How to adopt an adult dog

We looked for over 2 years to rehome a small older dog and despite it just being two active adults at home all day with garden and open space on the doorstep, we we got nowhere. Dogs Trust who we had approached on a few occasions and who hadn’t got back to us constantly contacted us asking fir money for all the ‘poor unwanted’ dogs they needed to rehome. What was that about?
We gave up in the end .

I couldn’t agree more icanhandthemback.
Syracute, I have always had rescue dogs and none has required training as a result of being new to me. There is a great deal of difference between a dog who has previously been owned by someone but has been neglected or mistreated and one who has always lived on the streets, scavenging for food and fearful of people.

Yata is a different dog now to when she arrived. What amazing progress she has made in just over 8 months. No lead, trusting, and so content. No outside training.

I agree with you about bringing dogs over here, Germanshepherdsmum. Most of the dogs I know who have come from abroad have a lot of problems which don't just go with training. They have often learned to distrust humans so are fully of anxiety and because they have been street dogs scavenging for food they can be quite reactive with food. I'm not sure that upheaval of transporting these poor animals to a new country is fair. Maybe fundraising for educating the populations of the overrun countries would be better.

The rescue we used : Final Stop Rescue did a thorough check with an extensive questionare and a video check of the potential home. Your snarky remark about training is ridiculous . Most rescues need some training as they are new to you and often come from distressing situations . This rescue have fosters to work with the dogs as they come over . We are very happy with the dog we adopted through them . They have an FB group where the new owners can chat and get hints . Through this group I know that the recent adopters are very happy with their dog .

How old are your grandchildren ? Are they dog savvy ? xx

Rather like the problem we have here then.

I hear you GSM- but where do you think those adoption centres should be? If they come from Eastern or Southers Europe, or in Yata's case, from Tunisia- then there is no point having adopting centres there as there are so many street dogs that will never find homes there.

It’s nothing to do with looking down on these poor creatures. Quite the reverse. So many of the dogs brought here from abroad don’t just need ‘more training’ (which not everyone is capable of doing), they are not suited to living in a house with a family. But ‘you just need to do the training’ says it all. I can’t imagine what sort of dog your husband wanted which you couldn’t find in the UK. Possibly this rescue asked fewer questions than others?

As I have already said, I wish these charities would spend their money setting up adoption centres in other countries rather than importing yet more dogs here. I strongly suspect that their success in rehoming relies on asking fewer questions. Someone who only wants a particular breed (and most of these foreign dogs are crossbreeds) but can’t find what they want in the UK has probably been turned down by other, more particular, rescue centres.
Just what sort of dog can you not find in a rescue centre which only accepts UK dogs?

Syracute

www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiUjoDNqNqCAxW1Q0EAHQZ7DPsQFnoECBcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffinalstoprescue.co.uk%2F&usg=AOvVaw05J5qNm4_FgUVomSE89nSu&opi=89978449
We just adopted from this rescue. They have quite a few small , older dogs. They arrange adoptions all over the UK

We just adopted our lovely dog from this organisation that was very professional about the adoption . We couldn’t find the type of dog through any rescues here that my husband wanted . All three of our rescues have been from abroad ( 2 while we were living in Switzerland ) Bulgaria, Russia and now Romania. Some needed more training than others but they all have been wonderful pets. You just need to do the training . There is no reason to look down upon those dogs that are not from the U.K. Sadly, most of the dogs here are from the trendy, overbred types . We did look .

I’m with GSM and Georges gran on adopting from overseas. Many of these dogs don’t adapt to living inside. We have had several locally who simply run if they get out.

I agree. I feel so sorry for these dogs who are treated terribly in their home countries, but would rather the charities who bring them to the UK used their funds to establish rescue centres abroad. The cost of bringing dogs here and then keeping them in kennels must be quite considerable and I think that money could be used to better effect for the animals’ benefit.

against, not about.

GSM A sort of neighbour who already had a dog, then brought 2 dogs over from Romania. They were a nightmare - she had 2 nice sons, but the dogs had to be muzzled, barked all day and after a while, 1 went missing. We assumed she’d handed it over to be rehomed (again).
She was an experienced animal owner and ran a grooming salon, but the whole exercise was doomed from the start in my opinion.
I’d seriously caution about adopting a dog from overseas.

*owner died

We adopted an older dog when her elderly owners die. The daughter was looking after the dog temporarily. She had put a notice up in the local vets but didn't have any interest.

We found out via a friend of a friend. She was 9 when we got her and is a popular breed amongst older people. She is a lovely dog and not a bit of trouble. She has definitely enhanced our lives.

As others have said, are there no local dog rescue centres near you. There are quite a few near us. They may let you put in a request for a specific type of dog and could let you know when they have one. I know someone who did this. they had to wait a while but they got the breed of their choice eventually. This would mean less time for the dog to be in the rescue centre.

There are also rescue centres online for specific breeds but the last time I looked they had waiting lists.

And all the dogs are from overseas.

www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiUjoDNqNqCAxW1Q0EAHQZ7DPsQFnoECBcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffinalstoprescue.co.uk%2F&usg=AOvVaw05J5qNm4_FgUVomSE89nSu&opi=89978449
We just adopted from this rescue. They have quite a few small , older dogs. They arrange adoptions all over the UK

We took on a twelve year old Jack Russell Cross from the rspca at Ringwood. He is lovely, very affectionate and not too noisy. He was the only suitable dog we found in the UK.
Keep looking, you will find one.

We have a rescue dog from Carla Lane Animals in need at Ormskirk which is near to us but not near you I do realise but not too far ? They have a Facebook page showing the dogs they have in which are a wide mix of ages and circumstances. They are very thorough in checking the dogs and owners and I would recommend them wholeheartedly if you can get over ? For instance our Bess had all her injections and was spayed there and was checked by their vet the day before she was brought over to us . Hope you get sorted soon .

Thanks Georgesgran. My five year old spaniel and three year old lab came from excelkent breeders. They knew their breed, only bred from healthy dogs with good temperament and both told me - we are here for life. If yiu need help of any kind contact us

Thanks Germanshepherds mum. Our charities are criticised for what is seen as over caution. Dogs coming into rescue now tend to have problems. We get resource guarding, snapping at children, poor recall etc. foster caters work on these issues but some dogs need experienced, fit owners with no young children living or visiting. It’s awful to see dogs returned. We are also allowing street dogs from Europe to be adopted. Generally the organisations don’t offer thr support needed. Some of these dogs can’t cope in a domestic setting. They end up with complex needs sitting in our rescues

My rescue collie came via the blue cross, he's learned to live with cats and adores my other dog and the visiting grandchildren. He took a fair bit of work to begin with but when I was seriously ill last year never left my side

I think that speaking to a local vet is a good idea.
Fingers crossed for you.

Good luck Mazgg. I do hope you find a new companion very soon. 🤞🐾

Sorry! Coals to Newcastle! It’s so good to hear about responsible breeders. If only they were all like you!