To expect to be able to re-home a rescue dog when I have two children?

[Wadingthroughshit]

Two children, We live in a rural area, have front and back gardens, my youngest starts school this summer, my eldest is nearly nine and I work PT. There are kennels are dog walkers in our area which are reasonably priced. We are a quiet home, there isn't much comings and goings. I think a dog would be hugely beneficial to all of us, especially my eldest who can be slightly anxious.
But, I have been looking for over a year, and I have not been able find dogs at any of the rescue centre which don't don't state 'adult only or older children'. I absolutely understand there is a reason for this. Should I give up looking and give in to buying one? We'd quite like an older dog, well, not a puppy at least.

If you are in Scotland try Scottish Staffie rescue, and I'd definitely agree with others who have suggested greyhounds. My mum has one and she is the laziest, most docile dog ever. They make great pets with children and actually require far less exercise than people think.
Just from personal experience avoid the rescue centre on Orkney.

So lovely to hear of lovely stories of dogs. Can I digress slightly...did you ever regret getting a dog? I suppose I am testing my suitability. I am 31, but an "old soul" I don't drink, so I don't go out out at the weekend and of course I have my children. I love hill walking, or being at the beach, I work 18 hours per week just now, in the field I did postgrad in, so I'd like that to increase, especially as my youngest starts school. Being in Scotland, the school has half day on a Friday, so I doubt I will get FT hours until my children are slightly older (no ASC on a Friday). We are quite outsdoorsy, plus we rarely go on holiday, so I feel I have a lot of love and time and it would be great for all of us. I know both my children are very keen, of course!

I foster for Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher rescue, and we don't have any blanket bans - it's all down to the adopter and the dog matching together. Some of the fosters have children or grandchildren around so we know a lot more about how they are with children, and sometimes we have to say older children as the dog bears them no ill will, but a larger dog and very little children can be tricky if the dog is bouncy. Unfortunatly peoples threshold for returning a rescue is pretty low and some people would return the dog after one incident of knocking over a toddler/preschooler accidentally.
We rehome all over the country btw

OP, I can only second what everyone else has said about breed specific rescues.
I was in the same position - single, working (pt) parent with children who were then 9, 7 and 4. No rescue would have given us a dog!
We ended up adopting our DDog through a breed specific rescue from Spain. She's the sweetest girl and absolutely perfect for our family. She's loved and cuddled and has a great life now, certainly better than the fate that awaited her in the kill shelter from which she was rescued.
She had been fostered with a family in Spain after they got her out of the shelter so they knew her character and that she was good with children.

This is the rescue charity we went to, they were brilliant (obviously I don’t know whereabouts you are but I think there’s a good network of Labrador rescue groups)

www.loveyourlabrador.co.uk/provide-a-home/

I’m now gazing at all the recently rehomed dogs, my husband is rolling his eyes at me 😄 So many lovely dogs, please persevere and get a rescue 🙂

Just saw your last post; no I don't regret it for a second! Like you, we are quite outdoorsy anyway and live semi-rurally so plenty of walks and nature around, I find having a dog gets you out even more and it's lovely to snuggle up with her on the sofa in the evenings when the DC are in bed

Have you just been looking on the website or have you been in direct contact with them?

Often the child friendly dogs are snapped up and don't actually make it onto the website because they go so quickly.

Avoid anyone trying to rehome via pets4homes / gumtree / Facebook etc. If it's an adult dog, unlike going via a rescue, they may lie to get rid of the dog, you've got no independent veterinary or behaviour assessment, no follow up support and few options if it doesn't work out. I've rescued small furries via these routes (where the risk is far lower) and I've literally never come away with what was advertised - on one occasion I came away with a different species (!!) Similarly I adopted DDog from a friend, having lived with him for 6 months. The friend (while well meaning) couldn't have articulated his behaviour needs if he tried, and even I had a couple of surprises when I took him to the vet (no vaccinations, microchip registered to an unknown third party, possible health problem I was told had been checked out hadn't been and could have landed me with a four figure surgery bill). And that was with a dog I'd lived with for 6 months.

If it's a puppy being advertised by those routes you can bet your bottom dollar that it's a dodgy backyard breeder or a puppy farm (which can be awfully well disguised)

Not a second of regret. The only thing that would give me any is the thought of how devastating it will be to lose her (I have a lump in my throat even as I’m typing this) but my goodness she’s just the best thing ever. Go for it!!!

