To want another dog, after a bad experience

[thewaterfromhere]

Preparing myself for a bit of a flaming here.

In the next couple of years, we’d love to be thinking about having a dog. However, we did have a bad experience with a rescue.

Reasonable to try again, with a puppy?

Water - take no notice of judgmental people on here, with an axe to grind.

It sounds like you had a dreadful experience and yes, absolutely the fault of the rescue organisation, IMO.

Forget it. You rehomed the dog responsibly.

Start afresh. Yes best to choose the breed and puppy. Good luck and I'm sure you'll find a lovely pup.

We had two rescue do that we all loved, to distraction. After the last one this time , we settled on a puppy.

I can honestly say, that after having five dogs between us, our lovley, and much my loved puppy Daisy, is the hardest work ever.

She's very very bright, but crickey, she's hard wofk. Five months old, and her favourite game is either chase or bite. Sometimes it's chase and bite.

If you cannot handle a grown dog, born even contemplate a puppy

I've had rescue dogs from childhood and when our lovely old boy died I wanted to rescue again although kids and husband wanted a puppy. Rehomed from a charity, dog was apparently fine with older children.

She was a lovely dog but incredibly nervous and very reactive trying to attack any dog that came within 20metres. Walking her was a nightmare and she snapped at my husband and son a few times although most of the time she was lovely with them.

We had help from a behaviourist and tried to give her the best chance but when she ran at my Dad and bit him hard on the back of the leg we couldn't go on. I could never have had other children in my house after that. The charity moved her to a foster. It was very difficult for the kids and we had all become very fond of her. I don't blame the charity as dogs can behave differently in a new environment and obviously not the dog's fault, demons of her past. But my priority was my children.
We ended up getting a puppy and he is a diamond, we got him from an old friend who is an established breeder so knew the mum and dad. Non-stop for first couple of months but much more sensible at 6 months. Our cat kept his distance for a while because he didn't want to be bundled in a play fight but now the cat just whacks puppy on the nose when he's had enough.

Of course you can have another dog. I'd speak to a professional trainer and get lots advice before you start.

Good luck.

Re-homing centres and overseas dog charities do also some times have puppies as well.

This is the exact reason why I didn't rescue, I've always wanted to but with having five cats I didn't want to bring in a dog whose background I didn't know etc etc so I bought two puppies (hell on earth please do not get two puppies) and brought them up how I wanted, the only issue we have is one of them pulls on the lead and barks randomly sometimes but that's literally it - so I understand where you're coming from, of course I feel bad for the poor dog as it wasn't their fault but you cannot risk other pets in the household.

Plus dogs are all different, so I don't think you can say that all rescue dogs are like this or that.

My friend has two and they are very different!

One or two charities I know say that if things don't work out they will take the dog back and attempt to re-home. They are honest about the fact the dog has already had a home and may know why things didn't work out and want to avoid that scenario again (e.g. presence of other dog etc).

So sometimes re-homing is just the best thing for the dog. Heartbreaking for everyone but just what the humans have to choose on behalf of the humans and the dog. After my dad's death my mum re-homed the cat. She could not cope with him. You have to decide what's best as the human! So take heart.

"You say you want a puppy because you can choose the breed and size you want - but surely you can do those things with a rescue as well?"

May be you some times can but some rescues are mixed breed and hard to decider!

Our puppy is a rescue, we have no idea exactly what breed he is or how big he will get! We have ideas of breed but that's it. We accepted he could be any size and gave tried to be prepared for that.

I thought about a rescue but no chance with a cat plus dc. Got a puppy in the end, hard work but she's lovely. Typical lab. Cat refuses to entertain the idea of playing with the dog and will swipe at her but with soft paws. Cat likes to sleep in between the dogs front paws which is very cute. I'd absolutely agree that introducing a puppy to a cat is much easier when they are small

Go for it OP. Choose very wisely which breeder. You want one that offered bags of support with a long waiting list. One that can guide which puppy you should take that comes from a long line of stable dogs. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. Your poor cat.

Actually, no... I didn’t enjoy that. I was expressing the fact that I bought a puppy because I didn’t want to risk getting a traumatized rescue dog, and
thought I knew what I would get because of the breed standard. I didn’t get that at all. You don’t always get that. I’m actually quite devastated. Despite loving her, I resent the time, effort and restrictions she places on my lifestyle. This dog is incredibly hard work and honestly completely untrustworthy around people who are not in my family. I am very experienced with dogs, have spent a fortune on dog behaviourists and have even resorted to doggy prozac and nothing has really helped apart from isolating her from small kids and other animals and people. It’s expensive, exhausting and has caused a lot of friction in my marriage, too.

justilou that sounds really difficult for you. I think with the best will in the world, dogs, like people can be unpredictable.

