Would you take on this rescue dog?

[Nopenousername]

I’d really appreciate some outside opinions as I’m going round in circles!

I have a four-year-old working Lab who is high energy and still pulls on the lead. I’m actively working on this with him and have started taking him back to dog training classes.

Four years ago when we got him, my husband worked long hours, so most of the walking/training fell to me. Things are different now, I work from home 75% of the time and my husband works four days on four days off, with plenty of AL.

I’ve passed a home check with a local rescue and met a two-year-old Staffy/Lab cross who I’ve completely fallen for. He’s been at the rescue for two months after being found severely neglected and starved, living in his own faeces and apparently being due to be PTS. He’s now doing really well and is the sweetest, most affectionate boy, but he is boisterous and isn’t house trained at all.
My husband’s main concerns are:

1. How difficult/long is it to house train a two-year-old rescue who has never really had the opportunity to learn?
2. How realistic is it to eventually walk two strong, high-energy dogs together?

I’d obviously put the same training into the rescue dog, but I’m realistic that there would be an adjustment period. I work full time and ideally don’t want to be doing two separate long walks every day indefinitely.

We have met another rescue dog, but he definitely wasn’t right for us. This one however, I’ve fallen in love with!

Am I being realistic, or am I being blinded by the cute face? Would love to hear from anyone who has house-trained an adult rescue or gone from one energetic dog to two.

From my personal experience of a rescue, toileting was easy because she really does not like to go where she lives, not even in the garden.

I'd be more worried about the pulling and would need training in place from day one. Some dogs are also better with a second dog but I suppose that's something you can't know.

Can you foster to adopt?

House training as PP says could be easy enough but the walking as you already have a big dog with poor lead walking isn’t ideal, I’d be really trying to get that cracked before you think about taking on another strong dog x

Depends on the dog's personality, but my limited experience (3 rescues) it's generally not to difficult to housetrain older dogs.

Walking them both together could potentially be an issue, especially if the new dog turns out to be reactive on walks. I can't manage to walk our two big dogs (gsd & lurcher) on my own, so either walk them separately one after the other, or my DH helps out if he's around.

If you are rescuing it, doesn't it mean somebody abandoned it?
There may be a reason they abandoned it.

I'd speak to the rescue about doing a trial period with the dog, or foster to adopt like the other person suggested.
I know its not ideal to mess a rescue dog around, but i think you need some time to work out whether firstly the dogs get on and secondly whether you can walk them both.
With dogs that big and strong i'd be worried about not being able to break them up if they started to fight, which could happen with a rescue dog that has a tough background.

I'd definitely try to make it work though as it sounds like you've fallen in love and love is probably exactly what the poor rescue needs 😍

I wouldn’t get another dog until the one you have is trained, and even then I wouldn’t take an adult male bull breed cross into a home that already has another adult male in it.

I think express interest in the stray , to be fair it sounds as though it will be at the rescue for a while, maybe visit it and walk it to see if it is for you!

But then focus on the dog you already have, ramp your the training and get it sorted before you bring another difficult dog into the mix. not fair to either of them if you aren’t able to control them and walk them together.

I’m not sure whether fostering him first would be an option, although I have considered asking the rescue. My husband feels that it would be cruel to put the dog through that if there’s a chance he might then have to go back.

The rescue will take him back if it doesn’t work out. This is both in the contract I’ve signed and something I know from following their social media for some time. My existing dog also sometimes goes to the adjacent daycare, so I’ve known of the rescue for a while.

Also, just to clarify, he wasn’t abandoned. He was found extremely malnourished and neglected, which is how he ended up with the rescue.

I would never take a dog that wasn't in a foster home situation before coming to me. You absolutely cannot properly assess dogs in kennels properly to see if they are balanced enough to be re-homed.

But tbh, I wouldn't introduce any new dog to my family - rescue or puppy - without having my first dogs training up to standards.

I didn't get a second dog until the first could be walk nicely on the lead in all environments. The fact that you haven't been able to train a 4 year old working lab to walk nicely on the lead (presuming you've had from puppyhood) is not a good sign of your ability to take on another dog which may have a lot more training challenges.

Our boy was a rescue.
Cruelty and abuse. Terrible story.
He was our first dog. I was apprehensive as I'd never trained a dog but I knew I had to give him a chance.
Apart from 1st night, he's never done his business in the house, he won't even do it in the garden. He does what he needs to do on his 2 or 3 walks a day.
It's taken us a long time to bring him out his shell. He wa abused and would even cowl when you picked the tv remote up.
He is such a loving lad now, so sweet. Loves a cuddle. Likes to be where I am whether in the living room, kitchen or even toilet 🤣

Decent rescues will send their dogs on a trial run in their new home and will take them back if it doesn't work out. I'm not sure having a failed rehome from a home who tried to make it work is worse than the dog potentially spending months or years in a rescue. Our old rescue had a previous unsuccessful trial run in a different home and was returned. I'm not sure it's something a dog would really remember after a few days of being back at the rescue.

