Has anyone had a good experience with a rescue dog?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I’m having an interview today to discuss adopting a rescue dog.

she is 2, apparently house trained, okay to leave (although she won’t be left often, and then only for 2-3 hours), and good with cats.
Ive spoken to a few people who have ended up with unsociable, needy and anxious dogs and I’m a bit worried.

we have had dogs before and I was brought up with having dogs.

@Lobbygobbler yes I know all of these things, thanks.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks i like dogs that are scruffy due to the breed, not just random scruffy dogs.
eg rough hair lurches but not with cats. I love wheaten terriers and scruffy Jack Russell’s etc but they have a strong prey drive which is tricky with cats and also running off lead.

Also definitely do not want border collie or spaniel

Well good luck with it. I hope you find the right dog.

@Twoshoesnewshoes ah that makes more sense! In which breed specific rescue is always going to be your best bet.

You're going to have to figure out what you want to compromise on. Rescue dogs rarely come without some sort of 'issue'.

I always say this to people who are on our 'wait-list' (I do Golden Retriever rescuing): think about all the things you absolutely must have, then think about the things that are nice to have - be prepared to shred the nice to have list.

Personally, I'd start with: small, good with cats and house-trained. Then see what that brings up. Good luck!

I am sorry this dog is not going to be the one for you, very pleased you have decided not to proceed.

' scruffy '

well that's quite open ended isn't it.

small and small ish is easier :)

My two would prob have suited you, they were 2 when I adopted them ( almost 3 ) the lady had the mother - shih tzu and the father - pug, and yes you've guessed it they had a litter of puppies, 5 were sold/found homes and she kept one, one then was returned to her and it all just got too much.
They grew up with children under the age of 3, but they hadn't lived with cats.
They do now live with cats :) existing cats and new cats ! tho they would chase a cat outside of the house if the opportunity arose.

When I say they could have suited you is that they do not look like shih tzus nor pugs ! one has been likened to an ewok ! and sometimes it's thought they look like border terriers.

I fostered for a rescue for a couple of years, 30 dogs in total - failed with 3 which was only 10% by failed i mean I adopted them. I had to have 2 dogs moved onto other fosterers because of my cats they were both yorkshire terriers and I avoided anything terrier like since.
Tho I did foster about 7 beagles, and had one myself and despite them being ' hunting ' dogs I never had an issue re cats with ' my ' beagles but you're not looking for a beagle.

Ideally you want a rescue that can ' cat test ' for you in advance, or even better a dog in foster where the fosterer has cats.

So maybe if you could put a rough idea of where you live and how far you could travel, we could suggest rescues that can ' cat test ' and / or does have fosterers ?

I'll start with https://www.manytearsrescue.org

Many Tears seems to be either loved or hated on Mumsnet, I can only say that Sylvia's heart is def in the right place and they have a no destruction policy unless the animal is very very very poorly ( or has been a serial biter and cannot be rehomed safely ) they even find pallative homes for poorly dogs.
Many Tears has fosterers throughout England and Wales, I don't believe there is anyone in Scotland any more :( The actual rescue center is based near Llanelli, Wales.

Thank you @OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon I’ll have a look at that link - I’m in Devon too!
a dog that looked like an ewok would be my ideal - but as pp said, nice to have but not essential

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon thats a great site, thank you

Many Tears seems to be either loved or hated on Mumsnet, I can only say that Sylvia's heart is def in the right place and they have a no destruction policy unless the animal is very very very poorly ( or has been a serial biter and cannot be rehomed safely ) they even find pallative homes for poorly dogs.

It's disliked as they support the puppy farm industry by proactively taking in dogs that have been bred to a point where the poor things would be better off dead. Instead of reporting the arseholes that do it...they just take the dogs and re-home them, no questions asked and thus allow the puppy farmer to bring in new bitches to destroy.

They might claim to love the dogs, and you might think their hearts are in the right place, but anyone who supports puppy farming to the degree that Many Tears do are not animal lovers. They're complicit in animal cruelty and abuse.

Disagree totally. The people who are complicit in animal abuse and cruelty are the arsehole breeders themselves and the irresponsible, selfish idiots who insist on buying a “pedigree” puppy without doing the proper research.
And no, most of these dogs are NOT “better off dead”! I’ve had quite a few and they’ve all recovered well and lived happy lives with me.

I'm not sure why reporting is now the answer...

"It really doesn't (as someone very involved in the dog world). I know people who have reported puppy farms and kennels across the country, multiple times, for animal abuse and negligence and the councils do nothing.
I know someone who reported their local kennel for abuse as a whistleblower. They had photos of multiple dogs crammed into cages. Council did nothing.
Even that case in Wales a few months ago, they were reported dozens of times and the council went there, saw how awful the situation was, and did nothing.
People just don't care enough until it's their dog who is affected, and councils are over-worked and under-resourced to care about animals."

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks

How dare you suggest that 3 of my dogs would have been better off dead.

Talk about completely missing the point

Better to report (no matter how pointless) than to go around claiming you’re a good person for rescuing whilst supporting a ‘charity’ that proactively encourages puppy farmers and gives the a safe space to dump their dogs tbh.