A poorly bred dog can be very inherently unstable. I've met many labs in the Uk that would fit that criteria. The breeder should hope to accomplish something with each pairing and that should include temperament. The dogs should be shown and should have other titles from agility etc to show their temperament is good. The puppies should be temperament tested and the breeder should guide you toward which dog would suit. The breeder should also be willing to take back unstable dog. It's a genetic fault. So many lab breeders have nothing more than hip certs done and call that enough. It's not nearly enough.

No puppy
No dog
Why bother OP you don't need a dog... Why pay thousands to buy a maybe properly healthy bred dog? why pay thousands in vet bills? pay or hundreds for a trainer if it's got issues? pay thousands out in insurance. You are literally paying thousands from day one and carry on doing so for the next 15 years.... Why?

And for what purpose???

Never ever ask a dog question on MN op. Ever.

Every batshit person from the ends of the earth will appear.

A puppy is nothing like a newborn, it's a stupid thing to say. A rescue is nothing like a puppy that doesn't have bad experiences behind it.

Get your puppy. Erase this thread from your mind forever, but don't forget - you must never come back here for dog advice.

It's unfortunate that a dog with high prey drive was placed with you (it sounds like it wasn't your fault) but if the dog was not right for your family, you did the right thing in letting it go back sooner rather than later. There is no shame in admitting when you are unable to meet a dog's needs (and this dog's needs clearly included not living with a cat).

Nobody would suggest that getting a puppy guarantees a perfect dog, but if you are able to carefully choose a breed that has some likelihood of fitting into your circumstances, you will be off to a good start. There are no guarantees in life, but there are probabilities.

I rescued a dog that had been kicked about by the owner. Rescues always come loaded with problems and unfortunately some of them are too difficult to deal with.
My little dog is lovey but he does not like some people and won't be stroked by strangers when I walk him and because he is so sweet children want to stroke him and he barks at them.
When a dog has lots of problems it needs to be handled by someone with skill. That is why there are so many rescue dogs waiting for homes

Rescue dogs often come with behavioural issues that are very difficult or impossible to overcome. I’d never get a rescue dog for that reason. Get a puppy but be very careful about the breed.

We have a 6 year old cavalier King Charles, got her as a puppy and chose the breed because it was a small dog and suitable for a family with young kids. She’s great, the puppy stage was pretty easy all things considered and far easier than trying to deal with an adult rescue dog’s already formed behaviours.. We also have a six month old Ragdoll kitten, chosen because we wanted a breed that would probably be comfortable with the dog and I having had a tonne of experience with moggies I knew some would not gel easily with a dog no matter what you did. This combination is great and both animals play together quite a lot each day, it’s really nice to see how well they enjoy each other’s company.

I think you are getting a hard time on here but all dogs are different. I have three from puppies. We have a cat and chickens and one of them would still go for them if they had the chance despite being brought up with them. He's had lots of one to one training but ultimately he has a high prey drive and there's nothing we can do to change it. The smallest one is supposed to be a lapdog and will chase a Fox off if he has the chance. Nothing is guaranteed with dogs. One also hates other dogs apart from his 'siblings'. They are like humans they have different personalities. You are at risk again from the same behaviours and you obviously can't deal with that so I wouldn't do it.

All you can do with any dog is your best and you behaved responsibly.

I have cats and dogs and one of the dogs is absolutely batshit. off lead she is a menace. She has no recall whatsoever.

My other dogs have great recall so it’s not that I’m inexperienced, but she is just a whole other ballgame.

Just be aware that even with a puppy you get no guarantees and you might end up with one with a high prey drive even if that isn’t usual for the breed.

All the best.

The poor dog that had to be returned. Having a dog is never easy. You don't sound like you gave the poor dog a chance. Don't waste other people's time again when you find it too hard going.

We have always had rescue dogs and have dealt with many issues.

@ExclamationPerfume

The poor dog that had to be returned. Having a dog is never easy. You don't sound like you gave the poor dog a chance. Don't waste other people's time again when you find it too hard going.

We have always had rescue dogs and have dealt with many issues.

Have you actually read the thread? That poor dog tried to kill their existing cat and lunged for other small dogs any chance it got. It obviously was not suited to op’s house. This is the rescues fault for assuring op that the dog was ok with cats.

@Zoolally yes I have read the thread. A dog can be trained not to do those things. We have always had cats and dogs together. With effort the dog can be trained not to attack the cats. We had a greyhound who we had to separate for some time from the cat. Eventually they would lie down together. Having pets takes effort and time.

@justilou1 that's really hard, your dog is very lucky to have you