Does this rescue dog exist?

[nousername0]

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

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Definitely! Our two rescue dogs are all of those things. We have a terrier from a local rescue who has been a darling from day one and a rescue from abroad who look a long time to settle and is a little quirky now but gentle and a sweetheart. Rescues also have pups quite often. Look at all you're local rescues and I'm sure you'll find one

I did have to tell a lie and said I worked from home, at the time I worked two days, we had dog walker and my mum popped in but they were very strict on non working people only which is ridiculous!

I’m doing it just now, you get less accidents than with a puppy - he’s been here since Saturday afternoon and we’ve had 2 today, but one was completely my own fault, I was on the phone and not paying attention, he hasn’t pooed inside since Sunday.

But, you spend a lot more time outside hanging about because of course he doesn’t go as often as a puppy so sometimes you think he should be going, but he doesn’t and you’re just stuck out there.

Ours is adopted from abroad (but we're not in the UK ourselves). Absolutely fits all of your criteria except that she's not a runner. She's happy for a long walk where she can play and sniff etc but she wouldn't be up for jogging.

Adopted as a young (8mo) street dog, so was past puppy stage but still not a "hardened" stray iykwim. She obviously hadn't been housetrained but understood it immediately, so barely had any accidents at all.

We didn't have cats when we got here, but do now and she's absolutely fine with them. Is fine with all animals in fact (DS had rats for a while). Likes all people and other dogs too. Can be left on her own for a few hours. Doesn't bark or chew. Is a very happy, chilled dog.

We have had 2 rescues. Before the first one we fostered.

Pretty much all of them fitted your criteria, except our current one.

Although the rescue's definition of fine with cats and our cat's definition was not always the same thing!

Our first adoptee was a springer spaniel. He was perfect family dog in every way. The main issue he had was that he was a terrible food thief, and on bin day if he got a whiff of a smelly bin when off lead he was gone.

Our current rescue though is a different story. He was reactive to other dogs when we got him and now a year later after loads of training, he is much less reactive, but it will never be zero. But he is now becoming agressive.

If you do adopt from abroad (and I am against it for lots of reasons) don't get a street dog. And insist on a return/money back clause if the dog has issues undisclosed to you at time of signing.

It's definitely possible but I'd expect to put some work in still even if on paper the dog meets all this criteria. My rescue was 10 months when I got him - he was initially a street dog and had then been passed through 3 family homes for being 'too much' before ending up with me. The first few months were hard - he was destructive due to being young and understimulated in previous homes, he wasn't toilet trained and as he'd never had to use his brain before initially found learning really frustrating and would turn to mouthing and destructive behaviour. A year on he's my perfect dog - we compete in agility together he loves long walks and excercise but is really mellow at home now his needs are being met. He's great with other dogs and cats and he now loves learning and is really keen to please but the journey to get here wasn't easy. Whatever you decide to get I would find a trainer who you click with and expect to do at least a few months of training to build a bond and get the most out of the dog.

Thing is, even a previously well looked after, well trained dog (they can end up in rescue too) or one that’s been in a foster home where they’ve put in loads of work will still need training with you.

Dogs aren’t machines where you get a manual and that’s how they work, a lot of it is actually building a relationship with you.

Its also very very common for a dog to develop separation anxiety because they’ve been rehomed.

Also, foreign rescues aren’t all lovely family pets, I have one (not the dog I’m currently housetraining) on paper he should be, he was never a street dog, he’s been with us since 5 months old, he’s had a lot of work and money spent on training... but he’s never going to be a stable well rounded dog. And because I’ve used a trainer specialising in foreign rescues and I’m in Facebook groups about them, there are a fairly high number with pretty severe behavioural issues.

You've had some good responses so far. Just wanted to add, that just because a dog may have lived with cats and got on with cats, it hasn't met and got on with YOUR cats, sadly this is a reason many "cat friendly" rescue dogs get swiftly returned to rescue. Have your cats lived with dogs, or had dogs visiting their home before?

With the being left for up to 4 hours, this doesn't happen off the bat. It will take several weeks for the dog to settle into their new routine and then be left for smaller amounts of time, building up. I would also be cautious with leaving dogs and cats alone for long periods unattended initially as well. It just takes one unsupervised house zoomie for it all to go wrong...

"Perfect" dogs without a laundry list of behavioural issues do get signed over to rescue, usually due to divorce or emigration, but they are usually in the rescue for a matter of a day or two before they're reserved. Unfortunately behavioural reasons are the main reason for a dog to be signed over - either its not coping with the owner's working hours and has separation anxiety, it's got issues with resource guarding, it's young and had zero training and they can't cope with it literally bouncing off the walls, and chasing, even killing, neighbourhood cats is another sad reason for a dog to be signed over to rescue. These are the ones that, on websites, seem to fill rescues, but that's only because the easier ones and the puppies are already reserved and on their way home.