To rehome two 6yr old Pugs from local shelter?

[monkeyfacegrace]

Basically, I took my kids (3&1) to the local animal shelter earlier to see the rabbits and cats. It was meant to be a free activity, but as we were looking at the dogs, we saw two adorable (if not massively slightly ugly pugs)

I spoke to the rehoming officer, and she said that in the history of the shelter (15yrs+) they have never had this breed.

Now, problem 1- we didnt want a dog for a few years as we have holidays booked and wanted a bigger house first

2- I always wanted a pug, but at £1000+ could never afford one so eventually we were going to get a mongrel

3- We only wanted one dog but these must stay together

Ok, so my dilemma is they will only hold them till tomorrow noon for us, and they WILL be rehomed this weekend due to being v. posh doggies. I never thought having a pug, let alone two would ever be an option. They met the kids earlier, and got on really well. Insurance quoted at £20 p.month for both. I cannot find a single negative comment on google about pugs with kids, as I always said I wouldnt get an older dog cuz of not knowing a history iyswim.

HELP I want them, but am I being crazy!!!!

[monkeyfacegrace]

Oh, and they are not house trained. Is it even possible to house train 6 yr old dogs?

[herladyshiplovesedward]

i would be wary of getting 2 dogs on impulse if it wasn't something you were planning at the minute..

this is why dh would never let me visit an animal shelter.. you will always be tempted!

[bubbles4]

Did the shelter give you the reason why they had ended up there?Also why are they not house trained?
There is a mner with two pugs,try posting in Pets,she may be able to give you some advice.
I would think long and hard about two dogs,one on its own is life changing,sorry to be pessimistic but I feel you need to make the decision with your head and not your heart,

[jybay]

Don't do it. If these dogs aren't housetrained then they won't have been properly socialised either. You will not be able trust them around your kids (not that you can ever completely trust a dog but it helps if they have had contact with children from being puppies). Plus all aspects of training will be much, much harder at 6 years than as a puppy.

I love dogs, have a dog and believe that children benefit hugely from contact with dogs but I would never take this on with young children. Don't rush into this - wait for the right dog for your family.

[suwoo]

The mnetter with pugs- she has 3, is Disenchanted. Want me to alert her to this thread? She is my mn mate

[monkeyfacegrace]

They came in as strays. They look healthy, and one is very overweight. The kennels arent sure whether they are soiling their beds due to stress (they have been split up as neither are neutured), or because they arent trained. They were so loving when we took them for a walk

[monkeyfacegrace]

Oh yes please Suwoo! I think Ive spoken to her before on many other threads...

[midori1999]

Wether you take them or not depends, IMO, on whether you are prepared to deal with any problems that may come up, and keep them no matter what, as well as how experienced you are with dogs or whether you are prepared to get professional help with them if needed.

Housetraining is possibly going to be the least of your problems, but yes, you can housetrain a dog at any age. A dog toileting in it's bed is not just not housetrained though, it is used to living in it's own filth, and these dogs are harder to housetrain. It could be down to stress though.

If you took them, you'd need to be sensible with them and the children together as you don't know their history. Make sure the children know how to treat them with respect and give them space.

[sb6699]

You need to shout Valhalla - she works in a rescue centre and might be able to give some advice.

[Missmamy]

Are they the same sex and did they come from the same home?

I only ask as we rehomed 2 x same breed female dogs from same rescue but different homes originally. The rescue claimed they never fought and that they needed to stay together.

In fact they did fight, one of them could be very aggressive and we ended up having to have her rehomed.

So I would want to know their history with each other.

[monkeyfacegrace]

midori, thats my worry, I dont know if Im strong enough to keep them no matter what. I think a year or shit everywhere would make me say no more, as would any snapping at the kids (though according to google this is v.v.v unlikley). My kids (espesh the 3yr old) are amazing with animals. My 3 yr old has three hamsters which she regularly gets out on her own and plays with very gently until I find her in her room with them! So not a concern there. My insurance would cover huge vets bills, and we do regular hols to the coast where they could come.
I really am just worried about the house training. What other problems could their be?

