Why dont people get dogs from rescues?!

I looked every day for 5 months on every rescue website I could find and couldn't find a single dog for me that the rescue would let me have. I do work full time, but come home at lunch for an hour and work shortish days anyway as a teacher. Large garden with a dog flap, proven track record with dogs, fab vet ref, two happy well adjusted dogs at home. I ended up buying a pup from a friend who bred a litter and have been thrilled with my beautiful pup who has had everything done right from conception.

Rescues just don't do themselves any favours, I understand they need to ensure the people won't just give up on the dog and return it but I'm sure whether they are at home all day isn't really a deciding factor in whether this will happen or not. If they would have listened to the effort and lengths we've put into rehabilitating our human aggressive patterdale terrier, I'm sure they would have been convinced of our dedication.

Edited to add, years ago, when I was a uni student so at home a lot I tried to adopt from the rspca. Strangely, they refused to let me adopt from them because my dog wasn't neutered yet. She was only 6 months old and hadn't had a season yet. I asssured them she would be neutered as soon as she'd had a season, but they categorically would not allow dogs to be rehomed to families where existing dogs are unneutered. Why would this be? It's not like you could be using their dog for breeding as they always neuter first.
 
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Some rescues really need to get the stick out of their you-know-where.

I have a BC who has always been a very difficult dog in some respect. When he was younger, he would suffer from terrible separation anxiety- to the point where I couldn't go out for 20 minutes to the shop without the neighbours complaining about the terrible noise.

I was originally wanting to take on his littermate but that fell through. He loved playing with all the dogs at the farm and was generally a happier little person with others, hence me making the decision to take on a second dog.

I looked at many rescues but I was either too far away or the dogs weren't suitable.

I found a lovely young lurcher (I wanted something evenly matched from a play/energy pov) at the RSPCA. I passed the phone interview and was actively encouraged-numerous times- to bring my dog on the 4hr round trip to the rescue, despite me saying 'are you sure, I can always come back for a second meeting after the initial one without the dog etc'. But no, I was almost instructed to bring him. So...
Fast forwards 2 hours later, I arrive at the rescue, having printed out and filled in the 'official' RSPCA adoption form, only to be told on arrival that the particular centre has its 'own'. For god's sake! So I fill in what is essentially the same form in a slightly different order and then get ushered into what can only be described as a storage cupboard with chairs.

I am then left for about 15 minutes, all the while holding my dog. This condesending chav of an employee sticks her head in once and tells me she needs to talk to someone... so, me and my dog wait... and wait...

She finally comes back and tells me that, having spoken to the behaviourist, they've decided not to rehome the dog with another young dog. Could they not have told me this on the phone 'after I passed the phone interview'? My blood was boiling, not to mention the 45 pounds wasted in petrol and,the 4hr car journey for my dog. The bestpart is that they wouldn't even let me take my dog for a quick walk round their field and told me to walk up this really busy, narrow lane instead. I thought 'to hell with this', let him have a wee then the poor sod got put back in the car. I didn't even lay eyeson one dog whilst I was there. I did ask if they had any other older, similar energy breeds but the answer was a firm 'NO'. When I got home I found they had at least 3 older, dog friendly Collie types. :/ They made me feel like dirt. I have had dogs since I was tiny, not to mention the obvious with the horses, so I'm responsible. I'm in my late twenties but ask at least twice that ;) so not just a daft youngster.

Hate to say it but I have no time for up themselves rescues anymore. I went out and bought a BC pup from a very reputable breeder and he's fab.
 
I have two Weimaraners, one I got from a breeder when he was a tiny baby, and one that I rescued when she was 8 months old. Even in those short 8 months, my rescue dog had been so traumatised that I doubt she will ever totally recover. I have had her with me for nearly two years now and she still has awful issues. My older dog that I got from a breeder is the most laid back, chilled out and confident Weimaraner you will ever meet.
I don't love my little rescue dog any less because of her issues, actually in some ways I love her all the more for her faults.

I can understand why people are wary of taking on rescue dogs, but personally I will be in a terrible muddle if I ever look into getting another dog - I love both of mine so much, for such different reasons, that I won't know whether to go back to a breeder or back to a rescue centre :o
 
I think the OP is a bit simplistic - I suspect for most people it is not a black and white choice of either breeder or rescue everytime. For many, like me, they may use a mix of both.

