We want a dog but most places are 'no children' any advice?

[Goshitstricky]

I should say before this goes any further I am categorically not going to buy a new puppy from a breeder, I only want a dog if I can rescue one.

There are a few places near us (West Sussex) that say 'no children' or some that will consider all cases but never have any dogs safe for children.
Are we destined not to have a dog until the kids are a lot older or am I missing something/somewhere?
Our youngest is 6 so not a baby.
I'd appreciate experiences if anyone has found anywhere that will accept us please.

I have seen dogs come through big rescues suitable for younger children BUT they are reserved pretty much as soon as they've walked through the door. It's an extremely popular trait.

Sadly the majority of dogs that are signed over to rescue either have zero history with young children, or are being signed over because they aren't suitable to live with young children (too boisterous, too nervous, nippy, entirely untrained, has resource guarding tendencies etc etc.)

Dogs that are well adjusted and happy to live with young families are in their loving families, not being given up.

It's not rescues being difficult, it's rescues being responsible and doing what is best for the dogs in their care. The last thing they want to do is "chance it" and end up with children being bowled over like skittles, dragged off on a walk, or bitten.

It will take time to find a rescue dog, there will be one, but don't expect it to be a quick process. Keep checking rescue websites every day, contact your local centres to see what their processes are for young families or for rehoming puppies.

If you would consider a lurcher, then EGLR will rehome to people with children if the dog is suitable. All of their dogs are in foster homes, so the fosterers (like me!) get to know them really well. My last puppy went to a family with 6 year old twins, though the one before that was an absolutely no children - not that he'd have hurt them, but his needs were very high and needed more time than someone with children could have dealt with

We adopted 2 greyhounds through the greyhound trust. Our children are 7 and 11. They took them into account when matching us with them. We have had no issues and the kids love them

I follow Hope Rescue on Instagram and often there are kids in the rehomed photos they post so they could be worth a call? Good luck 😊

This is why we got our girl from Romania years ago - it was a British-run rescue, but operating in Romania. I could meet the people first, talk to other people who had rescued through them, and have a look at the standard of kennels they used here when the dogs arrived the UK, as I reasoned this would give me a good idea of how they treated the dogs overall.

At the time we had young children and no UK rescues would consider us, for understandable reasons when we scrolled through the galleries - endless heartbreaking photos of terrified Staffies and mastiffs with docked ears and chains round their necks

Re-homed dogs often need a lot of attention to transition to yet another set of people, smells, habits. Once they become adults, this can be really difficult. I don't think the no children is about concern about the interation with children but more that parents of younger children have less time and energy to dedicate to the dog. Remember that the aim of the shelter is the well-being of the dog, not how the dog will bring your family happiness.

Greyhound Protection UK have a branch in West Sussex. They don't have a blanket policy with children. They assess each dog individually and if they think they are suitable they will allow them to be adopted by people with young children. They often have galgos as well as greyhounds.

I'd think very carefully before taking on a rescue dog if you have young children. The vast majority of rescue dogs come with behavioural issues and require a lot of time and attention if they are to recover from bad experiences and gain confidence.

I second greyhound

There’s other threads on here with those of us that held the same opinion and went for a rescue dog and it has turned out to be nothing short of a nightmare. The UK staff dealing with overseas rescue dogs DO NOT know the dogs personally at all, some families are lucky and get a dog that fits in to your family but others, like us, end up with an animal that is riddled with unsolvable problems and will never ever be suitable to live safely in a family home. Please don’t fall into the trap (as I did) of reading these rescues Facebook pages and thinking it will all be fine - their pages are heavily edited to remove posts from people who are struggling.

Please don't adopt from abroad.

There are so many stories of foreign dogs who arrive seriously shut-down from their experience. Many are reactive, have no recall to speak of and have never been tested with cats or children.

Yes, there will be the odd story where it's worked out but many times it doesn't and it's a huge risk to take if you have small children in your house.

@Spanielsarepainless

I assess for Labrador Rescue. We judge each case on its merits (or otherwise). But we are getting very few dogs as people are selling their 'beloved' family pets instead of ensuring they go to checked homes and families.

Thus is so sad.

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