Do you think we would be eligible for a rescue dog?

[HellloBambinos]

DH and I would really love a dog but I’ve heard from other people that rescue centres are really strict. I’d much rather go down the rescue route as I feel like there are so many dogs that need homes and I’ve heard horror stories about the way lots of puppies are bred and I’d rather not support that.

We live in a house with a garden, although it’s quite small (two bed mid terrace). The garden is secure and we have lots of lovely walks on our doorstep. Do rescue centres prefer bigger homes?

We do work full time but plan to alternate our WFH days so that one of us can be home every day, at least at first. We’ve got plenty of family around to help out with walks if we do both have to go into work on the same day. Also open to dog walkers and daycare, I’m not someone who would leave a dog for 8+ plus alone.

We don’t have children but we would like to in the future.

In terms of breed, I’m from a spaniel family, mainly springers which I don’t think we have the space for but I love cockers and King Charles spaniels too. My DHs family have always had Staffies so we would consider that too, but really we are quite open to other breeds that might be suitable.

Do people experience think we have a shot? TIA

I think it depends on the rescue centre.

I got a rescue dog (many many many years ago) from Battersea Dogs Home. They were fantastic, I got the dog for my own circumstances. I was at Uni, lived in a house share and the dog needed to be child friendly as we had a child visiting regularly. I have to admit, I was matched up with my 2nd choice dog. But my whole experience, with them was great. I would give it a go.

My parents weren't as they both worked, however my mum only worked part time (6-10am every morning) so Ddog would be alone for 1-2 hours max. They got the same answer from all 4 rescues within 2 hours of where they live.

Thanks @Ylvamoon

That’s kind of what I feared @thatcarolebaskinbitch. I understand if rehoming a dog with separation anxiety or something but surely the majority of people go to work!

Different rescues have different regulations but most like you not to
Leave dog for period of time but your set up sounds like you would be ok with some but not others and some expect a big garden others are more flexible if walking dog etc

Your situation is very similar to ours, OP.

Average sized house. Small, secure garden, but we live within a few minutes of the local park. The man from the rescue who did the home check was less concerned about the size of the garden, knowing we had good dog walking areas nearby. His main concern was whether our garden was secure for her.
Both of us work out of the home full time in an office, although both are WFH at the minute and probably will be for the foreseeable. We looked at dog walkers or daycare, but in the end DP's mum was happy to have DDog whilst we were at work. DDog is happy being left to her own devices for a couple of hours too, if needed.

It really depends on the rescue, as well as the dog too, I suppose. Contact your local rescues - we approached all in our local area and discussed our circumstances. None of them ruled us out straight away. They kept our details on file and contacted us when a dog they felt may be suitable for us was available for rehoming.
Don't be too breed specific either, unless you are adamant you want a particular breed. We ended up with a JRT, which isn't everyone's cup of tea, but as soon as we met her we knew she was right for us

Good luck, OP!

Look at smaller foster based rescues, they don’t have set in stone rules and assess each home individually.
Please do consider a staffy, I have adopted bull breeds and so many need homes.
Lots of good rescues out there.

Most rescues don't like a dog to be left for more than 4 hours per day, obviously there will be some dogs that can't be left and for those dogs someone would need to be home most of the day. I have homechecked for rescues and tbh it is more important that your garden is fully secure than the size.

I think you'll be fine as long as you get the right dog for your criteria (so one that could be alone x hours a day) etc.

We both work full time but my husband works shifts as he's in the emergency services. It means our dog gets a dog walker during the day maximum twice a week on any days our work days overlap. Dogs Trust we're fine with this as the dog we picked was suited to this set up.

The key is making sure the rescue dog has the right personality and needs for your set up so they can thrive. Once the centre is happy with that, they'll always favour a dog going to a loving home instead of being stuck at the centre.

Perversity at it's best is my experience of rescues. When my last dog died four years ago (58 years experience of border collies - literally grew up with them from birth) I looked to the Dogs Trust. So, I do work full time but three days a week from home. I have a large detached countryside cottage with a huge garden, and an additional (large) piece of land that I own. I live about two miles from a village with a lovely public space /park that is regularly used by dog walkers, so lots of friends and social activities for the dog.

On top of that, several years ago I completed Kennel Club accredited qualifications in dog behaviour, which I put to excellent use as a volunteer at the Dogs Trust where I support "difficult" dogs to relearn more appropriate behaviours and support new rehomers to adjust if the dog needs a bit of extra support.

When I went to the Dogs Trust to rehome a Border Collie, they refused me as a suitable candidate! And if that isn't perverse enough, my now four year old Border Collie who I bought because they wouldn't let me rehome, is, according to his vet, one of the most balanced, well looked after and fit dogs he ever sees; and my dog accompanies me to the Dogs Trust where I still volunteer - he helps to stabilise and work with dogs who need a doggy support worker! As did my previous dog.

Rescues do need to be careful and caring, but I honestly think that they often treat dogs like they are fragile. A caring home where the dogs needs are met most of the time (because nobody gets what they want all of the time!) is more important that profiling people based on tick boxes.

We visited doggy day cares beforehand so were prepared and could explain our plan, we also mainly WFH and were fine. Smaller rescues were the best for us too, I think you'd have to camp at dogs trust overnight to snap one up there - seemed impossible