Guidelines for Placing your Scottie Yourself

Placing your Scottie on your own can be a daunting task.  How do you know its the right home? How do you know he'll be taken care of?  How do I know his new owners are the right owners?  These are the very same questions that we as rescuers must answer every time we place a dog.  But take heart.  These simple guidelines should help you place anything from that litter of Scottie puppies that you have, to placing the grown adult dog in another home.  Here are some tips.

Decide what type of home you are looking for, and take the dogs personality into consideration.  
If this dog doesn't like children, or men, you need to find a home where there are no men or children present in the home.  Each dog has a particular personality so take that into account.  Is your Scottie active and needs someone with an active lifestyle? Or is your Scottie more laid back and would prefer someone to snuggle up on the couch with?  Deciding what type of home you need for your Scottie is the first plan of action that you should think about. 

Decide how you are going to let people know about your Scottie.
There are many ways to let people know about your dog.  You could place an ad in the local paper.  You could put up flyers at the local vet's office or pet store.  You could also do it by word of mouth, or any combination of the above.  Be aware that by "advertising"  your Scottie in the paper, people that you aren't interested in knowing or having your dog might call you.  Newspapers reach a lot of people, and some are less than credible.  Be aware when placing ads or flyers about the people that this information will reach. 

Decide on what you will say about your Scottie.
You need to made a decision on what you will say about your Scottie in the ad, on the flyer, or when you talk to people who might be interested.  Good things to tell them include: he's up to date on his shots, is on heartworm prevention, is spayed or neutered (if all that is true) likes to play or likes to curl up on the couch with you.  If he has particular likes or dislikes, and what his good points are, such as good watchdog, housebroken, crate trained or whatever you can tell about this dog.  If he comes with his own supplies, say so here as well.

Keep your Scottie healthy
During the period that you are looking to place your Scottie, be sure to keep him up to date on his vaccinations, heartworm treatment and so on.  Don't think just because he's looking for a home now, you don't have to get him his shots this time, the new owners can do that.  Keep him brushed, clean and groomed.  And take this opportunity to have him spayed or neutered before placing him.  All this makes him more adoptable and more appealing to people who really care about their animals.  And a spayed/neutered dog is of NO USE to puppymillers who sometimes buy people's pets just to cram them in a small cage and make them produce puppies for the rest of their life in less than sanitary conditions.

Decide what fee you will ask for your Scottie.
Don't think you will get back all the money you spent for him when he was a puppy if he's a grown dog now.  But you may want to take into consideration any medical expenses that you have had done on him lately and try to recoup those costs.  Don't be naive in thinking that if you "give" your Scottie away he will go to a good home.  Many people who sell animals to laboratories or help stock puppy mills search the newspaper for "free to good home" ads.  And your Scottie is a valuable animal indeed, so its good to ask even a nominal fee for him (perhaps $50) this discourages unscrupulous people because it cuts into their profits.

Screen Callers or Visitors
When people start calling or coming by based on your ad or flyer screen them before they meet your Scottie.  Make sure that if your ad stated no men or no children, that there really are no men or children in the home.  Make sure that the person is knowledgeable about the breed, or at least has owned a dog before.  Ask what happened to their previous pets, if their last 3 dogs were killed by being run over, chances are this is not a good home for your Scottie.

Verify their information and do a Home Check
Drive by their house and see if they gave you the correct information.  There have been instances of people placing dogs without checking out the owners, and when they go by weeks later to check on them they find the address was a vacant lot.  Don't think just because the potential owner "looks like a nice person" that they are.  Check out their stories, and their homes to make sure that this home is right for your dog.  If you asked them if they have a fenced yard and they said they did, and when you go to their house they don't, that should be a warning flag to not place your Scottie here.  

Ask For References.
Ask for a few references, two or three should be sufficient.  Their current or past Veterinarian can be one, and then a neighbor or someone that knows them and their animals should be another.  And don't just ask for references, call them and speak to the people.  Get a feel for if they are good owners or not.

Allow them to meet your Scottie.
If an owners has passed all the potential checks up to this point, then you can allow them to meet your Scottie.  Look to see if your Scottie likes them, or if he is afraid.  Look to see if the new owner is generally interested, or is stand-offish from the dog.  Make sure that the WHOLE FAMILY comes to see the dog as well.  You don't just adopt out a dog to one person unless they live alone.  

If all goes well, then you should have found your Scottie a wonderful home, where he will be loved and cared for for the rest of his days.  But if at any point during this process someone's stories don't match up, you see something that your Scottie wouldn't like or would be harmful to him, or if you Scottie is genuinely afraid of someone, or you just get a bad feeling about the people, remember he's STILL YOUR DOG.  And as such you have the right and the obligation to refuse to give him to ANYONE that you or your Scottie are uncomfortable with. 

If you have any questions or want further assistance in placing your Scottie, please don't hesitate to contact us here at STRNA.  We are always glad to help.