Should retired first-time owners wait for a rescue dog or choose a puppy?

[Fergie51]

I am hoping for some helpful advice here as I do enjoy the questions and answers given by other mumsnetters. We are a retired couple who no longer need to look after our grandchildren daily as they are all at school etc.
We would love to have a dog in our lives as we could offer a good home with nice garden and lots of lovely walks. We are first time owners but walk our daughter’s dog regularly to help out.
We have applied to the Dog Trust and visited our local centre and had a good chat with the staff. Should we wait for a possible rescue dog or go for a puppy?
I have been reading lots about different breeds and my head is now bursting with too many pros and cons!
Any advice would be welcome.

Totally agree with @senua. I wouldn't touch a rescue dog from abroad with a bargepole.
People fall for all the sob stories but they can be a dangerous liability.
There are loads of dogs in this country looking for homes.

Came to say this 😁

Greyhounds are the best, very chilled out & don’t need huge long walks, they like sleeping.

Puppies have teeth like sharks and need toiletting through the night at first. They’re disruptive. They have no idea what you want them to do and as first time dog owners you don’t know either. A good rescue centre will find a dog that matches you as you are now and will give advice after dog has moved to you

Aren't they quite strict about rehoming and don't generally like people that haven't had dogs before, we are retired and were looking into it but it seemed being retired unless early retired so not old and first time owner seemed very negative things.

I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the comments about not rescuing from abroad - I think it depends on the rescue. Our dog came from Romania. She was brought over by a lady/UK dog rescue who fosters for charities abroad and spent 3 months with her before being considered ready for rehoming. For us (as first time dog owners with two young children at the time) this has been perfect - we had a few home visits before she came to live with us permanently and we were given a full picture of her needs. She isn’t perfect (she is very frightened of bangs and usually won’t choose to sit with us, so we do miss some of the more loving side!) but she’s very close to perfect- quiet, well behaved, easy going, gentle with children and other dogs. She’s actually matched our needs better than we could have realised.
My sister in law got a puppy at about the same time and has no end of issues with him, despite putting in a lot of training and following through with this consistently, so getting a puppy doesn’t seem to be any sort of guarantee that your dog won’t have issues.
Another benefit of the rescue we used was that they have been there ever since if I have any questions, and even to look after her when we go away and can’t take her (I appreciate we may be very lucky here!).
I would recommend a rescue, but find one that lets you really get to know the dog first.

We went puppy because we didn’t have any experience with a dog who may have trauma or issues.

sure the early days are hard, but it’s only for a short while and then you have the dog you have raised.

our pup is nearly 4 and he gets more and more amazing every day.

Op, how old are you both? How long you can sty fit and healthy, in order to look after the dog and walk it is a factor.

Just to give a balance, we have rehomed a street dog from Bulgaria.
she is a darling - quite independent but very sweet, funny, great with our cat, indifferent to everyone/thing else (though very loving with us).
we had heard lots of positive stories, im on a group with about 30 people who have a dog from the same charity and about 90% happy and settled.

We went puppy because we didn’t have any experience with a dog who may have trauma or issues.

That's fair enough, not criticising your choice but I just want to point out to anyone reading, that rescue dogs don't necessarily come with trauma or issues.

A huge number of them are rehomed due to house moves and landlords not allowing pets.

A rescue. Always a rescue. You don’t give breeders money, and you give a dog a happy life they might not have had. Do your research, plan well. Win-win. I have four rescues, it’s awesome.

Yes, this!
Dogs Trust do not have a very good reputation at all within the dog fraternity for their ability to place a dog honestly with a suitable home.
My overall answer would depend on what you want from the dog in the first place. Temperament. Exercise required. Size. Grooming needs etc etc
I have many retired clients with both puppies and rescue dogs. Both situations can work but being very honest Id say rescue with a six year old is a bigger risk than a puppy. Although the early stages are brutal!
Most of the really careful rescues I know won’t place a dog with children under 8 at least though. Usually 12. Because it backfires too often and tte dog gets returned

Try a greyhound rehoming centre. They are brilliant at finding you the right dog. They will also be on hand at anytime for advise and help, should you need it.
Greyhounds are beautiful, graceful ,kind loyal dogs. Oh and so gentle..Good luck .

@Pointynoseowner Love your user name 😅.
I am a pointynose grandma

I knew a retired couple, they had a lovely home & secure garden, got refused a rescue dog for various reasons including that they had visiting small grandchildren. When they got turned down the third time, they bought a puppy.

