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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Does this rescue dog exist?

33 replies

nousername0 · 26/05/2023 18:20

Me and DH think we would like a dog. We are just starting to look into it. We have both been around dogs before but it would be our first dog. I don't want a puppy because I am worried about unethical breeders and I am worried about the initial training. So we are considering a rescue dog. I understand dogs in rescues may have a complex history. Below is our criteria. Is this realistic? I don't want to approach rescues if this sort of dog isn't common. Thanks in advance.

⁃	Can live with cats 
⁃	2 hours walking/running a day 
⁃	Friendly with other dogs 
⁃	Ok being left for ~4 hours 
⁃	House trained 
⁃	Not aggressive or reactive 
⁃	Not a bull breed
OP posts:
ScattyHattie · 26/05/2023 18:39

Yes it's possible although you may have to wait for right dog to pop up and be prepared to travel.
I mainly look at sighthound rescues and have seen dogs that would fit. Though i'd also not rule out bull breed mixes if they fit the bill as their traits make very for fun, loyal, cuddly family dogs. I had a fantastic greyhound x staffy which languished in rescue years as having bull blood nobody would even give her a chance.

Original poster
nousername0 · 26/05/2023 18:52

@ScattyHattie Thanks. We would be ok to travel but I noticed lots of rescues state that they only rehome within a certain distance.

OP posts:
Lastqueenofscotland2 · 26/05/2023 18:53

Have a look at spanielaid
they have plenty of springers that would fit your criteria

StellaOlivetti · 26/05/2023 18:54

We have had two rescue dogs who met all those criteria. They weren’t hard to find … but we rescued from abroad, which I know some people do not like. Our current rescued from abroad dog is the easiest dog we’ve ever had!

Original poster
nousername0 · 26/05/2023 18:55

@Lastqueenofscotland2 Thanks. Will take a look!

OP posts:
Original poster
nousername0 · 26/05/2023 18:56

@StellaOlivetti That's good to know. I need to look at the positives and negatives. Someone told me that because they might have been street dogs previously they are not housetrained. Is that normal?

OP posts:
Clymene · 26/05/2023 18:58

I would have a look at ProDogsDirect - they're a website which hosts listings from small local rescues all over the place. You can search by criteria too.

A few years' back, you would have struggled to find a dog in rescue that hadn't been given up because it had issues but now there are a lot of dogs bought by people who were too stupid to realise they would have to go back to the office one day so many of them are just being dumped by people who can't be bothered with them anymore.

Lindawater · 26/05/2023 19:00

Cats are the hardest part of the above as would limit sighthound/pointer types - but yes it definitely exists! Try breed specific rescues eg Labrador trust, spanielaid - even Dogs Trust gets the odd one as above.

FisherThem · 26/05/2023 19:03

Check out the Guide Dogs Association, especially if you live near one of their centres. They rehome failed guide dogs, look for 'parents' of puppies in training or families willing to care for brood bitches. Might suit?

StellaOlivetti · 26/05/2023 19:32

Both our rescues were house trained when they arrived, and neither had lived in a house before. They were both just over one year old. I may be wrong, but I think I have read that dogs instinctively don’t like to go to the toilet where they live/sleep?

StellaOlivetti · 26/05/2023 19:33

Our current dog was, however, initially baffled by the concept of doors; and suspicious of the television!

Happenchance · 26/05/2023 20:30

I'll address your criteria one at a time.

  1. Non-bull breeds that can live with cats may get a lot of applications. Rescues that import dogs from abroad often have lots of dogs that can live with cats. However, I wouldn't adopt an ex-street dog because of your other criteria.
  1. Decent rescues will be able to suggest suitable dogs that fit this criterion. You may need to build up to 2 hour walks/runs if the dog isn't used to being exercised this much (e.g if it has been in kennels for a while) or is under/overweight.

Sniffing is great for a dog's mental health because it tires them out mentally and physically, and helps them to relax. A dog may not get enough opportunities to sniff if it's main form of exercise is running alongside its owner.

  1. What do you mean by dog friendly? Do you want a dog that is happy to be in the company of a specific dog or dogs, e.g. a family member's dog, or do you want a dog that is keen to meet new dogs? Dog tolarence is on a scale, with Dog Social at one end and Dog Aggressive at the other. Most dogs are keen to meet new dogs when they are puppies (i.e. are Dog Social) but become less dog tolarent as they age. Most adult dogs fall in the middle of the spectrum and are either Dog Tolarent (friendly or neutral to most dogs) or Dog Selective (friendly or neutral to select dogs). If you want a dog that will run with you, I would look for dog that doesn't want to meet every dog that it sees. If you want a dog that is happy in the company of a specific dog, I would look for a rescue that is happy to carry out multiple meet and greets between the dog in question and any dog that you are thinking of adopting.
  1. Time left will need to be built up gradually. Being rehomed can cause a dog to develop separation anxiety.
  1. Dogs are notoriously bad at generalising. They can be house trained in their original home but "unhouse trained" in their new home. It's also hard to predict if a dog is house trained when it's in a kennel environment. Clean in their kennel does not equal housetrained. Likewise, wets its bed does not equal not housetrained.
  1. What do you class as aggressive? Dogs use ritualised aggression to prevent situations from escalating to physical aggression.

