Please would share your rescue dog stories with me....

[DeliaRose]

We want a dog. A puppy really. We have 3 young DC (6,3,1).

We don't want to spend £500 + on a dog when rescue homes are overflowing.

We're worried about risks with a rescue dog.

We need some advice, please?!

Rescue dog 1) Came from a pound so not a rescue. We were not assessed or homechecked, nor was the dog.

Many teething problems and unwanted behaviour. Slight aggression towards people and other dogs. Wanted to eat the cat for supper.

Never seriously attacked or harmed anything, dog, person or cat. Two behaviouralists later we have a very fuzzy, well adjusted lap dog who loves a cuddle and a game of tug.

It was hardwork but the whole process was very rewarding and I feel immensely proud of him and me for how far we have come. My bond with this dog is much stronger than other dog we have had previously because of the amount of work we have done together. I'd always said until recently that I would never do it again. I will, without a shadow of a doubt. However I would not advise that anyone go to a pound for a dog. Especially if you are inexperienced or have children.

Rescue dog 2) From a Greyhound rescue. Gentle, patient, excellent on the lead. Super recall. Very loving. Needed a bit of toilet training. Would steal any food she could reach.She was everything we were told to expect.

Rescue dog 3) My Dad's whippet. From a rescue. We were told she needed a very experienced owner, due to previous cruel treatment having left her very wary/possisve of her things/space. Had to go to a childless home, although was friendly with children, much more so than with adults, but is very bouncy so not good for small children who might get knocked down.

She was not as bad as was made out to be but was extremely bouncy with children. My children were used as guinea pigs to help train her not to jump. She is now much calmer and a pleasure to be around. She still has a few issues we were working on but nothing we were not told about before agreeing to take her in.

Rescue dog 4) Found straying on the beach. Taken in directly by us. I have not a bad word to say about this dog. He is the calmest, most patient, gentle, loving, trusting dog I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He lives with my Dad. I intend to steal him one day. Excellent with everyone, especially small children and babies.

Now for the puppies of our family.

Puppy 1) dd1's Whippety thingy. An adorable, tiny little princess and doesn't she just know it . Very good at toilet training (but had a very experienced hand training her) slightly jumpy and snappy around children (air snap only, not aggressive) due to my children squeaking like muppets whenever they see her and over exciting her. Does respond well to a 'calmly' command but was trained by a very experienced owner to do this. Despite previous, extensive socialisation from a very early age a bad experience has left her fear-aggressive of other dogs. This is in the process of being worked on.

Puppy 2) Superb with people and children. Recall has gone to pot due to his age (common in adolescent dogs) so cannot be walked off lead atm. Suffers extreme seperation anxiety despite training. Likes to eat wood, mainly doors, door frames and expensive dining tables. Also like to eat carrier bags. Toilet training did not go well. He is clean during the day but was not taught to hold it over night owing to lazy owners who would not get up to let him out to toilet during the wee hours when he was a pup. Hence he was taught it's okay to mess on the floor overnight. He is 'put up with' because of his excellent attitude with children and people - this is mainly down to his breed. He is owned by an experienced dog owner and I have also attempted to train away the seperation anxiety, but he is simply an anxious dog who likes to eat wood. He can also be iffy with other dogs despite excellent socialisation (again down to breeding)

In short if you go to a decent rescue you will get almost exactly what you are told you will get, you will have support to help with training and will only be given a dog you could cope with. If it goes wrong there is support on hand to take the dog back at any point in it's life. The dogs temprement will already have been assessed as will it's suitability for life with children.

If you get a pup the adult dog you end up with depends wholly on how experienced you are at training, how much work you are willing to put in, how other people in your family behave with the animal, it's experiences outside your house (which may not always be under your control) and it's individual personality, which will change and adapt when it ages, particularly around adolescence, which is when most pups end up in rescue only through the failings of their initially well meaning owners. In other words a pup's temprement in adulthood is a complete unknown quantity dependant on many things, not all of which you can control.

We have had two.

First one - a labrador. Barking mad, very aggressive and bit most people when he could. We asked them to take him back! Turned out he had been mistreated and used as a guard dog. Not a great choice for a family with lots of children. I am sure when my folks asked 'does he like children?', the 'yes' reply actually meant as in 'but he can't eat a whole one'.

