Best option for new dog

moomin5

I personally prefer to go for adult dogs that need rehoming over puppies (rescue or bought) as they require a lot of input, time and patience. I've adopted 3 greyhounds so far, most retire somewhere between 2-5 so not old. They sleep loads and are easy going.

I would consider what traits your looking for and how much exercise your able to offer (always best to imagine a wet,winters day), along with shedding/grooming etc.
When choosing an adult dog you can select what character suits you and if they do happen to need further training or have an issue can choose whether its something you feel you can cope with. Not all are problem dogs or mistreated, many are simply down to owner circumstances changing. The most important bit is finding a rescue which assesses the dogs well and offers post adoption support.

There are rescues which home to flats so keep looking if those don't. As long as your happy to accompany the dog out several times a day its not a problem, I have to take my own dogs out on lead into the garden multiple times a day as there are too many cats about (1 dog has high prey drive) to just let them out alone. Perhaps best to also consider security measures at exits so the dog can't easily escape.

Lurcher link , Greyhound Gap & GRWE also home lurchers nationwide and use fosterer's.

Could try popping a home offered ad on dogpages and Dogsblog is also a good if small snapshot of what's available.

cepheus

Yes I know someone with a rescue Greyhound staffie Cross. It savaged a cat some time ago, and the police forced her to muzzle it, and it ran off the other day after another, she can't walk well and she lost it for a while. Not sure if it was muzzled.

I have experience looking after two labs which were far from perfect in terms of outside behaviour, one young and one old, and could manage them easily in my house and surrounding parks and woods. If it wasn't for the owners having fleas in their carpets I would be still looking after them during the day. Hence my decision not to take them any more.

moomin5

cepheus wrote: »

Yes I know someone with a rescue Greyhound staffie Cross. It savaged a cat some time ago, and the police forced her to muzzle it, and it ran off the other day after another, she can't walk well and she lost it for a while. Not sure if it was muzzled.

I have experience looking after two labs which were far from perfect in terms of outside behaviour, one young and one old, and could manage them easily in my house and surrounding parks and woods. If it wasn't for the owners having fleas in their carpets I would be still looking after them during the day. Hence my decision not to take them any more.

It sounds like the wrong match for that owner if she's not able to handle the dog to keep it & the local cats safe. A good rescue usually contract you to return the dog to them if needs be and while hard perhaps would be best in that situation.

Many dogs see cats as prey not just sighthounds, but their speed gives them an advantage in catching. Some dogs can live with cats but still see non-family cats outside as fair game and prey drive varies between individuals, some greyhounds retire due to not chasing the lure. My lad will have a look but isn't interested in prey on lead, off lead he'd be tempted to give chase. Hattie's prey drive is manageable for us and she's used to wearing a muzzle so is no hardship to her, as all my neighbours have cats its a bit of a pain simply as we can't avoid them.

Well it sounds like you've a realistic view that it won't be a perfect dog (Its surprising how many do expect this) and all involve some work, think similar can be said for 'blank slate' puppy's reading the dog forums. If you like Labrador's they've also a few breed rescues.

cepheus

I saw an advert in the local paper yesterday about a local rescue centre who seemed desperate for help homing Christmas strays, so I paid a visit today.

The woman in charge seemed very stand-offish and asked exactly what I wanted.
'Well I just wanted a walk around'
'no we don't allow that'.
Remembering a collie-greyhound cross in the paper, I suggested a collie cross.
'We rarely have collies, they are mainly greyhounds.
Then I took out the picture of a collie greyhound cross they had from the paper. mmmmm, they have it wrong he is nearly all greyhound. 'Are you at home' -
'Yes'
'do you have a house'
'Yes'
'can you prove it?'
I gave her my council tax bill, and she was taken aback,
'have you got a garden'
'Yes' (but here it comes I thought)
'do you have a fenced off garden?'
'No'
'Ah! well greyhounds definitely need that they will stray.'
'OK perhaps I could arrange that then, I'd like to at least see the dog saying that I have come all the way here'
'He is very boystrous,
'still may as well'
'OK,I will get someone to bring him round.'

Anyway eventually I saw the dog. It didn't bark but jumped up at me but was very friendly and seemed far more sociable than her anyway. Do you want me to leave my name? - 'you could do.'

I didn't bother and took a trip to another homing centre. Earlier today a woman told me she had got her dog from there and they don't bother about fenced off gardens.

When I got there, there was a closed sign at the office despite being within visiting hours, but after wandering around someone shouted from inside, so I fought through the dodgy door. A woman seemed to be playing solitaire on the computer and barely turned round.

'Could I take a look?' I asked
'Yeah put don't put your finger in the cages.'
As I walked in the compound all hell broke loose. The place mainly houses Staffies and pitt bull strays, but some dogs were calm. One looked like a husky which howled slightly and seemed inquisitive rather than aggressive, but the conditions looked a bit basic, then I'm not sure what to expect.

