Potentially adopting a dog

[Beachbodyready]

I love dogs and have wanted one for years. I’ve not done anything about it in the past because I lived in a flat which wasn’t suitable for a dog. I’ve recently been thinking that my life may now be in a place where I could give a dog what it needs - I still live in a flat but this one is more suitable. I saw a dog for adoption yesterday and sent an application so I could chat with the rehoming charity. They phoned me today and have suggested I pick up the dog next week. I’m worried I have an unrealistic view of being a dog owner and the adoption process seems far too fast. It’s a good quality rehoming charity and I’ve been open with them about my position. They’ve sent me lots of online resources but I was hoping to have a week or so to reflect on the information before making a final decision. My heart is saying go for it but my head is more cautious which is how I normally approach things. Please can you suggest anything I need to consider/questions I need to ask myself to make the decision.

for info - I live alone, am semi-retired/work from home, I go out a couple of times a week for a couple of hours. The dog is small and elderly.

How lovely! It sounds like last minute nerves, when a dream finally becomes a real possibility? I think I know what you mean as I've had that moment when you think, this animal will be totally my responsibility. But you've planned and thought about this for some time, and you sound like you've thought through what you can provide in terms of time, space and routine.

Perhaps just tell them you weren't expecting such a quick decision from them and you'd like another few days to be sure about your own decision?

But realistically what can go wrong? It's something you've wanted and planned for for years, and the little dog will be delighted!

As long as you can cater to the dog's exercise needs, living in a flat isn't a blocker. What breed is the dog?

When it comes to you, my best tip is to not fuss it when it arrives. Bordering on ignoring it. Lead him around the flat to smell everything, and let the dog come to you when it's ready. When you're outside, play with it as much as possible.

Your flat might not be suitable for a large energetic dog but this one is small & elderly. I think you could offer them a very nice home.

It all sounds great on surface.

But unless they plan on letting you meet the dog at least once before you take it home, I’d run away. No one should really be taking home dogs (regardless of age, sex, behavioural issues etc) they have only just met that day. It’s a recipe for a disaster.

I’m also very uncomfortable with the idea of a charity rehoming a dog without a home check and more thorough vetting than an application…

I do Goldie rehoming on occasion - we make people meet the dog at least several times, even if there are no behaviour issues, just to build that familiarity. We ask to do a home check etc.

Unless you’ve miss all the above things they want out of your OP…this is really weird and very poor form from the charity.

I disagree. When you buy a puppy the breeder doesn’t make you meet the dog several times.

I raise puppies for Guide Dogs and they just drop off the puppies with you without any meeting at all beforehand (they have done a home check and interview but that may also be the case with OP). Same for Guide dog temporary boarding, all you get are notes beforehand telling you some information about the dog.

@Twiglets1 good breeders do make you meet a puppy several times.

The point is, this dog is in kennels or a rescue (and we all know the effect that has on a dog) and so should have a careful meeting with OP not just be dumped in her arms.

And the GD is hardly known for putting animal welfare first - the lab with hip dysplasia so bad it can’t walk properly I always go on about? Former guide dog, rehome because it couldn’t do its job. So I don’t have a particular high opinion of them given how little they seem to care about dogs…(to have used such a bad breeder that one of the dogs couldn’t even walk properly says a lot about how much the GD care/know about animal
welfare IMO)

Erm the comparison with puppies is a bit pointless. A puppy, fresh in this world- a blank cute canvas - is a somewhat different undertaking than an elderly rescue - who is carrying heaven knows what sort of trauma/abandonment/even abuse issues. Their levels of needs, wariness, reactivity and sheer adaptation to the duration of their days on this earth make them quite different. Meeting one may be nice to do, meeting the other a few times feels most important?

I would be cautious, when we re homed our dog I visited him first at his foster home. Then I visited again with dh and kids. They did a home check too, it was done via zoom as it was during Covid. But I had to walk her around everywhere and every inch of the garden fence to make the garden was secure.

This. You can’t possibly compare a young puppy with an older dog with issues.

They also offered full rescue back up, A telephone call with a trainer/ behaviouralists because it was during Covid, they now offer a training session follow up home visit in person once the dog has settled.

Labradors & Retrievers can develop hip dysplasia even if bred very carefully. All guide dogs used for breeding have good hip scores as they test breeding dogs for everything.It wouldn’t make sense for the organisation to breed puppies that are at a high risk of developing health problems as it costs them thousands of pounds to get a puppy to the point of being a working guide dog. But you cannot breed large numbers of dogs with no risk of health conditions arising, that’s unrealistic.

