Rescue dog - young puppy or slightly older youngster?

[diplodocus]

Looking for a bit of advice. We've just seriously started the process of looking for a rescue dog, which will almost certainly be a crossbreed. We feel we could cope fine with a puppy (DH at home all day and children both at school) but don't know whether to go for this or an older dog (e.g. 6-12 months). Our reasoning is that if we got a puppy we could be fairly confident it hadn't had any bad experiences and we could start socialisation early, but if it was older we may have a better idea or how it will turn out both physically (we're not too fussy but would rather it wasn't either huge or small) and more important in temperament (we'd be hoping to use a rescue where the dogs are fostered so hopefully we can get a fair bit of info abut their character). DH has only ever had a dog from a puppy, which worked well for him, and I've only had one from about 6 months (a rescue dog), which worked fine for us Any advice welcome.

Also we'll be taking him or her to puppy training classes but can anyone recommend a good book on training (or general care of puppies in general - things have changed a lot since we last had one!).
TIA.

[VivaLeBeaver]

If you want to be put off an older puppy then read any of my threads about my nightmare dog who we got at six months old. Not socialised enough and now quite possibly going to be put to sleep as he's aggressive.

Though I did get mine from the breeder not a rescue. Maybe a rescue would be more honest, etc.

[mistlethrush]

The rescue I got my (lurcher) dog from has lots of dogs in foster, will not let a dog go with a family that appears to be unsuitable for the dog, has dogs in family situations (and also has a litter of lovely puppies currently available).

[diplodocus]

Thanks for the response - I have read your thread Viva - so sorry you're going through this nightmare - but would certainly hope a rescue would be a bit more honest. They have to take a dog back if things don't work out so I would imagine are pretty keen that they do.
Which rescue did you get your's from mistlethrush, if you don't mind me asking? And how is your lurcher? I love them, but have been warned their recall is usually a bit dodgy. We live in the country and back onto fields with livestock which is where we'll be walking our dog, so we're really keen to get one that can reliably go off the lead once trained.

[mistlethrush]

Luchers are not known for their speedy recall - but to be honest, it appears partly to depend on the mix of lurcher you get. And there are lots of different ways that you can work on improving your dog's recall, depending upon what their character is like.

We got ours, knowing from the rescue that we might never be able to let her off as they thought she was a failed worker. However, she has turned out to be remarkably good - she doesn't necessarily come back absolutely this instant, but she's safe enough to let off in suitable places for dogs - even if there are hunting opportunities. I think that she's decided that she definitely wants to stay with us and doesn't want to get lost. If you got, say, a collie x lurcher or a bully lurcher, you might have been luck on the recall - a saluki x can sometimes be somewhat hard of hearing, and bedlington x similarly so - although this is generalisation (as ours is probably part bedlington).

We got a lurcher because we wanted a dog that could take all the exercise we could throw at it on holiday, but cope with one good walk a day and some playing - then sleep the rest of the time. We've had her 10 months now and she has fitted in perfectly. She wasn't housetrained when we got her - and wasn't in foster either - so we took her on to foster to see how things went, and formally adopted her about 2 months later. She's 3 ish now.

There's a dog trainer that specialises in lurcher training and we've been to one of his sessions which was really positive - we will try to get on to any stock training session that he runs as its something that concerns me. Having said that, ours has seen sheep at quite a close distance and not really shown any interest - but I would like to have a bit more confidence in the fact that she's not going to do anything should the occasion arise. She is walked regularly in a country park where there is only a wire fence between us and sheep (and she is easily capable of going over the fence) and stayed on our side.

[ender]

I think 6-12 months is the best age, you can see what kind of dog they are. No reputable rescue would mind you taking your time to get to know the dog, going for walks, seeing what he's like with other dogs you meet etc. We did this with our 8 month GSD x rescue and he's perfect, after just 4 weeks of training he's better behaved than our lab that we've had 3 yrs from a puppy.
Learns amazingly quickly, now good recall, reliable off lead, was a bit barky with other dogs at first but much better now.
Bad experiences in puppyhood don't always mean a problem dog. Like humans, some are more resilient than others.
Rescue got him from Ireland, litter was found abandoned and starving. He was rehomed from the rescue at 3months and returned 4 months later because was "too dominant" possibly having had Cesar Milan type training inflicted on him.

[diplodocus]

Thanks for your very thoughtful reply and pm, mistlethrush. I'll certainly consider a lurcher - maybe an older one where there is some idea of what recall is likely to be. It would be such a shame in our situation to have a dog that couldn't go off the lead.
Also thanks, ender for your thoughts. Yes, I would hope a rescue would certainly let us get to know a dog first. We're looking particularly at the moment at Many Tears and Pups needing Homes - we're in the south east but prepared to travel (although closer would be better as we could do multiple visits before adopting). Youngest DD is 5 so quite a few centres won't rehome with a child that age.

[Scuttlebutter]

Most rescues WILL rehome to young families subject to the usual sensible restrictions of taking it on a dog by dog basis, and of course the outcome of a homecheck. It also depends on what breed you are looking for?

Celia Cross Greyhound Rescue have a lovely variety of family friendly pointies (not just greys), there's Whittingham Kennels too. GRWE rehome across the SE of England, and Hope Rescue are an all breed rescue who foster for at least a fortnight before adoption, so are v thorough - they cover England too. The RGT have branches across SE England - their website will point you to the nearest one - most will rehome to families with DC. Dogs Trust will usually go on a dog by dog basis too.

[Floralnomad]

Have you looked at South east dog rescue ( sorry can't link) ,they have a couple of crossbreed puppies ( summer and Sam) who look lovely and they rehome to families with young children ,depending on the dog .

[LadyTurmoil]

If you're in the SE, have a look at www.prodogsdirect.org.uk/ Most of their dogs are in foster homes but some in kennels if no fosters available, so most dogs are assessed with dogs/children/family life before adoption. They have some lovely dogs at the moment

They have a Facebook page as well: www.facebook.com/pages/Pro-Dogs-Direct/321074236470?fref=ts

[diplodocus]

Thanks for your suggestions - really helpful. Yes, am in south east so will add your sites to my list.

[LadyTurmoil]

Also //www.desperategreekies.com is in the South. They bring dogs from Greece to foster families here (or sometimes direct adopt to a family) so you'd be able to get a good assessment from the foster family.

Some of their dogs are on this website Holbrook Rescue

[Scuttlebutter]

OP, Have you looked at Lizzie's Barn? Although based in Wales, they adopt nationally, and a lovely selection of dogs. I was particularly struck by a dear little 11 month old cav/terrier cross they have in at the moment called Sassy, who is used to children and very friendly. Have a look at their FB page or website.