How do I get a dog?

[MuffinStrops]

Been looking for a dog for years. Rescues are a waste of time. Either I apply for a dog, and am told they have received enough applications already (why is it on the website then?}, or they can't live with cats, or will only be rehomed to owners with lots of experience of that breed. Or I need six foot high fences. Or all of those . I don't want a puppy. I'm looking for an adult, house trained dog with plenty of years ahead of it.

Watching the Wood Green programme, dogs are being rehomed to people who work, have young children or have no experience of dogs. No questions are asked about fences etc. How can this be?

I am reluctant to try a rescue working with dogs from abroad as there is no opportunity to meet the dog first to see if there is a fit. Also street dogs can have all sorts of issues that aren't immediately apparent.

I am so frustrated!

Have you tried acting on the rescues recommendations? So putting 6 foot fences up? Getting experience with dogs by volunteering at rescues, vets etc.?

@Lansonmaid

We have a 6 year old Romanian rescue dog, he did come with emotional baggage and it did take a behaviourist to help sort him. And we still don't trust him off lead if we aren't at home, because he is normally fine with other dogs but just occasionally he comes across one he reacts badly to. But he doesn't seem to mind being on lead, as he's a breed that plods along with the herds of sheep as a flock guard. (Photo hopefully attached). Our old border collie has just had to be put to sleep and we are fostering a border collie from Spain with a view to adoption if all goes well. The rescue organisation has said we can foster as long as it takes, to make up our mind whether he's the dog for us or whether it isn't going to work. If it doesn't work they will re home him to make sure he gets the home he deserves. He's very nervous but coming out of his shell day by day, and it's lovely to see. I think it's swings and roundabouts between a pup and an adult rescue, they both need a lot of work. I remember we had to do a lot of training with our old BC to stop her nipping the back of our legs (she was farm bred). BCs are wonderful but so intelligent so you do need to stay one step ahead of them...

Aw! He’s gorgeous!

MuffinStrops - he is and he knows it!

We got our girl at eight weeks. She was hard work for a few weeks but so worth it. She’s the light of my life now, I never knew I could love a little dog so much.

We've got 2 collies. Couldn't be more different. Both rescues.
Girl 1 rescued at 7 months. She's a delight. Loves us. Is pretty much perfect providing she's stimulated and walked. Now 3
Girl 2 rescued at 11 weeks from a dickhead who misjudged puppy hood. She's now 1 and an absolute twat! I love her but she has absolutely no interest in us. She's probably from farm stock. She's never aggressive but she eats holes in everything and has no recall whatsoever despite extensive training. She just looks at you like you're insane.

They aren't all the same. Not even close.

I agree, hang around shelters!

Twatgirl. She can hear you, all right.

But yes, I agree with you- all my collies have been very different from one another. My current BC puppy reminds me strongly of a rough collie I had as a child, though- scary if so, she was a total diva and far cleverer than all of us!

Our puppy, from a farm (but the dad slept inside on the farmer's bed, tradition his daughter is keen to uphold), is really sweet with my DC and clearly a people dog. You just can never tell.

Make sure the type of dog you are applying for actually suits your home and lifestyle.

The tv programs NEVER show the full details on homechecks and the rehoming process, ignore that.

GO to your local rescues, be a real person NOT a set of details on a form.

Make sure your property is suitable - fencing is a BIG deal so make sure thats good before you apply.

Speak to breed rescues, talk to breeders too about particular breeds and express an interest in an older dog - many breeders 'run on' puppies to around a year old to see if they will make the grade for showing/breeding, then pick.. rather than picking at tiny puppy stage - but these dogs almost certainly will NOT be offered to complete strangers so you need to get to know folk.

Go to shows like Crufts, and events like Discover dogs and meet breeds in person and the people that own them - they'll be involved in the breed clubs (the people who bring their dogs to discover dogs will certainly be breed club members or close friends with someone who is) and these are the people who know about older dogs needing rehoming, run on pups etc.

DO NOT get an overseas rescue because they will flog you a dog from photos you just cough up the transport costs and pick up from a motorway services carpark - these outfits are AWFUL and no matter how many people pop on and say their dog is wonderful I can show you multiple cases, over many many years where there is no back up, no safety net, dogs are not suited to be in pet homes, dogs are aggressive, bitey, terrified, escape artists and absolutely require more work than a puppy would.

Also avoid the free-ads - good breeders do not need to advertise like that. Those advertising are unlikely to be good breeders.

Another route IF you like greyhounds is to find trainers (they're based at tracks) and ask them if anything is coming up for retirement - you won't get a lot of choice, you won't have any rescue back up - but theres a strong chance you will get a nice adult dog who needs to learn how to be a dog (not the route for everyone admittedly!) - I love them but they're not the dog for everyone, by any means!

@Blossomtoes your baby is a beauty. And the Romaniac rescue upthread looks so FLUFFY.😍

We rehomed a dog from Romania on nothing more than the evidence of a video - he has been a great success and is loved by us and everyone who meets him.

I wanted to rehome a greyhound as we'd rehomed one "informally" once before. The requirements of the greyhound trust were beyond ridiculous.

