Rescue dogs - health problems?

[Rotkehlchen]

Ok, so after years of dithering and our circumstances not being right, we are finally in a position to get a dog. We're a reasonably active family, keen walkers and have 3 children of 7, 10 and 12. I work one day a week and my partner works from home so we have the time to invest in training etc. As first time owners (i had dogs as a teenager though but that's obviously not the same) we'd like a dog that will be easier to train and a breed that has a good reputation with children.

My heart says get a rescue dog. Looking at various rescues there seems to be quite a number of lab x available. Sounds ideal from what I've read for our family. But I'm confused. All the KC information says labs are prone to hip and eye problems, when buying from a breeder always check the hip scores etc. But obviously, rescue dogs don't have a background that can be checked out. Does that mean that I would be taking a bigger risk getting a lab x, that could saddle us with big health issues as the dog ages? How good are the vet checks in these rescues and if they did suspect that a dog is likely to have health issues, would they disclose this to potential owners? Do you think that labs from a rescue are more prone to health issues?

Please don't flame me. I know that there are no 100% health guarantees regardless of where I get a dog. It's just I'm nervous of making a bad decision, precisely because I know a dog IS for life.

i had a labrador way back in the 80s and the only problems he had was a sensitive stomach i had to be carefull what i fed him and he did fart a lot nice dogs though temprment wise, a good rescue should have some information on the health of the dogs in thier care the least they should do is get the dog vet checked which most of them do, and they should tell you of any potential problems, all i can go on is my experience of a dog i adopted from foal farm, went there and there were no dogs i took to in the main kennells, so they asked me what i was looking for, said a border collie or cross, they had a four month old cross in the hospital wing, she had been thrown out of a car and i went to have a look, she was adorable but had virtually no fur, so i adopted her when thwey released her after home check, (very thorough) still very patchy so i took her to the vets turned out she had a fles allergy so for the next 17 years the only thing i had to do was make sure she never got fleas

This is one of those questions that is almost impossible to answer, as there is so much variation between rescues. You might have an owner surrender because they are emigrating for instance - so in this case there might be full background info, pedigree papers, vet details etc. or you might be dealing with a dog that was found as a stray so zero background, or anything in between.

Generally rescues will give you the information they have - most will have a basic health check, be vaccinated, chipped, neutered etc. though of course they won't necessarily know about eye/hip scores. You will have more likelihood of getting a dog with a known history if you go to a breed rescue (there are several for Labs). Having said that, I've known several people with Lab Xs who have lived long and very healthy lives.

Really, this comes down to your individual attitude to risk and being aware that even if you have a dog with a good score you may not be eliminating all possible future health problems. You also have to weigh up the ethical issues of the very definite health consequences for pound dogs - i.e. still too many killed by Councils every year for no reason other than no home for them. And yes, this will include pedigrees, and young dogs, sadly. Rescues do what they can, but it is never enough.

To be honest if you want less health problems get a rescue mongrel. MOst 'breeds' have all sorts of breed specific illnesses mongrels tend to be more resiliant.

Scuttlebutter yes, I know it's a real 'how long is a piece of string?' question. I hadn't thought about breed rescue places though. That's a good idea.

Susan2kids yes, I guess you're right about the mongrels. My problem is, on the one hand I've heard people say that crossbreeds are more resilient, and then in the next breath those same people will be muttering that designer breeds such as Cavalier King Charles/pugs should not be allowed as they are guaranteed to have health problems. I just wondered if anyone had any anecdotal evidence that rescue dogs are more/less prone to health problems.

I'm probably overthinking it all too be honest!