Total and complete failure....

ladyt25 said:
As cayla says, she has a guide but you may just be pleasantly surprised anyway. I used to hate the idea of a crate and we had nevrer used one before but our dog took to it brilliantly and I think saw it as her security to be honest. Her bed was in it and, even when we were in the house, once she got used to it she would choose to lie in there and go to bed of her own accord. It was her constant I guess so was why it worked very well.
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True^^^^ some take to them immediately, I have a rescue English bull terrier in and she has never been crated yet she has not made a peep:) however some, staffs can be of the worst variety, put up a fight, but if done in a sensitive and very very gradual manner with some trickery if need be.......you can eventually get them settled to the point they rarely leave the bloody thing:rolleyes:.
 
Grrr - just typed out a long reply and it got lost in the ether!

But I wanted to say, just to turn the head on this thread, what rescue home allowed you to have this dog in the first place? Did they assess your experience, finances, daily routine etc?

It seems to me that you have been palmed off with a dog by the rescue home yet you have no experience at all and surely you can't be serious that you cannot afford 20 quid for a crate? How on earth do you afford her feed, wormers, jabs etc?

Why would a charity rehome so unprofessionally? Do they not provide back up when things go wrong when its pretty guaranteed to if they send a dog such as Holly to an owner with no experience.

I actually feel sorry for you, it seems to me that you have been disillusioned into the fact that you are able to have a rescue dog and they have taken advantage of that. I am guessing its because you are not out at work all day? as that seems to the main criteria :mad:

If you give this dog back - will they palm it off onto the next sucker? how many times will that happen?
 
I actually agree with Ravenwood, the charity seem to have dumped a dog with quite a few problems on an inexperienced owner, and sadly, this seems to be happening more and more. It seems that there are so many staffy types needing homes that common sense is going out of the window a bit with some rescues and any home will do. Not a slight on the OP, but I do wonder how much she was told about the problems to expect.
Having said that, I do hope you consider all the offers of help you have had on here, you have only had Holly a couple of months and it does take time for any dog to settle in a new home, never mind a rescue.
 
Ravenwood said:
Grrr - just typed out a long reply and it got lost in the ether!

But I wanted to say, just to turn the head on this thread, what rescue home allowed you to have this dog in the first place? Did they assess your experience, finances, daily routine etc?

It seems to me that you have been palmed off with a dog by the rescue home yet you have no experience at all and surely you can't be serious that you cannot afford 20 quid for a crate? How on earth do you afford her feed, wormers, jabs etc?

Why would a charity rehome so unprofessionally? Do they not provide back up when things go wrong when its pretty guaranteed to if they send a dog such as Holly to an owner with no experience.

I actually feel sorry for you, it seems to me that you have been disillusioned into the fact that you are able to have a rescue dog and they have taken advantage of that. I am guessing its because you are not out at work all day? as that seems to the main criteria :mad:

If you give this dog back - will they palm it off onto the next sucker? how many times will that happen?
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As I have said before it is ONLY this month that I am short on cash. It is NOT normally an issue.

As for affording wormer, jabs etc, she is on a plan at my vets where I pay a certain amount a month and she gets wormed, de fled nails trimmed and a six monthly check up and her jabs all included.

As for her food i buy this in bulk on pay day as i find it easier to do it this way.

She is not going without anything.

As for being mis sold her then yes i do believe I was. I was told that she was chilled out and like nothing more than to cuddle up on the sofa!!!!

I also told them that I had no experience with the staffy breed.

I am not sure how they know much about her as her old owner had died and she had only been with them for 2 weeks before I took her home.
 
stez1234 said:
As I have said before it is ONLY this month that I am short on cash. It is NOT normally an issue.

As for affording wormer, jabs etc, she is on a plan at my vets where I pay a certain amount a month and she gets wormed, de fled nails trimmed and a six monthly check up and her jabs all included.

As for her food i buy this in bulk on pay day as i find it easier to do it this way.

She is not going without anything.

As for being mis sold her then yes i do believe I was. I was told that she was chilled out and like nothing more than to cuddle up on the sofa!!!!

I also told them that I had no experience with the staffy breed.

