How long to find a suitable rescue dog?

[Lovemusic33]

We lost our dog to old age 4 years ago, we had one rescue dog since but it wasn’t really accessed before being homed with us and it bit dd so we could not keep it. Since then I have applied for several dogs but have been told we are not suitable or that they were not cat friendly.

My household is me and dd2 (dd1 is at uni), dd2 is 16 and autistic, the other dog bit her through fear as dd flaps a lot. I am really active and I work outdoors, ideally I want a dog that can come to work with me so it needs to be good around other dogs and be good off lead (though this can be taught), we have a cat so the most important thing is that the dog doesn’t chase the cat. I know ideally to get all the things we want we would probably be best getting a puppy and training it but I am not keen on the puppy stage and dd wouldn’t like a nippy puppy after she was bitten. We would ideally want a lab sized dog around 1-3 years olds still able to train it.

One rescue told me it wasn’t worth filling in their forms as they rarely get any dogs in that can live with cats. I have looked through all the local rescues and again all the dogs either say ‘no cats’ or the dogs are reactive around other dogs or nervous around people. I don’t want to risk a nervous dog around dd as she does flap, run, jump and make noises.

I keep seeing and hearing about how many dogs are in rescues and being dumped but we can’t seem to find hardly any, a lot of the dogs in rescue have come from abroad and you don’t get to meet them before applying to adopt them.

Is anyone else finding it hard to find a dog? Do we just give up and except we can’t have a dog until the cat dies? (He is 12).

Rescues can be quite strict as they won’t always have room to take the dog back if it fails.
The issue with cats is often more the issue that the cat hates the dog rather than the dog chases/tries to hurt the cat
Having had a quick look Dogs trust have 39 dogs available that can live with cats, varying from Pomeranian to mastiffs…
It’s often worth calling them to have a chat. When we were looking for a rescue we had a good chat about several dogs not yet on their website, and one turned out to be perfect.

I would try a small or breed specific rescue, as they are likely to be more flexible. I know beagle welfare rehomes with cats, and many beagles would be unphased by your daughter’s stimming.

I would echo smaller rescues are a better place to start. Generally they can be a bit more flexible and some bigger rescues end up with dogs from smaller/breed specific rescues that they struggled with, hence why every dog at some of the bigger places seems to need such an experienced home

A friend of mine rescued from Romania, I think the majority are cat tested from what she said

We tried for over two years. We have a cat. He’d lived with a dog. We work full time but OH from home all the time. Those two things were a huge barrier despite having experience. I’m an agility trainer. Last dog was a rescue. Our cats have been rescue.

We finally caved in and bought a puppy. Not what we wanted but a means to an end.

My experiences of Romanian rescues through training and local networks has not been positive. I would tread extremely carefully there.

I have noticed that a lot of the Romanian dogs are cat tested, I think a lot of them come from the streets where they live alongside cats? My issue is the way these rescues are run as it seems dogs are shipped over here and not accessed properly before rehoming, a lot rescues want you to pay upfront to transport the dog over before you even meet it. It not something I really want to risk after our last failed rescue.

My experience is that they say they are cat tested but in reality if they tested they are tested very badly.

I have had several clients who have had to rehome Romanian rescues due to chasing and not being able to live with resident cats.

I don't know where you are but I adopted from JLP Trust in Rotherham and they were great. I have two with autism my eldest was incredibly nervous around dogs but Bella has been a dream dog and ds loves her. They are on Facebook.

I am in the SW, I have recently joined a few specific breed groups on Fb but again it’s mainly Romanian rescues.

Animals in distress in Newton abbot have some
younger dogs (under 1.. so maybe younger than you want) that can live with cats and kids

Dogs that are child, cat and dog friendly are always snapped up very quickly, supply outstrips demand.

Is there something you could compromise on - like an older dog (who can learn new tricks!) or one with additional medical needs?

I walk a foreign rescue who was apparently cat-tested and "passed with flying colours".

He absolutely was not. He is hugely cat reactive to the point that he will lunge into a busy street to try and get to a cat, and he will freeze-focus on them on walks and can't be distracted.

The owners have a cat. Luckily she is a dog-savvy and has outdoor access and lots of space but they still can't be left in the same room together unsupervised after three years.

Honestly, rescues lie.

We had wanted to rescue but gave up. The ones near us are impossible if you have a child at home or work.

One refused even though we explained exactly what would happen on the days we were at work. It's sad they can't be more supportive

A lot of the Romanian rescues are so questionable and I’m personally very suspicious of the ones that seem to have a constant supply of very cute, not overly large, fluffy puppies.

Ive had 7 adult dogs and 2 puppies come into my home (working dogs/fosters/pets);I only had one of the adult foster dogs be reactive to cats.

