The Dog House - has anyone done similar?

[Champagneforeveryone]

Firstly this is purely hypothetical at this point, DDogs are just 9 and 10 so hopefully a few years off yet!

DH and I have been watching The Dog House lately. I know it's cut and scripted and all that jazz (and truthfully I don't think we would want to be on the TV) but the concept struck a chord with us.

We have long circuitous talks about what we will do when DDogs are gone. Due to age, breed, sex etc DDog1 is likely to go first and DDog2 would not accept another dog in the house, so we would most likely be dog free.

We haven't ruled out a puppy, DH is keener than me and would be at home more, so that's fine by me. If the bulk of the work was down to me I wouldn't be looking for a puppy 😉 Age is not really a concern and we have spoken about the "golden oldie" type adoptions in the past, and both agreed that it's something we would definitely consider.

We are experienced dog owners and have owned a variety of breeds both from puppies and from rescue. We have dealt with a wide range of health problems (both physical and mental) over the years and within reason can afford decent veterinary care, as long as we were able to get insurance. I work shifts and DH works part time, our dogs are rarely left for more than a couple of hours (they are fine with this but we do have the ability to be flexible if they weren't) We have a secure garden and live very close to the coast and countryside. We have no small children either in the house or visiting, the only issue could be ChampagneCat who is very dog savvy and perfectly happy to put a dog in its place.

Is it a crazy idea to approach a rescue and give them free rein? Has anyone done similar, and if so what were your experiences?

I worked at a breed specific rescue many moons ago and we always had an idea of who we thought may be suitable, but this seems like more than that. I'm also concerned that we may get the dog they thought they'd never get rid off, rather than the dog that would suit us best IYSWIM?

Quite a few small independent rescues match the dog to you. Our local DT do too. We tried to rescue for two years and gave up. We have a cat (who is dog savvy) and both work with OH WFH. We were always bottom of the pile for both these reasons. I’ve been an agility trainer for 13 years. That didn’t seem to help either.

We did have a failed adoption as the dog was assessed as being cat safe and he was anything but. I’ve cat trained a dog before but this chap was so obsessed with our cat he was self mutilating and tried to jump out of upstairs windows. He returned to the rescue as it was the best thing for everyone.

We have a 5 month old pup now from an excellent breeder. Not our first choice but she’s loved and coming on really nicely. Hopefully next time rescue will be an option again.

our last dog and all our cats have been rescues. That didn’t help either.

Would you consider fostering? I've seen a lot of rescues asking for people prepared to foster, means the dogs don't need to be stuck in a kennel while waiting to be adopted.

Lots of rescues do it this way. Especially breed specific ones. I think they genuinely want the match to work though so wouldn’t feel worried about getting the dog that they couldn’t home. We did it ten years ago. We’d been looking for a dog to match our lovely rescue Labrador boy. He was the perfect dog in the house and with humans but he was a frustrated greeter and had no recall whatsoever when we got him. He’d probably been used for breeding and chucked out and never socialised properly but he loved other dogs - just didn’t know how to behave around them. We gave all our, and his, details to the rescue (very good Labrador specific rescue). They came back and said actually we think you’d all be perfect for this pair of older girls that need to go together - what do you think? We had a big convo about whether we could do three big dogs and decided yes we could. It was the best thing we ever did! We went to them and the three of them, and is, spent a whole day together. The dogs all immediately bonded and loved each other to bits, our boy learnt a lot from the older steady girls - they all cuddled up together from day one. And we had three of the most beautiful and adorable dogs imaginable. Wish I could go back in time 😊

That's a lovely story judas (not a sentence I ever imagined myself typing!)

newpeep I also know of people in a similar situation to you. In fact I have two close colleagues who ended up buying puppies due to the obsessively rigorous rescue criteria.

mum potentially yes, but I'm not sure how DH would manage, he's likely to get very attached. I think he would cope better if the dog was elderly and PTS after a short but happy time with us, rather than spending its final days in kennels.

We actually have a friend and also a neighbour who are puppy walking for Guide Dogs. DH has categorically said that he could not give the dog up after two years, even though he knows what good it would be doing. A shame really as in one sense puppy walking would be ideal for us.

The cat may always be a stumbling block for rescue dogs. Even if they have a dog signed over who has previously lived with cats, they won't have lived with YOUR cat. Which is why "cat safe" dogs can end up not getting on with the particular cat in the house. Not being cat or other animal safe is often a reason for a dog to be signed over in the first place as well, which is why you see on listings they can't live with other animals, they may have chase histories or have been handed over with absolutely no history at all.

We appeared on the Dog House TV programme very recently. We had been discussing get a dog for a while and had very specific requirements as one DC with neurological conditions.

The whole experience was a total joy - and we ended up with the best possible outcome!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the process etc.

How exciting maggie , we've probably watched you!

I think The Dog House as a series isn't for us, we have no hankering to be on the TV for a start 😉

However (now you're here!) did you just have the one meet and greet session or did you meet several dogs? I find it hard to believe that Wood Green only ever have one dog who's suitable, even for the most accommodating people.

