Choosing a rescue dog?

[Moonlightfrog]

We have been wanting to rescue a dog for a while, we lost our dog 5 years ago (staffie) but since then a dog went for my daughter and she became a little nervous of dogs, my daughter is 19 and autistic. Since then we have been looking after other peoples dogs when they go away, the dogs have been calm ish and my daughter has got used to being around them. My daughter will never show affection towards a dog (she show no affection towards anything including humans) but she does notice when they need things and will let them out, throw a ball or help with feeding. I have another daughter who has just finished uni and is home a lot, she also feels we need a dog in the house.

I am in contact with several rescues but I am finding it hard to actually arrange meeting dogs as I know I will want the first one I see. There are so many dogs in rescue at the moment and I am a sucker for a sad staffie face.

I walk a lot so I want a dog that can walk well off lead and on. I am willing to do a bit of training but ideally need a dog with potential to walk off lead, due to this it needs to get in with other dogs and travel well in the car…..again this can be worked on. I feel like a rescue will think I am being too fussy wanting these things? Is it possible to get a rescue dog that’s already partly trained? Most of the dogs I see in rescues have some issues and many are not dog friendly.

I am probably massively over thinking things, I do have the time to work in training but I don’t want to be confined to the house with a dog I can’t take out with me (I walk daily and will be walking other dogs).

So is it possible to get what I want from a rescue? How do I choose which dog to take on? And will a rescue work with me to ensure a gentle introduction for my dd (possibly several visits and/or foster before adopting)?

I really don’t want a puppy and would love to rescue a dog.

Dogs trust could be a good shout, I got almost exactly what I had asked for within a couple of days, but appreciate I was lucky! I think there will be what you are looking for, maybe a dog whose owners have had a change of circumstances, ill health/divorce etc. I am always heartbroken about the older staffies who’s owners have passed away, there always seems to be one or two in every rescue.

Could someone link to the form on the dog trust site for matching? I can’t find it.

@Hummingbirdtree maybe you need to do it after a couple of homemade G&Ts on a Friday night like I did! 😊😊it was also early December so they were desperate for space.

it must depend so much on the kennel though as my parents in their late 70s were paired with a GSD who is much too young and energetic for them and whilst adorable has all sorts of guarding issues and doesn’t know how to behave around other dogs! They are getting specialised training but it was a mismatch by DT I feel

Just to add to this, my friend has a rescue greyhound and she is absolutely beautiful. Lovely temperament and they do let her off lead. She just trots along side them 😊
She may be an enigma though!

Sorry, I replied too quickly and hadn’t read the rest of your posts OP… I was too eager to cheerlead grey hounds 😂
Good luck in your search!

Some small, independent rescues WILL allow adoption out of area (some won't). The small charity rescue we support - and from which we have had three dogs now - is in S Yorkshire and has allowed dogs to be adopted to as far away as Devon and Scotland. For this charity, it all depends on the dog's needs/temperament/history. This rescue is also extremely good at assessing prospective adopters against each dog's needs, etc. - they don't have the sort of 'blanket' policies that some rescues have.

If you want a dog with plenty of stamina and likely to be good with other dogs maybe have a look at Spaniel Aid? X