We want to rescue a dog however...

[Greenneonfluff]

I just can’t find any that can be in a home with young children.

Should I be ringing rescue centres and asking rather than just checking online?
Do rescues puppies exist?
How do I do this?

Hi OP, we had the same. I have a 3 year old and most rescue ads say school age or older children, some rescue centres won’t even consider under 8’s or under 12’s etc

We found our rescue from the blue cross. The problem is is that if a dog is good with ‘all age children’ they tend to get reserved extremely quickly as lots of people are looking for the same thing! I was updating the website every ten mins and I applied for our dog immediately and was just lucky.

Rescue puppies do exist and they either come up on the websites (again go quickly) or you can be put on a waiting list.

Just a word of advice. I dont know how old your children are, but I’ve found it extremely difficult navigating a rescue dog with having a small child. Dog has his own foibles that need working out, he’s not lead trained etc despite being 3 and he has separation anxiety. I knew some of this but not others, and having him in my home has been a huge shock! Most rescues will have some kind of issue so it would be worth having loads of research to see if a particular dog you find will work in your home. I have been told a puppy would’ve been easier work as you can mould it to how you want, not try and undo some undesirable characteristics.

Anyway you might know all this, I just certainly didnt! 😂

That sounds like I didn’t know it would be hard work. I did. It’s just that navigating it in a real environment looking after a toddler as well has been more challenging than I thought and had brought up challenges I didn’t know would come up if that makes sense!

I really don't think a puppy is easier. I think both require hard work.

A puppy doesn't know anything about the world and will go through stages where he or she are more likely to develop a behaviour issue, depending on their genetics and experiences. It's not unusual for even puppies with the best of starts to bring specific challenges to their owners. A look on this board will reveal puppies that developed big issues with things like:

• recall reliability
• loose lead walking
• being left alone
• resource guarding
• dog reactivity

Each (puppies/rescue adults) bring with them their share of work and I would think, on balance, most puppies are more work than most rescues just because of the maturity rate. You don't really get to an adult dog stage for 12-24 months.

I’ve never had a puppy @missbattenburg so I will bow to your better judgement. It’s just what I’ve been told by people I know who have had both and my friend was also told this by a rescue centre when they were looking to rescue.

I didn’t want a puppy but as it happens my boy has no training (although he is toilet trained) so I’m having to do lots of training with him but he’s a bit set in his ways!

Oh I also wasn’t advising a puppy either, it was just to make the point that I’ve found it all harder than I thought I would!

Rescue puppies absolutely exist - the rescue I'm involved with have just been rehoming 10 pups who were born in rescue after mum came in very heavily pregnant. We also get a lot of 4-6 month old pups handed in when people decide that having a puppy is hard work - I had one earlier in the year who was absolutely gorgeous and had only been in a home for 3 days (they'd bought her from a farm) when it was 'all too much'

I've fostered quite a few 6-9 month old rescue pups who have adored kids. At this age they are usually over the biting/jumping up stage and I had no problem sending them to homes with kids.

Most rescues won't want to place a dog or pup in a home with very young kids unless they already have another dog or can really show they have thought through the practicalities.

rescue puppies do exist, and also child/cat friendly rescues. It is definitely harder to find though, and I ended up getting a little spanish girl from here www.aadogrescue.org.uk/puppies-for-adoption
Shes perfect

We got our dog at about 15/16 weeks from Battersea , often puppies don’t make it into the adoption kennels let alone the website , ours hadn’t , we asked if they had any puppies at the desk and got given a choice of 2 .

It depends where you are. Pound Puppy Rescue in Dorset constantly have puppies, and are willing to rehome with young children depending on the circumstances.

Don't rely on their website and facebook page though, they have many, many dogs and cat/kittens not shown as they don't have the spare manpower to upload everything.

Most rescues will have some kind of issue so it would be worth having loads of research to see if a particular dog you find will work in your home. I have been told a puppy would’ve been easier work as you can mould it to how you want, not try and undo some undesirable characteristics.

This is not correct at all.

Not all rescue dogs have issues - anyone want a 8 month old labrador whose owner has died in a car crash? Got one in rescue right now. 6 year old spaniel needing a new home as owner has MS and cannot walk it - no issues at all.

Puppies are always hard work

Rescue dogs you can see what you are getting with a puppy very hit and miss

I agree with that about puppies being hit and miss. So many people end up getting rid of dogs that theyve raised from puppies as they arent how they imagined their dream dog would be, or havent the first clue about training and then end up with a boisterous dog.
I love older rescues. You have a much better idea of temperament, and often theyre housetrained and have some basic training already (hopefully)

Smaller rescues who foster dogs in people’s homes rather than having them in kennels are often more willing to consider homes with small children. You will need to demonstrate that you know what you are getting into though - looking after a dog and small child at the same time and keeping both safe (by keeping them apart unless closely supervised) sounds like a lot of work! Some good resources here: m.facebook.com/notes/dog-training-advice-and-support/dogs-and-children/745013135514246

Thanks guys.
I have mostly been looking at 2/3 year old male dogs as I wanted kids to enjoy the dog for as long as possible. But they all say needed only adult home or older kids. I can see why as who’d want to do a test and fail.
I’d really like a rescue of some kind so I’ll contact local rescues and get on lists.

Where are you based @Greenneonfluff and how old are your kids?

jouska do you work at a rehoming centre? We'd love an 8month old Labrador!!!

We got a breed-specific 14 month old from Devon. (We’re home counties) Waited a long time but so worth the wait.

He’s much better behaved than his predecessor that we had at 8 weeks
Doesn’t hassle us for food & his table manners are great.

We managed to get one that had lived with a child the same age as ours. I cried on his first night here when he sat beside her bed as we read her bedtime story.

Happy tears.

Try independent Foster based rescues. They tend to be more flexible as the dogs have been Assessed in a home environment. I think often rescues who use kennels Can’t do that so they won’t risk it. The rescue we had ours from rehome to young families if they are right for the dog. We adopted ours both aged around 10 months. Both had gone in to rescue as puppies. The first was rehomes as a pup by the rescue then handed back, the second was handed to rescue at 5 months because he was ‘to much’. He was in foster 4- 5 months before coming to us. Good luck OP. Be patient, your dog is out there somewhere.

Would you consider a greyhound? We had similar issues when we starting looking into rehoming a rescue dog because my youngest was 7. We ended up going to a greyhound specific rescue and becoming the very lucky owners of a beautiful 5 year old ex-racer who has a lovely temperament and is very gentle around children. The rescue our dog came from rehomes lots of dogs to families.

We adopted another greyhound last month. He seems to have no issues at all. He's a big gentle beast who is full of happiness and slot right in to our home, bar a couple of pees on the floor before he realised what inside meant. He would be great with kids, he's full of enthusiasm for everyone and anyone. The worst guard dog ever!

We have another greyhound who I wouldn't trust with kids at all though, she's highly strung. But the greyhound kennels seem to do decent evaluations of behaviour so you usually know what you are getting.

It's worth being persistent and checking out smaller local rescues. And the timing is is everything! We got ours as I was following a rescue place on Facebook and I just happened to see the post within the first hour. And I was also lucky to be off work the following day so I was the first of many interested people to be able to visit. I ended up taking her home on trial that day! So lucky. He is the perfect dog - affectionate, good recall, well behaved, great with my 6 great old... so 'easy' rescue dogs do exist but it can take time to find them.

IMO - I would not get a puppy, rescue or otherwise, until your children are 6 or so. They are so much work and kids know so much more about boundaries by that age.

Our dogs are rescues. Rescue puppies do exist. Just keep looking.