Believe me, I had no desire to appear on tv either! But I had a strong feeling that it would be the best way to find a dog that fitted all of our (very specific) needs, including cat-friendly.

I can't comment on whether or not they always have more than one dog lined up for you, however we had to go into great detail about preferred age, breed, size, temperament, medical needs etc.

They actually phoned to say they had found us a dog just before we did our first filming day (the main interviews,) but they don't tell you any more than that, it's all a genuine surprise.

The whole team, both tv crew and Woodgreen, were absolutely lovely - patient, accommodating, supportive - we honestly can't thank them enough. We went in thinking we knew what breed we wanted and actually it turns out we knew absolutely nothing and would have got it so wrong had we tried to choose a dog ourselves!

The TV part is actually a very small part of the whole process, it's getting the right dog for your family that is so precious.

I know some experienced owners who have had a series of dogs from the same breed rescue. They always take the least appealing / hardest to re-home / longest resident and have made it work one way or another.

I also knew an older lady, sadly no longer with us, who fostered and would take anything from the RSPCA except staffies because she consider them far too fierce. One day they rang her up, told her all about this dog's qualities, and left the fact she was a staffy until the very end of the conversation. She decided to give it a go. She decided she rather liked staffies after that and had a whole string of rotund elderly staffies (picture a very middle class 80-something in a very middle class area walking a staffy that came off the streets )

I would consider things that are your own red lines for practical reasons - for instance I couldn't take a dog that needs to be walked away from other dogs and strangers because I live in a busy urban area; I'd want 'off lead in a park' to be a realistic goal. I'm quite petite so I also wouldn't take a dog capable of dragging me into the road in pursuit of a cat.

On the other hand things that would bother me - like eating cats, not being able to live with children, and a bit of a bite history wouldn't phase me (the latter being context dependent - for instance resource guarding can be managed).

But - I wouldn't be overly specific about the exact package your dog comes in, such as breed or age. Sometimes your ideal dog in terms of lifestyle and behaviour will be a weird mutt, an atypical example of the breed, or just one you hadn't considered.

I acquired DDog rather by accident and went on the steepest of learning curves featuring literal blood sweat and tears (all mine). It was probably the equivalent of going into a rescue and taking a complete lucky dip when you weren't looking for a dog in the first place. We've made it work!

That's it christmaswine , except our list of "wants" is so small that it offers too much choice! We have also always managed to "make it work" even with DDog2 so are fairly confident that we could do so again.

Discussing with DH and our criteria would be:

• any breed, but ideally not a toy (unless perfect in every other sense)
• any age, though ideally not a young puppy. 6 months plus is fine though
• dog or bitch fine
• no excessive grooming (Afghan hound etc, we're reasonably adept otherwise and have a lovely local groomer)
• no uninsurable health issues or issues not covered by the rescue (more golden oldie related)
• we have no issue with a bite history (again context dependent) or resource guarding
• we also have no issues with anxiety / fear etc. However DDog2 is fantastically fear aggressive despite numerous interventions. Ideally we would like a slightly easier ride in this respect if possible

As for non-negotiables, all we have is cat friendly really.

As before, I worry an unscrupulous or well meaning but ill advised rescue would just palm us off with something unsuitable just because we are experienced and open to almost anything.

Rescues rarely want to send dogs out to unsuitable homes; they don't want the dog returned to them, more damaged this time round.

Being cat friendly will reduce the number of suitable dogs significantly, but your other criteria will keep the field as wide as is practical. A lot of people won't or can't take dogs with significant behaviour issues.

Even if you are matched to a dog you don't feel is suitable, you can say no, and if it's not working out at home then a return to kennels is possible.

The usual advice on cat safety around dogs applies - give the cat high spaces, use baby gates the cat can get through but not the dog etc.

A lot of people are far too specific when looking to rescue - they only want a border terrier that's good with kids, cats and other dogs for instance. There's not many around!

We found that due to our experience we were turned down for puppies and young dogs but offered dogs that were wildly unsuitable knowing we could cope. But I’d not want to cope. I want to enjoy a dog. Our last dog had significant fear aggression towards people. She was a bite risk. We kept her safe for 16 years and she led a lovely happy life. We both agreed we’d not want to do knowingly that again. Things have changed with the DDA too since we adopted her in 2004. She would have been pts now by a rescue.

Id like to get back into agility and training. I’m a trainer (qualified but as a hobby). We were offered dogs that in a million years would not be able to cope with that or even normal life. Medically or behaviourally. Rescues also mis assessed dogs. We went to meet one that wasn’t anything close to the breeds or temperament we were told. He’s bounced from two homes due to this.

Most rescues care and do an amazing job. But dogs have changed. There are not the unwanted strays or litters of pups there used to be. Litters of pups have come from puppy farms so have a whole host of issues. Medical issues are huge now.

This time we wanted relatively straightforward. Happy to manage stuff like resource guarding, training issues, even child issues as we don’t have them. But dogs like that were getting many hundreds of applications.

