Rehoming Rescue Dogs & the rescue criteria - advice please (long)

[Willowisp]

This is almost an is she BU...?

Have posted here about wanting a dog, asking advice about how to introduce puppy to my cat & have visited my local animal rescue (a) for advice.

They suggested a puppy, none available at the mo, which is fine, no hurry.

Have applied & spoken to an animal rescue in Wales, a nice lady ran & said the pup I was applying for has a 'defect' & we might be better with well dog (pup not unwell, has a cleft palate which I read up on beforehand & is seeing the vet this week) Ok, I said, happy to take advice, had a lovely chat, explained I didnt want a big dog. No worries is the reply, I sure we can find the right pup for you.

Now mentioned that my eldest daughter (8.5) is scared of dogs - also told this to the other animal rescue & that was why I was looking for a puppy.

Today, Wales rescue rings me, says I see your daughter is afraid of dogs & you will need to socialise DD first. She suggested I take her to the local animal rescues & walk the dogs with her. Now, the rescue (b) that encourages you to do this rescues mainly from the pound & they are all mastiff/staffie/rottweiler types. I've been there & walked a couple of the dogs & have to say i wasn't comfortable (afraid). Since then rescue (a) has also advised me they don't home check properly & can't be realised on to be suitable for kids......

Rescue (a) also only has dogs that aren't suitable for kids....so what can I do ?

Surely a harmless little pup, that will be loved & cared for by us would be the best way to increase my dd's confidence ? Wales woman said it could go wrong & we rehome dog...I almost joked dd (!).

I'm not a first time dog owner, we had a pup when I was 9 - 18.

The woman in Wales was very off with me, like I was a dimwit, which i'm not & makes me feel like I'd be better off buying a pup from a breeder....which is not want I want to do at all.

Spoke to Dh & we are both

I think that they could be worried as puppies nip and this may very well scare your dd more than an older more placid dog. Puppies can also dash around. If I were you I would go to the dog rescue pages website have a look around it as there may be rescues that are more suited to your needs. Some of them foster dogs with families and so you would know what they are like with children
There are lots of very knowledgeable people there who could probably help and they are very kind and will try hard to help you.

Good luck

I meant to say Puppies can also dash around*which can be quite scarey.

The problem with pups is that they will turn into teenagers and then they may be be naughty and perhaps willful. I personally would go with a calm adult dog that you know is gentle- but others want a puppy that they know the 'history' of. In my experience it doesn't always work out like this- all dogs have personalities and just can't know them when they are puppies.

Some dogs are very very calm and gentle. I only know about greyhounds, but if I had children I would go for this temperament of dog at the lincolnshire greyhound trust (where I got mine)

You could look at rescues that rehome more widely- but out of the two I would go with rescue (a) for sure.

We brought a cute little puppy (Cocker Spaniel) into the home. Gorgeous. However, within the space of two months he had turned into a bouncing, puppy-mouthing lively bouncing little bundle of activity. And only after intensive training did we find the 'off' switch
In the meantime, our two very dog-savvy and dog-confident children had to hide on the top of the sofa to save their trouserlegs being attacked by teething bundle of chewing fur.
Honestly, a hyper, fast moving, teething-and-thus-mouthing puppy is not the right thing for a dog-nervous child.

In fact, our cocker stayed a bouncing bundle of hyperactivity until his early death following an accident aged 5. And even though my children were dog-savvy and had known doggle since he was a pup, he was too much at times even for them. The problem with a puppy is that you can never really determine how their personality will be as an adult dog. (both dh and I had had dogs before so we were not novices and did all the correct training etc, fact is our Cocker had a bonkers personality and that was that.)

If our child had been terrified once dog was no longer a little puppy then what could we have done after all avenues had been exhausted? Rehome our child? Or rehome the dog? Which is what the lady at the charity is afraid of...

In fact, my friend's ds is terrified of dogs. The only dog he will tolerate is our extremely calm to the point of being dead lurcher who is taking being a sighthound very seriously and is rarely found in the upright position!

BTW about the big dog thing- smaller breeds are often more highly strung, and nippy compared to the larger breeds. They may look cute/harmless but some of the terrier breeds especially are very hard to live with/train.