My cat was from a rescue, so was my first dog, my current dog was from a breeder, my next one may be from a rescue. The point is, I made a decision on where to acquire my pet at the time based on my knowledge of my circumstances and requirements. All my animals have a home for life, so it is vital I get it right.

As the cat is now 19 and the dog is 12, I think I know what I am doing when it comes to finding the right pet for our family :)
 
many reasons from;
i want a cute puppy to i dont want beahviour issues or they wont let me have one

i have a rescue and i had to lie to get him, my kids were 6 months and 2yrs old and i had to say i did not have any kids, cleared the house and garden of anything kid related of my home check, that was 14yrs ago and he is still here (he was a puppy), i have 2 other dogs that are not rescue

i work for a vet part time and also on a yard part time.

i would (possibly) like to offer fostering to lurcher link or southern lurcher rescue, preferably for a post amputee or similar as i can fulfil all the vet checks at no cost to the rescue and i can work it so a rescue only needs to be left for 2.5hrs max-crated but with my dogs in the same room

as far as i can see you need to have a 5ft fence surrounding your garden to fulfil the criteria to rehome/foster a dog from both rescues, this makes me laugh as my lurcher can do the 6ft scale without touching it, we reffer to it as the 6ft hop;).

i would not let a new dog in the garden unsupervised and have electric fencing around the top of my fence as my lurcher will not jump this but i dont trust her not to go over anything else if she saw a cat.

i do however fit the criteria for a guidedog or police puppy walker which just seems crazy.

i am in no hurry though the right dog will turn up and i would only take on fosters atm that need the extra medical care as i have the time and help avaliable
 
I have a couple of dogs and would never rehome a rescue unless it was a puppy and my children were at least in their mid teens, it all comes down to putting trust into an animal that you really dont know the history of. I wouldnt take the chance with my childrens safety and having any dog carries a certain degree of risk I suppose so I like to keep it to a minimum.
When I was young my parents took a 5 month old cross breed puppy from the rescue which put stitches in my little brothers face, even at that age the little pup had baggage.
My in laws have an ex racing greyhound, lovely dog but seriously injured the neighbours little white foofoo dog the day they got her as her prey drive is so high for anything small and furry she has to be walked in a muzzle. So my decision not to take on a rescue when I bought my own dogs was based on our previous experiences.
In my opinion too many dogs are being bred in this country.
 
It's making me angry all these, won't let me have a rescue , stories I thought my SIL had come up agaisnt an isolated idiot it seems not . Poor Poor dogs is all I can say.
 
I can see it from both sides, I have bred litters and volunteered for a rescue. In my breed (GSD) a lot of people want to be absolutely sure of a dogs history, that parents have had all necessary health tests etc, so they do their research and go on the waiting list for a decent breeder. If they have young children a lot of rescues won't consider them for rescue dog, so again a breeder is the only choice.
I have done home checks for lovely people who dont totally tick all the boxes for a rescue, and on occasions I have fudged my forms a bit. If someone sometimes leaves an adult dog for 6 hours instead of the maximum of 4 then I don't think its the end of the world and far preferable to a dog spending months in rescue kennels.
I think it is very sad that there is this them and us situation between some rescues and breeders. Many breeders actively support rescues with donations, kennel spaces for dogs, training advice etc, and yet are vilified by anyone involved in rescue. When I was planning on breeding my most recent litter (the first in nearly 12 years) I received some shocking verbal abuse from some of the people involved in the rescue I volunteered for, and they told me they no longer wanted me to help them. Fine, no skin off my nose, just seems rather petty when they are constantly asking for more volunteers to do home checks.:(
 
Arabelle said:
I think the OP is a bit simplistic - I suspect for most people it is not a black and white choice of either breeder or rescue everytime. For many, like me, they may use a mix of both.

My cat was from a rescue, so was my first dog, my current dog was from a breeder, my next one may be from a rescue. The point is, I made a decision on where to acquire my pet at the time based on my knowledge of my circumstances and requirements. All my animals have a home for life, so it is vital I get it right.

As the cat is now 19 and the dog is 12, I think I know what I am doing when it comes to finding the right pet for our family :)
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Defo not simplistic- just seen the huge amount of dogs in rescues and the even bigger amount on the PTS list.

soooo many rescues now have fosterer's all over the UK- look on Many tears animal rescue- they are in Wales but will most likely have dogs within 20 miles of you.