This reminds me of trying to get a rescue dog in Cornwall. Because we were in our twenties they were concerned that we may split up and then where would the dog gono kids, but still had to have three home visits, change the garden and faff a lot. For a jack Russell.
I appreciate they want what's best for the dog but they can be ridiculous

You need to actually go to visit the rescue or call them. Batteries, for example, will rehome to families, but only under the right circumstances for both the dog and the family.

Get a lurcher, greyhound or other sight hound 😊 Often great with kids and very easy to look after as a first dog. Especially greyhounds, and Retired Greyhound Trust will rehome to families.

You do need to put in work with a lot of rescue dogs, but arguably it can be less stressful than getting a puppy. And long term a dog like a greyhound can be very easy to look after. I’m sure you know this anyway but a lab or spaniel puppy could be a lot of work, and we know a few, for example - spaniels can be very ‘busy’ dogs and labs can be quite destructive as puppies. Our friend’s lab puppy completely destroyed his sofa! Why are you set on these breeds rather than a greyhound for example? They are very popular breeds but that doesn’t mean they’ll be super easy to look after.

This thread needs photos!

Try the greyhound rescues.

I agree that getting a slightly older dog is worth bearing in mind. Our dog was five when we got her so we avoided the puppy training. She had a few anxieties, inevitable after her shaky start (no outright abuse or neglect but she’d been moved about a bit through no fault of hers) but lots of love and company made a huge difference and she’s so chilled out now.

As others have said, try a smaller rescue centre instead. And I would also echo the previous comments about lurchers and greyhounds (also whippets). They are lovely dogs with calm, gentle temperaments.

Not sure where you are based, but the Celia Cross greyhound rescue near Guildford has homed and will home dogs with families that have younger children. The lady who runs it is very responsible and cares deeply about the dogs, also about making sure they get matched to the right family. Not all of their dogs are suitable for families with young children but many are. So if you are in the area, please go and see them.

(I know this to be true because I volunteered with them before work commitments got in the way, and also because I asked them about adopting a greyhound or lurcher or whippet when my daughter was still 4. She is 6 now and I'm desperate to adopt one, but have yet to convince DH ... maybe this will be the year!)

We couldn't rescue a dog either and my children are both over ten! Very frustrating. I understand the reasons but I only work part time and my children aren't young. From what I gather there are soooo many dogs needing a loving home and it's very difficult to be able to do that. We ended up buying a pup and she is adorable and loving life!

There's a fab rescue called Spaniel Assist OP that rehome spaniels. Their dogs go into foster and are assessed before being listed for re-homing and may be worth a try. They are very descriptive of the spaniels up for adoption and I know several who have rescued some very amazing dogs from there.

www.spanielassist.com

We've got 2 spaniels, a working cocker and a sprocker puppy. They are both amazing with my young grandchildren, all under 6 including a tiny baby. They are maniacs off lead walking but very calm and lovely in the house.... most of the time

UK Griffon Adoption

Lovely dogs and great support.

Our boy.

Happy rescue hound taking it easy

Loving the pics!
Definitely smaller rescues and also ones that foster. Have you heard of Black retriever x. They have lots of lab and retriever types. They match very carefully to the right homes and rehome all over the place.
Good luck.

We got our first dog when kids were 8 and 10, we initially thought about a lab or collie or mongrel, but we did not qualify for rescue as our fence is 5ft and should be 6ft

So, we just spread the word amongst friends that we were looking for a friendly dog. One friend heard from her dog's breeder that they had a rejected puppy. A 6 month old lurcher who was too timid and was bullied by the owner's other dogs.

We contacted the breeder, who interviewed us for suitablity and wanted to meet the whole family before deciding we could have her.

Well, we went there and loved that timid little thing. Also met the pup's mother, who had a lovely temperament.

Long story short, she had lived with us fir 6 years and is much much loved.

My advice is to not get too hung up on breeds, but look for personality and temperament. Our girl really has grown in confidence over the years.

Obviously, I now think lurchers are the best and only "breed" . Anyway, mongrels can be the best imo (ours is grey, whippet, terrier, deerhound cross)

Kids love her, she suits our lifestyle (similar to yours) perfectly

Good luck on your quest

Have a look at Desperate Greekies - they have the type of dog you're after and don't have a blanket ban on young kids

What about a retired gun dog? Ive got two labs and got them from someone I know well but there are gun dog rescues as well people looking to rehome older dogs (its more a case of who you know).
Mine are the easiest best trained dogs Ive ever had.

She does not like having her picture taken

We got ours from Labrador Rescue - no children but we did have cats and we didn't have an enclosed garden. They were very flexible. Ten years on he's the best thing we ever did.