Thanks, I remember our westie having his mad minutes, racing around, but it wasn't scary, we thought it was fun. He also used to race into the garden like a mad thing. Apart from that he seemed to spend most of his time guffing in front of the fire !

I wouldn't go for a busy dog like a cocker or a cairn or big like a lab. I used to walk a springer for an ex boyfriend & would avoid that breed too.

I used to love the idea of a rescue greyhound, but I wouldn't risk it with my cat...

Perhaps I should offer to foster instead ?

I also guess they don't want you rehoming a dog, and then having to give it back in a few weeks because your daughter is petrified.

My ex-racing grey now lives with cats, she's more interested in pigeons than furry mammals......it really didn't take long to train her and she's at this minute sharing her bed with one of cats. One of the ex-racing greys we went to look at when choosing our doggie was actually scared during the cat test and hid in a cupboard until the cat was removed. The failed racers are the best bet though- they don't feel much like chasing anything small and furry. It shouldn't be a problem with a bit of common sense and training.

Fostering with a view to rehoming any dog is a good way to make sure it is the right one- also you don't feel as if you've 'failed', if you don't want to keep the dog.

There are often border terriers in rescue, I love them! Also a cavalier spaniel, whippet, yorkie, lhasa apso type breed springs to mind for you?

My 4 year old dd2 was petrified of dogs. We re-homed a 5.5 month old pup from Many Tears last October (lab x, medium sized) and its a big success - they did a great home check, they had him in foster so we had accurate and helpful feedback on his behaviour with kids, and we worked hard to make dd2 feel safe around him and him around her.

Please don't give up! You need to find the right rescue (I agree with Minsmum, find one that fosters out - that way you KNOW how the pup/dog will be with kids, regardless of breed or size) and take your dd to meet the pup/dog before you commit. We had to, btw - made the drive from SW London to Kent with dd2 specially to satisfy the rescue and my dd that pup was as suited to us as we all thought

Batsintheroof, yes exactly the sorts of dogs I am/was looking for, although the greyhound you describe sounds lovely.

Geordieminx, I wouldn't rehome the pup/dog, I wouldn't be trying so hard if I didn't think it would work.

I agree with Elibean- Many Tears have a great reputation. Also, if you would consider a greyohund- these guys GRWE rehomed around 750 greyounds/lurchers/saluki types this year alone across England and Wales and many of these dogs are cat-trainable/ haven't raced.

forgot to say, grwe have their dogs in foster as well, so they are properly assessed

It's actually Many Tears that are giving me conflicting info . I asked if I could take dd to see a local fosterer, the first lady said it was a good idea & she would investigate it, ideal person to have a MT pup. 48 hrs later, a different woman & a different story....this one, that made me feel like a dimwit took no time at all with me, " your dd's scared, go socialise her". Yes, with an untested dog ?!

Stay with Many Tears, really, they are great. I'd phone again and see if they had any advice with the socialising thing- they should be able to recommend places to do this. Otherwise, you could look into whether there are any PAT tested dogs in your area and ask if you could visit them.

If I may make another suggestion. Find out if there is a retired greyhound trust place near you. The ones around hereallow people ta take them for a walk. No dog better to socialise a scared child with than a placid gentle greyhound.

Excellent suggestions by mims! The trust where we got our whippety lurcher frequently lets people take one or two of the hounds into the enclosed field or into the yard for a brush and a cuddle. Nice for the houds, nice for the people. And greyhounds are sooo gentle your dd could not ask for a better breed to allow her to become confident around dogs. (and I defy you not to fall in love with one and take it home )

Sorry, minsmum, not mims...

where are you Willowisp? maybe there's a MNer with a sensible dog that can help socialise your dd :)

I think the advice is a bit daft too. As a (lapsed) volunteer walker for our local rescue, the dogs there are mostly fairly hard work to take out as they're in kennels so much of the day they get very excited when let out! also the rescue I walked for would only let over 18s (who had been trained) take dogs out for insurance reasons.