I just dont understand it. IMO people who go to breeders have more money then sense.

I dont think there should be a choice between breeder or rescue, for me anyway it will ALWAYS be rescue.
 
MurphysMinder said:
If they have young children a lot of rescues won't consider them for rescue dog, so again a breeder is the only choice.
I have done home checks for lovely people who dont totally tick all the boxes for a rescue, and on occasions I have fudged my forms a bit. If someone sometimes leaves an adult dog for 6 hours instead of the maximum of 4 then I don't think its the end of the world and far preferable to a dog spending months in rescue kennels.
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why is a breeder the only choice? Rescue centres would not consider me but I still managed to rescue 2 dogs through word of mouth. there is always preloved etc etc. no need to go to a breeder. and just because a rescue centre turned me down does not mean I hate rescues like some people are implying on here.

a dog should not be left for 6 hours on its own. its not the end of the world but that dog- who has had the worst life possible does not need to go into a brand new environment then left there on its own for hours.
 
hollieeb said:
Defo not simplistic- just seen the huge amount of dogs in rescues and the even bigger amount on the PTS list.

soooo many rescues now have fosterer's all over the UK- look on Many tears animal rescue- they are in Wales but will most likely have dogs within 20 miles of you.

I just dont understand it. IMO people who go to breeders have more money then sense.

I dont think there should be a choice between breeder or rescue, for me anyway it will ALWAYS be rescue.
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What do you mean by a breeder? Do you mean all people that breed dogs ? Or puppy farms ?
Because I chose to buy a puppy bred by someone I know , who breeds at most two litters a year and sometimes non does that mean I have more money than sense I can well afford the cost of a puppy it's small change to us I hope to spend fourteen years with a dog spending the cost of a good puppy is nothing in the big scheme of things.
The more I read these post the less likely I am ever to consider a rescue you have to deal with people who think you-have more money than sense and be submit to patronising interviews as I said before poor poor dogs.
 
I would always get a dog from a breeder because I don't want to spend every visit to a rescue being aggressively sold a staffie, told if I wanted to help I'd be best off giving them money (my time volunteering to clear up s**t etc was rudely rebuffed, yet they whinge constantly they don't have enough staff) and then probably spending MORE on a dog from them than I would on a puppy.

All whilst being looked down on in a sneery manner...I don't know why. Those who work in rescues around me are almost on a par with the ever-hated GP surgery receptionists for their 'I hate you, you're stupid and you're wasting my time' attitude...

I have two dogs from hobby breeders. I don't plan to get any more for many years but unless the attitudes of rescue centres have changes somewhat, I would have no intentions of visiting one. I'd only be told I wasn't worthy of owning a dog anyway :rollseyes:
 
Perhaps if there was more regulation on breeding there would be less dogs in rescues. Perhaps if there was more regulation on owning a dog there would be less dogs in rescues.

Its very sad some dogs end up in rescue.

I will give a rescue dog a home one day when the kids are much older and to be honest I would never pay mega bucks for a dog like some do just because its the size of a squirrel. But I would pay a little bit more just so I know the full history of the dog and the temperament of the parents.
 
Ps for those who struggle with rescues not giving them a dog for what ever reason.

Go to your local pound these are the dogs that really need homes, they normally only have a short time before being PTS and most pounds will let you walk away with the dog there and then, no questions asked.
 
Luci07 said:
The point is, that right NOW, there are anything upto 80+ dogs being PTS per day. An awful lot are very young dogs who have outgrown their cute puppy stage. A lot are Staffords or crosses though seeing more and more dogs like malamutes coming in as well. Breed rescues are struggling as well. if you just wanted a pet, then please please go to a rescue, ring the smaller ones, get involved with a poundie run ( dogs in pounds have 7 days to be reclaimed or taken by a rescue or are PTS). When you choose a rescue dog, a good rescue would have assessed the dog properly, you have back up if you are struggling. You know if your dog is cat,child, small furry friendly or will happily live with your existing pets. Rescues normally offer a trial period so you can really be sure. If you saw the ever increasing number of dogs on the PTS list where rescues are trying desperately to get them out, you would think twice. I appreciate there are people wanting say specific working breeds, but if you are after a pet, please go to rescues first. I have 3 rescue staffords. Introduced over a period of time and all get on well together. One day I would like to be able to choose a well bred Stafford puppy but cannot justify this until the awful situation we have now has eased greatly.
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I totally understand what the rescues are doing, but you know, I wouldn't want to bring a probably poorly bought up staffie/malamute/greyhound or anything else into a family home. Sorry but seeing first hand the devastation that these animals can cause I just wouldn't risk it.

