Rescue Dog tips

How wonderful for you littleflo I don't have any advice for you I'm afraid but am bumping in case anyone else does.
Ours were strays too but came to us as puppies via a vet friend who'd had them brought in to her and were pretty straightforward. Are you looking for an older dog?

What a lovely thing to do. I've just been reading about a poor dog who has been in a rescue centre for 4 years and still waiting for her forever home I would recommend talking to the rescue centre nearest to you - they will be best to advise you. Maybe an older dog rather than a puppy would be ideal. All our dogs were rescue ones and gave us so much pleasure in their lives. One was 7 when she came having been dumped with her supplies - the others were 2 or 3 years old. Good luck.

Puppies - not supplies

Good luck with your search for your forever friend. When we were looking for our rescue dog we had a specific breed in mind, Springer Spaniel. We got in touch with their rescue site and the rest is history, Chloe spent the last nine years of her life with us.

Well done, Littleflo.
It will be your choice, obviously, but I've seen so many appeals for re-homing elderly dogs. Often the owners have died, or can't cope any more.
Of course the dog won't have long to go either, but they're usually easy to manage, as not too energetic.

I have been researching getting a dog for some time and during my research I came across a site called something like ‘ Oldies rescue dogs’. The dogs were more mature, for those who didn’t want a puppy or young dog.
I have also noticed the quite strict criteria for rehoming such as, the ability to be with the dog during the day and having a completely enclosed garden, crop up frequently.
I am still undecided as the GCs are still quite young.

We rescued one who had been abused . He was 3 yrs old. Lovely dog . Wouldn't do it again though. Too many babies about haha .

I recently had a lot more contact than I would have liked with dog rescue centres, and it seems some are rather to quick to match up dogs and owners, and send them on their merry (or in some cases, not so merry!) way.
You need to be sure the place you get the dog from is happy to take time whilst you get to know your new pet.
I think sometimes they are so overrun that they rush the process a bit, so they can take in other worthy dogs.

We went down the Dogs Trust route, but I do feel they are verging on the industrial scale nowadays and perhaps you get a more personal service from smaller local re-homing charities. A neighbour has recently taken a dog on from a local place and they allowed her a decent 'honeymoon' period which seemed a jolly good idea.

Yes I went to N.C.D.L and my DH is a German shepherd lover. Well,he had been taken and returned several times so was on death row. He had so many hang ups but we stuck with it and he was brilliant in the end. I totally agree with the rushing process .They couldn't wait to get rid !

We are happy to take a mature dog as I don’t want to outlive it. One rescue centre had a criteria that ‘you must be ready to have the dog in 7 days. That seemed much to rushed. We don’t have a car, so are restricted with visiting rescue centres.

Does anyone have any experience of Battersea, which is closest to,us?

Talk to the staff at the rescue centre, an older dog may be more suitable but in the end I think heart rules head. Before we got our last rescue dog we looked at several on the website, not too big a dog as one of mine recently pulled me over. Be honest about what you have to offer in the way of time, garden, experience etc. Our little girl is the kindest, gentlest little dog despite being very badly treated by a previous owner. Previous ill treatment does not necessarily mean the dog will have problems. Good luck, we have so much love and pleasure from our dogs.

One further thought, is this the best time to be getting a dog, Christmas can be quite stressful with lots of different things going on. Maybe it would be better to wait until things are quieter in the New Year.

That is a good point, but we will have no visitors now until the mid January so there will be no stress. We don’t even hang decorations or have a tree.

However, we cannot take the dog just yet as we are away 2 days in December. I thought it would take us a few months to find a dog. It will get lots of walks as we spend a lot of time in the Country Park and we are both at home every day. Although these are seen as positives, I do think our lack of experience will stop us being suitable for some dogs.

Until earlier this year I used to volunteer for Jerry Green Dog Rescue who have branches in the North. While its too far away for you, I just wanted to say we made sure prospective adopters came at least twice to visit the dog of their choice. Our Kennel maids made sure adopters where fully aware of any needs that the dog may have. ( Some dogs couldnt tolerate small children or other dogs in the home). Very few "adoptions" were not a success. The dogs all responded to love and patience in their new homes. Many of them went to homes where the couple were 60 plus. So good for you, It sounds like you could offer a lovely home and lifestyle to a lucky dog. Do let us know when you find your "match".

