Do all UK rescue dogs *really* want to eat my children?

[WhotheWhat]

Ok, maybe not all, but it seems to narrow it down to a choice of about three, and these three either have to have somebody at home at all times or hate cats.....

I have DCs of 4 and 7, two cats. Cats and DCs are calm and kindly (relative to their age and species).

I have a small house with a small, secure garden.

I have a job!! But I am at the office only 3 days and will arrange a dog walker. Two dogs is fine by me, if this makes them happier for time home alone.

Now, in my mind I have the perfect dog - a wirey little terrier cross (brown) that happily tags along with the school run, doesn't kick off in the park and doesn't mind the occasional role as third princess in the living-room plays. Kind of like a mixture of Lassie and Shep and that one from the Famous Five but non-shedding. However, I realise that is maybe a little specific and I would be more than happy to take the advice of Those Who Know as to which dog would like to live with us.

I can't help but notice that a lot of the small dogs who like cats and children are Spanish or Greek. Coincidence? The climate? That's a joke - I get that the difference is in the assessment - but is it because rehomers in this nation of animal lovers can be choosy? Or is it because, really, no adult dog should be placed with young children, but the european charities are between a rock and a hard place.

Your thoughts please!!!!

Terriers are terrorists if bored. Loving, intelligent, but go insane without distraction. And unless your cats are def Top Cat from the word go they may have a problem.

That said, our wire haired JRT with what I suspect us a dash of sheepdog was brought up amongst cats in a cat rescue home, is a complete and utter wuss, and immensely loving. He does prefer to bury his bones to ripen in our beds as that means he doesn't have to face the cold and wet...

283 Terrier and Terrier crosses here at Many Tears (who do rehome to families with children. www.manytearsrescue.org/dogslookingforhomes.php

God that was bad typing. I meant 25 terrier and terrier crosses from 283 dogs.

Terriers are bred to catch fast little prey like rats, so they can be quick to snap and have a sharp prey drive, so maybe it might be a bit harder to find a terrier good with both cats and kids. Being flexible with breed choice will really help.

National rescues tend to have very general rehoming policies (eg 'no kids under 5'), whereas smaller, local rescues are more likely to take each dog/home on a case-by-case basis - eg, if it's come from a home with young kids, it can do to a similar home.

What about Oldies club (they're on FB) they have only older dogs, in any rescue - they are desperate for homes, and will generally be much calmer and their suitability for kids/cats will be well estabished? Good luck. x

Primrose is lovely, but personally with your circumstances I wouldn't go with a terrier. They can get on with cats, but generally don't.

We've got a collie/springer/? Mutt that we took on as a pup. She's amazing with children, great with cats and free range rabbits, is scared of tortoises and bees but fitted into our family like she was born to be here . We choose not to leave her but on the occasions where we have had to she's been absolutely fine for a few hours.

I'm now looking at 'Cream Cheese' on the MTAR site and wondering if DH will let me get another - because she's the spitting image of the mutt!

Yes, I think the terrier bit is why I realise my vision is not very realistic. I'm in London, but grew up around working dogs and a terrier with a rat is not something easily forgotten! Thats where the "cross" part came in - I'm thinking a terrier crossed with a miniature (bald) labrador with only lab traits, of course......

But actually, that's another thing about the european dogs - their smaller heinz 57 seem to be more pastoral or gun types rather than terrier.

We've been really lucky with a GSDX rescue dog. He's great with kids, children, cats. Non-reactive to cows, horses, sheep and chickens.

Definitely go to a smaller rescue which uses foster homes and can really check out the temperament of the dog.

I stopped at Cream Cheese, too! Alas, I've accepted that a young dog would not thank us.

We hit very lucky, 2 year old JRT would quite happily have our cats but they have put her firmly in her place so our cats are accepted inside and out but any other cat is fair game.

Having - said that we would never leave them home unsupervised together. Dog is in family room in crate, cats shut out of that room overnight -same if we go out. So not sure how that work if we were out of the house 3 days per week but tbh she does sleep for hours on end if you let her...

You want a Norfolk terrier. Nothing they like better than being the third princess, or listening to a story or having the school reading book read to them.
They can live with cats happily, they mostly keep themselves to themselves in the park and school run is their idea of heaven.
They are brown and mostly non shedding. There are a lot of them living in South West London, so you have may have seen one that created your image.
I grew up with them, my parents four adore all the grandchildren and will cry if separated from them, but me I wanted a racier dog.

The reason rescues often don't rehome with children is not usually because of the dog... it's because of the kids.

The European rescues take a more lax approach to it but I wouldn't say that's a good thing.

Children under 3 aren't able to comprehend a dog's body language. A study showed that toddlers - 3 year olds shown pictures of dogs baring their teeth demonstrated that most of them felt the dog was 'happy' and wanted a hug. This is because children are used to seeing people 'smile' with their teeth on show and they aren't able to differentiate it with dogs yet. Obviously hugging a dog that is baring its teeth is a good way to get bitten.

It doesn't mean the kids are bad, or that the dog is bad. It just means that rescues have to take extra precautions to keep both safe. From a self-preservation point of view it's also essential for rescues to take reasonable precautions to prevent bite situations happening.

I am a dog rehomer, I help run a rescue. We do rehome dogs with children where we have a history of the dog living with small children without problems (i.e. an owner hand in) or we have been able to properly assess in a home environment. However with most adult dogs without history, the potential damage a bite could cause is huge and we can't risk our dogs or the kids involved. 5 years olds are better able to differentiate which is why you often find that that is an age rescues will consider.

My advice would be to look for a dog that has been an owner hand-in. One of my dogs came from a home with children and was handed back because of allergies. He's absolutely fine with little ones and because they gave him back with information on how he was with the kids, he could've been placed with young kids again.

There is a gorgeous Yorkshire terrier (large type) at wiccaweys atm
wiccaweys.co.uk/start.html
Click on dog of the month. He is a bit older than you most probably want but might fit in better than a younger dog

We've just adopted a 'rescue' greyhound (I appreciate they are not terriers! ) with an entirely known history - I have 4 kids, youngest is 5, and at this point in life I just did not want to consider a stray, rightly or wrongly.
Many rescues will only consider kids >12 or 14 as they are a. less toddler-like i.e. unpredictable and b. more sensible i.e. less toddler-like .

Consider a grey/lurcher/whippet type - "45 mph couch potatoes", v short hair, so little shedding, need little exercise, good with kids, calm unless excited like our over-grown puppy.

Go for a small rescue who foster their dogs, so know a lot about them.
Consider dogs with a known history, not strays.
Think outside the terrier box.

"Does he bite?" - "No, he swallows whole"

The non-childeating dog is out there for you, I'm sure.

Oh, Barney is gorgeous, Owllady!