They would probably have allowed me to take them all without any check! I felt a bit exhausted at that point and came home.

krlyr

cepheus wrote: »

and pitt bull strays

Unlikely, as these would have to be destroyed as per the DDA. Generally seized dogs would be in a council-paid kennel out of the public eye (I used to volunteer at a rescue that shared its section of the commercial kennels with the seized dogs)

I would bear in mind that you get good rescues and bad rescues. You get some who go OTT with their rules, some that go to the other extreme. But you get lots inbetween too. Many people successfully foster or adopt when in flats or houses with no fenced garden so don't feel disheartened.
I would second Dogpages, and also Dog Rescue World as two forums to browse - both have quite a few rescue staff 'on the books' who will give general advice on their policies, perhaps recommend particular dogs, etc.

I would be careful of adopting a dog privately if there are flaws you couldn't deal with. For example, a dog with separation anxiety - it's not usually something many owners will advertise because it will make it very hard to convince someone to adopt a dog that barks/howls and chews the place up when left for 5 minutes! Aggression with other dogs, resource guarding, totally non-existant recall, etc. can all be covered up for the sake of getting the dog rehomed. Yes, it can happen in those bad rescues I mentioned too - which is why personal recommendations, or at least good online reviews (from non-bias sources) can be great.

I perhaps wouldn't focus too much on breed (though I think you're perfectly within your rights to not want a certain breed if you just don't click with it - I like dogs but I wouldn't want a rough coated dog because I don't really like the look, I doubt I'd ever adopt anything Bichon Frise/Llaso Apso/Maltese-esque as they don't appeal to me at all, and although I absolutely love Staffies - having volunteered at a predominantly Staffie-based rescue - I don't think they're quite the breed for me either), but individual dog. You'll get Labradors who howl/bark when left, have no recall, have high preydrives including towards cats, just as you'll get dogs like that in other breeds. Ditto with rescue vs private rehome and even vs puppy. My puppy from a breeder was one of the worst dogs to own. Poor breeding (we inherited her from a relative, at a young age but genetics had already played their part in health and temperament) led to obsessive behaviours, aggression/reactivity towards other dogs, a lack of focus, easily stressed and so on. Whereas we took on a private rehome at 9 months old who was nearly perfect in terms of behavious - minus her preydrive (and she's a herding/pastoral breed, not a hound or terrier you may expect that from). And my rescue dog, although he suffers from fear-based reactivity (mainly just on-lead), is great in the house - housetrained, good basic commands, great with kids, etc. and fine to be left home alone, despite having been shunted through 3 different homes before me.

I would spend less time worrying about what breed to get and more time researching where to find a dog, rescues with good reputations, or getting in touch with groups that may know of genuine in-need dogs with genuine stories (e.g. ask your vet to keep your details, often someone may bring a dog in for euthanasia simply because they need to rehome it and don't know where to turn - the vet will know the dog a bit from consultations etc. to know temperament and so on). Then look at the individual dogs, let the rescue know your circumstances and preferences, etc., I'm sure the right dog is out there for you

cepheus

Well that's why I was flexible, and wanted to examine behaviour without stating breed, and wanted a look round. It seemed to give the wrong impression, she seemed to want me to state the dog I wanted. I have experience with Labradors and a Border-Collie cross, but not other breeds.

I was surprised at the word 'pit bull', but that's what she said. Perhaps it was to stop people stroking them! That second re-homing centre allows you to take them for a walk!

krlyr

Where abouts roughly are you located? Someone may be able to recommend a rescue they've had a good experience at. I looked at your links earlier to try to get an idea but one seems to be in Surrey and one in the Midlands so wasn't sure!

cepheus

Yes I'm near the Berks, Surrey Hants border!

Fosterdog

I know I'm biased because I foster rescues but I would recommend going to a rescue that uses foster homes. I've fostered all sorts over the past five years and despite me taking mostly strays or abuse cases I've only had three of them have serious issues needing work, the rest have all just needed some time and TLC to settle and have been easy going loving dogs and have all gone on to fantastic new homes. Actually I've only taken one owner surrender and he had more issues that the abuse cases, he had SA, issues with other dogs, next to no socialisation, scared of walks and going out. He was surrendered as being a loving family pet with just a change in circumstances.

Most rescues offer ongoing support but I know as a fosterer I also keep in touch with new homes and if they need anything they can contact me, if it's something simple I'll help, if not I pass them on to the right person in the rescue (a few behaviourists and trainers are volunteers too).

As for your garden, you don't necessarily need a huge wall to keep a dog in, a 3ft picket fence is enough to keep some dogs in and doesn't have to be too expensive. Some dogs try to escape others have no interest in leaving the garden.

Some rescues do group dog walks, once a week/fortnight/month a group of volunteers meet up to walk a group of the dogs together. It may be worth seeing if you can go along to a few of these, you'll get to meet a few dogs and get an idea of their personality, behaviour, socialisation etc. I know of a lot of people who have ended up adopting a dog they've met this way.

krlyr

I've noticed there doesn't seem to be a lot of rescues in the Surrey area for some reason.
Perhaps try DBARC - often lots of Collie types and the odd Lab. Furryfriends in Coulsdon has a few dogs in at a time, assessed in her own home too, though Emma is quite strict with her homing rules (lovely person but very confident in her morals so won't compromise much).
Have you tried Battersea at Old Windsor?
Rescue Remedies is Surrey based and although they have a lot of Staffies, they're not the only breed they deal with.
Might be worth looking at regional rescues like Many Tears too. Lots of Collie and Lab crosses and quite a few of their dogs get fostered in the South East so no need to trek to Wales to visit. They use local homecheckers to save hassle too.