Considering a puppy, but what breed and from where?

hethmar

Lea Valley rescue seem to have a lot of nice younger dogs and their policy doesnt exclude children by the looks of it
http://leavalleydogrescue.co.uk/the_dogs_72.html


http://leavalleydogrescue.co.uk/our_policy_73.html

Chakani

Thanks Hethmar, I have spoken to Lea Valley rescue in the past, and they are very conservative about which dogs they will rehome with children. They wouldn't home one active enough to keep up with our lifestyle

Many Tears is 4 hours away from us I know they foster elsewhere, but they seem to keep pups and easy-to-home dogs at the kennels. I can't justify numerous 8 hour round trips.

All our local adverts at the moment seem to be crossbred chihuahuas, bulldogs and pugs. I guess just before Christmas is when all the thoughtless breeding is at its height, I hope so anyway. And I have discovered a big puppy farm near us too, which is flooding the Freeads with its pups. It makes me sad that in a place and an age where education and neutering are so freely and cheaply available, people are still trying to make a quick buck out of their dogs with no thought for the puppies they are producing. I am all for mongrels, they can make lovely dogs, and there is a lot to be said for hybrid vigour, but you don't get that from crossing a poor example of one breed with a poor example of another

All in all, feeling quite downhearted at the whole doggy world today.

hethmar

Yes, the rescue I volunteer with is noticing very expensive small dogs like chis and pugs are now turning up in the pound The thing is those types of breeds often have a lot of health probs so get dumped a bit sharpish when a vet talks money. It seems to go round in fashions, the poor old staffs had the biggest hit though, sickening.

Just a thought, have you looked at the private homing pages on dogpages forum?

marybishop

Have you tried Labrador Rescue South East & Central. We rehomed a wonderful chocolate male labrador four and a half years ago (he was 18 mths, now 6 yrs) and it was the best thing we've done. He's absolutely gorgeous and they matched us perfectly. My daughters were 14 at the time so older than your children but I can't see anything on their website that mentions not rehoming with young children, I'm sure it would depend on the dog and they do homecheck very carefully.

Gingham_R

Have you looked at champdogs? You can look through breed options there and the breeders are decent ones.

The tests that need to be done on the parents depends on the breed. There is more info on champdogs. They have a forum too which might be worth posting on.

Most reputable breeders have a waiting list for pups but you sound like an ideal owner who would have no problems being accepted by the right breeder.

Good luck!

Sally_A

Chakani, it might sound a bit daft, but if you do a CV of your dog experience, especially showing the dates you had the dogs, if you can show you had them until the sad end, it will make them believe you when you say you want to give them a forever home; include what you want from a dog, ideal age, temperament etc, and present that to rescue centres you may have more luck.

I think a spaniel or spaniel-x would be ideal for you.