We used the dogs trust and they are really good.We discussed with staff the kind of dog we were looking for, we needed a family pet as we had teenagers at home and the staff knew which dogs would be suitable,we walked the dog we chose,and visited a couple of times before taking the dog home.Someone came out to our house and checked that it was suitable,as you needed a garden.Have you any friends or relatives that could drive you to the kennels as they are usually out of town?You could offer them a little money for fuel. There is a dog out there for everyone and I am sure after talking with staff they will be able to guide you. It looks like the dog will have a lovely life with you and I hope you find one that you love. Oh I nearly forgot,some places will not rehome at Xmas time.it might be worth a phone call first,so as not to make an unnessasary journey. Good luck.

We had a less than positive experience with dogs trust who were trying to rush us into a particular dog. We came away at the point where they would not let us interact with our current dog and the new dog together. We did get a dog from the blue cross who were much more willing for us to see the dogs together and even do a short walk with them. He's a lovely boy but he took a lot of perseverance and the help of a local trainer to become the dog he is today.

Do you have a specific breed in mind littleflo? I’m asking because there are rescue sites specialising in specific breeds and they are often very knowledgeable about the dogs they rehome. I’d say wait and look around and get a feel for the kind of dog you want - big, small, furriness, age, background, terrier, good with children and other dogs, house trained, etc. There are dozen of staffie-types out there but they can be a handful.

If you've never owned a dog before, I'd do some reading and research about various breeds. My experience of all our local dog shelters is there are lots of staffie and staffie/bull breed crosses waiting for re=homing. Some will make lovely pets but I believe there are risks in adopting a bull dog/German shepherd/working dog etc that you have no background information on.
There are specific breed rescues, I volunteer for one that re-homes a particular breed, or any cross of the breed/ Our rescue is a registered charity. All relinquished dogs go into foster care with experienced dog owners. They are assessed then matched with a family who are right for them.
I have friends in their 70's who adopted sight hounds, that is greyhounds, lurchers and have found them lovely gentle creatures. They do chase though so need careful walking.

There is a lot of information around about various breeds and x breeds. I do think contacting a specific breed rescue is a good idea.

I don’t have a breed in mind but need a dog that is easy to manage on a lead. Don’t mind a Mongrel. I don’t really like little dogs. A lot of breeds seem to need someone with experience of the breed. Also some dogs have to be housed with other dogs.

We walk a lot, but our house is very quiet, just the two of us. I guess a nervous dog would be happy here, but we don’t mind a dog that is a bit lively.

One problem we face is that we don’t have a car so cannot get to many centres. That is why we are going to try Battersea as it is close by.

We definitely could not have a heavy dog. I am very small. Looking a the centres it seems that certain breeds do dominate. I like lurchers but I am not sure I could cope with one and give it the life it needs.

There are lots of cross bred dogs in rescue centres so maybe look more at your needs and what you can offer rather than a specific breed. Talk to the staff and see the dogs for yourself there will be one which will steal your heart.

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Hattie advises
Since they have had a deprived childhood (puppyhood?) they must be allowed free and unlimited access to sofas.
And to sleep on beds
They may be picky eaters so only the best is good enough, roast chicken is good, also whatever you are eating.
They will need lots and lots of toys, including odd socks, pj trousers, hairbrushes, trainers but of course deafening squeaky toys are best
Treats are obligatory
A variety of coats, collars, bandannas, leads should be purchased

Oh and from me
Make sure they are up to date with flea treatment and worming.
With all these in place you should have a devoted companion for the rest of their life.

I'm reading this thread avidly, as I had to do one of the worst, most upsetting things in my life, and put my daughters beloved dog into a shelter for rehoming. I feel guilty every day, but I couldn't take her on.
I so hope she goes to someone who loves her as much as my daughter did.