Anyone bought an older dog from pets for homes?

[Duckegg271]

We’d like to skip the puppy stage, we’ve had no luck with rescues (we’ve got young children and 2 cats) which is making it tricky.

I’ve seen a few adverts on pets for homes for dogs. Usually a change in circumstances-divorce, working longer hours, ill health.

If I do my research and make sure they’re genuine could this be a way of finding a dog?

What part of the country are you in. There are plenty of older dogs in rescue centre. Please dont go on these selling sites.

No that is not a good way to buy a dog, it’s the worst way. Lots of puppy mills and stolen dogs on therE. It’s like eBay - you could get anything from anyone.

I suggest a good rescue like this one

www.manytearsrescue.org/

Good luck!!

I have a dog from Many Tears - great rescue. They have dogs in foster all over the UK, in addition to the rescue centre in South Wales.

I’d ruled many tears out as I work 4 hours 3 times a week and most of their dogs need to be homed with a resident dog. Add in our cats and it’s really difficult to find a match.

Don’t do it. We (very, very stupidly) did at one stage and were it not for being able to invest a huge amount of time and money in vet visits, specialist veterinary behaviourists and ongoing care with advice from a specialist breed society the whole thing could have gone horribly wrong. No amount of research will fully reveal an animal’s history without specialist assessment first - you’d get this in a rescue centre, never from Pets4Homes.

Thanks everyone. I’ll avoid at all costs!

Have you searched for local rescues? There are often more than you are aware of, with a wider set of guidelines.

Breed-specific rescues can be a good bet (but not all). They often foster the dogs in people's homes so have a good handle on them.

Yes to breed specific rescues, we've had several wonderful dogs that way, including a gorgeous oldie who had lived a very miserable 10 years when we got him. At least his last 2 years were happy and safe.

A good rescue will have assessed the dog and have insight into their personalities, and the sort of home that would best suit them.

Hi Op, just thought I’d chip in as I’m in a v similar position to you (2 kids and a cat!). I had ruled out greyhounds as thought they were a no no with cats but actually, our local branch has a few that can live with cats. They’re also willing to home with workers. I also agree about local rescues. I got some advice on here about actually going to the rescue and chatting in person and I really recommend doing that.

The blue cross and RSPCA dog rehoming pages give a profile for each dog, including if they can live with cats and children. I think local charities might also do this.