them until they are, you are welcome to offer that.
Adoptions can be processed at any city shelter -- give us a heads up so we can alert staff. Sat-Sun 11-5 PM, Tue Thu 8-5 PM are open to the public, otherwise, we can make you an appointment.
A dog escapes most commonly in the first 48 hours and into 2 weeks. Ask that adopters keep a leash on the dog and ensure they bring a tag with a phone number that you confirm is on the dog before you say goodbye.
Red flags
Aversions to crate training or planning to allow the dog to sleep in bed.
Getting the dog "for" a family member, child, or older parent. This is common.
Their current dog is spoiled, misbehaved, or has behavioral issues that are not actively being addressed.
The whole household did not show up. Everyone who lives in the house needs to meet the dog.
"It'll make me exercise more." The human's current activity level should match the dog's activity level. We can always suggest a better fit.
If kids are involved, the parents don’t take seriously the responsibility to enforce respecting boundaries. The kids don’t show an (age-appropriate) understanding of boundaries.
Not having read/watched the material sent prior to the meet.
Your gut says no. Go with your gut. You can say you'll "run it by the team". We're here to back you up on your decision, talk out concerns, and even suggest a better fit if needed.
It’s a yes! Next steps:
Ask when they'll be ready with supplies (crate, food, bowls, TAG). If need be they can take your crate and send us a new one. Reach out and we'll coordinate.
They must have read the information sent prior to the dog going home.
Schedule a time to meet at the shelter. Let us know and we will inform the shelter.
Inform them that adopters can attend one walk class. We highly encourage them to come within the first 2-3 weeks.
Meet them at the shelter, process the paperwork, and take a killer adoption pic! Thank you for helping a shelter dog find their forever family!
Crate and equipment return to DCLA (unless you plan to foster another dog!)