CINCINNATI — Big dogs left used and abandoned are now being left the longest at many local animal shelters.

At the SPCA in Cincinnati, their ‘bully breeds’ and/or big dogs, sometimes spend close to a year in a cage.

“We've had some, you know, big dogs with us for, you know, 200 days, and it might be because they're older and they're bigger,” SPCA Cincinnati CEO Mike Retzlaff said.

Retzlaff said about 75% of the dogs up for adoption there are big dogs.

“Size can be intimidating, and if a big dog isn't trained well, they might be jumping around or pulling and looking a little bit out of control….you know, the majority of the dogs that we get in here do need some type of behavior training,” Retzlaff said. 

For training, he said they work with the ‘dog whisperer.’

Jeff Adler is a dog trainer with the 'Off Leash K9 Training' studio just outside of Cincinnati in Lebanon.

He said what some might see as big bad dogs are the ones rescued from bad situations.

“A lot of times it could be neglect or verbal abuse, shouting at a dog or, you know, just neglecting them," Adler said. "Food, water, just attention, things like that. A lot of those things can cause aggression issues."

He said they can fix that with a leash, a special collar, commands and treats.

“Oftentimes when we teach lessons to the dogs, by the end of that lesson, they have learned a brand new command almost every time,” Adler said. 

He said they work with dogs for about a week at a time to get them ready to go from a shelter cage to their forever homes.

“To see a dog come from, you know, a mentally and physically position of, you know, aggression or malnourished or abuse to confident, independent, well-mannered and happy, it's just an amazing process,” Adler said. 

Retzlaff said they’ve been showcasing big dogs that are ready to be adopted from the shelter and have been reducing adoption fees on their big dogs.