Adopting a Rescue Dog with a Young Child?

Gem_

Advice please. My son is 18 months and it seems like all the charities (I am in Devon) will only let you adopt if you have older children :mad: He is used to dogs and I am not a novice dog owner.

Does anyone know of any charities or rehoming centres who do have a family friendly attitude?

Thanks for your help
Gem

GEEGEE8

I guess it's cos they can't guarantee that the dog does not have behavourial issues.. it might not be safe..

No matter how good you are with dogs, or how used to them your child is.

If you buy a dog yourself, then it's your responsibility.

If you get one from a shelter, then it's theirs, and I don't think they want to take the risk..

That wasn't meant to sound like a lecture btw..

hethmar

You may find that rescues are willing to let you have a puppy. Most rescues want children in the family to be at least 7 if you take an adult dog.

18 months is very young, its a "try pulling bits of a dog to see what happens" age. Ive seen dogs in rescues blinded by toddlers poking things in their eyes.

jackieglasgow

There's quite a few young dogs on dogsblog, including a gorgeous wee Llasa Ahpso, and a few other lovely babies, they might be worth a wee look?

I think I have fallen in love with Alice:

http://www.dogsblog.com/category/age/0-1-years/

And Lily who is at the bottom of the page has lived with a toddler, she's gorgeous!!

foreign_correspondent

Not all rescues have blanket policies re: age, but in general 18 months is very young - 18 month olds are very much into exploring the world in a sensory manner, through feeling, mouthing, pushing, poking, pinching, twisting... a child of that age is also entirely egocentric and has no understanding that other people or animals are beings like themselves - they have no concept of the impact of their actions on others, and as hethmar says, a toddler cannot be expected to understand that the dogs eye is not just a shiny thing to poke, or that pinching a dogs nice wet nose with your sharp, little fingernails may elicit a reaction - I dont care how reliable the dog, any animal will defend itself from pain!

Due to this, and also the conflicting needs and demands of dogs and small chldren, which often result in the dog being got rid of (for peeing on the rug where the baby plays, needing too much time or attention from busy parents, chewing the children's toys etc etc..) many people find it wise to wait till the child is a little older and better able to co-exist with dogs!

If you are confident in managing a dog and young child together, you could always post a 'home offered' ad on dogpages and see if anyone has any ideas...

clairibel

jackieglasgow wrote: »

There's quite a few young dogs on dogsblog, including a gorgeous wee Llasa Ahpso, and a few other lovely babies, they might be worth a wee look?

I think I have fallen in love with Alice:

http://www.dogsblog.com/category/age/0-1-years/

And Lily who is at the bottom of the page has lived with a toddler, she's gorgeous!!

Oh no i shouldn't have peeked Benson is gorgeous i've a thing for lurcher whippet crosses and my son loves collies

GEM we had the same issue when we were looking for a dog as our son was 5 then and we went to many places and online but in the end my hubbie decided on a little cross pup and i know every dog even from pups can turn if provoked but you just have to just be there at all times with doggie and babe I felt a bit more at ease with the pup and DS. Like you can see there are a few that need rescuing but there is all the extra work. x

mrcol1000

Gem_ wrote: »

Advice please. My son is 18 months and it seems like all the charities (I am in Devon) will only let you adopt if you have older children :mad: He is used to dogs and I am not a novice dog owner.

Does anyone know of any charities or rehoming centres who do have a family friendly attitude?

Thanks for your help
Gem

You know we live in a society where instead of accepting what we are told we just try and found a way round it.
You could easily get a dog and I am sure there are rescues with policies not so strict as the ones you have visited who would allow you to adopt. But really you should ask yourself why are they refusing to allow you to adopt a dog? Maybe instead of trying to find a way round this why not ask the charities what you can do to adopt a dog with them. Maybe ask them to contact you if they get a dog which they feel would be alright with younger children. Or ask them when they think your be in a postion to adopt one of their dogs?
If you really want a dog your be alble to get one regardless but I really think you should think about why your being turned down and whether maybe its better to listen to them rather than just ignore them? Maybe you could ask about fostering the dogs short term so that the dogs in their care can have a break from kennels and live in a proper home for a while.

hethmar

"GEM we had the same issue when we were looking for a dog as our son was 5 then and we went to many places and online but in the end my hubbie decided on a little cross pup"


Although at 5 a child should understand that the dog is not a toy, whereas a toddler has no conception of that. (My sons LOVED their teddies when they were toddlers, but how often were they bunged out of the car window, thrown down the loo, or the eyes pulled off)

gratefulforhelp_2

OP despite successfully managing my eldest as a toddler with a grumpy old GSD, I have just been told that too, by rescues in Devon.
Labrador rescue who I spoke to are under 5s, the woman there told me the RSPCA don't accept under 12s.
Its a bit frustrating, as sensible dog people know you never leave a child alone with a dog, no matter what the dog or the child.
I can see their point of view though, we also live in a society where if something goes wrong, we look for someone to blame, I'm sure you wouldn't, but people do.

passthewine

Under 12:eek: Surely it depends on the temprament of the dog! My parents recently got a rescue dog and he came from a family home with kids and he is brilliant with kids. Same as my recent rescue, although he had been in kennels for ages he has just fitted in and stands by the door and whines.

Could I ask you all though to please STOP posting links to dogsblog so far I have chosen 9 more dogs that I will take. The rest of the family will have to move into the shed:rotfl:

jackieglasgow

9? Amateur!! I spent about an hour and a half last night looking, and so far have a blind dog, a dog with three legs, one who's had seven homes, and seven staffie cross puppies, amongst others which will be all coming to live with me just as soon as I kick the OH and the kids out!