Rescue or puppy?

[Lovemusic33]

Sorry, posting again. If you haven’t seen my other threads..I lost my dog almost 2 weeks ago (pts), the house isn’t the same without a dog so we would like to get another. I have been in contact will local rescues but can’t find a suitable dog. The problem being that not many of them are cat friendly and quite a few are not dog friendly. We have a cat who is in the house 75% of the time, we don’t have another dog but I have friends with dogs and would also like to be able to camp with the dog so it’s important they get on with other dogs.
One of the rescues suggested a dog but I didn’t feel it was what I was looking for.

I’m not really keen on going through the puppy stage again but on the other hand it means the dog can be trained to suit our needs. We have puppy training classes near by which we could attend, I’m just not keen on the house training, the chewing etc.. etc..

Also unsure what breed would suit us. It’s just me and 2 teens so will be mainly me looking after it. I walk a lot, we live in the countryside, we have a big garden. Whilst out today I saw a lot of dogs and the ones that caught my eye were springer spaniels, I grew up with a springer and owned when when I was younger so I know they are high energy dogs and can be slightly crazy but they also seem to be obedient and great off the lead.

Now I notice the problem of trying find a puppy, there don’t seem to be as many about due to new breeding rules and the prices seem to have tripled since I last bought one (around £1000 for a puppy), is this purely because of the new rules of micro chipping etc?

So I guess my question is....do we wait for a suitable dog from a rescue or do we buy a puppy?

Hazle define “many”
No puppies are trained at all. Toilet or otherwise.

It’s wrong for people to think that a rescue is trained, they might not be. We rescued a collie and it wasn’t house trained or anything else. If you look at the Dog’s Trust website they do say whether a dog needs training and many do.

I’m just putting it out there so people know.

Prodogs Direct (South East)
Heathlands Animal Rescue (Royston Herts)

The rescue I suggested fosters. Any rescue that does that can tell you what the dog needs re training.
Some rescues have specific needs. Eg many tears have many ex puppy farm dogs. Very different from a dog that’s been in a family home and then had to be rehomed.

I know not all rescue dogs are trained but you have a choice wether to take on a house trained dog or not which is why I like the idea of rescue, they don’t just dump any dog on you, you have a choice to say ‘no’. I don’t mind doing a bit of training, I just don’t want the whole puppy training stage, the crying at night, the pooping all over the house and not being able to leave it for a hour.

I am in Dorset so some of the rescues mentioned are quite far away , I am in contact with most of the local ones, they just haven’t got anything suitable at the moment but I’m happy to wait, they have dogs coming in all the time.

Our recent dogs have been from many tears (I’ve got children, another dog and a cat). They’ve all been amazing. One was a tiny puppy who had been abandoned by a puppy farm, another was 6 months old - she was terrified of everything but quickly came out of her shell.

It’s not the easiest path (we also live miles away from wales!) but it is definitely the most rewarding.

Rescue every time, unless you want to contribute to the horror of puppy farms.

Or you could take the time to buy a well reared puppy with health odds stacked in your favour (although clearly it's a living being, so there are never any guarantees) from a breeder with years of experience in raising dogs that are typical of their breed in looks and temperaments, and who is available for the pup's lifetime to give advice.

God, I hate these posts, where people are made to feel like rescue is the only ethical choice. Puppy farming is a huge problem, but buying a dog is NOT just a choice of rescue v. supporting puppy farming. We need to educate on the issues and put a stop to it, but that does not mean that people should be made to feel guilty for buying a hopefully healthy well-reared puppy instead of rescuing.

I stand by my comment frankly but understand your POV. The average person is still likely to be conned into thinking that a puppy farmer is a naice breeder or a lovely little family just trying to find lovely homes for the puppies from their lovely family pet.

Until legislation and enforcement improves - rescue every time. Cut the puppy farmers' off at the knees.

The collie we rescued was from a collie rescue centre. They didn’t tell us the dog wasn’t house trained or that it couldn’t be left alone.

I also hate these threads where posters bang on about getting a rescue dog. Yes it’s a marvellous thing to do but prospective dog owners need to be aware that a rescue is not necessarily a ready trained dog. Many come with bad habits that are difficult to change, as well as needing training on the very basics.

I frankly don't care whether anyone gets a dog from a reputable breeder or a reputable rescue (and lordy, let's not forget there are plenty of unreputable rescues too!) - getting a new dog in any way is never easy, and an adult that presents well in kennels may behave entirely differently at home.

I just hate the 'all breeders are evil, and if if you don't rescue you might as well murder puppies yourself' threads.

(And while I am very involved in showing dogs, no I don't breed myself any more - I just know plenty of the right type of breeders. They are out there, and they are a great place to get a new family member - IF the good breeders will even agree to sell to you, they are very fussy!)

@Whitney168 don't put words in my mouth or trivialise the issue by framing it hysterically. I didn't call anyone evil. The facts around breeding for profit speak for themselves.

This should be a happy helpful thread for the OP so I won't argue with you anymore.

Aaach sorry BackwardsGoing, I quoted your thread without this being specifically aimed at you - just the general vibe on here. I am not up for arguing either. xx

I would wait a bit longer; rescues have loads of cat and dog friendly dogs, it's just waiting for the right one. Visit all your local rescues and tell them what you are looking for, and just keep in touch with them.

You could go through the stressful puppy stage and still end up with a dog who doesn't get on with others.