Second one - a big black soppy softie. A lovely pedigree dog, whose owners just couldnt afford to keep him. He was great - very gentle, affectionate and a bit stupid (no, if you must chase a car, do it from behind).

Moral of the story - make sure you know what you are getting, and what their background is.

Watch out for larger 'working' dogs - collies, alsations, huskies... they need an awful lot of exersice or they can go a bit nutty.

GooseyLoosey, that is very sad for your dd. Which rescue did your dog come from, out of interest?

One point I do wonder about though is how many dogs owned by a family frombeing pups attack children in the family at some point in comparison to the proportion of rescues who do so? (I would never trust my PIL's mini dachshund with the dc's even though she was owned by PIL since being a pup and from a reputable breeder etc).

BTW, for those recommending Battersea, I understood from previous threads on here that Battersea is a pound, not a no-kill rescue.

Battersea is a pound but their rehoming process is far better than most other pounds. The dogs are assessed and the owners homechecked. Most posters who have rehomed from there have had good experiences as far as I know however I would be wary about a first time owner going to Battersea, knowing what happens to dogs who are returned to pounds

You really cannot go wrong with a retired greyhound for a first dog, ime.

Magrat, I have never read an incidence where a rescue dog has seriously harmed a child but many where a dog raised within the family but not the immediate family has attacked a visiting child. Knowing the media's stance on dogs they'd be screaming it from the roof tops if a rescue dog maimed or killed a child.

You also have to look at scenario surrounding the attack to see that in most cases it was avoidable.

I have a rescue cavalier spaniel who is about 18 mths old, my dc's are 8 & 5 & I would urge you to wait until at least your youngest is at school.

My little dog is beautiful - house trained, more or less ok with the cat and/but slightly nervy. It's actually like having another baby.

My reservations for you are that my 2 are old enough to understand what they should/shouldn't do with her. It doesn't stop dd1 trying to pick her up, cuddling her round her neck, crowding her. I caught dd2 pulling her backwards the other day, because she wanted her to sit on the sofa with it. I ended up telling her 3 x how to get her to do this, how will you manage with a 3 & 1 yr old ?

I understand I'm correct in saying all rescue dogs bond with 1 person, our dog is extremely bonded to me, to the point that if I am cuddling my girls or the cat or (rarely) my Dh, she wants to get in on the act. If the cat wants to sit next to me, walk near me, beg from me at the kitchen, dog is there. Sometimes she growls, but only at the cat - normally she just gets a bit excited. Which is just about manageable for a small 5 yr old to turn away from, but not a 1 yr old, or even a 3 yr old.

It got a little bit to the point where I thought, oh no. fortunately some common sense & an Adaptil collar came into play & we're fine now.

There is also a lesson from OoohMrMoycc, who I was somewhat harsh to, because I felt she had brought in a rescue dog, lavished it with love & then as it started to relax into life, it got snappy & aggressive & she felt she had no option to take it back.

Puppy's are hard work - I considered one but didn't want toilet training, mouthing, nipping with my dd's. you've also got to commit to training classes & they want someone home all the time.

Because of all the above, I'd be very surprised if any rescue would home you a pup. I had to complete a long application form, have a 45 min phone interview - & a home visit & even when I went to collect her, it still wasn't a done deal. Fortunately we passed & she's a lovely addition to our family.

So, please wait until your dc's are a bit older & you can all enjoy your (older) puppy rescue dog !

My Staffie, Porridge, is from Many Tears. He was 9 when we adopted him, God knows his history, he had very few teeth and was very threadbare and sad looking - but friendly. Process of deduction leads us to believe he had lived in a house, slept in his owners bed and his old owner lived on junk food, mainly fish and chips. He loves everyone, was clean from day one and was the perfect dog until he developed Leukaemia earlier this year, now he is still the perfect pet, except that we know we will lose him when the chemo stops working. We probably won't be able to have another dog after P. because DS2 will not be living at home long enough to have cover in the daytime for a younger dog. He has definately been the best behaved dog we have had and walks nicely on the lead, doesn't guard his food and has good recall.

We had a dachshund some years ago that was advertised on a notice board in the Bristol dogs home, but not resident - he was a real sweetie too, but he had some strange habits acquired through living with chickens in an outside pen, and took a little while to housetrain.

