Rehoming with a young child

[Stealthynamechange]

hi all

My landlord has just given permission for me to have a dog. Ive always had dogs, unfortunately both my recent dickhead exs now have them.

I have a 3 year old ds & dcat. Does anyone know if i can rehome with ds? Ive contacted a couple of places but all say no. I'd rather rehome than get a puppy.

Im in staffordshire if that helps any.

Thank you

You may be in for a wait, everybody and their mum wants puppies at the moment and dogs that work with small kids/cats are the highest in demand. Rescue puppies can get 500-1000 plus applications - and rescues are likely to prioritise families with older kids as those are less likely to return to kennel due to nipping than those with much younger children. This is why they're wary of rehoming to the under 5s, puppies nip and can easily cause younger kids to become afraid of this furry land shark trying to steal all their toys.

Rescues can totally pick and choose from a vast pool of potential owners right now!

If you really want a puppy and go the breeder route - you may end up on a year/2 year waiting list for the same above reasons. By which time DS will be older anyway.

It’s my understanding that rescues won’t rehome to homes with young children as they simply don’t really - and I mean really - know the history.

I’d love a dog, but with 2 young children (4 and 2) I know we can’t get a rescue and it’ll be a puppy so doing my research and waiting until my 2 yr old probably starts school

Having had dogs for 30 years on and off i would wait until the kids are bigger. I would also look at rare breeds as many are excellent pets but as no profit in breeding they are not popular or readily available.

Thanks everyone, yes i think i need to wait until hes older.

A very wise choice, when children are a little older getting and training the dog can be a great lesson and adventure for them

I wouldn’t expect any reputable rescue to rehome to children under five and tbh, I wouldn’t bring in any dog, adult or puppy with a three year old.
I’d wait until your child is at least 4