You can rescue puppies too, Our local rescue doesn't advertise them but sadly gets plenty. You can adopt from 8 weeks

lots of rescues keep their dogs in foster homes.
After 2 weeks with each foster I could pretty well summarize the issues and the positives. One dog for example was an old man, who was very sweet, but hated a closed door. He got quite stressed when he was asleep in the lounge and dh came in and closed the door.

Some rescues really do have problems and other don't. Our dog is a scavenger, he will eat anything anywhere at any time, he was once owned by a homeless guy.. But we can cope with that.

I know 2 people that have adopted bitches who were chucked out of puppy farms. Both had been kept in sheds and produced litter after litter.
Both need a bit of love and training at first, but they very quickly got it (days and weeks until house trained, not months) and they are both such lovely dogs, so grateful to be in a house and being loved and so loving in return. Now I'm sure some puppy farm bitches are awful, but nice rescues do exist.

We really struggled to get a rescue. We've always wanted a dog but when we were both working, we thought it would be cruel so held off until my husband retired. Once this happened we registered with Battersea (we're in London) and two local rescue centres. Any easy to manage dogs went straight away, and because we had little experience with dogs (we'd had them as kids but they were family dogs, not ours) they said we weren't experienced enough. There seems to be less rescue dogs, I assume responsible owners are better these days about neutering early. We ended up getting our puppy via a breeder.

At one point Battersea only had about 10 dogs there, most of which were reserved or else they weren't suitable. They had centres outside London too but it was much the same picture there as well, and it was the same in the two local charities (Wood Green Animal Shelter and All Dogs Matter.)

There is a definite belief there's loads of rescue dogs available, but that wasn't the case with us, and trust me, we tried and tried.

Sorry that may not have been clear, they had dogs with behavioural issues and the charities would not let us take them as we did not have experience. Or else they were big dogs like Alsatians and we live in a flat (albeit a ground floor one with access to a garden) and only wanted a small or medium size dog. We kept getting told ''oh you're so suitable'' as my husband was home, we had a yard, we lived close to lots of parks, were home owners, no kids or cats, but when it came down to it, there wasn't any available.

Spidey66 - Any easy to manage dogs went straight away

I went to Battersea and also local RSPCA. I, too, registered with Battersea,because that was the only way to reserve a dog I wanted to see before someone else beat me to it. You have to keep looking at their website (every day) and reserve one as soon as you think they are a possible, if you feel drawn to them, so you can have first option. As you say, the "easy to manage" ones are snapped up fast so you have to do it that way. Once I'd registered, I found "my" dog within two weeks of daily (sometimes twice daily) checking their website. I did have dog experience so had more options that you, though. They also told me that, having registered, they would look out for a dog coming in that might suit me (but you do have keep 'phoning them to ask them to check). They only have about 10 available for the public "on view" at at Battersea but there are a lot more behind the scenes (it is quite stressful for the ones that are "on view" so they don't show more than that). They are being brought dogs every week from dog wardens (as are many rescues) - my dog was picked up on the streets of Camden. The RSPCA told me also that, once I registered, they could let me know as soon as any possibles came in. Sadly, I really do not think there are less rescues these days - the rescues around me are bursting at the seams.

Many Tears often have puppies, there was a litter of very cute Dachshund crosses on their web sit last week.

I have just messaged one of the rescues about a 2 year old GSD x ,not sure I stand a chance of getting her as there seems to be a lot of interest, she’s good with dogs and cats, is house trained and good on the lead (so seems perfect for us), no idea what she’s crossed with, she’s smaller than a GSD.

Also contact breed rescues, I emailed lots last year (local& national) of the 2 dog breeds I was interested in. 5 months later I took our girl home- through the local breed rescue. She was being rehomed rather than rescued as her owner was unwell. I was prepared to wait for the right dog though.

We have had two rescue dogs (one from Many Tears, one from Rescue Remedies) both were house trained and walked nicely on the lead. The second had either been trained or was very intuitive because eh would always look at us and seek permission before getting on the sofa or (rare occcasions) our bed. Quite a few rescue dogs need rehoming because of family breakdown, moves to properties where dogs are not allowed or because their owner has either died or gone into a care home. I think an older dog makes a g;ood first dog and Oldies Club have loads of lovely well trained dogs on their site. Nothing like a grey muzzle to pull on the heartstrings.

Still waiting to hear back about the GSD x, she seems perfect on paper, I think she’s crossed with a lab.

Ideally looking for a younger dog, I walk a lot so I don’t think a old dog would suit (although I know some are still quite energetic), also couldn’t cope with having to say goodbye in a year or 2.

It seems hard to contact the rescue about any of their dogs, most of the rescues have their dogs in foster homes, no one seems to know who I should be phoning then I get passed onto someone else or am told to contact the foster family, no one seems to be in a hurry to get back to me and the before you know it the dogs gone . I shall keep trying.

Well I have contacted 4 rescues over the past week or so, only one got back to me and offered me a dog that I didn’t want, since refusing to take that dog they won’t reply to any of my messages regarding another dog that I am interested in. Another rescue sent me 500 forms to fill in asking me for proof I can keep a animal in my property, proof I had my last dog spayed and vaccinated regularly and a form for my vet to sign to say I’m a responsible dog owner 🤨. They make it pretty hard, I know it’s important to rehoming a dog to the right people but I can see why people find it easier to go out and buy a puppy. I’m close to giving up 😢