Go and visit a rescue centre directly and have a chat. There are lots out there aside from all of the advertised ones like Battersea, Dogs Trust etc.
They have lots of specific criteria that you must match before they will rehome a dog to you.
Sadly the TV programmes dont show the hoops people have to jump through to rehome a dog. They demonstrate people arriving at a centre, saying what they want and being presented with a dog that they take home. Sadly, that is not an accurate description of what really happens.
People are put on waiting lists for months on end before a suitable dog can be matched to them.
The reason they have such tight policies is to stop the animal being returned to them which is completely fair enough.

Its great that you want to rescue and not take on a puppy but even rescue dogs will have their faults. They may be toilet trained but in a new environment, accidents will happen. You still have to put alot of effort into an older dog to gain their trust and mould them into a new family member.

Rather than applying online, go and chat to someone in a rescue centre in person and see if you can get put in their database directly.

I have always had puppies and kittens. Like children you can bring them up with love, care and expert advice. My dd got her puppy two years ago. She had two dc (10 and 13) and an elderly cat. The puppy settled very quickly. They had a large puppy crate which was his safe space and also where he slept. He was quite quickly toilet trained with vigilance, puppy pads and post meal trips to back garden. He and the cat love one another and share a bed sometimes.

[quote ABitBesottedWithMyDog]@Blossomtoes your baby is a beauty. And the Romaniac rescue upthread looks so FLUFFY.😍[/quote]
She’s very cute, isn’t she? 5kg of love and attitude now!

Honestly trying to rehome a dog from a uk rescue centre is extremely hard - unless you are a celebrity of course then it happens literally within a couple of days.
It’s so sad to think of the poor dogs in shelters over here that could have lovely homes if it wasn’t for their such strict rules.

We ended up getting a puppy a few years back from a breeder.

I’d get busy on Facebook which is full of small rescues trying to find good homes.

If you know what breed you would like, contact some breeders (look on the champdogs website etc) sometimes they have, or know of, slightly older dogs for sale…maybe they were kept by the breeders for showing but didn’t have quite what was needed for the show ring, or they have just kept too many or something

From what I know of rescues, you would be more likely to end up with an easy placid dog if you just bit the bullet and got a golden retriever. They are a doddle to train provided you give it your all. Rescues could possibly be lovely but could have issues much harder than a puppy would present and require skill beyond your experience level. Anyone who comes on the thread now to declare you have a crazy golden retriever- you didn't train it properly.

The other thing you could do is put up a photo and bio of yourself at the vets (if they'll allow it) and let it be known you're available to foster a dog whose owner is too elderly to cope.

My two were rescued from Romania and fostered by a friend before I adopted them, and I met them several times before I made the decision to go ahead so it's not the case you have to adopt unseen.

You might also have some luck speaking to local vets etc as sometimes they know of animals needing rehoming, and there's also the Cinnamon Trust who sometimes look for foster homes for pets of terminally ill people which could be another route.

My neighbours had exactly the same problem when they wanted to rehome a dog, they were experienced owners, had a secure garden, they were also elderly, there were various excuses why they were turned down, in the end they thought they will never get a dog so they bought a puppy. Which was a big shock after having an elderly dog. But it’s worked out well for them in the end, they were responsible and ensured the dog would be taken care of by a family member should the dog outlive them.

A friend of mine has done this. She has been trying to get a rescue dog for over two years. She’s elderly but an experienced dog owner. She bought a puppy a couple of months ago.

@ABitBesottedWithMyDog I don't say it in front of her. 🙈 Honestly, she is so loved and she has been since she arrived but she doesn't give a monkeys. She really makes me sad sometimes but I guess she's just happy in the other dogs' company.

I've just been looking at dog adverts.

Honestly I don't know what goes through some people's minds.

Lovely dog, needs rehoming, no cats, scared of new people, £2,000.
Wouldn't you think that just finding someone to take your dog on would be challenge enough without expecting £2,000 for it?

photos - I want you to buy my lovely dog, so I have one out of focus photo of her on her back asleep, so you can see her tummy but not her face. ???

and the best one, please buy my lovely dog. Photo 1 is the owners feet. Photo 2 is the feet with dog bum and tail. Photo 3 is the dog's front end from a side view, with owner's body and out of focus! Why did he upload the photo of his own feet!

We have now decided to reply to some of the ads. We will investigate thorooughly and only reply to dogs not far away so we can meet first etc. But I really, really don't want to encourage the trade in bringing dogs in from Romania and Spain, and those are really the main dogs available now from rescues.

Get a puppy. It's not awful at all if you get a docile, lower energy breed. We got a pug puppy a year ago and he has been a dream. He was so easy to potty train (only took a week) and he is the kindest, most loving little creature who just wants to sleep on your lap most of the day. He loves everybody and is simply the best 🥰

Wood Green is a tv shoe. I imagine a lot of the checks are carried out behind the scenes although some of the matches don't seem ideal and there seems to be a quite high failure rate too so not necessarily a good thing if they aren't checking (although I agree may rescues have overly restrictive blanket policies)

I love watching the Wood Green show, but it really makes me eye roll.
Both people out all day at work, and they never mention how they will look after the dog/daycare. Is this rescue suitable for daycare etc etc.

And so often we go - NOOO wrong dog, they won't like that dog, and we are right.