I think there are lots of nice quiet dogs in rescue - especially now that some of them come in through financial problems in their homes, marriage breakdown and accommodation difficulties. I would also advise to see dog in a foster home - mine ( and my brother's rescue Patterdale) were more lively once they had a new home than in kennels and I know some are quieter in a home environment. Out of the 4 dogs we have owned only the PBGV who came from a really lovely breeder and who had champions in his pedigree to kingdom come ever bit us or got growly (but we still loved him!)

Willowisp - I think Staffies tend to love the whole family - I think ours would go off with a nice man in a white van too - he is very inclined to try and climb into any van with an open door!

Higgle, your boy sounds absolutely lovely

When I was looking, which was over a year, I saw terribly sad staffs & perhaps one day, when I'm old & all alone, they'd be my choice. I was on the verge of taking on a westie pup, but just reading about their hard bite put me off & of course being a terrier, not a good choice with a cat...or kids...

I too want a rescue Staffy, but not until DD is grown - not because I'm scared of the 'evil devil dogs' bollocks but because they are so strong that DD wouldn't be able to walk them - and that would never do.

DD wants a 'lap dog' next. We had a JRT/Corgi before that she adored - she wants another one like that, so she can train it to sleep on her pillow, play dolls, ride in the pram.......poor bloody dog

We have a whippet and a whippet x greyhound, both of which are rescues. When we got our whippet ds1 was 6 yo and ds2 was 2.10 yo, we got our whippet x greyhound a year later (about 2 weeks ago). For now, the house is full!

When I was growing up we had a rescue collie x - he died when I was in my mid-20's, but we had him from being a pup (unwanted christmas present we think).

Both our oldies come from Battersea. The first lived with a fosterer, and was a doddle, the second was at Battersea for a very long time; he was a special case. Our 3rd dog came from someone's home. Only the youngest was used to children, and the other 2 tolerate them.
YOu will need to be clear about what you expect from the dog. Many dogs have had negative experiences of children, and it is really no surprise that dogs don't like their unpredictability and instability.

i would defo get a staffie in teh future. Once the cats have died! I know they wouuld probablly be OK with cats but why take the risk. I do love them though :-)

We got Harley on 1st July last year. He is a collie/lab/staffy cross. He was a year old when he was left with the rescue (NAWT in Somerset) because the family who had him as a puppy (they had got him from next door as a pup) found him too much hard work. We were assessed, made several visits and finally went to pick him up after 4 weeks. We paid £120 and he was neutered, wormed, chipped and vaccinated. We had a few months of worry about the cats and they ran away and he chased them But that stopped fairly soon and now they are fine together. He chewed an old sofa and a brand new leather dining chair and a few toys and hairbrushes but by and large that has stopped now. He barks hardly at all and is the gentlest most affectionate dog imaginable. He gets left for 6hrs 4 days a week and is fine with it. Best thing we ever did. By far. Love him to bits

My dog is a rescue, unknown mixed breed - although I suspect a possible staffie/rough coat terrier cross. She was about 2yrs old when we got her, had had pups, but was being neglected and allowed to roam. At that time we had 2 kids, but no baby. We've had our dog about 7 years now.
Good points - well behaved in house, house trained, no food guarding, has never given me a worry with the kids. She is loyal and friendly and I suspect very protective of the family.
Bad points - terrible recall to start with, has taken lots of work and given lots of stress, difficult dog to train - hard to motivate, she is easily stressed - afraid of loud noises, we struggle to take her new places because she gets overexcited/stressed. She likes to roll in disgusting smelling things, which makes her much less appealing to stroke! She has also run off several times and not come back for some hours..
My DP and I work at home part of the week and there are people in and out a lot so dog is not alone much.
We walk her twice a day for 20/30 mins minimum each time. She loves a run and is great chasing a ball.
On balance, I don't think she has been a good match for us, she may have been better in a smaller family with less activity with owners who could spend more time teaching her to be calm. I have considered returning her many times, but feel a commitment to do the right thing and look after her and give her a nice life. I would ask a lot more questions another time, but I'm not sure I'd rush to get another dog.

the responses are quite mixed aren't they OP?