A couple of points. Firstly, OP I think you are right to help your DD reduce her fear of dogs before you adopt. The best way to do this is to contact a charity called PAT (pets as therapy) - these are dogs which are taken into schools, nursing homes etc, are very carefully tested and pretty much guaranteed to be gentle/bombproof. They would be willing to arrange a meeting or series of meetings for your DD, to help accustom her to being around a friendly gentle dog and take things at her pace. While she is still frightened, I couldn't recommend rehoming a dog to you and would be surprised at any reputable rescue doing so.

I'm afraid I don't share the previously expressed high opinion of MT. There are plenty of other reputable rescues that will be able to rehome a gentle, loving dog to your family once your DD is comfortable and confident around dogs. A pup going through nipping, bouncing and adolescence would be a disaster for her and for you, and for the pup. A greyhound could be the right sort of dog but again, your DD should gain in confidence first.

Thanks all, I looked around at the greyhound trust & there isn't one near me. Dd & I looked at some greyhounds available on YouTube & dd was interested that a young girl was holding the lead.

I will definitely look up the PAT charity & see if they can help.

I told her yesterday we can't have one until she becomes braver, so she tried very hard to stoke one of the puppies at the school gate.

Sorry Willow, I wasn't suggesting that you would give the dog back, but I think it happens a lot, I spend a lot of time at the SsPCA and the amount of people that rehome animals and then bring them back a week or 2 later because their dc's are frightened or allergic or basically because they hadn't realised how much work the animal would be is frightening.

Hi Willow - firstly I ouught to state that I am a big fan of MTAR, however I do think that Sylvie can be quite abrupt on the telephone, so it may well be her you spoke to.

When we rehomed our Mutt we had applied for 2 dogs, and I remember being very put off when they would not let us have litter sisters - I also thought I was being 'spoken down' to. I decided to ignore my feelings, and accept that experienced rescuers knew what they were talking about. We carried on with the adoption process and are suprememly happy with our Mutt - so much so we are looking to get another from MTAR later this month. (Oh and when I did some digging into the 'litter sister' issue it turned out that Sylvie was quite right not to let us do it - we could have had no end of problems).

I also know that in the last couple of months MTAR have had quite a few dogs returned - many more than usual, and they are full to bursting, asking for more foster homes.

I do think that a puppy isnt necessarily the right choice for you. Puppies are cute, granted, but they nip - A LOT. They also growl, chase and spend a lot of time working out their 'standing' in the home (Pack theory is bollocks - but a pup will still do its best to be the 'boss' until it is told otherwise). DD has no fear of dogs at all - she's too 'gung ho' if truth be told, but MuttDog was a bit much at times, even for her.

Personally I would look at a slightly older dog for a nervous child, or spend a lot of time desensitising your DD before you look seriously.

Where in the country are you? If you are anywhere near Oxford I'd be very happy to introduce MuttDog to your DD

Sorry, just got back

Yes, I gather Sylvie is harder to communicate with - I never did talk to her, and had a lovely experience. Her daughter was our dog's fosterer, and she was very relaxed and very nice - made my 4 yr old very welcome, put her (many!) other dogs in the kitchen so they wouldn't scare dd, and generally helped with transition.

I think it will always depend on the pup and/or dog - our pup is really very easy, and one of dd1's 8 year old friends (who was totally dog phobic) has already got to know him, and is no longer scared to come to the house. But its true they are more likely to nip (not ours) or jump up (ours sometimes).

That said, I set out to get an older dog - for exactly the reasons others are outlining. In the end, Mouse just got us, so that was that

If you are in SW London, another dog (and 8 year old girl!) here who would be happy to help

Willo, whereabouts in the UK are you? There are many greyhound rescues who are quite independent of the RGT and not all RGT branches would be recommended - they vary very considerably in how they are run. If you prefer not to say, then PM me and I can almost certainly recommend a greyhound rescue near you.

I was just about to say the same as Scuttle. We found our pointy whippety boy though a small and wonderful independent greyhound rescue which took a bit of finding even though it is only 25 minutes away by car!!
And the manager and staff there would absolutely love to take the time to show your dd the calmest of dogs and allow her to brush them and lead walk them through the yard (under their supervision of course...)

If you are anywhere within driving distance of Guidlford in Surrey then shout and I will recommend them to you.