The dog house

[Yeahsurewhatever]

There's a TV show called the doghouse
Basically people getting paired up with rescue dogs to adopt
It's super cute and a great advert for rehoming.

However when I went to a rescue centre they were SO rude. Everything we said just seemed to be a problem despite I felt, saying the right things (we work from home, we'll have lots of time for training, lots of time to dedicate to dog etc etc.)

This lady has come in saying what she wants is a scruffy dog that looks good in a leather jacket - and boom she has a new dog.

Ffs

Obviously it's a TV show, and they'll cut the boring bits, but honestly I left the last rescue we went to, giving up on a rescue and planning to just buy a pedigree puppy.
I know I'm not the only one who's had that experience at rescue centres too!

Wish I could find a rescue centre as nice as this one!

Well ignore the tv show.

I've never had that experience at a rescue centre. What sort of things seemed to be a problem?

That’s a shame. Adopting a mongrel dog is so much better in my opinion than getting a pedigree as you never know if it’s a puppy farm dog unless you are experienced in what to look for, which I am not and the inbreeding of many breeds has led to health issues. Plus pups cry and chew for weeks.
Some ‘animal types’ (ie people including staff) have hung around the beasts for too long and have forgotten their manners! I met one such person when trying to rehome a cat. This person went right off me when I said I felt i would be cruel to keep a housecat as every living thing should have the right to feel the sun on its back, the wind in its face, and the grass under its feet, and my cat would have to be allowed out. She disagreed as she had an indoor cat. In twelve years she’s never phoned me to say there was a rescue cat for me so I guess I failed her tests ha ha! The cats protection were fine, got two cats from there. And I rehomed a dog prior, and the sspca (Scottish version of the RSPCA) were fine with me. So it ain’t me! Don’t give up your search for a little abandoned friend who needs a loving home just coz the staff are a bit weird.

If you have a negative experience at one rescue, try another. You may simply be catching the person you speak to on a particularly hectic day, they have to deal with a lot of garbage, including being shouted at, or being pee'd on by rogue doggos. It's no excuse for poor customer service of course, but as Elieza says, some can become quite jaded in the animal rescue world, they have to deal with some right idiots day in day out. Couldn't do it myself!!

A good breeder will ask the same questions as a rescue in any case.

How many rescues did you try?

I watched it with dd last night we both cried seeing how desperately sad the dogs were that had been relinquished. Poor Zeus's crying when his owner left and Tiny who you could see was totally overwhelmed.
Bella seemed to be perfectly happy from the minute she arrived I really hadn't thought about how sad she must have felt to leave her old life behind however awful it was.
I think Tiny now Obie and Zeus got really lovely homes for them and the updates were lovely.

Yes the updates on the dogs were lovely
It's certainly made me consider trying again

I'd contacted some and had no reply
And visited one and they were very rude to us and basically acted like we were being unreasonable with what we were looking for (a small - medium sized family dog, we may have children in future)
I appreciate not all dogs can be around children and some rescues won't re-home in that case, but to act like I'm stupid for asking isn't great

They also asked what breeds we had looked at, we told them, they laughed at us and said we wouldn't find any pedigrees like that in there. I mean come on, I know that, but you just specifically asked me for examples of breeds I like! Obviously I'm not expecting a champion pedigree from you! But I'd also mentioned some cross breeds like lurchers!
I know they have to ask lots of questions but I genuinely felt ridiculed, and loudly too in front of other people

I've spoken with several reputable breeders who have grilled me and have all been happy with my answers so it's not that I'm obliviously stupid.

Keep looking, it sounds like you've hit a bad one. And you do find dogs with wonderful pedigrees in rescues, of all types. I've had two very well bred labs that were second hand.

Bella is a pedigree Lhasa Apso and the rescue she came from had three shih tzus on their page this week so pretty sure plenty of rescues have pedigree dogs available.

I'm not saying you can't get pedigrees
Just that the person was acting as though I went in expecting a champion pedigree puppy with full health checks and KC registered etc. Which though may be possible is unlikely and quite an ask.
Even if I had done that, I didn't think her reaction was appropriate.
But since I all I asked for was a medium sized dog, like a lurcher or a spaniel that would be fine in a family home, it's even more unnecessary.

Ill try again, maybe I will go to breed specific rescues as well.

It's unbelievable that they make it so difficult.
I understand they need to be careful, but we have a great set up for a dog now, and by being so rude to us so that we walked away without leaving out details (though shed made it clear we would struggle to get a dog anyway because our requests were clearly crazy), that's one dog that could have a loving home now.

OP I have all but given up on UK rescues. Because we a)have children - older though aged 10& 15, really calm sensible boys and b) I work 2 days a week - but term time only and would use a dog walker on those 2 days, and c) we have 2 cats, it has proved almost impossible to get any of our local rescues to even consider us as potential adopters. We have time and love to give a dog, a large house, huge garden, loads of lovely walks nearby, but nine of this is good enough. They generally want someone around all the time, no kids, no cats....
Its such a shame because I would love to adopt a dog from here. I believe in the adopt don't shop mantra.
Anyway I am now seriously looking at rescues from abroad, there are an overwhelming number of these once you start looking and its taken a long time to find a couple that foster dogs nearby ish so that we can meet the dog first, I am now awaiting home checks and getting the garden dog proofed. I do feel your frustration but don't give up, I'm sure the right dog is out there somewhere for you.

