How to actually get a dog

[Neilsfavouritechilli]

My DH and I have dreamed of having a dog for years. We're now ready in terms of time and finances to do it. We'd prefer to rehome a dog from the rspca, dogs trust etc but so many of the 'adverts' seem to demand previous dog owning experience. I understand that a lot of rescue dogs have complicated needs but equally I'm frustrated that I'm deemed not fit to give an unwanted dog a happy home despite being willing to do anything I can (training sessions etc) Is there anything I can do solve this?

Have you looked at some of the smaller, local rescues? They are often more flexible.

You could also consider fostering for a rescue - not only are they invariably desperate for foster carers, they are rarely upset when foster carers wish to adopt the dog in question, though the default option is thay you only care for the dog temporarily. Think of it as a "try before you buy" albeit that not every dog needs fostering so there's an element of lucky dip.

You could also try looking after someone else's dog - a friend's, or via Borrow My Doggy, or by volunteering as a dog walker at the rescue.

Don't underestimate the learning curve that you'll go on when you adopt a dog. I grew up with dogs and adopted mine from a friend who emigrated. If he'd gone into a rescue centre I think it's likely he would have been labelled as needing an experienced owner (and a friend who is ex RSPCA staff told me they would have put him down, and Dogs Trust wouldn't have taken him). It's been a crash course in canine behaviour (it turns out I knew sod all despite 17 years of childhood dog ownership), many training classes (scrapped in the end as DDog just couldn't cope in classes), a 3 figure sum spent on a behaviourist, much public embarrassment and a few puncture wounds to my lower legs. He's lovely underneath, and currently snuggling next to me on the sofa, but not for the faint hearted!

Ours came from the RSPCA. No previous experience with dogs.
It took a while to find the right dog for us. Keep a close eye on the Web sites and phone them regularly.

Thank you both. I'll certainly exercise patience and keep looking. I appreciate the advice about building up my experience.

Try Rescue Remedies. We got our from there and we were first time owners

We got our dog from the RSPCA and neither of us had any experience at all. We did find the whole thing hard though.

We had a home visit from the RSPCA and we had to show him our garden and where the dog would sleep and tell him nearby parks we would walk her. He asked us where we where the vets was and what insurance we would have. He asked us how much it would cost us a day to feed her. So there was an expectation that knew things. We asked him questions about food and stuff too and he was really helpful.

We got our dog really quickly once we saw her. Within a few days. I saw her on the Thursday and had the home visit on the Saturday morning.

We told him she would sleep downstairs in her crate but she sleeps with us now...

Oh my gosh what an absolute cutie she is.

At Rescue Remedies we did not need a home visit. We filled in a questionnaire, had a telephone visit. We had to send photos of the garden fences

I'm more than happy to have a home visit, we've got a good set up for a little dog. I've just found so many say experienced owners only. I have however seen a little old chap on the dogs trust website who doesn't need an experienced owner.

Are you near London? Battersea is great.

Go to visit the rescue centres if you can. Some dogs don’t make it to the website, especially the easier ones.

What area do you live in? If it's south east I can recommend lots of dog rescues that don't require experience. We've "fostered" quite a few rescue dogs (looked after them while they're waiting for permanent homes) and had no experience when we first did it.

Experienced owners only may be code for this dog has some issues. I'd accept what the rescues recommend.

I live in the east Midlands and have been looking at dogs trust and rspca. You're right in that I think experienced owners is code for additional needs and I certainly don't want to rehome a dog that I can't look after properly or meet it's needs. I think I will go out tomorrow to a few places and speak to someone about what I could offer a dog. Hopefully I'll find a match sometime soon.

Have a look at Jerry Green in the East Midlands. I think they tend to be pragmatic about getting the right home for their dogs without blanket rules on experience etc.

Came on to say we are always interested in fosterers and never automatically rule out any potential temporary or permanent home! I'm one of the people who might come and home-check you if you applied to the rescue I work with (although probably not if you're East Midlands, we are national and a more local volunteer would probably do it).