Home visit before I adopt dog - advice / tips please

[TheLifeOfRiley]

I am hopefully adopting a dog from a rescue place, and I have a home visit tomorrow afternoon.

I know they will be checking the back garden is secure but what other things should I bear in mind?

ANything else I should be making dog friendly??? I've always had a dog growing up but as an adult only had a cat so I'm worried there will be something I'm not thinking of!

Nothing in particular... be honest, be yourself. One thing - rescue doesn't care if your washing is on the side waiting to be done, so don't strss that sort of thing!

They will want to meet all members of the household to confirm that everyone wants a dog and to meet any other pets you have if they haven't done so already.

Other than that, it's common sense. It may be suggested that you buy a stairgate or crate, you will probably be asked where pooch will sleep, where he will go to escape the noise and chaos of family life and appropriate recommendations or requests may be made on that score. You will probably be asked all the usual questions about how you intend to seperate DC and dog when necessary, who will care for him if you go away and so on although these may have been covered in your initial application.

If they haven't already, they should be asking to see proof of home ownership or landlord's consent for you to have a dog, so be ready with that rather than spending half the visit with your head in the loft searching for the documents!

The only other glaring thing I can think of that I would ask without seeing your home is what measures you have in place to prevent anyone accidentally letting a dog out, especially if you have young children.

Good luck, I hope it goes well. What type of dog are you hoping to give a home to?

We've just been through this! It was fine, honestly. Mostly just common sense safety stuff, checking our garden was fully enclosed, no large patio-door style windows or obvious hazards like exposed wiring, that sort of thing. The two ladies that came were so helpful and full of advice, I was really grateful for their suggestions. And we are now the proud owners of a beautiful 5 year old greyhound! Good luck I'm sure it will be fine.

Can I just add that if you have the slightest doubt about the dog, don't do it - find one that you feel better about. Don't assume that all of your doubts will prove unfounded when you get the dog home. I think homing rescue dogs is a great thing, but you don't know the dog's background and so should treat any niggles with great caution.

It's really worth finding out who your local vet is, and finding any potential training classes. For some strange reason we were never home checked for our first rescue dog. The man came when Jemma had been with us for a short while. She hid. It was very nice that the same man came the following year when we got our 2nd dog, and J was much more confident. Our house was a building site when we re-homed for the first time. ONly marginally less so when dog 2 arrived. I think we had indoor loos!

Thanks everyone for your advice. Lady came this afternoon and was really helpful, was mainly just checking dog wouldn't be able to accidently escape which he can't.

I've got a safety gate to halve my downstairs off and provide a doggy area. DOn't really have any concerns (ds looking forward to it, cat been around dogs before, etc), been going to the centre every day to walk and pet him, he's lovely. He's a 9month(ish) old collie cross, black with a white chest.