Rehoming a dog

[cashmerecardigans]

I’ve been reading several threads on here recently about rehoming and have learnt an awful lot.
We lost our adored spaniel last year and feel
ready for a new dog. For all sorts of reasons we would prefer an older dog, but it seems fraught with difficulty. We are on the breed rescue sites but we both work, and even with a lot of flex on wfh, that seems to be a massive barrier.
My question is around pets4homes etc. I recently contacted someone who was having to move their dogs on due to il health. He sent me videos of him and the dogs and his health issue was evident. However, all the very sensible advice is to avoid people moving dogs on this way, so I feel a little stuck. I’ll confess that we actually found our last dog through gumtree, a young couple who had had a baby and were finding that and a bouncy spaniel too much. Maybe we just struck gold with him, he was an absolute joy, although we invested a lot of time and energy training him well.
I’ve spent time looking at champdogs and am starting to recognise the more ethical ones amongst them, but it’s always puppies, never older dogs. We’ve never had a puppy, and even with lots of flex around work, I’m not sure it seems fair to commit to that.
It’s making me really unsure of how to proceed, is there anything I am missing?

If you have spaniel experience, particularly if they're young or bouncy, or have behavioural issues...Spaniel Aid.

It's where DMum got her rescue cocker from. And I cannot recommend them enough. They are hard to adopt from, but that is because they want their dogs to go to the absolute best homes. They are also in foster placements before they are put up for adoption, so you can be sure that the dog you apply for is the dog you will get - no nasty skeletons!

If you can prove you will have care or someone popping in to check on the dog throughout the day (assuming you're not out 3-5 days a week) then you should be fine 😊

It is a waiting game though, particularly if you're keen to do it properly.

The real problem with private rehomes is people either deliberately (because the dog has a bite history etc) or inadvertently (because they don't realise) lie about behaviours. With a good, breed specific, rescue they won't do that. And they will also have had the dog checked by a vet so you can be sure what you're getting yourself into in terms of health issues

Thanks @LandSharksAnonymousi was hoping you’d reply. I’ve read a lot of your previous advice, so really value your opinion. Yes, we’ve had either working cockers or sprockers for over 25 years, but the more I look back, the more I think we were just incredibly lucky with the ones we found.
its really reassuring to know that Spaniel Aid won’t discount us as we work. We’re not in a rush, it’s taken us a long while to recover from losing our lovely boy, so we’re happy to wait for the right one. Hopefully being happy to have a slightly older one will be beneficial as so many want a very young dog. I’ve got my son’s 5year old lab staying for a few days and there’s no doubt that a less bouncy dog is a little easier!
I think what has shocked me is quite how many puppies are out there, it’s just terrifying to see the sheer volume of available dogs.

The problem with private rehomes is that there is no back up if things go wrong. And people lie. The friendly, no issue dog turns out to be a reactive, resource guarder.
If you were to go that route, I'd want to take the dog out for a walk to see how it reacts in different situations before commiting to it. How is it with other dogs? People? Traffic?
If you go the rescue route, there is Spaniel Aid as recommended by pp or if you live in Scotland, Springer Rescue for Scotland. They have all spaniel breeds, not just springers.
Good luck with your search.

@cashmerecardigans I'm glad you found it useful! I am so sorry for your loss though, it's awful to lose a dog.

When DMum used Spaniel Aid, she found them really pragmatic. She did end up taking home a dog that needed a bit of love and had some issues, but the support she got was amazing. I'd also say don't discount bonded pairs (as they seem to be the older ones that Spaniel Aid seem to have the most difficult shifting. Of course two dogs is a bigger commitment, but in terms of chances of securing a dog if you have to go into the office occasionally, a bonded pair is probably a good option as they have each other.

I know what you mean about Retrievers! Some of us on here often say that Goldies, in particular, are just bigger and hairier versions of Cocker Spaniels (with slightly fewer braincells).

And yes, so many puppies - and so many badly bred ones. It's really sad.

@SpanielsGalore Has adopted (or foster-failed...) before, so her advice is excellent as well!

I volunteer with a breed specific rescue (not spaniels) and I have to say, in 9 out of 10 cases people lie when moving dogs on so wouldn’t touch free-ads etc. They also usually come with a whole host of medical or behavioural issues that haven’t been addressed or made known. I’d always recommend an official rescue instead as our dogs are never rehomed until medically sorted, properly assessed in foster homes, not kennels, and all their quirks/issues are declared to avoid them being returned.

@LandSharksAnonymous Technically I haven't foster failed. 😁 N is a long-term foster. She will live out the rest of her days here, but on paper she belongs to SRS.
I have adopted a sprocker, but he came from a small rescue via a friend of friends.

I do Home Inspections for a couple of breed rescues and working isn't an issue its having a realistic plan that I want to know about

Another one recommending spanielaid my colleague fosters for them and they sound like a brilliant supportive option with lots of follow up

Thanks so much everyone. We’ll stick to rescues who are happy for us to adopt. Everything else feels too much of a minefield, however lucky we have been on the past. It’s so easy to get sucked in to the pictures on pets4homes, but realistically I know that these people are really looking for some return on their investment, anyone ethical would offer them to a rescue.
Hopefully I’ll be back with a positive update at some point in the future .

That’s essentially the issue isn’t it: If I (God forbid) had to rehome my very much loved dog for a health or other good reason then no way would I be charging anything! I cannot imagine doing so. I would just be 100% focused on getting him the right home. I find it really bizarre and suspicious that people are trying to sell dogs that they apparently love but can’t care for. I would always avoid PetsforHomes for that reason. I just can’t believe anyone making money out of such a sad scenario

You also need to consider that people don’t just lie, they’re often a bit clueless.

i fostered for a while for a charity that takes in dogs for people dealing with a specific issue and they go back to their owners after.

So these are very much loved dogs with owners that were going over and above to find this charity so they could keep their dogs - it would do them no good at all to lie about behaviours or medical issues. We knew before taking one for instance that it was bike reactive. One we knew was coming with hip dysplasia just being managed with short exercise and NSAIDs.

2 were dog reactive, 1 had separation anxiety - my assumption with those is just that their owners thought that was normal dog behaviour. 1 arrived, I took him for a walk a few days later (obviously they stay in till they’ve settled a bit) and I had to phone going, pretty sure he’s got elbow dysplasia or something similar going on, they contacted his owner who was very concerned but said there’d been no previous issues, took him to the vet, elbow dysplasia, his owner had just never noticed his gait being off.

So people might be telling you what they genuinely believe about their dog, but it doesn’t mean they’re right.

@Hoppinggreen that’s good to know. We have flex to work from home but also easy access to a dog walker if needed. It’s always worked well for us in the past so it’s reassuring to know that work itself isn’t an issue. I’m fortunate in that flex for me can be organising my day so I’m only in part of a day as well so it’s not just a case of in or out all day x

Spaniel Aid criteria is not to be left alone longer than 4 hours total in any one day. That's far more reasonable than a blanket ban on working.
4 year old Oakley's nice, says he is a people dog.. Only fault is being terrified of the Vet.
The one with me today is also hysterical at the Vet. His owner was provided with enough sedation to knock out a bull, she said. Sensible Vet distracted him with liver paste while injecting the booster. He even got given kennel cough vaccine, so it can be done.
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