[Fluffyone]

Can you take them for a trial over the weekend, or maybe for a week? Did you see them loose together in a confined space? You know what, if you've always wanted a pug, I'd give it a try. I would get in touch with a good dog trainer in your area for some advice. (You're not in Kent are you, I know an excellent one). I'd give it a try though, on the understanding that they will return to the rescue if you can't manage with them.

[monkeyfacegrace]

x posts miss, they are male and female and were found as strays together and have been inseperable apparently. They have been seperated now as neither have been netured, so have to be apart until its done so they dont get up duff! TBH Id rather just one, but they are adamant they wont split them up.

[monkeyfacegrace]

Im still laughing at how ugly wallace is, he has a problem with his eyes so they protrude massively from his face! Awww I love the ugly ones...

[Fluffyone]

You might find that they are house trained after all though, once they are back together again. Could the rescue recommend a good trainer, or preferably canine behaviourist, who could give you some support in trying to rehab them?
Surely they can't rehome them at the weekend if they haven't been neutered yet? They can't expect that the new owner will try to keep them from doing the deed until neutered surely?

[Missmamy]

Hmmm, I don't know. Pugs as a breed might be unlikely to be aggressive but without knowing the history you really don't know how they're likely to behave.

As I say we rescued two dogs but that was pre-dc and we truly had the measure of them before they were introduced to kids (or not, in the case of the aggressive one!)

[EggyAllenPoe]

why do they want to home them together? seems odd to me - they are more likely to pay attention to you as singletons.

housetraining a 6 year old dog is very possible, doing two at once is harder.

I love pugs too as they are delightful cuddly little dogs, but i wouldn't want to take on two at the same time.

[stripeyknickersspottysocks]

I rehomed a 4yo dog that wasn't house trained and she's been OK, it did take a few months but thinks she's very dim. A friend of mine has just got a 5yo un house trained dog and trained it in a weekend. Both were ex-racing greyhounds so had been kenneled previously.

You need to have a hard think about it. They can't have been strays long-term especially if overweight. So has someone booted them out the house? If so why? Have they just got bored of them or was it becasue of messing in the house or something else?

[EggyAllenPoe]

and - don't be pressurised into accepting more than you believe you can handle. most breed clubs have dogs looking for homes -

have you contacted the pug club for advice?

[Missmamy]

Actually, I think I'm going to say no, don't do it.

Two dogs are more work and more expensive than one. Yes pugs may cost £1000 but you are going to have the cost of 2 dogs instead of one over 13 years or whatever if you do this.

Your main driver seems to be that you could get the breed you want on the cheap. That's not the right reason to do it and you don'#t know the dog's history. Can't you pput sonme money away and save up for a pug puppy who is more likely to be a safe bet for your children?

It's not like these dogs are on their last chance if they're likely to be gone by the end of the weekend so I would say look at your reasons closely and stick to your original plan.

Just my opinion though!

[monkeyfacegrace]

Im thinking that no-one in their right mind would abandon a pug, they could rehome in 5 mins. It doesnt make sense. No-one just 'stumbles' upon having a pug, so they must have chosen and paid for them at some point. Ive tried the pug club and many others. The responses Im getting is that there are massive waiting lists for a rescue pug, and they wont have any less problems than the ones Im looking at?
The running costs wont be that much. £20 p.month insurnce, and not much for food as they dont eat much. Other than that, its only 1 bed, 1 cage and 1 set of toys.
Im thinking of asking for a weeks trial to see how the children react. Or is this going to stress the dogs out more?

[monkeyfacegrace]

Miss, they are 6-8 estimate already, so prob only have 6yrs left

[Missmamy]

I think you should only do it if you're committed to rehoming two dogs. It doesn't sound like you have ever wanted two rescue dogs.

From your posts I'm getting that you see them as a bargain and I'm sorry, I just don't see that as the right reason to rescue a dog - you should want to do it to offer them a better life, they may have serious issues you'll have to commit to working through.

[Missmamy]

It's not just £20 p/m insurance plus food. It's annual vaccinations, it's taking them to the vet for inevitable illnesses/injury - our excess on our insurance is about £50 so often we don't claim the money back for things our dog has had to see the vet over.

[Missmamy]

Oh, plus dog training x 2.