arrgh dilemma

codemonkey

From going from having no dogs we spent today visiting 3 dog shelters. The first had no dogs that wouldn't eat children.

At the second we met a 10 month old blue staffie, absolutely gorgeous, but super strong on the lead - I'm very tall and pretty muscular and I only just managed to keep control. He pulled DH all over the place. He was very excitable and barky and wanted to say hello to every dog he met. I think with training and obedience classes he'd be an excellent dog. My only concern is that he has never been left for more than an hour. We would be his 4th home and that concerns me.

At the third we met a 4 year old lab cross. Also strong on the lead but much easier. Needs a bit of training to stop him pulling but is used to being left for 8 hours already and very friendly. Loves everything and every one. We'd be his third home - his second kept him for 5 days and returned him because he pulled him over.

I like dog 3 who on paper ticks all the boxes but I also really liked dog 2, just concerned about leaving him. DH fell in love with dog 2. He won't let me have both which is just as well because they'd need to be walked separately. We have til noon tomorrow to decide. Help!!!

elsien

The pulling is easily solved in the short term by a halti, dogmatic or similar.
How long would you regularly be leaving him for? If its a few hours, I'd have concerns about the staffie purely because of the amount of damage they can cause in a very short space of time. Think flooring, furniture and plaster off walls in the worst case scenario.
So, is he crate trained, if you're leaving him for a while is there anyone who can help out, and what reasons have the previous places failed on? Not necessarily a deal breaker, but it does depend on your circumstances and tolerances.

pawsies

Can you not do like a trial? We did that with my Bichon, although he was from a Bichon rescue so we could see if he suited us, no commitment.

He did of course

I would also keep looking, if you're not entirely agreeing on the right dog it may cause arguments/resentment.
There may be another rescue dog just around the corner who suits you perfectly.

codemonkey

elsien wrote: »

The pulling is easily solved in the short term by a halti, dogmatic or similar.
How long would you regularly be leaving him for? If its a few hours, I'd have concerns about the staffie purely because of the amount of damage they can cause in a very short space of time. Think flooring, furniture and plaster off walls in the worst case scenario.
So, is he crate trained, if you're leaving him for a while is there anyone who can help out, and what reasons have the previous places failed on? Not necessarily a deal breaker, but it does depend on your circumstances and tolerances.

He's not crate trained. Sadly he was wearing a halter when we were walking him and still pulled. He'd be left alone for 2.5 hours in the morning then another 2.5 or 3 in the afternoon after his midday walk, which I think may be too much.

The flooring I'm not worried about as he'd be getting left in the kitchen, its tiled and I'm not especially keen on it. I probably don't want him chewing the walls though. Or the doors. If he did that and broke through he'd set the alarm in the rest of the house off.

Tbh looking at it with my sensible head on, I think the time we need to give him to train him properly is more than we have and that's not fair on him. Really disappointed. Stupid sensible head.

codemonkey

pawsies wrote: »

Can you not do like a trial? We did that with my Bichon, although he was from a Bichon rescue so we could see if he suited us, no commitment.

He did of course

I would also keep looking, if you're not entirely agreeing on the right dog it may cause arguments/resentment.
There may be another rescue dog just around the corner who suits you perfectly.

I think a home trial would be a bad idea. They've already had multiple homes so if we did decide to rehome one of them, it'd have to be forever.

pawsies

codemonkey wrote: »

I think a home trial would be a bad idea. They've already had multiple homes so if we did decide to rehome one of them, it'd have to be forever.

Not that different from fostering in my view, dogs get shifted around quite a bit. Better to be on trial than to commit and then have to get rid if you couldn't cope.

Plus would the dog really be happier in a kennel rather than being around people/get attention as it wants/plenty of toys etc?

codemonkey

Thanks. Something to think about.

Katiehound

My Q: Was the dog wearing a halter or a halti?
A halter can make a nervous dog much more confident so that they pull even more!

jumpedtheshark

If you like both, and they both have some issues that need a little work, I'd take the Staffie. I'd think the Lab-cross is more likely to more easily find a loving home elsewhere than the Staffie.

codemonkey

Katiehound wrote: »

My Q: Was the dog wearing a halter or a halti?
A halter can make a nervous dog much more confident so that they pull even more!

The staffie was wearing a halter. The lab cross wasn't. They both pulled but we were making allowances for being freaked out by the shelter. Neither dog was aggressive which was good, they just wanted to bound over to the other dogs and say hello.

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

If you like both, and they both have some issues that need a little work, I'd take the Staffie. I'd think the Lab-cross is more likely to more easily find a loving home elsewhere than the Staffie.

Oh man, I feel bad now. :(:( The plan was to go and meet the lab cross again tomorrow so DH can walk him (he was getting all precious about his shoes) but I think he'll say no because he has his heart set on a staffy.

pawsies

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

If you like both, and they both have some issues that need a little work, I'd take the Staffie. I'd think the Lab-cross is more likely to more easily find a loving home elsewhere than the Staffie.

Then again the staffie has been rehomed 4 times and the lab 3 times (not sure how long each has been there mind).
A 10 month old staffie will probably go quick. It's the older ones that struggle more.

There are far too many staffies in shelters atm but the younger ones have more of a chance.

Plus blue staffies are sought after, the black ones tend to be the hardest to rehome.