Finding a "nice" rescue dog

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prepares for flaming
I am keen to adopt a dog from a rescue centre. Although i am an experienced and confident dog-owner, i am not keen on pitbulls/rotweilers or anything that has a bit of a rep (sorry to owners of lovely examples of those breeds, dds are 3 and 4 and Im cautious). Dh has similar feelings about staffies and gsds, although i dont really share those feelings, i obviously respect them.
The trouble is, that is literally ALL there is in our local rescue centre. Without outing myself, i am in a remote part of the country which makes it not easy to go hither than thither, so....
If you have any experience of rescue centres with lots of dogs of not any of the above breeds, where were they please?!

How about a lurcher? My two are lovely, and came from EGLR

Try Greyhound Gap, they have lots of lovely pointy hounds waiting for their forever home.

English Springer Spaniel Welfare. Went to lots of rescues and had a very difficult time with them. Found ESSW to be really dog centred and sensible, very helpful and keen to match right dog with right family.

We were in the same boat and ended up getting a dog from an established local centre who take in dogs brought from Romania. We had a nightmare situation with a health issue which meant she had to go back into quarantine (and which is still not resolved insurance wise) but we now have her back and she is absolutely gorgeous. Following a thread on here, we think she is a kokoni, but she is like a soft collie/corgi cross. Beautiful temperament, gentle and very quick to learn. There were several of her type in the group she came in with. I know some people have an issue with importing rescue dogs when there are so many here already, but PM me if you want details of the centre as they may know somewhere local to you who deal with the same Romanian charity.

You could look at some of the Spanish stray dogs websites. So many dogs needing a home and they re-home abroad...

Black Retriever X always have naice dogs and rehome all over the country, as do the Doodle Trust.

The Rescue Review sitemight have some more suggestions

We have a wonderful lab who came to us from a rescue centre at 5 months old. It did take 6 months of waiting for a suitable dog to come into them though. Our son was only 5 at the time and most places are very reluctant to rehome with children this age. Eventually the right one came along and he has now been with us 2 years. May be worth contacting some centres and explaining what you are looking for.

Black Retriever X
Silver Fox Dog Rescue
Balkan Underdogs
Help Pozega Dogs
Pro Dogs Direct
Hope Rescue
Four Paws Rescue
UK Romanian Dog Rescue
Paws2Rescue
Desperate Greekies Rescue

Google or search on FB.

Some are UK rescues. Some work in Eastern Europe.

You can also offer to foster as a first step. Smaller record usually have their dogs mainly in foster homes, so they have been assessed in a home environment.

All the rescues working abroad run, in parallel, spay/neuter programmes, often in very adverse circumstances. They work incredibly hard to socialise, child "test" and will usually cat test if a potential adopter asks.

Another advocate for a greyhound! So gentle and can be great with kids. RGT has branches all over the country.

My cousin has recently adopted a Romanian dog. I've not met her yet, but she looks lovely.

There are many, many rescues which work nationally, rather than just in a specific local area. There are networks of homecheckers and volunteer transporters who will ensure that no matter how remote your home, you can be matched with the right dog.

If you have a specific breed in mind, a bit of Googling will tell you that there is nearly always a breed specific rescue which are mostly national and for some breeds you will be spoilt for choice.

Greyhound/lurcher/sighthound rescues have excellent coverage nationwide as already mentioned.

Good luck with your search.

Thank you all, what brilliant ideas,
I am going to spend this morning checking all these out, fingers crossed. Am very hopeful now i'll find a friend for my beloved scruffy mutt. I totally love greyhounds and lurchers but have a very rabbity area of land outside my house and i fear i might get laughed off the phone if i call up one of the grehound/lurcher rescues and ask for one that doesn't like chasing things

You'd be surprised at the fact that not all lurchers chase! My two are outside on the deck at the moment, the chickens are walking round them, and the cat has most of the dog bed!
Wild rabbits are pretty good at going down a burrow sharpish with anything on the horizon, and sighthounds won't try and dig them out unlike a terrier.

I would second that, there are many sighthounds with absolutely no aptitude or inclination to chase anything!

Oh really! I'll def give them a call then and blame you if they laugh at me come to think of it, my little dog (terrier mix) should, as you say try and dig the rabbits out, and has never shown the slightest bit of interest in them. He gives socks a good shaking when he finds them but thats it!

You'll want to ask them about hounds that are other breed friendly. Some have never experienced other dogs - mine is frightened of small yappy things. In fact she is a giant wuss!

Have you tried beagles? Can contact beagle welfare they are all over the country

Poodle Rescue
Heathlands Animal Sanctuary
Amicii Dog Rescue
Cy2Uk Dog Rehomings

Try rescues like black retriever x or GRWE that foster dogs rather than those where dogs are in a kennel. They will be best situated to advise you on the temperament of specific dogs.
Good luck!

My boy is perfection on 4 legs. He came to us 4 years ago at 18 months old, having been through several homes. We rehomed him from Friends of the Animals (RCT) in South Wales and brought him home to Scotland.

A good rescue centre will pair you with the right dog for you and not just let you pick and choose.

All our dogs have been rescues and to date they have generally been of the collie / lab / spaniel variety - mid sized family dogs. I went when our last dog died and talked to teh centre staff, we discuessed our family set up, space, work patterns etc and she singled out several dogs she thought might be suitable. We ended up with a tiny little fluffy crossbreed that I was actually embarrassed to be seen in public with during our trial walk - but the rescuse staff was totally right, despite her not being what I was looking for she was EXACTLY right for our family.

So my advice is to talk to the staff - they know the dogs they work with really well and a good rescue centre will never give you a dog that isn't suitable for you.

Thank you busy, bagel, wolfie and dotdot for your suggestions. I am pleased to say that i have just applied to be considered to adopt a lovely creature from black retriever x! Keeping everything crossed. Youre all right - there are some beautiful dogs out there in rescues Id never heard of! Thanks everyone

We had the same issue when we decided to rescue a dog from a dog's home, and I was completely surprised to find myself head over heels in love with a Staffordhire Bull Terrier after being adamant that I didn't want that breed or similar. He came home with us two days later and he was with us until he passed away. He had a few anxiety issues but was never aggressive or temperamental. He surprised everybody; especially family members who were quick to tell us we'd regret our choice. I think it's easy to write off certain types of dog but you don't know what you're looking for until you meet one you love - much like humans, I suppose! Enjoy your new best friend xx

Oooh, how exciting! Would love to hear an update when you have one. Good Luck!

I will def keep you posted bagel. They have just emailed to say i can come to meet her!! Yay!