Naturally guide dogs that can’t work are rehomed. That is in the best interests of the dog too. I know a puppy raiser whose dog has already been released from training at the age of only 1 year old due to health issues - her parents had no issues but these things happen. The guide dog organisation are going to pay for pet insurance for life for this dog covering the condition she has been diagnosed with.

They don’t rely on random breeders, it’s all done very scientifically & carefully . But despite that, health problems can arise. That’s life.

@Twiglets1 knowing some of the breeders they do use, I’ll have to disagree with you. It’s not scientifically done!

Either way, it doesn’t change the point that take a rescue dog home you’ve only met once and the rescue thinking that’s a good idea…is really concerning. Which is the point of this thread.

What support do the charity offer? The charity we used paid for our DDog’s vaccinations avd we had access to a behaviourist and the local charity co-ordinator who I’m still in touch with almost 4 years later.

I was not clear from your post whether you have actually met the dog or just saw him/her online? They do seem to be rushing you. Have they done a home check or asked to see pictures of your home? I adopted a dog from a very well-known rescue that I hadn't used before and they rather pressed the dog on me in a hurry (they had not assessed him properly and he was a very, very recent arrival). It didn't work out. I will not go to that rescue again (It was not Battersea - I rate them very highly).

Avd yes, I think any charity should be doing a home check. The charity we adopted from don’t advertise their DDogs. You fill out a rather comprehensive form and they try and match the right DDog to you and do a home check.

Small and elderly, does the dog have any long term medical conditions, vet bills are very expensive, pet insurance for elderly dogs is again really expensive. I would want to meet the dog before making a commitment to take it and then go away and think about it and decide. What are the returning rules if it doesn’t work out.

Have you met the dog?
I have successfully adopted greyhounds from the greyhound trust. I was anxious a few days before collecting our first one, but we had met him a few times and walked him. The kennel staff are very knowledgeable and have given ongoing support/advice. I also use them for boarding when we go away on holiday and for nail clipping. If the adoption doesn’t work out, the dog has to be returned to them and I think this is a good policy to keep the dog safe.
Dogs need time to settle in, it’s 3 days/3weeks/3 months stages for settling. By 3 months the dog will feel safe and settled. You will see their personality. So don’t give up too soon. I hope the rescue are fully supportive. Good luck.

@LandSharksAnonymous

Guide Dog Breeding code of Ethics:

Guide Dogs are committed to following best practice in the care and welfare of all its breeding dogs.

Specifically, Guide Dogs will:
Maintain the best possible standards of health and quality of life for their breeding dogs.
Breed only from carefully selected dogs based on extensive analysis of behavioural and health data from ancestors, siblings, and progeny to ensure dogs are suitable for breeding.
Monitor genetic diversity within the breeding population and respective coefficients of kinship for individual mating pairs.
Ensure breeding dogs are continually checked for good health, free from infection and in good physical condition at the time of mating.
Ensure breeding dogs are selected using all relevant health screening processes, including genetic tests as appropriate and available, hip, elbow and shoulder radiographs, eye tests and heart screens.
Ensure breeding dogs shall not be used where this could in any way be harmful to the individual dog or the breeding population.
Carefully plan all matings to primarily ensure the health and temperamental welfare of each individual stud dog, breeding bitch and their potential progeny, whilst taking into consideration organisational and breeding programme needs.
Not mate any bitches once they have reached six years and nine months of age, such that no bitch shall whelp a litter after her seventh birthday. After the age of five years nine months, veterinary opinion of the bitch’s health and physical condition will be sought and consent required before deciding whether to proceed with mating. No bitch will be mated before she is 18 months old, unless there are exceptional circumstances and then only if she is considered mature enough to raise a litter of puppies.
Ensure stud dogs shall be no younger than 18 months of age at time of first mating and aim to retire them before their tenth birthday (although their health, vitality and fertility will principally guide this decision in dogs older than 9 years old). At 8 years old stud dogs will undergo 6-monthly vet checks, increasing to quarterly when 9 years old.
Ensure breeding dogs shall be retired at any age if this is in the best interest of the dog or the breeding programme.
Rehome retired breeding dogs with care and consideration to the individual dog’s well-being and welfare. This will normally be with the existing volunteer carer.
A consecutive season mating may be considered in the middle of a bitch’s breeding career, to ensure that litters are delivered at the peak of a bitch’s reproductive fitness. A consecutive season breeding shall only be considered providing a satisfactory veterinary assessment has been conducted. When the season interval is 9 months or more, consecutive matings may be considered. Again, such a consecutive season breeding shall only be considered providing a satisfactory veterinary assessment has been conducted.
Ensure that bitches shall have a maximum of 4 litters.
Ensure that all bitches that have required two caesareans shall be retired.
Ensure the transition of puppies from nest to the new home is as efficient and smooth as possible.
Work closely and in consultation with The Kennel Club and observe, where appropriate and reasonable to do so, the current regulations and advice relating to breeding practices and welfare, including the Kennel Club’s ‘General Code of Ethics’.

https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/about-us/guide-dogs-centres/what-the-national-centre-does/

@Twiglets1 that proves they are pretty awful:

Ensure that bitches shall have a maximum of 4 litters.