I don't know that anyone is claiming to be a good person for rehoming a dog. And if they are, they shouldn't, because people generally do what suits them.
Bit of a change of tune about reporting too!

I don't have any experience of MT but I know people who have adopted from them and their dogs seem to have decent lives. I don't think they always make the right choices, there were some elderly dogs on the site some weeks ago who I think would have been better off let go but they are working at the sharp end of things so I choose to cut them some slack if they don't always get everything right. Many of the dogs on the site now are young and able to live decent lives with appropriate care. They don't only take ex-breeders either, they take all sorts.
And what is the solution for these ex-breeders or dogs breeders can't sell? I don't mean in the long term, I mean in the here and now.
I don't buy the assertion that they encourage puppy farming or give the puppy farmers somewhere to dump their dogs. Plenty of other ways to 'dump' a dog if you have the morals of a puppy farmer.

My Romanian rescue came from a kill shelter, she was 5.5 months old and we’ve had her nearly 5 years.
She’s a fabulous dog. I tried 17 rescues across southern England and Wales before resorting to getting her. No rescues would accept us because we didn’t already have another dog/only had dogs with severe issues/we were retired.
Last year I adopted an 8 year old Boston x, she’s a little madam and it’s taking far longer to train her to walk on the lead, recall etc.
have only ever had rescue dogs, more that a dozen over nearly 50 years. All have had some issues but all have been wonderful companions.

My collie is the best dog I’ve ever met (& I’ve met a lot I worked with dogs for 15 years) she was a rescue and never been in a house before she came to me, she has been a dream! I would say I’m yet to meet a rommie rescue that is completely problem free, not to say they aren’t out there! But with the start in life they have it’s not surprising they sometimes need a bit of extra support

@redboxer321 Whether or not it's encouraging people, the fact Many Tears are well known to turn a blind eye to instances of animal abuse - to rescue one animal, to allow more to suffer - is problematic. I don't think reporting does anything (not based on my experience, as quote above), but surely where they know these puppy farms are they should be reporting? Not taking these dogs on the sly, turning a blind eye, and therefore allowing the abuse to continue?

The dogs, I imagine, would be left on the street. Which is also terrible.

I can't help but think that a charity that professes to love dogs whilst supporting puppy farmers in their systemic abuse of dogs, isn't a charity that anyone should be advocating for. They know these puppy farmers, they know these dogs suffer, and they do nothing but collect the broken animals at the end of it. To me, as a dog lover, that's incredibly problematic.

I think we've had this conversation before, but ultimately there should be really no need for these charities to exist. They wouldn't really need to if people actually did due diligence over puppy buying and the rules and regulations around breeding were tighter. However, given the above, I don't see any difference between going straight to the source and buying a puppy directly from the puppy farmer and rescuing from Many Tears - both support the puppy farmer.

I mean, separately, there's lots online about them failing to disclose serious behavioural issues that their dogs have or being less than honest about risks (which I can already tell is the case from looking at the one Golden Retriever they have). But that's a problem with big 'charity' rescuing in general, unfortunately - which hopefully OP will be aware of.

I have had dogs all my life and my present dog is a Romanian rescue. We adopted her because UK rescue charities considered us too old to adopt even though we are at home all the time, fit and able to walk her. We also have a plan in place if this situation changed.
She was not a street dog but had been neglected and cruelly treated and was on the point of death when rescued.
She is the most gentle, loving and non aggressive dog we have ever owned. She loves people and loves her home. She is a bit scared of other dogs but generally just ignores them.
In the six years we have had her I have never even heard her growl.
I know some dogs can be difficult and take time to settle. I think going through a reputable charity like the one we used Paws 2 Rescue can make a lot of difference. You can find them on facebook.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks

Why don't you start a thread on Many Tears...

You can explain how often you have met Sylvia and Bill, how many of the kennel staff / volunteers / fosterers / adopters that you know personally.
and how many hours / days / weeks you have volunteered there yourself.

I do hope you are not a bitter failed adopter i.e. your application was turned down for one reason or another.

and btw how do you think some puppy farms will dispose of their dogs otherwise ? - shooting them or just flung into the slurry pit...

You don't really think / believe that some of them will pay money for the dogs to be pts at the local Vet...

Nope. I’d say breeder.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I don't think there is any point in continuing but I'd solve the whole bloody problem by letting domestic dogs die out. Reduce the human population by billions and give back the land we have stolen from other living creatures. By that's a pipe dream and not a popular opinion on MN.

What I would say to the @Twoshoesnewshoes is this: assuming you live in the UK, don't get a dog! The never-ending rain is one of the reasons this one might be my last. Honestly, it does get you down. I'll feel differently by summer 😀

😂

Yes . I’ve had 4 rescue dogs , all fabulous

My dog was a Rommie street dog. He was about 6 months when he was found at a train station.
He then spent about 2 months in a dog centre until he could be transported to the UK.
He has never been abused (no head ducking etc) and is great around dogs. My trainer says he’s a neutral dog. Neither dominant nor submissive. He was a bit of a mare with the cats first so we put a stair gate on the steps. He didn’t want to hurt them but they didn’t much take to him. After a few months it all calmed down and now they’re all fine together.
He really is a brilliant dog and we take him everywhere.