Would we regret getting a (rescue) dog?

[MoreRabbit]

Would we regret a dog?

We have two tweens and I WFH (I have a WFH contract so unlikely to be reversed). My husband is a self-employed builder and out on sites most of the time.

We are outdoors a lot - we go out walking as a family pretty much every weekend and the kids are used to this. We live on the edge of a market town and there's plenty of places to walk a dog nearby. We have friends with dogs who regularly meet up for walks, and most of our family also bring their dogs to family get-togethers.

The kids are old enough and sensible enough to take a dog that's good on a lead for a local walk.

We have a small-to-medium sized garden which is not currently very secure, although we could probably rectify that, and we live on a quiet avenue.

My husband and I both grew up with dogs and we both have local sets of parents who would have a (well-behaved!) dog at theirs the odd night if we were away. I think for longer than 2-3 days we'd probably book kennels. We do like going away for the weekend a few times a year - camping or self-catering - so we'd need to work around that, and we usually go for 1-2 weeks in the summer.

We'd want a rescue and my husband would prefer an older female dog, maybe something like a smallish lurcher, setter or a spaniel.

Given all the above, would we regret a dog?! Have you regretted a dog??

Go for it.

Surely you would just take the dog on UK holidays anyway?

It can be very rewarding having a rescue dog. Some have trauma and can struggle to fit in with family life. Some are just in rescue when owners are ill, have died or change of circumstances.

Our last rescue had several homes before we got him ( people returned him) He was the most amazing dog and SO handsome ( lots of comments) He did have hang ups and some food issues but we never regretted getting him. In later life we spent lots on operations, hydrotherapy etc.
He found his forever home with us and was very well loved. Such a clever boy full of character.

A good rescue Centre will do a home visit so secure garden is a must. Start there then look for a good fit for your family.
Agree with PP about holidays. If our dogs can’t come we don’t go they’re family.
First time we took our rescue away, with our other dog, he wouldn’t get out of the car. Broke my heart. He thought we were leaving him.

We’ve never for a single moment regretted it. But a large part of that is adopting through a rescue charity with excellent post adoption support.

His lovely white paws😀
Good luck with the decision...our dog was brilliant.

We’ve had many! Never regretted one single dog. But they have each had their challenges, and we have had to learn how to do positive reinforcement training with them. Which was the best thing, because it opened up a whole new way of being with them. Both of us had had dogs growing up, but still researched new methods with some of the issues we’ve come across. A good rescue will help you, and the dog will reward you with limitless love.

Ahh i love these positive stories, thank you everyone! Our lovely dogs growing up were rescues, but it's a good point about training and techniques - I don't think my parents at least really considered any training, as ours were always legging it and heading off on their own adventures...I sort of just thought that's what all dogs were like until I was an adult 😂

I guess we'd take them on UK hols, yes - just means finding campsites and airbnbs that accommodate dogs but I wouldn't see that being a problem really.

We live in an area where the majority of unhomed dogs at rescue centres seem to be staffies, bulldogs, or similar breeds/crosses. Maybe the next step is to visit a couple of rescue centres (without the kids!) and chat to staff.

All my dogs have been rescues and honestly they have been no worse behaved than friends' dogs from breeders.
Definitely challenging and takes adjustment for all involved but the positives outweigh the negatives. Look at training and walking with other dogs, there's usually groups of people who walk regularly, try to find them.
We go to caravan parks for most holidays, there's lots of pet friendly caravans about.
Re staffies - I adore them. So much character and affection. They're often protective too which can need careful handling.
Good luck.

I'd possibly fight shy of any dog aged about 5-6yo - lockdown dogs.

Under 3 or over 7 would be my advice at present, because I know of no end of problems with lockdown dogs.

We adopt older animals anyway with a good few years left in them. We love giving an animal a good retirement, they're generally pretty chilled out by that age. And every few years when we sadly lose them, we have a little break from the constraints of pet ownership for a few months.

We adopted a covid dog, he was a german shephard about 18 months old.

Unfortunately even after spending thousands on various trainers over a year or so and DH being at home with him every day as WFH, we could never trust him off the lead or with anyone or anything. He bit someones hand who tried to pet him whilst he was on the lead (DH warned her not to) and he also would go for me and the kids (young teenagers) and eventually bit DS2 (aged 12) on the nose. We just couldn't take the chance that next time it would be much worse.
It was awful and not a decision we wanted to make but we had to return him to the dog trust. We just were not the right fit.

I just wanted to give our story as you do really need to make sure that you know the history, what they have been through and what behaviours they have. especially with kids in the house.

We had been really surprised as DH mum has had several rescue dogs over the years and they have always been great, especially with the kids. Even the one who had been stabbed and left for dead.

Try the DogsnHomes rescue centre. They have some lovely dogs. I personally know of one who is turning out to be a wonderful addition to her family. They have a good support system for new owners too.

dogsnhomes.org.uk/

I adopted a staffie in my early 20s (single and childless) and had her just over 10 years until she died in January this year. She was challenging in that she didnt like any other animals so life was a bit tricky at times. She was never off the lead (which was fine) but the countless other off lead dogs were the problem. But she adored her humans and had endless amounts of love to give. I miss her terribly 😔

I dont think you would regret it as long as you find the right fit for your family. Take your time, arrange meetings with any potential matches, ask lots and lots of questions, be prepared that a rescue comes with a history.

Had 4 rescue Staffies , no problems at all with other dogs, very sociable, brilliant with children even babies, all extremely easy to train, great house dogs too! Also not many health issues unlike some breeds.

We got our staffy boy from Dog's Trust. He was in foster, not kennels. They really emphasised that his first owner had loved him dearly and sadly was being forced to sign him over to DT as he was being evicted and facing homelessness. DT helped him get housing.
Thanks to his first owner, our boy has fantastic teeth and is very healthy, still plenty of doggie bounce in him. He's 13 now, but doesn't seem like it. He's so full of love and affection, he adores his people and if I could explain to him that some people mistreat and their dogs, he wouldn't believe me. He's well behaved and so sweet natured.
I wouldn't hesitate to adopt from DT again. I would be wary of adopting a traumatized dog from kennels, but that's just me as I have huge anxiety, that's just me though.