Perhaps if rescues were as strict about WHAT they rehome as they are about whom they rehome to then they wouldn't be so over full and also people wouldn't be so reluctant to take on a rescue.

A better answer would probably be a cull along with strict regulation/licensing of the breeding of dog/cats and indeed animals in general.
 
Hollieb, I admire your enthusiasm for rescue, but you are in danger of having the attitude that puts a lot of people off rescues. If you read my post properly I am not suggesting that a dog should regularly be left for 6 hours, the relevant word in my post was "sometimes". My dogs are occasionally left for that long, but the majority of time the maximum is 4, and generally it is only 2.
To repeat myself, if people want to know a dogs history (and by this I mean the health and temperament of many generations of its ancestors) they are unlikely to get that from a rescue, or from preloved/dumtree etc. It is unlikely a pup will be an impulse buy from a good breeder, as they will probably have to go on a waiting list, and contrary to what another poster has said, the pup is not more likely to end up in a rescue because if there should be a problem the breeder will take it back.
 
We tried to get a dog from a rescue! But we were told by battersea that as many of the dogs had issues and that we didn't have experience in the breeds we were looking at we couldn't have one! Looked at a local rescue and didn't find anything suitable so ended up buying a puppy from a breeder (we weren't initially going for a puppy we didn't mind how old the dog was) so it wasn't from the want of trying to get a rescue! The Rspca cattery however we rescued 2 kittens from there and our cats are beautiful :)

Tigger
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I applied for several dogs with several different rescues which most of the time involved answering 20 questions & a paragraph about why I wanted that dog. Took me hours! Most didnt even bother replying or just sent a generic auto email saying that they had loads of applications & they would get back to me ....... never did, those that did reply said I wasnt suitable. So I bought my girl from a breeder.

She's a high energy spaniel, has a huge back garden, two long walks a day, comes up the farm to run around when I'm doing the horses, no children, someone with her all day & is spoilt rotten. So why wouldnt they let me have a rescue? Dont know what box I didnt tick?

We got one of our cats from the RSPCA he was rehomed because he was "boisterous". Hes down right nasty launches at you & rips you up at the slightest opportunity, has some kind of serious problem but we still have him. So if they lie about why a cats in there I certainly wouldnt want a "boisterous" dog from them lol.
 
I have had several dogs from breed rescue centres.

I must be lucky because they have all been un-neutered , I have had 4 dogs and 3 bitches into passed. At the moment I have 2 adult dogs and 2 adult bitches as well as a dog pup. My feelings are I would only neuter a dog if I had too.

My dogs are working Springer Spaniels and I have kennels so do not have a problem when the bitches are in season.

I think that some rescue centres need to lighten up about the homes the dogs will go too. There are many good homes out there that do not have the requirement the rescues want, but will always give an animal what is needed.
 
As a person who has both dogs and cats bought (from reputable breeders) and rescued/rehomed -

one thing that does bug me is the way that some rescue organisations seem almost wilfully disinclined to work with individual breed rescues - of which there are many. Many cat/dog breeds have their aficionados, often the breed rescue may have waiting lists of people wanting to rehome an older pet of their chosen breed.
Can't believe it would really be that difficult to maintain a list of breeds/contact numbers. Do suspect there is something of an attitude problem - rescue occupying the moral high ground as it were?
 
dorito said:
As a person who has both dogs and cats bought (from reputable breeders) and rescued/rehomed -

one thing that does bug me is the way that some rescue organisations seem almost wilfully disinclined to work with individual breed rescues - of which there are many. Many cat/dog breeds have their aficionados, often the breed rescue may have waiting lists of people wanting to rehome an older pet of their chosen breed.
Can't believe it would really be that difficult to maintain a list of breeds/contact numbers. Do suspect there is something of an attitude problem - rescue occupying the moral high ground as it were?
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Good post, if I say want a labrador I will probally go to lab rescue if they then could easily see all the homeless labs in centres round me that would be a good thing.
I agree that rescue seem to think they have the moral high ground there attitude is strange.
I had an hilarious interview when I got the cat before this one from the RSPCA ( this was I addmit many years ago an elderly cat lady who volunteered concudcted the interrogation about what I " could offer the cat" Er it's own fields woods a large house and a stable yard give me the cat . It was an x files moment I could understand what she wanted from me in the end after twenty minutes I said look do you want me to have this cat or not because I am going to end this interview now I did get the cat but getting rescue dogs does seem to be much more complicated.
 
