Sheltie Rescue & Adoption:
Adopt a Sheltie in your area...

So, you want to adopt a Sheltie, huh? Great idea! Want to hear an even better idea? Rescue an adult Sheltie. No pooch is too old for puppy love and puppies are only puppies for a few months after all, right? Oh, you have your heart set on a cute little Sheltie puppy? Have you been looking at Sheltie puppies for sale, checking out Sheltie puppy breeders? OK, here's some food for thought if you have your heart set on a puppy, and a few reasons why adopting an adult might be your better option:

What It Takes to Housebreak a Puppy. Before you adopt a Sheltie, consider how much time your new family member will spend alone. Remember, a puppy requires constant attention. The key to successful housebreaking is consistency; preventing "accidents" is key. Once a puppy soils the carpeting, it becomes much more difficult to train them out of that behavior. Here's a good rule of thumb to consider: a puppy can hold his bladder just one hour for every month they've been alive. For instance, a 3-month-old puppy will need to empty his bladder every three hours! Before you adopt a Sheltie puppy, ask yourself if you are available to walk your dog several times throughout the day, and if you have the patience and commitment to wake up and take him out first thing every morning at the same time, and stick to a strict schedule. Of course, before you can walk him at all, you will need to train him to walk on a leash, which is a project in itself.

On the other hand, an adult dog's bladder is already fully developed. Shelter dogs are often already housetrained and Sheltie rescue groups can tell you if their adult dogs for adoption are housebroken before they go into your home. You also have the advantage of knowing that your dog is physically able to "hold it" for several hours at a stretch. In most cases, adult dogs are by far easier to housebreak than puppies. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Puppy Behavior Sometimes Isn't Pleasant. Sure, Sheltie puppies are super-cute, but simply put, puppies can be adorable, relentless machines of destruction. Even the most well-behaved puppy will destroy shoes, clothing, paper, remote controls, telephones, leashes, dog beds, carpeting anything and everything. More rambunctious pups have been known to obliterate sofas, car seats, Venetian blinds, electrical cords, door frames you name it, they can eat it or shred it. And when they're teething, look out! Cute puppies have very sharp teeth, and they are happy to use your hands, feet, nose, hair, etc, as a chew toy. Ouch! Needless to say, a teething Sheltie puppy and a small child do NOT make good companions! To keep the puppy from hurting himself, and to prevent the destructive behavior from becoming a bad habit, you will need to spend every waking moment supervising his every move. Do you have that kind of time?

Many Sheltie dogs in shelters or with rescue groups are already trained and ready to go! Adults have a much longer attention span than puppies, too, which means they're easier and faster to teach. Adult dogs already have recognizable personality traits, so you'll be able to select one who is great with children. Many Sheltie rescue groups use foster homes to make sure each Sheltie for adoption is trained to be well-behaved indoors. Although all dogs need attention and playtime, an adult dog's needs are far less demanding than a puppy's.

You Won't Know a Puppy's Personality for Sometime. With an adult Sheltie, what you see is what you get. Their personality is already developed, and you'll be able to spot the characteristics you're looking for much more easily than with a puppy Sheltie. Shelters and rescue groups are able to assess the personality of each Sheltie for adoption, and carefully match you up with the right dog for your lifestyle. When you adopt a puppy, there is a lot more guesswork involved.

Adult Sheltie Adoption = An Instant Friend for Life. Ask anybody who has adopted an adult dog, and they'll swear their bond with their rescued pal is as deep as they come. When you open your heart and your home to a dog who needs help, they really do show their appreciation for the rest of their life! Dogs who have been uprooted from their homes, or have had difficult beginnings are likely to bond completely and deeply with their new human caretakers who they view as heroes. Shelties who find themselves in the shelter or at a rescue group because of a death or other tragedy in their former human family usually go through a mourning period. Once they are adopted, however, they usually want nothing more than to please their new hero---YOU! No matter what circumstances brought them to the shelter or rescue group, most Sheltie dogs for adoption are exceptionally affectionate and attentive pets and extremely loyal companions. But first you have to adopt one!

Adult Sheltie Adoption = Truly Saving a Life. When you adopt an adult dog, you are doing the ultimate good deed. Let's face it: at first a lot of people think they want to find Sheltie puppies for sale, but not everyone is lining up to adopt the great adults! Some people might have the misconception that Shelties in shelters have something wrong with them. In fact, most Shelties for adoption end up in shelters not because of any problem with pet behavior or health issues, but because they were dropped off by someone who simply didn't have the time or money to care for the animals. In some cases pets are lost and never found by their owners. These animals are healthy and very eager to please. Did you know that every year, approximately 4 million adoptable animals are killed? A staggering 25% of those animals are purebreds, so you can bet there is a Sheltie in need of adoption.

With such a huge overpopulation problem, looking for a Sheltie dog for sale, or Sheltie puppies breeders, sadly contributes to this tragedy. Rescue groups that specialize in adoption work very, very hard to help adult dogs find good homes. Rescues are almost always made up of a group of volunteers. They often keep Shelties for adoption in their own homes while they assess their health and personalities. If a dog needs basic training, often the rescuer will provide it. If a dog needs medical treatment, many dedicated dog rescuers pay for it out of their own pocket. These people are incredibly passionate about rescue, and they work tirelessly to make sure every dog finds a home. Nothing is as rewarding to these heroes as a successful adoption! Please help these healthy pets, before looking at a Sheltie puppies breeder, or a Sheltie puppy for sale search our Sheltie adoption database at this page!

Adoption Means a Healthier Sheltie as You're Pet Shelters have dogs of all breeds, including purebred Shelties. These dogs sometimes end up in shelters because a Sheltie dog breeder, or someone who had Sheltie puppies sale was not able to find a home for all the dogs. These people are sometimes called "backyard" breeders. These are people who make some easy cash by breeding purebred Shelties over and over then try to make easy cash by posting Shelties puppies for sale in newspaper classified ads. Remember that most of these backyard Sheltie dog breeders don't know about breeding for favorable health and temperament qualities, and they don't know how to raise a properly socialized litter. Many of the Sheltie dog breeders wean litters from their mothers way too soon. Sometimes, a backyard Shelties puppies breeder turns into small-time puppy mill to increase their supply so you can find Sheltie puppies for sale all the time in order for profits to grow.

What are puppy mills? A puppy mill is basically a purebred puppy factory farm where the puppies are just churned out as fast as they can in order to have, for example, as many Sheltie dogs for sale as possible. The dogs are kept in small cages and forced to breed at unhealthy rates it's all about the money. Female dogs in puppy mills are made to have several litters per year, which is extremely dangerous and cruel. Usually Sheltie breeders pay little attention to the specific health and genetic diseases due to in-breeding, reluctantly they don't inform whoever is looking for a Sheltie dog for sale about this problem. Genetic health testing is almost unheard of and mass-producing pets for profit is the bottom-line. In the worst puppy mills, horrifying conditions are the norm. How can you stop puppy mills? There is only one way. Take away their profits. Remember before you look for an a Sheltie sale, or Sheltie dogs for sale keep in mind that adoption is the most humane option!