Adoption Application: Home Visit

Name of applicant

Have you seen all areas living areas of the home including the area where the dog will be kept?

Is the information on the adoption application correct?

Please describe any concerns from the residence check including comments about the house and yard. Is the home spacious enough
for a large dog?

Was the entire family present for the Home Visit?

Was the family engaged during the Home Visit? If you are in-person, how were they with the visiting dog?

What type of home is it?

If a condo/townhome or apartment, what are the weight requirements for a dog? Is there a dog limit and will adopting this dog put them over the limit?

Was there a fence? Please describe the condition of the fence (gaps,openings). Was it an electric fence? If electric, please open discussion of why we dont approve of electric fences.

Describe their ideal dog for their lifestyle. If a puppy, please discuss puppy energy, training and importance of getting the dog outside at least every 4 hours.

Describe their plans for the dogs daily routine including exercise. Please detail length of time for walks, dog walkers, daycare as well as dog parks, etc.

Discuss the proper way to introduce a new dog. Inform them that any family dogs will need to be brought to meet potential adopted dogs. If they have cats, are they willing to work with a trainer if the dog and cat do not get along?

Will the dog be around children? Do the children know how to behave around a dog? Children should never be primary caregivers for the dog.

Has the family house trained a dog before?

MLRR recommends training with the adopted dog to enforce a positive bond between the dog and adopters as well as to learn basic obedience. Was this discussed with the applicant?

Does the family understand that even though trained, dogs may have accidents or exhibit naughty behavior in the home for a short period while they adjust to their new environment? Are they willing to work with the dog to house train? Discuss the rule of 3 and giving the dog time to decompress and adjust to their new environment. Discuss counter surfing and how to handle with . Describe their answers to these questions.

Describe their plans for training and what they have done in the past. Did they have any issues? If so, how did they overcome them?

Prong and choke collars are prohibited. Please discuss why these are negative training techniques that are based on pain and fear. Discuss off-leash and tie out policy.

PLEASE NOTE HERE what type of collar / tool the family uses now or has used with their dogs in the past.

Discuss crate training. Explain not all dogs need a crate but it should never be used as punishment. Discuss crate training details, how to manage whining, no collar in crate and safe toys to be in the crate.

Are they willing to crate train / do they plan to crate train?

Where will the dog sleep at night? Does this match what they put on their application? Discuss the importance of sleeping in the adopters bedroom whether crated or not.

Discuss the importance of a quality food. Recommend not switching right away to a new food but the need to transition slowly to a new food to avoid GI upset. Suggest mixing in increments of the new and old food over the course of two weeks until you are only feeding the new food

What brand of food will they feed the dog?

Discuss the importance of healthcare of the dog. Annual wellness exams, monthly heartworm prevention/flea and tick, annual heartworm testing and vaccines. Discuss the importance of bathing, nail trims and teeth cleaning.
PLEASE NOTE HERE IF THEY ARE USING HEARTWORM PREVENTION EVERY MONTH

Does the family understand their whole family, including the resident dogs, must travel to the Chicagoland area to meet a potential lab?

Virtual visits only - Is the family open to an in-person visit should the Board or volunteer have any concerns?

Does the family understand that they may be deemed not a match for a potential lab?

Does the family understand that if they meet the lab and believe the lab is a fit for their home, the foster home has the right to consult with the Board before adopting and they may have to wait and return to pickup the lab at a later date?

Are there any changes to their application? Please detail any changes; new address, new pet, child, etc.

Do you recommend this person become an approved adopter for MLRR? PLEASE provide a few sentences here as to why we should approve this adopter.