Just our experience. Most people who are 100% rescue advocates that I’ve known through our last dog have bought a pup in the last couple of years.

That's interesting newpeep and confirms what I had worried about.

For example, a colleague and his wife had been selected for a rescued dog from Romania. The poor thing is so utterly traumatised by his experiences that he's being a horrendous experience for them, even now a couple years in. They're first time dog owners and to their credit are doing their best by him, but he's a million miles away from the dog they were promised. I highly doubt they will have another dog again, and goodness knows what will happen when they have children 😢

I can absolutely see why people make the choice to go for a puppy. We have given this serious thought ourselves.

I would not touch an imported dog of any age. Two fellow trainers have them and none live normal lives. They have been through so much trauma and just aren't pets really. They came in as puppies. I don't know any that are truly comfortable as pets here - I'm sure there are some but I know quite a lot and none I have seen.

Don't get me wrong we loved our last dog - she was wonderful and fitted us perfectly. She loved the outdoors and took me up the agility grades and loved every minute (as long as there was no touching), loved learning and was a lovely dog for company but also was happy to chill when we worked (as long as she got her exercise and training). But like most people who manage dogs with issues there is a niggle there that something could go wrong and management could break down. We had a few close calls.

Interestingly we're very hands off with our new pup as that's how we are used to being but she's a lovely cuddly little madam (but as a terrier has her own mind!) and it's made us realise how we lived. A puppy has been a steeper learning curve than a rescue if I am honest 😂

I wouldn't have an imported dog either, with a possible exception if it had been in foster in the UK for several months and was coping well.

There are some lovely imported dogs but a disproportionate number seem to have major issues. A neighbour told me they've had a Romanian rescue for 5 years and the dog still won't let them touch it; they have young children and I have no idea how they're managing it safely tbh.

I'm not sure it's in a lot of street dog's best interests to be brought to the UK, especially those that have grown up on the streets. Trap, neuter, vaccinate and release is often a better option; Soi Dog Foundation have achieved great success in Phuket that way; it's now the only rabies-free province in Thailand and the stray population is down massively.

Sadly I would agree about not having an imported rescue dog. Having reached a time in life when we were retired and home most of the time we finally decided it was the right time to get a dog after years of putting it off due to our circumstances. There was no ‘matching us’ with a dog- we were sent photos of various dogs and told to pick one. I asked that the dog we chose go to foster first as being my first dog I was worried about taking one straight off transport from abroad.
The dog that arrived was terrified of everything which mean’t I was googling behaviourists in the first fortnight and probably made many mistakes as a novice dog owner. As I had nothing to compare it with I doggedly carried on and of course I got very attached to him as he had bonded with me but no one else. But it is so wearing having to be alert ALL the time even indoors as he always looked uneasy around other family members and snapped a few times.
I gave it 18 months by which time I thought we could overcome his anxiety issues as he had been with us for 3/4 of his life but whatever happened to him in the first 6 months left him very traumatised & beyond our help.
I still regret not being able to ‘fix’ him but hopefully there is another dog out there for me but I am afraid it has put me off getting a rescue from abroad although I have met many for whom it has been a success story.

@MaggieMagpie357 that fills me with such joy. I cry at that program more than any other. It’s beautiful and I’m so pleased it is as it’s portrayed.
congratulations on the new arrival.

I've been on the other side of this as a fosterer for a breed specific rescue - all the dogs at this rescue are in foster so we get to know them and what set up will suit them and their needs. Mostly people ring up about a specific dog who is advertised, but some ring the rescue chair and just tell her what their situation is and she will think about all the dogs who are around and say who she thinks will be the best match. Our older dog we had rung about a different dog who she thought wouldn't work, and ours hadn't even actually even arrived in foster at that point - but it was love on first sight. Equally sometimes people and dog work on paper but don't when they come to visit.
I have cats as do a number of the fosterers so we are able to decide about that (though it always takes work on the part of the adopter), and alas there is no shortage of 6 month + puppies in lurcher rescue

cmotdribbler shush! I actually worked at a private greyhound / lurcher rescue for a couple of years as a young slip of a thing, and they always have a place in my heart.

DH is less keen as he has no experience of them, though I really think they have a lot to offer. I've had several over the years who all lived happily with cats, so I know it's not an outrageous ask (I even had an ex racing greyhound who used to curl up with the cat)

I do think that a breed specific rescue might be better for us. Which brings us back to the eternal round robin of "what breed should we have?" 😆

We had a dog from Battersea at Old Windsor, we went certain that we needed a small female dog, had an interview like on The Doghouse and they suggested 2 dogs for us. We were surprised that they were both big dogs and the one we ended up with was a large male black lab/german shepherd. He turned out to be the most incredible perfect dog, my best friend and he was by my side until he passed away after being with us for 7 years. I think the interview and dog suggestion system works really well and I don’t think I would have ended up experiencing the absolute joy he gave me without one.
Good luck in your search