I am not sure how they know much about her as her old owner had died and she had only been with them for 2 weeks before I took her home.
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I feel for you, too. A few years back, I was sold a hell of a lie about a Golden Retriever X, who, it transpired, had significant aggression issues, both toward people and other dogs. I told the rescue time and again that I would deal with any sort of "issue", bar aggression, and they assured me the dog was in no way aggressive. Over the years we've lost several rugs and a sofa to general doggie wear and tear, plus puking/bladder infection episodes. We've dealt with scavenging cigarettes on the street, tearing after skateboards, nose-nipping, screaming for food, barking at horses, and plenty of other tales of hi-jinks, all of which my husband and I have taken in our stride. This was in a different league entirely. I was furious at the rescue for spinning a yarn, furious and upset with myself, but there was no way we could keep the Golden. He was a liability to us, and he terrified the living daylights out of my existing (small) dog, who wouldn't come near me for fear of being attacked. His was a rare happy ending, in that he moved to a single-pet home with a gay man (much of the dog's human aggression issues were toward women, particularly tall and heavy-set women). Even so, I was wracked with guilt for months; I *never* thought I would give up a dog.

Anyway, sorry for the essay. If you think you can give this another shot, then go for it, and I salute you. There are some fantastically knowledgeable people on here, with plenty of bull breed experience.
 
stez1234 said:
I also told them that I had no experience with the staffy breed.

I am not sure how they know much about her as her old owner had died and she had only been with them for 2 weeks before I took her home.
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Well this just says it all!

I have a real bugbear with charity dog homes and I know that I am not popular for that. But lets face it, twenty years ago or so charity dogs homes were hardly heard of. But now they are all the rage for egotistical do gooders who are doing no good :mad:

I am really sorry you have fallen into this trap and the consequences haven't turned out as you expected - but hardly surprising. What a shame for you and for the poor dog.

I don't know the answers to this - except the world would be a better place if there was some ruling body over charities to bring them into line and prevent this sort of unprofessional rehoming.
 
One of my biggest bugbears is the RSPCA who wont hand over to breed rescues who surprisingly enough are experts of the breed. Breed rescues do a thorough assessment of the dogs and rehome accordingly. This stops dogs going to unsuitable homes and lessens the chance of dogs being returned.

Also it would free up quite a few places for other dogs to go into RSPCA and shorten the list of dogs waiting to go in.

A lot of smaller rescue charities have dogs going into foster homes where they are assessed in a family situation without the stress of being in kennels.
 
When I was younger, we had a SBTx from the Dogstrust. We couldn't do a thing with him. After about 6 months he went back. A few years later I walked into a friend of a friends house - and there he was. Beautifully behaved, trained perfectly - and crate trained.

It definitely does come down to what you are prepared to do and what you can change to make it work. :)
 
Out of interest Ravenwood, please tell me where you find a crate for £20? When I was looking for one they were nearly £100!
 
Go onto Ebay,Preloved..any of them..that`s where to pick up a bargain. SO..her owner died,she spent a fortnight with the RSPCA:mad: and instead of seeing how insecure she must be ,you blame the charity for "palming off" a nutter? Any compassion out there ,anyone?
No wonder she`s so damned happy to see you come home..her last owner DIED..GET IT???
At least now you are talking of trying at tad harder,for God`s sake see it from the dog`s point of view. There is loads of info out thee on how to make this girl feel secure again,try buying The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell,that is the method that works with bull terriers,and recommended to every one of my puppy buyers. Just shoving it in a crate is`nt the whole answer,it will prevent damage if you are out,but def not an all day option.
The more I hear and see about people the more I prefer dogs.
 
I won't be posting here again as it is quite clear that nothing I say or do will be good enough for some of you.

Thanks to those who have sent me PMs. I will reply.
 
Oh please try to seperate the threads - most people are supportive!. I do tend to ignore SusieT regardless as her posts are always contentious! - sorry SusieT but you are always a little on the blunt side with all your responses!

I will pm you to also offer support at the end of the phone. I am NOT an expert as some of these posters are but I do also have access (still) to Staffie Welfare. I have 2 (with 3 now trialling) rescue staffies and had 1 previously. I know the breed as well as a owner can (by this I mean a breeder/full time rescue sees more dogs/more exposure/more experience). I have had staffies for over 20 years so am very well versed with their characters!