The next step would be to arrange a few meet sessions where you take your existing dog to see how they get on. Again, a good rescue will allow you a few sessions so you can take it slowly.

I agree with the previous posters. The fact that you haven't been able to train your lab to walk loose lead unfortunately doesn't advertise you as being the most suitable for a rescue, especially one that hasn't been evaluated in a home environment.

I had a two year old rescue lab who had no training and pulled your arms out their sockets on a walk, it took me a few weeks to have him loose lead, and I thought that was too long.

Then you have to think about how you would manage life if your dogs don't get along. Not every dog likes every other dog just as not every human likes every other human.

It could work, but you are not stacking the deck in your favour.

Yes, the rescue said that the next step would be the meet up sessions.

Just to clarify what I mean when I say he pulls on the lead, I don’t mean he’s pulling like a freight train, as he did when he was a puppy! He is perfectly capable of walking nicely and there are plenty of walks where he does.
What I mean is that he can be lovely and relaxed on the lead one day and then noticeably more pully the next. It isn’t that I’ve allowed him to spend four years dragging me around on every walk and am only now wondering why he pulls. His lead walking has improved enormously since he was a puppy, it’s just inconsistent.

I’m perfectly happy to admit that I’m not a perfect dog owner but I don’t think he’s a badly trained dog either.

No I wouldn’t. Purely because your husband isn’t totally on board.

Honestly this was my first thought too. It doesn't sound like a good idea if I'm being truthful.

Thank you everyone for your comments. This has been exactly the reality check I needed and I accept that I might not be the best suited person to adopt this particular dog. I’m going to take a step back and think it through carefully.

This. Both adults have to be 100% on board before getting a dog - they're too much of a commitment for one to be "meh" about it.

lovely and relaxed on the lead one day and then noticeably more pully the next

This is training though. IMHO (and I know I have higher standards as I am a trainer), he either pulls or he doesn't. If he pulls sometimes, then he pulls. He should never pull. Having a loose lead is critical in order to communicate with him effectively. If the lead is taught, you can't communicate with him in the way that you should be able to. A dog that is 99% trained, is 100% not trained.

Imagine you applied the same logic to recall. He comes back to me most of the time, apart from when he is chasing a deer across the road, or running up to the child waving its arms in the pushchair. Any dog should learn that when you ask it to do something it is non negotiable.

I realise this sounds draconian, but dogs are rehearsing all the time. They are either rehearsing what you want them to do, or what you don't want them to do. Allowing him to pull sometimes enables him to rehearse two things. Firstly that he can ignore you, and secondly that he can pull when he chooses.

Unless you are really lucky, this can have much more undesirable consequences when applied to a rescue.

It sounds like you are reconsidering though, which I applaud. It is very easy to see the cuteness, and want to give a rescue a seemingly better life, but that only works if is an appropriate fit. I had one recently that I know I could have done something with, but it was totally the wrong timing and circumstances for me. Heartbreaking.

We took on a lurcher who had lived outside for 7 years.
She was perfect within a short time.

I can recommend a training company I am using if you message me.

She 'cured ' dpuppy (21kg ) pulling on the first visit.

Thank you for taking the time to explain it and no, I will not get another dog until I have resolved this issue fully.

Thank you. I have decided to put he adoption on hold and will just stick with the dog school we have signed up to to get him fully trained but I appreciate your response

I think it’s a good idea to just stick with one dog until all training is nailed on perfect OP, if nothing else dogs living together sort of learn from & copy each other. For some things thats great, our younger dog is a rescue and I do credit our older one quite a bit for how easily he was to toilet train as he would watch & follow the older dog, but if one dog pulls or barks at the door going or reacts to another dog or doesn’t have good recall etc, you don’t want to be dealing with that behaviour X2.

I hope it didn't sound patronising, it really wasn't meant to.

Make sure your trainer can explain how classical conditioning works, and what operant conditioning is. Also epigenetic inheritance, and how it can affect your dog, and what socialisation really is (spoiler - it isn't about letting your dog interact with every dog it sees).

If you want a good book, Ray Coppinger's book called 'Dogs' is a good one.

Agree with the above. If question your decisions as you’ve chosen a large working breed as a pet which is already setting yourselves and the dog for failure. Failed to train it in the entire 4 years you’ve had it to the point you’re now having to seek professional help, your second post sounds like you’re seriously backtracking about what you put in your first. You don’t take a 4 year old dog back to training classes just because he pulls a little bit very occasionally. And now you’re considering a high needs dog that’s been abused and neglected, unhousebroken and is likely to come with all sorts of behavioural problems. I really don’t understand people who go out and get multiple animals that actively make their lives WORSE!