Rescue dogs and small children

[anchovies]

Looking for some advice about rehoming a dog into a family with 3 children (aged 7, 5 and 2). We've contacted a number of rescue centres and have struggled to find any who would feel comfortable rehoming a dog to a family with small children. We now basically have 2 options:

1. Local lady who rehomes dogs, she homechecks but the dog she is considering for us is currently in kennels and she has very little background on it. All we know is that he is a 1 year old lurcher who was rescued from death row at the pound and has been in kennels ever since (3 months). She says he is a lovely dog but very excitable. Very local to us so we can meet as often as we want and take the children but to be honest not sure I know what we're looking for in making the decision.
2. Rescue centre that sounds lovely with 3 possibly suitable dogs. Massive downside in that it is an 8 hour round trip and we can only go once and would be taking the children. Also going to work out very expensive £160 rehoming fee, £90 to stay over night and probably £80 in petrol. But have a lot more faith in the lady we have been in touch with and possibly more confident that we would come home with the right dog.

Can anyone give me some insight into what we should do?

Bump!

We are going to see dog number 1 in the morning but am worried I am not going to know if he is right for us?

Hi Anchovies, £160 is not unreasonable as a fee - most of the charities are now at the £100 mark as a minimum round us. A dog will potentially be with you for the next 15 years, so I don't think that's unreasonable. Many people travel miles to get to a particular breeder or specialist rescue - it's not unusual if you have very particular requirements.

If at all possible, I would not take children to initial visit - it will be very easy to be swayed by looks rather than be sensible and if necessary walk away - that would be much harder once your DC have got up close with the dogs.

Questions I'd ask the local lady - OK she homechecks, but is she part of a bigger rescue/charity? Would she take the dog back if it does not work out? Even 5 years down the line? Will the dog be chipped, neutered, assessed with families and children, vaccinated and wormed? From the little you've said it sounds almost as though this dog is being pushed on you because he needs a home rather than because she thinks you are its ideal forever home. Have you been briefed/read up on lurchers as a breed? Has she told you much about the dog's temperament? What is her fee? I would be suspicious if she is offering the dog very cheaply - this does nobody any favours.

Hi, thank for the reply! I agree that £160 is not unreasonable in fact in a way I found it kind of reassuring, the problem was more the cost per round trip to visit the dogs (probably £150 ish) which was a limiting factor in how many times we could go. They want us to take the children (understandable) but I'm not sure we could afford to visit before hand without hem which in an ideal world I would much rather do.

Happy with a lurcher in terms of the breed and understand that he is bound to be excitable having been in kennels so long (plus is still young) but it is the lack of background that is worrying me more than anything I suppose. He definitely hasn't been assessed with children (it seems that he went straight from the pound to the kennels where she is boarding him?). Thanks for all the other pointers as well, at least now I can find out a bit more before we go any further.

I definitely would not get a dog that has not been assessed with children in your situation.

A wrong decision now could lead to an awful lot of heartbreak later on - so do not rush the decision and make sure that everything is right for you.

I would always take my kids to meet the dog it would be vital for me to see how they react around the dog and how the dog reacts around them.

If the round trip is too much effort then see if anything turns up nearer but to be honest that is going to seem like a small fish in the sea to the amount of effort having a dog will be.

Lurchers are lovely dogs and as far as I know generally good with children. However you would need to be absolutely sure that he is going to be ok around yours. The lady should be happy for you to take your time walking him and building up a relationship with him before you commit. My local rescue does this so you can get a feel for the dog before you commit yourself fully. Ask if you can have a trial overnighter / weekend with him too. My rescue does this too and many many dogs have never gone back while some have been totally unsuitable but this has caused less heartache for all concerned because of the short time spent with the dog and the dog has not yet bonded with the family to be too unsettled if sent back to the rescue. Perhaps you could do this? Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice, it has been very useful. I rang the lady back and just basically ran through all my concerns and I feel completely reassured so far. She explained that they dont normally consider rehoming to families to children (which is why the dogs are never assessed with children) however she said that when my husband rang she immediately thought that we sounded a good match for this particular dog. The charity is apparently associated with an animal behaviourist and she said they would want to see how the dog and children reacted to one another before a decision was made. It is a small standalone rescue but has been going for 10 years and they have a policy where in the case of any problem the dog would have to go back to them. She seemed pleased to answer my questions which I thought could only be a good thing!

Thanks again for all your help, this is a big decision and commitment and we want to do it properly!

Notalone, have just seen your post, thanks that is a great idea to ask about a trial, will see how we get on in the morning and ask her what she thinks.