Rehoming a rescue dog - advice please

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Jingleballs

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We only lost our darling Bailey on Friday and I know it is very early to be considering another but our house feels so empty without a dog and my dad in particular is really struggling.

I had considered getting a second dog in recent years but Bailey wasn't very sociable with other dogs and we felt at his age it would be unfair.

We have a bit of an unusual arrangement regarding "dog sitting". As Bailey was a family pet who lived with the whole family (me, my parents and brother) but moved in with me and OH when we got our own place 7 years ago, rather than getting a dog walker, I would drop him off at my parents ever morning Mon - Friday where my parents would walk and feed him. Both are retired so it worked really well, he was rarely left for more than 3 hours and was very spoiled (I'd say getting 5 - yes 5 - walks between 8 am and 5pm rather spoiled! :D)

Anyway, despite always saying they'd never look after a new dog in the same way, they realize how much they enjoy having a dog around during the week and want to have the same arrangement again (I was prepared to pay for a dog walker but will happily continue with the same arrangement).

I don't know how a rescue centre would view this though - from what I've heard, many won't re home if you are at work all day/don't have a secure garden - how should I expect them to react to this situation? Or would it be best if my parents applied on their own but in reality, the dog would live between both homes?

I'm worried that the rescue might challenge this and say it's stressful to the dog but our dog seemed to thrive on it and honestly could not have been more loved or taken care of.

We are potentially going to visit the centre next weekend and I want to ensure that we make the best case for rehoming and as my preference is to give an older dog a home, hopefully this would also work in our favor.

Any thoughts are most welcome.
 
There are many rescue's outside the main-stream ones (RSPCA, Dogs Trust, etc..), that are much more "flexible", or so my Mum found out. As we have a cattle grid at the end of the drive and both the above trusts turned us down as the drive/garden wasn't enclosed enough.

My advice would be to give rescue centres a ring and see what they say :)
 
I think its a perfect home, Some of the bigger rescues are so precious about their rules, that they loose the dog in all of it. I do home checks for Scruples and as long as I had met all of you and was happy with both homes then I would see no issue at all. My friend frequently leaves her dogs with her parents, they adore them. Her dad takes them up on the moors every time he has them, and they are at home in both houses. If I go away for the day I happily leave my two with my friend. Having a dog sitter on tap is perfect :) Lucky lucky dog.
 
Well, this is exactly the arrangement I have with my parents and my dog and there were no issues in getting agreement. I got mine from my local Dogs Trust. They are more concerned about the dog being left for long periods than who is 'dog sitting' it during the day. It's got to be better than a dog being in kennels and being walked by various different people each day surely?

I don't think you will have any problems with it, but the best thing to do is to take your parents with you when and if you find a dog you like so the centre actually see them agreeing to the arrangement! :)
 
I have this arrangement with my parents for my rescue dog, parents also have a dog. It suits all canine and human! A friend was planning to do this with her parents and was told by a local rescue centre that doing this would traumatise a dog! I got mine from the pound no questions asked, either go somewhere like that or if you can lie !!
 
Try the pound these dogs are far more needy often sat on kill lists.

We have a Staffie from the pound and she is the best dog we have ever owned, a absolute gem of a dog.

I'd be visiting your local council pound and saving a poor dogs life.
 
My dog is/was quite nervy but once she knows someone she is fine. This kind of arrangement is good in my opinion as solves many issues that rescues get a bee in their bonnet about - dog is not left alone, dog gets socialised with others, dog gets routine in it's life. God knows why some feel that's more traumatic than being shut in a kennel for 20+ hours a day!
 
That's good that they should accept our arrangement.

I'm hoping to go this weekend to one of the centres just to discuss things and see what they say - I have spotted an older dog that looks and sounds perfect but my parents and OH seem a bit reluctant to get something older whereas I'd like to give an older dog a chance as I feel they are often the ones overlooked - we'll see how things go at the weekend!
 
We frequently rehome dogs to exactly this kind of set up, we home check and chat to both parties and have no issue provided both environments are suitable for the dog in question :)
 
Thanks Cayla!! That's reassuring! Both homes are very quiet and relaxed (no children) with secure gardens so hopefully it will tick all the boxes! Any dog will never be left for more than a few hours and even then only occassionally as my dad is at home a lot.
 
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