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!

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

But having a garden means that they have constant access to toilet space if they need it
I'm assuming you mean if they have the runs or feeling sick, rather than generally (as all my dogs have been happy to go on their usual walks and not needed to between times). In fact, everyone's dog has access to toilet space if they need it (if their owner is not out), as presumably, like mine, they indicate they need to go and, like me, the owner then takes them outside the building to do so. If you don't have a garden, they can use the path outside (in a hurry) or the nearest grass verge, etc. Obviously, picking up/clearing up has to be done at once if it is a public area. If it is in the night, I just pull on my jeans over my nightwear, shove my feet in my garden clogs and off we go - even in dire circumstances, we've always managed to get outside before they have had to go. In my cul-de-sac of 2-storey blocks of flats, at least 8 of us in the upper storeys have or have had dogs at one time or another and all seem very happy. I do agree, though, a garden is very useful if you are dealing with a puppy and its toilet training.

[Yeahsurewhatever]

Just to note
I had a call today from a rescue.
Offering a dog they said didn't really meet my criteria but they need a home for it now.
Can I take it home in the next 48 hours?
I said no. I was working full time for the next few weeks, 6 days a week, I had nothing for the dog and I hadn't made alternative care arrangements and couldn't at that notice.

They called again asking if I was sure I couldn't take it.

This is just not an appropriate way to re-home a dog as far as I'm concerned and convinces me more that for many of these places it's just a targets thing.

[Medievalist]

Take today for example. It's warm here. Dogs were taken for a walk early and have been running in and out of the garden playing with each other/toys all day. And old dog has been able to find a nice patch of shade to lie in. We're also house training a puppy so a garden is essential.

[Medievalist]

Well our dogs don't really use our garden for exercise. They're too big and it's not massive. They get taken out for walks. But having a garden means that they have constant access to toilet space if they need it. If you have a garden you can let a dog out as soon as you get up. Or in the middle of the night if they've got an upset tummy. They don't need to wait for you to get dressed. They can sit out during the day and get some fresh air. Go out to chew a treat etc etc. It just seems totally wrong to own a dog if you have no access to outside space.

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

*No Garden, No Dog!

What's wrong with that? *

Well, it excludes a lot of people that a dog might have a very happy fulfilling life with, in my opinion. I do have a small garden but my dog doesn't use it much as she gets 2 and a half to 4 hours' walks a day and I live in a London suburb that is 2 mins' walk from an enormous forest. Other people may live near one or more parks and be prepared to pop on the tube/bus (or in car)to go to bigger green spots at weekends- surely, as long as they take the dog out 3 times a day for decent walks, it doesn't matter if they don't have a garden?

I, too, adopted a dog (adult) from Battersea and think very highly of them. They saved my dog's life and spent a lot of time (and money) overcoming her health issues and fears, giving her some training and neutering her before they put her up for adoption.

[Medievalist]

No Garden, No Dog!

What's wrong with that?

Not sure what's wrong with the buckets of dog shit for that matter. Perhaps a useful reminder to people that there's a not so cute and fluffy side to owning a dog? I guess their focus is on looking after the dogs (You say yourself their kennels were clean) rather than providing a pleasant shopping experience for customers.

What reason did they give for not wanting to delay neutering?

[Ylvamoon]

Bad experience here too! I went to a local rescue with a note on display : No Garden, No Dog! The next encounter was 2 buckets full of dog shit in the central walkways, they also had specific opening times, so the buckets should not have been there for full eye & nose encounter.
Dogs and kennel where clean. I choose a 6 month old puppy from them, which was all fine. Except that the pick up was delayed by a few days. They were going to neuter the dog. I asked them to postpone and that I was going to do it once settled in. I won't repeat what I was called, but I had no choice but to walk away.
Made a trip to Battersea Dog's Home after that, and had a great experience! Some rescues are too far up their backsides. And since I have fostered / rehabilitated dogs, I can honestly say, that everything needs to be considered. Children are not always bad for dogs. Some dogs don't mind if you are out of the house 4-6 hours as long as they have your bed and sofa to themselves! Some want to walk for miles all day long while others are happy to just watch you from your ex armchair! They are just as individual as us!
Making generalised assumptions is so wrong and rescues should open up to potential owners.

[Lara53]

Have a look at Dogs Walk This Way rescue. I volunteer with them. We have dogs/ puppies usually from Romania. We also have dogs from UK on occasion. There is a Facebook page you can follow to see pics/ info on current dogs

[spiderlight]

www.hoperescue.org.uk/ are also brilliant and eminently sensible.

[Greyhound22]

OP if you like lurchers have you tried Hounds First? I have homechecked for them in the past and they are a bit more relaxed/sensible. Will rehome with children/people who (god forbid) have to work as long as the right care will be in place.

Hundreds of healthy dogs are put to sleep every week because rescues won't rehome with children/people who work - makes me laugh when the dog is lying all day in a kennel alone and miserable but they won't let it go somewhere it will be left alone on a memory foam mattress in a lovely warm house for 4 hours.

If you try the sighthound specific rescues you may have more luck. A nice whippety/lurcher will make a nice family pet.

[Yeahsurewhatever]

Thank you spider Ill take a look.

@doginthemanger I have personally viewed it as they want the best for the dogs but have lost sight of the bigger picture - understandably so, I'm sure they see lots of sorry sights every day and meet lots of idiots.
Yes there may be a better home for the dog, one that is fortunate enough not to have to work ever (we work from home a lot and have already spoken with day cares and walkers) or one with acres of space (we have a modest house and garden)
One with no children.
Or who have rescued before
Or owned that breed before
Or who have no criteria
Or who lie well in their interview etc.

But that dog is sat in kennels right now and that home may not come along but we are there and we want to provide a loving home for them.

Also your experience has been great.
But there are obviously bad staff members
And bad days for good staff members, no matter where you work

Many dogs are rescued
And many are put right back into the rescue system when the people who did no research before taking on that cute rescue (or purchased!)dog, realise they can't handle it's issues.

Maybe rescues like the one I dealt with, discouraging people from having criteria or prior knowledge isn't helping that.
But I'm sure they'll get a lot more 'quick sales' and meet targets

[spiderlight]

Our boy is from a small local rescue that could not have been nicer or more helpful. www.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/

[weeblueberry]

Same here @Doginthemanger! We are in Central Scotland too - not sure if they're particularly good here?

We have two small kids and assumed we'd never get anywhere. We went to the SSPCA and they were fantastic. We have ended up with a dog from there. A little bit of luck with the timing but they were just fantastic and spoke to us a lot about what would be a good fit for our family. We also tried Dogs Trust who were absolutely lovely but didn't have anything suitable. Neither were rude because of our circumstances even though I expected them to baulk at us because we've got younger kids.

[Medievalist]

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. 🤷‍♀️

[doginthemanger]

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.

[ThisIsNotAIBUPeople]

@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.

[fattt]

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

[dudsville]

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.

[Medievalist]

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?

[Yeahsurewhatever]

@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

[Yeahsurewhatever]

**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.

[Yeahsurewhatever]

@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.

[Fucksandflowers]

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.

[MrsCasares]

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

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

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.