Dog re-homing charities ... a bit OTT ??

viktory

Keep us posted - I am desperate to see how it turns out!

tcr_3

Well. That was fun !

He's an attractive dog, a bit overweight but not that much. Very strong on the lead, we didn't dare take him off it. Went out for about two hours for a wander about, he was very excited, sniffing everywhere.

We met quite a few dogs during the walk, he was defensive as they approached, head down tail up kinda thing ... but as soon as he determined his opposite number wasn't a threat he wasn't interested in them any more.

Met a few walkers with children too, he wasn't interested in kids in the slightest.

We took him up hill, down dale and he was absolutely brilliant, it was only towards the end of the walk that he was starting to flag a bit. Him and us included !

So outside he was absolutely perfect. 100% Class A Brilliant.

In the house, however, it was a totally different story. He was nothing short of disastrous.

And I say that as I look around a living room now totally devoid of cushions, newspapers, magazines etc etc. For we have never met such a destructive animal in all our lives. We had washing hanging in the kitchen, he was into that too, shirts pulled off the dryer and shredded, basically. He needs a lead on in the house as well as outside !

One of the settee cushions, he had that within about 10 seconds of coming in, tossing it about everywhere. He was very, very defensive as it was taken back off him, growling away with "that look" in his eye.

And that was after his walk too, when we were hoping he'd be a bit less excited. He did eventually settle, though, and fall asleep in the kitchen. He only barked twice all the time he was with us, it wasn't much of a bark either.

So. That's where we are with him right now. We're hoping his "enthusiasm" might diminish somewhat by the time of his next visit. The charity are giving him 1-2-1 attention over the next few weeks, trying to get to the bottom of these issues he's having with domestic objects, we're probably going to get him in two weekends time, overnight, to see how he fares.

And if he can live with us, and us him, and for all his problems ... we're hoping he'll be joining us full time by the middle of June.

Sagaris

Pretty much what our lady did when we got her here - as if she was looking for something! The first time we left her (to pick up a few bits from Tesco) she trashed the place - I thought we'd been burgled!

We will never be able to leave food out on the worktops in the kitchen - we just nipped out down to the tip and were gone no more than 20 minutes, she'd just come in from a walk so was appearing 'tired' - but when we got back, I found the remnants of a fresh loaf of bread in our bedroom - it was a small cut wholemeal loaf, she'd eaten the lot - but left the crusts - still in the wrapper! :rotfl: The second time she's done that and left the crusts (the last time she fished a few slices of an old loaf from the dustbin in the garden).

A perfect lady when we are in the house - but if you go out for any length of time - clear the decks! Although if we leave her with a Kong toy filled with food (taken from her daily allowance - she's 'well upholstered too!) she finishes that and no further damage done.

She really is like no other dog I've ever had - I'm willing to persevere with her! Still waiting to hear from our rescue about what we do to keep her!

elsien

Could be that he's stressed being in a new place. The first thing mutt did on entering the house was wee at the top of the stairs and try to jump out of a first floor window. She was just so overwrought she didn't know what to do with herself. I'd never had a destructive dog before either - it does come as a shock to the system. On the positive side, my house is now a heck of a sight tidier than it's ever been!
The lead in the house to start with isn't a bad idea - we used a long trailing lead so we could grab if we needed to.
Good luck with your next visit - hope doggies a bit calmer next time. Is he used to a home environment do you know?

myothercarisaferrari

I am so jealous! I grew up with beagles - fab dogs. I had a rescue beagle who passed away 4 years ao.

FAB FAB dogs x

hermum

tcr wrote: »

*cough* apologies for calling Staffies mad*
*they look fierce as**aggressive young men own them*
I'm sure many of them are adorable. I'll read up on the breed, try not to be so prejudiced in future.

ANYWAY.

Another rant-ette. One charity told me it required "a substantial donation" before they'd re-home with us (assuming they ever would, because we're not idle rich, after all).

So I asked politely how substantial was substantial. Um. Try £500 ?

Which is about £100-£150 more than I could buy a puppy of the same breed from a reputable breeder (I'm not going to name the breed, for fear of burning our bridges).

Another charity told us they had a suitable dog for us. One that was quite content to be left. A ten year old dog, deaf, half blind & epileptic and which can barely walk from one end of the room to the other without collapsing in a heap.

Now, I feel sorry for that dog. And I'm in awe of someone who could re-home him, even more in awe of the charity which is keeping him going. But, come on, £500 for that ? Who wants a dog that age, with those infirmities ? It's half dead already ... no offence, like.

I got the impression he was ours for the taking, they know he's going to keel over one last time soon enough ... and only at that point ... would we ever be given the chance to re-home a dog with a bit of life left in him. Presumably for another £500.

Am a bit jaded with the whole thing, tbh.

Cheers for the reference to Dog Pages, I'll investigate, thanks v much.

I took on a 16 year old deaf blind dog, a couple of years ago & in the 6 months I had her she had a lovely life, walks daily, company from my other two dogs. That's what she had, I had total love & devotion & the knowledge that I had given her 6 happy months at the end of a long life.
I know lots of people who will take on an old dog, we do know that it won't be for long & it's devastating when they go but to give an animal some happy times more than makes up for the upset.