Rehoming centres

[OrchidFlakes]

A bit new to this so automatically went to dogs trust website but is there another way to find reputable centres in my area?

We’re not ready for a dog yet but will be next spring and I’d prefer to rehome than get a pup

google dog rescue and whatever your general area is and it should come up with most rescues near you. RSPCA must surely have a centre near you. If you are South of England, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is highly recommended by me! There are loads. My other tip is to get talking to people walking dogs in your area - lots will be rescues and they may know what the good rescue places are.

If you know the sort of dog you are looking for, then look for breed specific rescues. Many use foster homes so are spread over a big area. If a lurcher was on your compass, EGLR are a lovely rescue (conflict of interest statement, I have two dogs from them and foster puppies for them. I currently have one lovely pup on the sofa next to me)

Which county are you in? Someone on here might know a reputable independent one (e.g. N London has All Dogs Matter, Bristol has Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary). Certainly there aren't as many pitfalls (puppy farms / BYBs) and scammers when it comes to adopting a rescue adult as there are with buying a puppy.

Breed rescues are good if you have a specific breed in mind - but there may be a mutt in a local rescue centre that would be perfect for you! Many Tears is in Wales but does a weekly run along the M4. Blue Cross is another national one. If you're open to a middle aged / older dog, try the Oldies Club (nationwide).

I’m in Essex and would love a labradoodle or any doodle cross really*. We live rurally and I’m home all day. By the time we’re ready the kids will be 4 and 7 so old enough to understand basic rules and care.

*will consider other breeds

Doodle trust have dogs in foster around the country

I can highly recommend the amazing pet rehoming/adoption charity Blue Cross from personal experience.

www.bluecross.org.uk/

Be aware that a lot of the "oodle" crosses, specifically Labradoodles and Cockerpoos, who end up in mainstream rescues tend to have behavioural issues which is why they've ended up there - owners have bought into the cute oodle puppy thing but completely underestimated what they're taking on. Most of them I've seen have needed adult only homes or with teenagers who don't mind being knocked over by an over-excited dog and a lot of ongoing training. Like Daisy here whose at a Dogs Trust centre, although an older dog so her intake story would be different, but she needs a family with kids in the teenage years, she sounds a bit undersocialised.
www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/dog/filters/~~~~~d~/1181527/daisy

If you're dead set on an "oodle" type, best to go to a cross-breed specific rescue to try and find a kid friendly one.

I would recommend widening your breed search though, especially with younger kids in the mix :) you may find a breed you hadn't even considered is a better fit.

I'm going through the rescue sites as the moment, and dogsblog.com is a good place to start. You can search by criteria like 'dogs suitable to be homed with children' and it's also a good place to find out your local rescues. I have found All Dogs Matter in N London to be lovely as AvocadosBeforeMortgages said, very nice on the phone and friendly. I am also going to Battersea sometime this week I think. From my experience though, they will only recommend absolutely bombproof dogs to live with children, so you might have to wait for a long time. Good luck OP.

These are poodle crosses first dog is from an Essex rescue

These are suitable to live with children

This site covers a lot of rescues but not Battersea.

Thank you so much for the advice and good to know more about doodles. A friend has one and we have all fallen for her but definitely worth considering others!

Thanks for the dogblog link. Some gorgeous dogs there

It's also worth checking as different rescue homes have different criteria.
We adopted a rescue dog from a local rehoming centre, fulfilled the criteria & passed all the home checks. 2 very happy years with him (he was an older dog when we rehomed him).
We tried another local rescue centre only to be told that we were not eligible as we did not have a resident dog.

We want a specific breed and have been looking for one to rehome for many months. The breed rescues have had none except very old dogs or pairs of dogs. The big rescues like Dogs Trust and RSPCA have mainly big mongrels and staffies.
All the rescues now have imported strays, many sound impossible to rehome, poor things.
We are reluctantly thinking of a puppy now.