to think that adopting a dog from a rescue is really not a middle-class thing to do ?

[Myfoofneedspruning]

I live in a very affluent area and I couldn't help a trend starting. A mum from school got a puppy lab then in the following months, other parents also got puppies from various breeds. None are rescue dogs. It's sad.

Is your halo getting a bit tight Plummy? What a condescending and poorly informed post.

The week before I got my rescue dog, I was talking to one of my friends who has a 'designer' dog (something ending in '-doodle', can't remember what). I mentioned that I'd just spent nearly $1000 on getting my garden dog-proofed new fences etc). She said, 'Oh well, at least the dog is free'. She was shocked when I said the dog was actually $400! It's not about getting a cheap dog at all, as others have said - it's an ethical decision (for me, anyway).

We're middle class (I think) and got our puppy from a reputable breeder. We couldn't find one suitable from a rescue centre, they were all unsuitable to be housed with very young children (according to the rescue centres). They are great together, they absolutely adore each other.

It's actually also really frigging difficult to adopt a rescue dog, you have to jump through six million hoops.

Plummy, you're absolutely right about the puppy buyers who have no idea what they're taking on. How can they? It's not possible to predict what an 8 week old puppy will be like in one, five or ten years time.

The rescue centre somehow assessed our elderly and almost immobile neighbours as being a suitable home for a 2-yr-old, manic staffie/whippet cross who goes bonkers at the postman, vans, cats, pigeons and buses.

They love her dearly, but can't exercise her -- she's too strong.

I've had 2 rescue dogs. And failed with both. They require a lot of time and thought.

The first was young maybe a year and chased bloody everything. Man made, 2 legs, 4 legs, human, animal everything. We had no children with this one and gave him all the time and training you could possibly hope for. Ended up doing some serious damage to a cow. I live on a farm and it's just not possible to separate the dogs from the livestock.

The last was a retiree who had been dumped. Unfortunately he and one of our other dog tried to kill each other and I ended up getting bitten twice. My kids were 7 & 8 and have grown up with dogs but it was too risky to keep him.

I would try again but only if it was an only dog and the cats were outside cats.

its a really middle class thing to do

also a working class thing to do

and possibly an upper class thing too (wouldnt know)

we grew up with rescues but its too hard to get one here in our circs, plus i dont want hassle with kids and possibly aggressive unpredictable dog, so we are getting a puppy from an assured breeder for our first dog. rescue when we are more experienced and kids are older

not when we are more middle class

Me and all my extended middle-class family have/have had rescue dogs. I currently have the only pure breed dog in the family. I wanted a puppy and wanted a specific breed. He is nearly 12 now and when he dies, I will go back to rescue dogs. I would like to take in older dogs, 7+ years, and give them a good home for the rest of their lives.

There are many great dogs that need rehomed. Dogs whose families are moving away and can't take them, or whose owners are getting divorced, or who can't afford to keep them any more. Not all rescue dogs are problematic. Give them a chance before deciding on a pure breed puppy.

There are 8 rescues near me and none will consider rehoming to homes with children. 5 say none under age 8 and the other 3 say age 10.

We got ours from Dog's Trust; we're the very epitome of middle class...
What a strange notion.

I bought my current dog in a pub, on five minutes petting with 3 small children, I took a pair of bolt cutters to her outgrown choke chain fed her up on fresh cod and she is beautiful, the previous owner had no idea what he had taken on when buying a collie pup from a gypsy camp and couldn't cope!
The one before that was put down at 14 but upon taking her for a walk for the first time her paws bled as she had been kept in a kitchen for two years.
I would say I was working class though!

I'm middle class wth a pedigreeLab, I've had since a puppy who's a rescue, so ner.

Don't know about rescue dogs being a middle class favourite or not, but if rescue centres weren't quite so full of Staffies and Staffie crosses more people would consider it I guess.

Reni1 give it a year they will be full of husky type cross breeds!

Then it can become a middle class thing though, Wheredidipark.

Another one here who got a puppy from a rescue.
Previous dog an adult staffie from a rescue. The easiest and sweetest dog in the world.
I am probably quite common.

A lot of people will not have a rescue because they "don't know the history of the dog", as if somehow buying a puppy ensures you are going to get a grown dog with a good temperament....

In my area all the middle class folk seem to be buying Pugs or French bulldogs (which both have terrible health problems) for silly amounts of money. The other alternative is 'poo' designer dogs (i.e. mutts with big price tags and no pedigree or guarantee of temperament either).

My dog is a rescue. I will say many rescues do not help their own cause by having many petty rules around who the will home with.

YANBU, nothing middle class about adopting a dog.

Surely if anything official rescues set barriers to entry that make it more likely they will only rehome to middle class, such as requiring a reasonably sized, non-shared, fenced garden?

As far as I can see from Facebook, Gumtree etc, second-hand dogs are very popular but more likely to be directly traded from owner to owner without a rescue organisation if the owners are not middle-class (although this is often described as 'rescuing' the dog).

Anyone looking to rehome (give away) a dog should never put it on gumtree or free ads either. So many scum bags looking for 'bait dogs' for dog fighting rings.

It possibly is a bit middle class to adopt from the bigger rescues because their rules and processes are so ridiculous.... but dogs trust and RSPCA are not the only places to adopt a dog from. There are many smaller charities that advertise on sites like dogsblog and preloved.

reni1 what on earth is wrong with staffie and staffie crosses?!

Cheers plummybrummy

All these dumb fucks that buy a puppy then don't bother exercising it properly, think it's ok for their kids to boss it about and pull it around, who encourage puppy breeders.

Imo anyone who wants a dog should have to jump through hoops! It's not a toy, it's a living creature that needs a decent amount of exercise 2 to 3 times a day, even when it's pouring with rain.

I'm definitely MC and always rescue. And my dog is the loveliest, most loyal, grateful dog you could have.

MsJudgmental my dog would go bananas if I tried to walk her 3 times a day!

Both my dogs are expensive pedigrees. Both of them came from a rescue after being bought by a family that wanted a puppy "so they knew what they were getting.." Both dogs (separately) were given up at a year old when the cute Andrex puppy had grown into a very energetic adult dog and the novelty had worn off. I think training a rescue is no harder than a puppy if you use a good, sensible rescue that matches dogs well.