^ extract from your above, which I presume was meant to prove how great they are? Even the KC says 3 litters max. Almost no good breeders go above two. And consecutive breeding? So the dogs are cash cows for the GD. Brilliant. All you’ve managed to do is show just how bad the GD are.

But, you are now completely overrunning this thread with something that has nothing to do with what OP posted about. So I will stop engaging with you now - particularly as you’ve proved my point😀

I'm really shocked that they wouldn't retire a dog after one caesearean!

Back to the OP, I'm not sure I'd trust a rescue that didn't require a home check and meet and greet. I think your sense that the adoption process is far too fast is worth listening to.

Maximum of 4 litters.

I have verbally been told by the organisation and by a friend who volunteers by looking after Guide dog mums in her home that in reality it's a maximum of 3 in almost all cases. But clearly there are exceptions.

I notice you don't comment about the fact that breeding dogs are selected using all relevant health screening processes, including genetic tests as appropriate and available, hip, elbow and shoulder radiographs, eye tests and heart screens.

Which is obvious and what I said in my first post to you when you mentioned "the lab with hip dysplasia so bad it can’t walk properly I always go on about?"

That can happen and does happen. Our old Lab (pet) who lived to 13 had hip problems in the last few years of life - we chose his breeder with the upmost care and both his parents had excellent hip scores but it still happened. You could argue that guide dogs should choose different breeds but that's a separate issue. They are using more cross breeds and in fact my Guide dog pup was not a pure Lab.

This is a totally different scenario. I foster dogs for a rescue. The dogs are assessed in their own home and then placed with a fosterer. We get the written assessment beforehand, but don't meet the dogs.
In order to adopt from us, the prospective owners have to be homechecked, interviewed and approved before they are allowed to apply for a dog. They then meet the dog in their foster home, perhaps take the dog for a walk. They then go away and both parties decide if the adoption should go ahead. It may take a few visits or one might be enough.
The dog is rehomed with full support and access to a behaviourist.

@Beachbodyready Has any of this process taken place? I would be wary of any charity that doesn't homecheck you first. I would be doubley wary of a rescue that wants you to commit to a taking home a dog you haven't even met.

I would talk to the rescue, just say you need more time, and visit the dog a few times, small and elderly hopefully means they'll be chilled and just looking to live out their elderly years in comfort, but get alllll the background. Dogs carry trauma, so if this little dog has had some bad times in life you need to be fully clued up about what has happened. The rescue normally would speak to you, visit your home and invite you in, so I'm surprised they want to move fast, a good rescue really won't mind you wanting to visit and cuddle/walk/explore with the little dog some more. They also should have follow up support, and a route back if for some reason it doesn't work out.
I would say (as a dog owner). They're a massive presence in your life which is lovely. Your lifestyle sounds very suitable. Be aware you can't do a lot on impulse (stay overnight somewhere, have a day out, whizz off on holiday) without factoring the dog in. You'll also need to build into your life (although might be different with an old dog depending on their fitness) twice daily walks. I haven't found it difficult, sometimes it's frustrating sorting dog care for holidays, and they're expensive (an older dog will need a lot of vet care). They're super loving (dog dependent) and a real friend 🧡
Also, brutally, an elderly dog (God love it) probably isn't quite the same commitment as a puppy, with a puppy it's 10-15 years, but if this dog really is old then you're probably quite limited on years left, and whilst that is it's own commitment and comes with it's own challenges, if it isn't quite what you'd hoped or doesn't fit too well with your lifestyle then it won't be for that long....

The rehoming charities I volunteer with would never consider letting you have a dog without a home visit
It worries me when one does
Its not just about seeing the house its about talking to potential adopters and seeing if they fully understand what they are taking on - filling in a form just isn't the same

I've adopted 4, the first 2 during covid, so no home visits, just videos. I'm aware that the rescue used to visit annually after adoptions, but we've never had a visit as the policy changed since covid.

We had periodic telephone check-ins for a while with the first two, and they've seen the dogs when we've returned to adopt each subsequent dog. Our vets work closely with them too, so there is a chance that they correspond.

We met each dog just once, but couldn't bring them home until at least the following day, as they wanted us to sleep on it and left it to us to call them the next day (or later) to confirm.

I hope it all works out for you OP, whatever your decision. It does sound like a good fit though, so fingers crossed you are a happy match! Adopting a dog can be so rewarding for both of you.