Maybe they feel your emphasis is on what you want rather than what you can do to help a dog in need. Not saying it is, but they probably get a fair number who go in to see if they've got a specific breed/type and aren't open to helping one of the dogs they have 'in stock'.

We once went to a CPL centre with a vague notion of getting a kitten. The person we saw nodded to a cage with an old, toothless, gummy eyed moggy in it and said, "of course people always want kittens, never the oldies". Guess who we came away with ....

We have 2 rescue dogs from a breed specific rescue and have never found them anything other than charming and helpful. 🤷‍♀️. But, as with the cat, we've let ourselves be guided by them.

Of course they shouldn't be rude, but they're not going to make it easy for people to pick up dogs that have already had a bad start in life. Perhaps they felt you expected them to be grateful that you were willing to take one of their dogs. And perhaps they've seen so much unkindness and so much of the disposable dog attitude prevalent in society today, they're just a little bit jaded.

Two sides and all that.

But, with a dog, you have to make sure what you want as a potential owner is taken into account, simply because its so important to get the right fit. If you end up with a dog and you find yourself unable to cater for its needs, because you've taken in a dog that needs 'saving' then you'll end up with a whole heap of trouble and probably have to return the dog to the rescue.
What I'm saying is, its just as important to find the right dog as it is for the rescue to find the right owner.
I am completely unbothered by the breed of dog, I just want to find the right fit for our family.

Yes of course you do - but the point I'm making is you need to get the balance right.

There was a long thread recently about dog rescues and people's experiences with them. I have to say that mine were not positive. I have also heard the odd horror story.

I'm sure some rescue kennels do a stellar job, but in IME breed-specific rescues that foster the dogs with families are a better bet.

I’m in my third home now. I love it, have my humans wrapped around my little paws. Please don’t give up on rescues. My fellow abandoned dogs need good homes. Thank you, milo. Xxxxx

Maybe they feel your emphasis is on what you want rather than what you can do to help a dog in need. Not saying it is, but they probably get a fair number who go in to see if they've got a specific breed/type and aren't open to helping one of the dogs they have 'in stock'

If that is indeed their thinking that is quite disgraceful really.

There are hundreds of different dog breeds all with very different personalities and needs.

Of course you need to have a list of what you 'need'/your preferred breed/s!

A young active working dog for example wouldn't fit a frail elderly couple nor would the average ex racing greyhound fit in terribly well with cats nor would an elderly terrier be a good fit for lively young children etc.

If all prospective rescuers went in with the mindset of I can offer a lovely home to any of these dogs you'd have a huge number of failed adoptions.

OP, imo, though heartbreakingly sad for the poor dogs in there, if you can't get anywhere with a rescue, I wouldn't feel bad about purchasing a puppy from a breeder.

I wouldn't go with an overseas rescue personally, a quick read of the many overseas rescue dogs threads on here will make it clear why.

@medievalist I think it would be unfair if that was the case - we had been asked direct questions on what breeds we wanted/what we were looking for.
We also answered talking about the time we could give and the things we had in place to make the dogs life a happy one.
Tbh it felt like they asked us direct questions and set us up a bit.
Eg. What breeds have you looked at/do you like?
Oh no, you can't just ask for specific breeds here, it doesn't matter what you like, if you're lucky go somewhere else.
What sized dog do you need?
Oh well we don't know what breed they all are, so we can't promise anything, and if it's not fully grown yet, who knows how big it'll be, so I can't just give you a medium sized dog.

**if you're lucky they'll come in. Or go somewhere else

NB it didn't matter how much we said the specific breed didn't matter, those were just examples they just kept going over the breeds we'd said.

@thisisnotaibu I do think an owners needs are important.
I just simply don't feel that I have the space for a Giant breed for example, it would be a bit cramped in our house. I also can't take a dog that's aggressive as it needs to be ok around other dogs and people (or at least trainable to get to that point)

We did note that if training was needed and we could reasonably expect to get to a good point that was fine too

This rescue basically wanted us to come in, with no specifications and just take whatever they have us it seemed

I also can't take a dog that's aggressive as it needs to be ok around other dogs and people (or at least trainable to get to that point)

We have 2 rescues from here -

labrador-rescue.org.uk/dogs.html

And I have to say they were absolutely brilliant. Their dogs are fostered until a permanent home is found for them, so they are able to give a very good account of a dog's temperament and what it's like with other dogs. We've only ever had labs/lab crosses but hopefully there are similar breed specific rescues out there.

Or what about the Dogs Trust (we had a dog from them) or Battersea if you're near enough?

I've also given up on UK rescues. We were turned down by everyone we approached because we work. We're are only out of the house 3 days a week and we have a dog walker that takes them out for a 2 hour walk on those days.

We now have rescues from around Europe. They are wonderful, I'm only sorry for the journey they had to get to us.

You're not alone OP. The system needs an overhaul but tbh I don't think they are short of people wanting to rehome.

@Yeahsurewhatever I'd honestly recommend looking at rescues from abroad. Depending on where you live I can recommend a few I've found that foster in the UK. (We are in Hampshire). Its a shame but you would still be giving a dog a loving home.

I've read posts like this on MN before. It really surprises me because the rescues I have experience of are not like that at all.
Of course they have to be careful but they're always keen to get the dogs rehomed.
I'm in Scotland. I don't know if that makes a difference.

Doginthemanger - same here.

It does seem odd. On the one hand you have a group of people who want the best for the dogs in their care and need to find homes for them or their rescue centre would be bursting at the seams. On the other hand they're being rude to prospect owners for - it seems - no reason whatsoever. 🤷‍♀️