Pain or fear is often the root cause of aggression and reactivity and a dog can develop pain, or have an experience that makes it fearful, at any point in its life. Reactivity can also be caused by frustration at not being able to get to another dog or person. Which is another reason why I would advise you to look for a dog that doesn't want to meet every dog that it sees. I would also advise that you don't allow your dog to meet other dogs when it is on a lead.

  1. Yes. Plenty.

In short, decent rescues should be able to suggest suitable dogs, if they have any. However, I wouldn't be so rigid in the criteria that you give them. You want a non-bull breed dog that can live with cats and be left for 4 hours. So do many other people. When rescues have their pick of multiple adopters, they will go with the less risky option, i.e. adopters that they think are prepared to work through or manage any issues that arise throughout the lifetime of the dog.

Original poster
nousername0 · 26/05/2023 20:56

@Happenchance

Thank you so much for your detailed response. There’s a lot to think about! And we want to be as prepared as we can be.

Building up the walks/runs would be ok, and it would only be 3-4 runs a week so plenty of opportunities to sniff. I just don’t want a dog who will only walk for 30 minutes and then want to sleep for the whole day!

Really interesting what you’ve said about other dogs, I hadn’t thought about the stopping on walks. A couple of our friends have dogs and it would be good for the dog to get along with them, as I imagine we will walk together and likely do some dog minding for each other.

I see what you mean about them picking the less risky option. I suppose we will need to explain our situation and they can advise us. We are willing of course to put in some work but i wouldn’t want a dog to be rehomed to use if we don’t have the right experience for them.

OP posts:
ilovesushi · 26/05/2023 21:24

I follow a labrador/ gundog rescue on facebook. I'm sure they have dogs that fit that bill. It's called black retriever X rescue. I'm always seeing dogs I'd love to adopt and I have cats so would be fussy about that aspect.

Motorina · 26/05/2023 23:42

Beagle Welfare would have dogs that meet that remit.

weareallout · 27/05/2023 00:32

We have a Romanian rescue and did lots of research first re the rescue organisation. We might well be lucky but he's amazing. He's very calm round all kids, he's affectionate, he's a real personality. He's happy being left. He acts like a guard dog when people approach house. Barks but no bite. Loves cuddles.

weareallout · 27/05/2023 00:34

He was a year old when we got him. Rescued from streets. Toilet trained in that always has gone outside

WetBandits · 27/05/2023 00:36

Every dog is so different that there isn’t a general breed that anyone could recommend to suit your criteria. Your best bet is to approach some rescues and give them your criteria so they can match you with a dog that fits it.

FourFoxSake · 30/05/2023 08:50

I'd also look at which of those criteria you could handle yourself.

e.g. House training is normally an easy one to rectify, so I'd be more relaxed on that one

Ditto walk/run for 2 hours. providing the dog is a relatively hardy breed and relatively healthy, that's the kid of fitness you can work up to.

meatbaseddessert · 30/05/2023 09:08

Yes ours. We got her at 6m. Collie cross
She's adorable but still has some issues.
Took us about a year of signing up to a million rescue places to finally find her though. The smaller organisations are best.

Framilode · 30/05/2023 09:51

The dog we have at the moment came from Romania. I have had dogs all my long life and she is the most gentle dog I have had. We have had her 4 years now and I have never heard her growl. She had some fear issues when she arrived and is still very easily spooked.
We tried various rescues in the UK and were turned down as classed as too old. We went through Paws 2 Rescue and they were very thorough in making the right match, checking up on us and inspecting the home. I don't understand why people are so against dogs from abroad.

sueelleker · 30/05/2023 09:57

Can you choose a breed and look at breed rescues? I'm biased, but spaniels might fit your criteria-very friendly, love exercise, mostly very friendly, and my two just sleep when I'm out of the house. Google 'spaniel rescue', and there are several groups.

Original poster
nousername0 · 30/05/2023 12:44

Thank you! I'll have a look into spaniels @sueelleker.
Interesting to hear about house training @FourFoxSake. How long did it take your rescue to learn? I understand it's easier with a puppy because they have smaller bladders but not sure how it would be with a larger dog who needs to go less often.

OP posts:
Gremlins101 · 30/05/2023 13:20

That's been all my rescues apart from the cat thing. (Mine are/were lurchers - though some lurchers are good with cats). But I'm in ireland. More rescue dogs available for rehoming here than in the UK. You won't regret rescuing if you wait for the right dog. Great decision 😊

FourFoxSake · 30/05/2023 14:57

nousername0 · 30/05/2023 12:44

Thank you! I'll have a look into spaniels @sueelleker.
Interesting to hear about house training @FourFoxSake. How long did it take your rescue to learn? I understand it's easier with a puppy because they have smaller bladders but not sure how it would be with a larger dog who needs to go less often.

The dog before this one was a rescue who'd spent most his life in a barn peeing where he liked.

We treated him exactly like a puppy (outside every 30-45mins for the chance to pee, praise when he did, enzyme cleaner for accidents inside) and honestly, he pretty much had it down after about 2 weeks. Maybe sooner. He only let us down after that a couple of times at someone else's house - when they had foliage on the floor in the living room (e.g. an xmas wreath make of twigs etc). TBH I could how it was easy to mistake that for a bush Grin

A family member is just about to take on an ex breeding bitch with dodgy house training (apparently) so we'll see again...