So my pennyworth - brilliant that she is good outside. If she is bouncing off the walls it means she still has too much energy. I cheat with mine sometimes with a ball thrower on a hill. 30 minutes of that and they are nice and calm again. A knackered staffie is a calm staffie. Do look at the food you are feeding - staffie No 2 was on bakers when I got him and needed an asbo when he came home, was seriously OTT at all times (and revolting poos). Switched over and he calmed right down. Also staffies are not really dogs that sit quietly in the background, they do crave companionship but mine know they have to leave me pretty much in peace when I am working at home and now just come upto check on me.

Your little bitch is being OTT as she is just so pleased to be with you and is actually guilty of overloving her new mum too much. If you can perserve then please try - I can also put you in touch with your local staffie welfare as I am sure they would be happy to support you and I am equally happy to be on the end of the phone/email too.

Mine aren't perfect - older bitch cannot be trusted with small furry things under any circumstances, staffie boy has a little bit of "little man syndromne" having been badly attacked as a puppy (staffies have long memories - never let a staffie "sort it out" with a fight, regardless of what other people tell you). He also mugs complete strangers for cuddles and can be very OTT. I walk mine early, am very careful where the bitch comes off lead (have a couple of fields which are enclosed and I can see anyone else walking) and carry treats too. I am also very very lucky in that our yard is fully enclosed (deer fencing) so we can have a really good walk/ball throwing off lead as well. No 3 is being sussed out but is a little more polite at the moment. When I rehomed the older bitch, specifically wanting a dog that could hack out with me again, staffie rescue asked me what I would do if she wasn't suitable for that..turns out she wasn't but she has been terrific fun in other ways. Neither of my dogs are really for the faint hearted but give me masses back in terms of fun, excercise... and do make me feel safe too!

Good luck. There really is help out there and you are not on your own. The RSPCA may be prepared to wash their hands but the breed rescue/ people on here will support you.
 
What aftercare support do the RSPCA offer? Just wondering as the Dogs Trust when my friend was having some issues with hers was given quiet a bit of help. Not the same issues as your doggie.
 
If being blunt is a way of keeping this dog in it`s home,then Susie T and me have done a good job. All any of us want is for this slightly less than perfect dog to stay in this home,and lots of good advice has been given to help.
If she can be persuaded to persevere ,like Lexie has,she will have probably her dog of a lifetime;otherwise the outlook is extremely bleak for a dog of the breed which all rescues are simply overloaded with. NOT the breed`s fault ,just that at the moment the public seem to want a sort of breathing furry cushion,preferably a mongrel (designer crossbreed)
I am not allowed to take on staffies here in rescues,just bull terriers..otherwise I would have her here in a flash.But the truth is she does`nt need another rejection,please hang on in there.:)
 
Please please give this dog another chance, give her a month ,write a diary for her and you can look back and see how far youve come.

The sense of achievement will do wonders for your self confidence and it wont be too long before you will be on this forum advising other people.:)
 
Guys come on, Stez has agreed to give it another go and there are plenty of people on here prepared to help her, I think all the points have been made, the RSPCA can wait for another day/thread!
 
EAST KENT said:
If being blunt is a way of keeping this dog in it`s home,then Susie T and me have done a good job. e.:)
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hmmm... I would rather read your responses that Susie T's though. You are at least offering advice. Susie T always seems to post rather negative posts without offering much help regardless of the issue.
 
Very interesting thread in that myself and OH assess potential homes for English Springer Spaniel rescues. The ESSW foster their dogs for some time so that the new owners have a good idea of what they are getting, and I know some are never actually adopted as they have too many problem traits - we have saintly foster homes! We recently had to assess a home, and frankly came away deciding it was unsuitable for an ESS. From reading OPs sad story, it would appear that RSPCA do nothing like the diligence of the breed societies. Also Battersea DH is also incredibly rigourous. OP, good advice here, but if you decide to hand back your dog and get another rescue, do go to a breed society as they will be much more careful with their placements.
 
Lexie you have loads of experience having gone through this with Dex, although my dogs are rescue they are Dobes although equally destructive as my sofas can testify:eek:. Covers hide a mutiple of sins(Holes) and will replace when I think they will be safe from Dobe attack, but the replacement sofas are free from friends how I yearn for leather sofas but thats another story.:D
 
Luckily I already had leather before I got fat pants- only one small chewed corner. Can not say the same about my rattan coffee table tho!
 
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