Hi all, My boyfriend and I have been volunteering at our local shelter for about a year now and have finally decided we are ready to adopt. I grew up with dos ranging from two rescued doggies to now Boston terriers in my family. He has not grown up around dogs. We have a dog in mind - a male Staffy mix who loves the both of us. From our experience with him, he walks on the leash well and doesn’t bark or react poorly to other dogs. There are a few issues we are concerned about: 1. He spins in his kennel whenever he is out back after a walk 2. His adoption page says: Not good with: dogs, cats, or children. When we talked to the rescue employees about it, they said that he “displays awkward body language around other dogs” and they don’t feel comfortable putting him in the fenced in areas with other animals. In response to the “no children”, they said that he was afraid of one of the employees 2 yr old daughter but they thought he would be good with a family that had kids a few years into owning him. He also is said to have a prey drive.

As first time rescuers, we want to do our due diligence and make sure we know what we are getting into.

Here’s my question: Are those behaviors red flags? They made it sound like he isn’t actually aggressive, but we don’t want to get blindsided. Would obedience classes help with his body language and fear of children? Would you think he would be a good fit for first time adopters, or should we look for another pup?

Edit: we do not have any kids as of now and do not plan on having any for a few years. We just want to make sure we are adopting a dog with behavioral issues we can manage and train him well.