Advice on possible dog adoption

[ImogenTubbs]

We are looking for a dog to adopt. We wanted to get a puppy that would grow to medium size - we have a 4yo DD (who is very good with animals) but we want to be careful about its background and temperament for this reason.

We have found this lovely dog - they think she's about 1yo and unlikely to grow much bigger. She had a lovely temperament in a puppyish way but not jumpy or nervous at all. They don't know much about her background.

My only concern is that she looks like she might be a Rottweiler cross? I'm a bit nervous about this, particularly considering we don't know anything about her background.

Any opinions or experience of similar type crosses on this board? We can go and get her this afternoon if we want her. DD is already in love! Thank you!!!

Yes that dog has Rottweiler or Dobermann in her.

She will get bigger if she is only 1.

Have you had a dog before?

Yes, certainly looks like rottie blood in there. Is the dog coming from a proper rescue? My main concern is that they know nothing of the dogs background, yet are happy to rehome with a small child. Sorry, I know nothing about rottie type temperament, I am sure someone will be along in a minute who does.

We both grew up with dogs and DH in particular has quite a lot of experience with them. He also grew up with a rottweiler who he adored but I'm more cautious.

I have a rottweiler, and that looks like mine as a puppy, full breed. I also have dc and she adores them, they have obviously been brought up to be respectful as she is a powerful dog, can knock me off my feet! But - she is an amazing family pet!! At a year old I would say she has scope to still be perfect and not hankered by any bad experiences. Get to dog classes and take the dc with you. My ds 3 can instruct our ddog to sit /paw, give treats etc.

That looks like a Rottie to me too. At one year old I think she is unlikely to gain any more height but might 'thicken' up a bit. There are Rottweiler growth charts online so you can see they seem to suggest the height growing is done but there are still a few (not many) more kilos of weight to come.

She looks like a beauty.

are they sure she is 1 year old? - Rottweilers can continue growing till 18 months and she looks very puppyish.
Is she a pure bred Rottweiler? if a cross - the type of dog you are getting could be unpredictable?
Good luck if you decide to rescue - hopefully another unwanted dog will find new home.

That still looks very puppyish from the pictures. I'd guess there's still a bit of growing to do. I personally wouldn't take on a dog that I didn't know anything of its history with young children, especially if it's potentially a powerful breed. Think I'd keep looking, sorry OP

She's gorgeous!

I wouldn't be worried about the breed, personally. My only concern would be that at 1yr she's still basically a teenager and lots of dogs go through a stage of being a complete nightmare around that age. If you train her properly then then I'm sure she'd turn out great in the end but personally I'd go for an older dog (2+) who has either come from a family whose circumstances changed or who has been assessed with children in a foster home. She does look lovely though.

If you're getting the dog from a decent rescue then they will have done all the assessments on her

That is going to be quite a large dog when it’s finished growing so if the size is important to you I’d give her a miss . Most Rottweilers and dobermans make very good family pets , all the ones I’ve known have had lovely natures .

Thank you all for the really helpful comments. It's a council accredited rescue centre but we are in Spain so I think the regulations are a bit different. They have only had her in for two days so really don't know much, and yes, this also makes me nervous. They wouldn't comment on the breed but just said they didn't think she'd grow much more. She isn't chipped and didn't have a collar on her, but she's obviously had an owner at some point as her tail has been clipped (or whatever the right terminology is). They also said they have to allow 21 days before she is adopted in case an owner claims her but we could foster her in the meantime.

She is absolutely gorgeous but I'm really having second thoughts. We've had a bad run of pet experiences (had one cat who got hit by a car after six months, and then finally got two kittens only for DD to develop quite a serious allergy and we had to send them back to the rescue place which was absolutely heartbreaking). I really want to make the right decision. The fact I'm having so many doubts makes me think she just isn't the dog for us.

From a rescue perspective i'm shocked they've even allowed you to view her before her 21 days are up!!
I'm all for dogs + kids but in my personal experience fostered dogs are better than kennelled dogs. I know foster based rescues do exist in Spain but how regularly i don't know

It’s obvously different in Spain but this dog looks quite young and I wouldn’t adopt from anywhere if they weren’t properly assessed with a little child in the house.

I agree mustbemad - shouldn't they be doing health tests and stuff, at the very least, before they let someone take her?

Def don't want to damper things as it is adorable and would def have it myself - but - rottweilers have a two layered coat and an oily top coat , I am allergic in general to dogs though am OK with my other dogs at last (even a long haired breed!) but the oil in my rotty's coat makes me very itchy and I get a red blebby rash - just since your dd has shown allergic reactions to cats maybe the dog would be the same - maybe a few visits with your dd having lots of skin contact to 'test' for a reaction would be an idea?

Oh that dog still has some growing to do. Look at those paws!!

Imogen i would expect the basics done, even out there! I know UK rescues that work alongside Spanish ones & all dogs are speyed/neutered & vacc'd as a matter of course. I'm concerned they're offering her out for potential adopters without even her 'stray' period being complete!!

Regardless of anything else, if you're not confident about your choice of dog, wait. Plenty of others will come alone in future.

Thanks figrolls - she was tested for dog allergies when they found the cat allergy and came back clear on that so she should be fine. DH's parents have a German Shepherd who she is fine with as well.

Ah that's great!! I am very envious you may be getting a rottweiler!! Ours is 8 and going a bit grey on the chin!!

Her size will depend on how much you trust them about her age, if she's 1, she's pretty much done growing up the way no matter how much Rottie she's got in her, they're pretty much adult height by 1.

If she's more like about 4-5 months she could still double in size. But, it's hard to tell as yep she looks puppyish and yep those paws low like they need growing into... but as an unknown breed, it's hard to say for definite as they do sometimes come out puppy looking with random bits that don't fit the rest of them.

I'm not sure you can gauge it with the size of paws. Our (now adult) pedigree cocker has lion sized paws and he's tiny.

Hi!
I live in Italy and I just wanted to chime in to say that you should be aware that in countries like ours where stray dogs are a huge problem, the rescues are possibly not as reliable as in the UK for example. They have no space or resources for new dogs in the centres, so they sometimes "market" pups based on more wishful thinking than actual expertise and facts*. I agree with the other posters that she looks younger than 1 and probably will grow more (you could try to determine her age yourself by having a look at her teeth) but if it's not an issue and you are sure they will take her back if you find she's not the right fit for your family, I personally would agree to foster her until she's available for adoption.

*Years ago, we were told of a 3-4 month old belgian shepherd puppy who was with a foster carer, and went to have a look at her. Turns out she was fully grown (2 or 3 yrs old) and probably a border collie cross. She came home with us regardless, but the (also local authority accredited) rescue was clearly either trying to get rid of her at any cost, or else totally clueless. Also, any beige dog seems to be dubbed a lab here...

It’s obviously different in Spain but this dog looks quite young and I wouldn’t adopt from anywhere if they weren’t properly assessed with a little child in the house.

^^ This. It would make me very nervous that no checks had been done with children on such an obviously powerful breed and that you have no idea of the background. If your child was significantly older I'd say go for it but that is young. I would wait until absolutely the right dog comes along and gorgeous though she is, I'm not sure she's the one.

If you're still considering this dog and she is a puppy btw, the children aren't any more of an issue with a Rottie puppy than any other type of puppy.

Rotties are pretty child friendly, yes they're big and have no spatial awareness whatsoever but the reason they're not often recommended for small children isn't a temperament one, it's that they do walk into you, like to lean up against you affectionately and will try to sit on your lap... they insist they fit there, lol.

But obviously not ideal if you were after a smaller dog.