We got a collie from Dogs Trust in January. He's 4 and absolutely brilliant! We couldn't have wished for a better addition to our family but our children are 10 and 13. I think Dogs Trust offer puppies to families with young children but they tend to keep the dog a while to assess the temperament and advertise it accordingly anyway. It's always worth getting in touch and visiting them.

Hi, does anyone know anything about allsorts rescue in east Sussex? They seem to have lovely dogs, and bring them in from ireland. Did you find them good/bad, and why?

My dog came from a rescue she was about 5 months, so the vet said, and was found abandoned in the snow. So her history in unknown. She is a collie x saluki and is really wonderful, kind and gentle. loves the children and the cats. Best thing we ever did.we do training and agility with her for fun.

My brother has a rescue boxer they also have kids and cats and he is lovely, mad as a box of frogs but lovely.

My neighbour with three young children got a rescue whippet cross last summer, when I spoke to her yesterday she was bemoaning the fact she hadn't done it before.

I only know one person who bought a puppy and although I think he is lovely, he growls at at her youngest child and she has had to muzzle him when out as he is very unreliable and has attacked quite a lot of dogs. The dog warden got involved and it got quite unpleasant for a while.

Hope this helps

assumpta - my friend recently rehomed from Allsorts - a beautiful lab/pointer about a year old. She is absolutely lovely in every way but recently when out on a walk she ran away, just bolted, and they spent 3 hours looking for her in teh pouring rain. She freaked out and just fled. They eventually found her shaking and soaking wet. She spent a couple of days 'out of sorts' but seems to have recovered now. I think the dogs on there look scrumptious! they seem to have all sorts of breeds (hence the name I guess!)

good luck

By the way does anyone know of free neutering or microchipping, in the kent area? or if not how much does it usually cost?

Rescue dogs are normally done by the rescue at no charge to the adopter. The cost for it being done at a vets up here (NE) is approx £15 for microchipping and £180 for neutering.

Our greyhound is a rescue, if that's what you can call an ex racer retired through the RGT. He's gentle, affectionate and loyal. He has taken about six months to come out of his shell really and watching a dog unfurl like that is really beautiful.

He's nervous about some things, like buses, loud noises and occasionally other dogs and has become very protective of his 'turf' - he barks, alot, at other dogs passing the gate and I think will always need to be an only dog. We have a 5yo DS and a 3yo DS with profound hearing loss. Once, DS1 overstepped the mark by petting him a bit too excitedly and he just barked at him. He's lovely with them - after they get back from school or nursery he touches noses with them.

He was chipped and neutered long before we took him home.

assumpta if you are on income support in any way or a low income I'm sure the Blue Cross will help.

Allergic, it's surprisingly common for new dogs to go missing in the first few weeks while they are at a new home. I'm glad your friend got her dog back, and maybe in this case she had had it for longer, but for about the first month that a dog is with you, it's important to be really careful not to allow for escapes, deliberate or accidental. I have a friend who works in rescue who had several new or foster dogs go missing recently from their homes and she was complaining that people don't realize how careful they have to be. I guess the people know the dog has its new home but the dog doesn't know for sure until it's been there longer, and also has to learn its way around the neighbourhood. Luckily all these dogs were found but one was missing for a few days.

The rescue do not offer either. I am not on any income support, and find it a little unfair that rescue dogs are not offered a 'deal'.

We had a rescue Lab in 2004. She was 2 and was pretty much perfect for our family. As we wanted a female young Lab, we had to wait a while until the right one came into rescue (a breed specific rescue). They took vet references up for us and matched us to the dog whose history they knew. She was a perfect fit for us and I cant begin to say how much joy she gave us. We lost her in January

Whilst she was with us, we took on an elderly male Lab. He was struggling to find a home due to his age. He was with us for about 2 years. It was definitely more of a challenge having an older dog (he was 9 or 10) as his bladder and bowel control deteriorated pretty rapidly, but at least his last couple of years were peaceful and happy.

The rescue has a very active forum with lots of advice for adopters; the rescue also spends lots of time working with 'difficult' Labs to make them easier to home.

We now have another rescue Lab who was advertised for sale on the internet. On the whole, I'd say a good rescue is a safer way of doing things, not that we have had any problems with our new girl, but if we had, there would have been no support.

Best of luck