The rest have either been curious or friendly around the cats;my Rottweiler (now retired working dog who joined us aged 3) adores the cats but their not overly keen on him because he gets over friendly and licks them until their drenched in dog slobber;both our cats are very dog savvy.

Dog obedience has been a huge contributing factor though;having them reacted correctly to the command "leave it" and having them indeed leave the cat alone when using the phrase is key.

Your best bet for a rescue dog would be with a small independent rescue who foster dogs in peoples homes;fosterers are more likely to have cats in their homes.

I can’t really compromise on age, I walk miles a day whilst working outside so would like the dog to come with me and kind of work with me so a younger dog will be more suitable and trainable and I guess the same goes about health conditions though it would depend what it was. The most important thing is that they are cat friendly though, my cat spends a lot of time indoors or in our garden, he grew up with our dog (got the cat when the dog was a year old) and they were best friends. The dog won’t be around small children, won’t be left on its own for more than a couple hours (rarely left at all if it can come to work with me). I think the only option might be a puppy but if I get a puppy it won’t be able to come to work with me until it’s a year old as a puppy can’t be walked very far. I guess if I waited until next winter it could be doable as I work less in the winter.

I echo using smaller rescues that use fosters, and call and talk to them. Our boy was in foster and not on the website yet as he wasn’t fully assessed. We were explaining our experience, what we could offer and what we wanted to do with the dog and we were told this lad was perfect, and he was.

Sounds like you got the perfect dog for you 🙂. I have spoken to a few rescues over the past couple years but most just talk to me like I am being way too fussy. I am happy to take on a higher energy dog as obviously I can exercise it and can even get it to help me at work if it’s trainable so a lab, pointer, spaniel or similar that maybe too much work for someone else could work (I know some breeds need/want a job and lots of exercise). Hopefully eventually something will come along but I am guessing lots of people may be looking for a similar dog.

I think you might struggle to find your ideal dog. A lot (most?) of dogs in the 1-3yr age bracket just haven’t been socialised properly so they’ll find it very difficult to get on with other dogs, cats etc. There will be a waiting list at rescues for dogs that are ok with kids and cats. We’re resigned to considering a puppy now.

If you want a 'go anywhere' dog then don't consider an imported rescue. It's a huge gamble and all I know struggle to live anything even remotely close to a normal life (and none are truly cat friendly either, despite being homed as such)

Keep looking for rescues but if it doesn't pan out then you can also start researching breeders. Just a word of caution though - puppies are arseholes to cats. Ours is separate unless we are training because he is SUPER fun to play with. Thankfully he is not a skittish cat and if he could roll his eyes at the antics he would. He also doesn't run which is a huge help. We are expecting them to be kept separate until puppy grows up a bit and isn't a crazy little sod.

I think the cat friendly criteria is the issue when looking for an adult rescue dog. We waited a while to get our last greyhound as we had a cat, he wasn't cat friendly so much as cat tolerant but the cat was very dog savvy so it worked ok.

We've just taken on a "new" lurcher. (Our cat died several years ago from old age.) The new dog was chosen for us by a smaller rescue and is older, smaller, female and very different from what I expected but has been a great fit for my family and we all absolutely adore her. I have an adult daughter with learning difficulties and at some rescues that was an issue. We did wait until this rescue found us "the one".

Try dogsblog.com you can narrow down attributes such as cat friendly, child friendly etc. Hope you find your furry pal soon.

It really is a gamble about how the dog will be, many have been through so much and it can be something that, behaviour-wise, is best tackled with no kids around so the poor dog will be guaranteed all the attention it needs to help it through any issues it may have. The rescue centre can claim the dog is this way in behaviour or that way, but you'll never really know until you get it home.

I think you’re taking your chances with a rescue dog, you’ll simply not know the full background and history. All families I know with rescues have experienced behaviour problems and have poured a lot of money into behaviour and training classes. It’s a worthy thing to do but I wouldn’t never take the risk.

It depends on your set up and expectations. Our last dog was a rescue at 6 months. She had started to growl at the kids in the home so she was given to the RSPCA. As she matured it was clear she would be a hands off dog. Touch on her terms only. We have no children, no cars then (added them later) and had time, knowledge and patience to manage it. She lived 16 happy years with us. She was not a fearful dog and actually pretty fearless apart from she didn’t want to be handled. We miss her dreadfully. She was perfect for us.

our vet used to point out that in the majority of homes she’d have been a bite risk (you can imagine how she felt about the vets - thankfully she rarely needed them!) It really wasn’t a big deal to manage her and we learnt her signals so could intervene at the first signs of trouble.

With children I’d go down the puppy route but bear in mind the biting which is really quite vile but stops. Rescue or good breeder. Same with cats. Rescue puppies are in huge demand. We were never chosen even for those with issues despite what we could offer. We’re in the same area as you.