Can't adopt!

[lemonycherry]

We've been looking for a new four legged family member for a while now (about 9 months) we already have a dog and a cat and a 1 year old. Our reason for a dog is twofold, our current dog a small breed and our DS is a bit too boisterous for her at the moment, we have a good safe place for her to retreat too but feel like a bigger breed would be great for DS especially as he develops more. Secondly our current dog has lots of separation issues which has not been aided by lockdown however when we have had family members dogs to stay in the past she has settled instantly if we leave which can only be a positive for her!
We've looked everywhere for an adult rescue but to no avail. Most deny us on the fact we have a child under 10, some because 2 days a week they would be taken to doggy day care for the day (once things return to normal).
I don't know what more I can do other than get a pup which realistically will not happen until the new year as puppies are like gold dust and even previous breeds that went for £400 odd are up to £2000 which isn't feasible at the moment.
Is it possible to rehome a dog with a child. Even puppies up for rehome we are denied with due to DS?
Has anyone got any success stories to keep my spirits up?

I've read your thread.

I still stand by what I said - you have a lot going on and it will only get harder as your child becomes more mobile. Now is not the time to add another dog. Deal with your current dogs' anxiety and work on the relationship your DC has with the current set of animals, and then you can consider bringing another dog in when everyone is more settled.

It's so competitive at the moment, everyone wants to buy or rescue a dog.
Dogs are being stolen in Ireland and shipped over to sell in the UK because the prices are so high and the demand is so great.

I've rescued a couple of dogs and had a couple of home checks, I doubt your family would pass a home check in normal times, you have no chance at the moment. There are some many people with a much more suitable home environment for a rescue dog a head of you in the queue.

Concentrate on what you already have. It's enough.

OP your original post said your toddler was too boisterous for your existing dog and your existing dog had SA.
This is what people are responding to, and if you went to a rescue with the same criteria you are very unlikely to be approved for adoption.

@fivedogstofeed which is why I corrected myself in my follow up post to confirm what I meant

@patas that's the exact reason why we have been looking to adopt rather than buy a puppy. We have fostered a couple of times since DS was born but they already had homes in the pipeline but couldn't deal with kennels.

To confirm to everyone we have been approved by a couple of rescues and guide dogs but no suitable dogs have been available. Then we went into lockdown so understandably have been quite in terms of dogs etc. However other rescues won't do a home check because either you have a child under 10 or you say you have doggy daycare 2 times per week (family member runs it so not an issue regarding spaces, price etc which we are very lucky with).

We have been told by our behaviourist that due to our dogs upbringing she should never have been homed as an only dog hence why we were looking. As I've Said in my updates we have been looking since DS was 3 months old just our criteria has changed in the last 2 months to a slightly larger breed.

Ime putting a year old dc with a ddog of unknown background is very irresponsible..
The very reason we got a dpuppy with ds 5..

So, what you mean is... you want a second dog, your current dog prefers not to be an only dog, but you’re thinking bigger might be better with a toddler? Because I think that’s what you mean? But, I can see how it’s being read about 4 different ways tbh...

Can’t give you any success stories I’m afraid, I’ve been looking for longer for you for a rescue that can live with a cat and preferably I can still foster dogs with... that really really limits your search, even without any young children. A lot of rescues won’t even cat test with dogs with an unknown history.

I understand why, but it’s frustrating.

So much so that I’ve started contacting some breeders to go on a puppy waiting list... as the only reason I wasn’t going for a puppy was purely because I’d rather rescue, well and also puppy isn’t my favourite stage, lol. But obviously I don’t have to also contend with a baby and a mouthing puppy...so...

But I’ve actually found that it’s cat friendly that’s rather than anything else.

To recap.... You have a small dog with SA, a year old baby who is not gentle with dog and sometimes, leans on dog. There is also a cat in the mix. Yet you are expecting a rescue centre to approve you to adopt a large dog? It’s not going to happen and for very good reason.

The history of dogs in rescue centres is largely unknown. Nobody in their right mind would allow someone with a baby, who is not yet walking, clumsy (as all toddlers are) and bothers existing dog to adopt a dog who is very likely to not tolerate being pulled about and leaned on. Surely it doesn’t have to be spelled out?