Do Dog Rescues Have an Unrealistic and Excessively Strict Approach to Rehoming?

Ninasmum

Just interested in having a discussion here. I happened to visit my breed's local rescue group and was sadly reading the tales of the dogs they had for rehoming. Although I am not in a position to take on another dog at present, I happened to look at their conditions for taking on one of their dogs. Amongst other things, their dogs must not be left alone at home for longer than 4 hours and new homes must have a garden.

This reminded me of the reason I went to a breeder rather than a rescue in the first place. We have a bit of a yard here at home, but not really a garden, and our dogs are left for about 5 hours a day in the week. We have to make the effort to get them out more regularly than if we had good outdoor facilities- but our dogs are walked at least 3 times daily without fail- and we have seen no signs of distress from our pets being left for the length of time they are, even though they are an intelligent, active working breed.

I wonder, are rescues being over ambitious? Just how much contact do their dogs get on a daily basis being in kennels anyway? Is everyone without a garden necessarily not a good home for a dog? And are working owners really such a bad bet? We waited till a family member was semi-retired to have a dog, but if I'm honest, my wider family has dogs and are at work full time- their dogs seem perfectly happy and healthy and used to their routine. As far as I can see, there are so many unwanted dogs out there, are rescues ruling out a lot of good homes unnecesarily?

ladymarmalade1970

I completely agree with you. We weren't allowed to rescue a rottie from Battersea in 2009 as we had no rottie experience. We got our Vinnie from Enfield in the end as they weren't so strict. We adore him.
When we decided we wanted a companion for him, another boy, Battersea would only let us have a girl and most of the staffies we looked at they wouldn't let us have because we have children (and cats to be fair). We ended up buying a puppy purely because the rescues were too strict for us.
Our dogs and us are very happy now and we still support the rescues, in particular, staffy rescues but its VERY frustrating at times..

ka7e

It might be better if there were some flexibility, but I think these restrictions generally have the dog's best interests at heart. A young dog or one that suffers separation anxiety cannot be left alone for 4-5 hours a day. You are just setting up the re-homing process to fail!

My one complaint is with the rescues that won't re-home where there is an unneutered pet in the home. Some responsible breeders with multiple dogs say they could easily fit another neutered animal into their household, especially if it is a breed the specialise in. Not everyone who choses not to neuter their animals is irresponsible.

liz545

I think some rescues can be, but often it's for very understandable reasons. If a rescue takes in strays, it's hard to know how a dog will behave with young children, and many don't have the resources (i.e. fosterers) to find out.They need to be responsible, and avoid the risk that a dog might not get on with kids. Some dogs do need owners who've got specific breed experience, and while they might be ok with the right owner, rescues want to reduce the risk of a dog being returned. Some people have very unrealistic expectations and will return an animal for trivial reasons, and homes don't want to put animals through the trauma of that if they can.

Ultimately, I don't think it's about having unrealistic expectations, it's about minimising the risk, both to families, and to the rescue, who sadly also need to think about their legal liabilities.

CFC

Ninasmum wrote: »

I wonder, are rescues being over ambitious? Just how much contact do their dogs get on a daily basis being in kennels anyway? Is everyone without a garden necessarily not a good home for a dog? And are working owners really such a bad bet??

Spot on in my opinion, plus the comment about another dog in the home being neutered. I'd like to see more in depth questioning about the applicants understanding of dog keeping and less tick box approaches.

chris_n_tj

One of the main problems with a rescue animal is the unknown. If you had your puppy from the time it left its mum then you know your own dog. With a rescue you haven't got that information so you are working blind.

I have worked with many rescue dogs (I fostered) and the problems that come to light, sometimes after many weeks is an eye opener. It takes many months, or even years to get a rescue to trust a new owner. Some of these dogs have been beaten, starved and worse.

I did home checks, and my rule was if there is outside space that was secure, then i was happy. I think its wrong for any dog to be left for long hours alone, this in its self can create problems. I sometimes went against our breed rescue policies if I thought the family would make a good forever home for a dog, common sense is the key.

The only rule I stuck by was the children under 4 years. A rescue dog without a background ( i am sorry to say you can never really believe the excuses you are given for the handing over of a dog) I would never forgive myself if anything happened to a small child.

Of course each rescue centre is different so i cant speak for them all, but they try to do their best for the animal. You have to also remember most of these people give their time for free, and do the best they can.

Where would we be without these places, more importantly where would the animals be. Its a fine line that has to walked with caution.

dizziblonde

The no young children bit always brings out the barrage of whining from people who want the dog and want it now and it's not fair because they want it.

Considering the number of "normal" dogs who get rehomed just for growling at kids in a "oi you're bugging me now, knock it off mate" way and labelled as aggressive - where their background is known, their behaviour is relatively known... I can understand rescues not wanting to take the risk of boomerang dogs coming back for similar reasons. Heck I've got incredibly lucky with my rescue guy considering NOTHING is known of his history as he was brought in as a stray, did his pound time and no one claimed him - but we still had an interesting few weeks once the honeymoon period was over with him pushing his luck, getting a little big growly at the cat (considering the cat had wound him up she fully deserved it but he could have been deemed "aggressive" for it), and generally finding his feet and seeing where the boundaries lay.

I think these animals DESERVE the perfect home - they've been through enough (mine was turfed out and running loose in the middle of the grotty winter - taken a good three months to get the twinkle back in his eyes).

undaunted

Not all rescues have the same rules & therefore you can't have a one size fits all answer. Also rules may be bent in some cases if the rescue considers a particular applicant warranted it. What they don't want is the dog (or other animal) "bouncing back" due to being home inappropriately. That isn't good for anyone, especially the pet.

As to rules re kids, gardens, other pets etc I think it depends on what type / & breed of animal you are looking to rescue as needs will vary.

Ninasmum

I guess what I'd like to see is individual dog profiling and matching to owners- as someone else mentioned, instead of the ticky box method. Dog displays separation anxiety and can barely be left, fair enough, but a lot of dogs that have spent any amount of time kenneled are pretty laid back about it, and you could assess how many hours they might be ok for differently.

A lot of older dogs probably just want soft upholstery to sleep away their last days on. Bet they wouldn't mind if their owner was out quite a bit- nice peaceful life! It's just sad that many good owners might fall at the first hurdle when on closer inspection they'd suit several dogs currently in rescue- not all true, but several, that's all I think.

ka7e

I feel so sorry for an elderly neighbour that lost her aged spaniel last year. She has always had well-trained, sociable Cocker spaniels but, at 76, didn't feel she could take on a pup. Our local RSPCA "matched" her with a dog and she was favourably home-vetted.

She took on a 7 year-old terrier xbreed that had been handed in due to the owner working longer hours and dog being left alone alot. She says he is good company in the house, but he has lots of "accidents" which she struggles to clean up. He is also terrible on the lead and extremely aggresive with other dogs. He barks and lunges at any passing dogs and as she walks with a stick she really has to avoid all dogs in the park. Her daily strolls were a big part of her social life, stopping to chat with other dog owners and feeding treats to other dogs. That has all stopped but I know she won't give him up as she's "rescued" him and she thinks it's her fault she's ended up with an unsuitable pet!

Padstow

I know a small rescue of a pedigree breed that won't even allow you to see the dogs.

They come to your home, interview you and give you the dog they see fit. How arrogant is that?

Consequently, one older boy had been sitting in his kennel for over six months. The rescue had to abandon all their regulations and put his poster in various places.
I don't know whether the poor dog ever found a home.