It is so interesting reading all the various opinions and chats going back and forward. I am quite taken aback by the comments about Dog Trust. I presumed they were one of the best to rely on to find a suitable match. This is the re-homing charity we went to.

Personally I went for a puppy, my experience of rescue dogs is they all have issues which I don’t feel confident enough to manage.

I got a puppy from a local family, I was able to meet the parents and knew the puppy had been around all the usual household things from day 1.

I loved the puppy stage, our dog was very cute and easy to train. I also loved going to puppy classes and taking him to different places.

Now I feel a bit more experienced with dogs I would consider a rescue next time.

The absolute best rescues imo are often breed specific ones. Or local (not all, it would need to be a recommended one) smaller rescues. Ideally ones who foster dogs in homes rather than kennels, who assess dogs over a period of time and have ongoing behavioural support in place - after all, no one gives up a perfectly trained, issue free dog in a hurry! I mean it happens occasionally, but incredibly rarely
The big national rescues are sketchy as hell in the main tbh. I wouldn’t personally get a dog from one of them in a million years. Even though I’m a dog trainer and know what I’m doing, I wouldn’t trust them not to hide issues (or even notice them in some cases)

You sound ideally suited to a puppy (two of you at home with plenty of time to focus in them) so if you fancy going this route you definitely should. It's not morally superior to get a rescue and they can come with all kinds of behavioural issues. I personally wouldn't risk it.

Plus puppies are adorable! It is a bit like bringing a newborn baby home from the hospital, but so worth it. Just be sensible about choosing a breed and go to a reputable breeder who will match you to a suitable puppy and give you lots of advice. Expect to be on a waiting list and for the puppy to be quite expensive (and if not be suspicious).

It is morally superior to get a rescue. Those dogs exist and need homes so you are doing a good thing in taking them. Getting a puppy is either morally neutral if it’s a good breeder (in which case you would also have to wait) or morally bad if it turns out you are supporting bad breeding and puppy farming.

Get a rescue. Try a number of different charities and select carefully.

We rescued from a local charity where the dogs live in foster homes and they have behaviour support ongoing. They neuter/ spay all their dogs for free. To me that is an ethical set up.

Is he perfect? No
Do all dogs have some issues and frustrations? Yes

He is no more or less trouble than many people who have had their dogs from a puppy. I know very many super anxious, resource guarding poodle crosses who people have had from puppies. My dog has neither of those issues, is happy to be left alone, never ever had an accident in the house, generally pretty trainable. He has issues with being reactive to motorcycles and cats but I don’t think it’s anything to do with him being rescued.

Hard agree. I have a six month old ShihTzu who has been an angel as puppies go and this week have brought home a ten week old Cockapoo (long story, she’s really a rescue but so young). It’s hard! Puppy two was taken from her mum too soon (not by me!) and so is literally sleeping in bed with me right now as she needs the security. We are very experienced doggie foster carers and dog owners and puppies are hard, really hard, even the ‘easy’ ones.

I’d strongly recommend watching and waiting for a rescue. Consider smaller, local rescues who will consider all your circumstances and give a personal service. Consider home from home adoption (through a rescue) and maybe even foster to adopt- I’ve had six foster failures over many years 😂 they’re always the best dogs.

I planned for one puppy and have two but honestly, even one is hard work, even with lots of experience.

This a million times over. We've always adopted around the 1 year mark. If there's the option to adopt a dog around the two year mark that has come from a home environment (already having basic training even better).

Three dogs into this now. I would actively avoid adopting a puppy!

[I am 'lucky' enough to live in a country (not the UK) where there are so many dogs needing homes that there's no real possibility any responsible dog owner couldn't adopt a dog. And there are plenty of routes for non-responsible ones as well. Although dog 3 is the first pedigree I've adopted, you pretty much have your picks of pedigrees as well, particularly doodles.]

How soft hearted are you - if you are a softie and couldn't give back a dog you'd failed to train to the dogs home then don't get a rescue.
But also watch as being soft and not firmly training a puppy can also be difficult.

We were first time owners when we got our puppy and honestly, I don’t recognise even half of the nightmare stories you read about on MN.

Yes, he had a few accidents and woke us up in the night. Yes, he had a bitey phase. Yes, we ended up with some scratches and bruises but honestly, it was fine. He’s 8 years old now and I’ve never had any regrets.

Exactly right. Just be very specific about the dog and your needs. Be patient - it’s lovely to be able to give a dog a loving home. Many rescues haven’t had a traumatic past per se, their owners circumstances have simply changed.