MurphysMinder said:
To repeat myself, if people want to know a dogs history (and by this I mean the health and temperament of many generations of its ancestors) they are unlikely to get that from a rescue, or from preloved/dumtree etc. It is unlikely a pup will be an impulse buy from a good breeder, as they will probably have to go on a waiting list, and contrary to what another poster has said, the pup is not more likely to end up in a rescue because if there should be a problem the breeder will take it back.
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Yet both of our labs are pedigrees and papered, and one came with a full history. They were just from people who hadn't thought and couldn't handle an energetic dog. Most of the labs at the rescue we use have papers and good breeding..

We both work full time, with my retired dad next door who walks them when are out. We have never had a home visit for the dogs or the cats, the rescues said we ticked all the boxes over the phone and they get a good picture of the right people just in the phone conversations.
 
I can echo Ludoctros comment that if you go to your local dog pound they will (in most cases) just let you walk out with any dog, no questions asked! My neighbours did this last year, came home with a lovely EBT, no history known! 2 months and about £600 later, they had it put to sleep after it had bitten both their children (not seriously, thank God) withour provocation. Result, 2 boys and both parents absolutely distraught, felt they were to blame. Shocking. I know its a balance between making it almost impossible to answer all the questions they throw at you and just throwing any old dog at you but surely they should take some responsibility?
 
Been there done that to all the above!

I’ve 2 rescue dogs. But I stood my ground on both counts and waited for puppies to be rescued. I won’t rescue an older dog, yes that makes me Satan in the eyes of some rescue centres :rolleyes:

But I can train a young dog and give it a good home. But I can’t afford to retrain or rehabilitate an older dog, not because I don’t want to but I simply don’t have the time or the inclination to be worried about what an older dog will do in certain situations. I’ve been turned down from bigger rescue centres time and again because a. I rent and b. I work full time. But I have 2 happy dogs who sleep all day and run around all morning/evening/weekends. I find small rescues centres much nicer to deal with and huge thumbs up to Chiltern Dog Rescue from me, lovely people, very practical minded and didn’t give a hoot I worked they just looked at my older rescue and assessed that she was healthy and happy and gave me a rescue puppy who is a total charmer. Welldone to them.
 
Interesting thread.

We got all our GSDs (our old lad passed just before Christmas last year, one's 4, one's nearly 1) from breeders. Having looked at rescuing, I was concerned when we got the now-4-year-old that if we got a rescue, he might not get on well with our old dog, or have behavioural problems that wouldn't show on an initial meeting. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for the old lad, who was 10 at the time. Primarily though, I was worried about health problems as we wanted another GSD and a friend had a rescue girl with massive health troubles, dysplasia etc and had to be PTS at 6.

So we researched, found good breeders with full elbow and hip scoring on mum AND dad, and met the puppies/parents prior to choosing. All our dogs have been super healthy and of good temperament, which is very important in such a big, powerful dog.

I don't regret it. Would love to rescue but can't take chances with either ourselves or our beloved dogs, and given what everyone has said, they wouldn't want us anyway as we both work. Our two get a long walk in the morning and another at night; besides that, they are outside or with us when we are home, which keeps them happy and comfortable.
 
I have a rescue dog. Already had 3 other dogs whom I got as puppies. He is by far the most loving. Almost as if he is grateful for another shot at life. I would never buy another puppy from a breeder. Responsible breeders of some breeds should stop breeding them in my opinion. There are far too many of some breeds in rescue desperate for homes.
 
Because they make it so damn difficult most of the time! I tried to get a cat from a rescue centre and was made to feel like a criminal! After 3 x home visits and numerous phone calls I eventually gave up and went got one privately! I have to add at this point that we live in our own house on a quiet road (yes most houses are on roads!) with a large garden, no kids at the time but horror of all horrors we both worked!

Another friend of mind has a huge house, enormous secure garden, daughter is at home with a young child and they have a dog already. She eventually gave up too and picked up a 3 year old dog off preloved.

I can understand caution but the way they behave is ridiculous and they only have themselves to blame for people losing patience with their approach.
 
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