Rescue Dogs

I have rescue cats

I have had rescue dogs (a collie spaniel cross, and a Jack Russell) now have 2 rescue cats.

We have 5 altogether! A German Shepherd who came from Manchester dogs home,she's 9. A mongrel from the local market and a Maremma. Those 3 live at home then we have 2 who "guard" the hens. One was a stray and the other is from the market again!! All have a better life with us than on the street!If we had the resources we would rescue more!!

We have three dogs, two of which are rescued ones. Our last little girl was rescued from travellers, she is a two and a half year old Yorkie/Fox terrier cross. In her short life she has had a broken leg, fractured pelvis and needed a hysterectomy when rescued as she had three puppies decomposing inside her. Maggy is a lovable friendly and happy girl despite everything. I would always advocate getting a rescue dog rather than paying large sums to breeders.

I have one. She is a yorkie cross Jack Russel. She has a lot of hang ups.Scared of men and traffic.She adores the grandchildren and also friends and relatives who are men and she has got used to. Got her at eighteen months old and she is now six. I would not be without her as I live alone and is company. Also I have to get off my backside and go walkies every day.I paid £60 for her.

I would love to have a rescue dog, I'd give a home to an oldie. I have 3 cats and I think they'd be very offended if I brought a doggie into the house. My oldest cat is 19, so I think I'll wait until he's no longer with us until I look into it.

We don't have dogs as neither of us could give them the exercise they need although we have owned them in the past. We do, however, have rescue cats and have done for over 40 years. My friend has 4 rescue dogs (breed specific) and is absolutely adamant in her belief that it's better to rescue than buy from a breeder. She says that there are far too many unscrupulous breeders and puppy farmers out there who sell sick puppies and neglect the mothers. I would take a rescue dog if we could, I have suggested a small dog that wouldn't require vast amounts of walking but DH likes bigger dogs.

Interesting post as I would like to have a rescue dog when my dear old dog goes. My daughter in Spain works tirelessly and at great personal expense rescuing stray dogs getting them fit, vaccinated and passported ready for fostering/adoption. It breaks my heart to hear some of their stories. I know there are a lot of dogs needing homes in the u.k. the 'oldies' website is a good starting point. The problem I have is that at almost 75 yrs it would have to be and older dog. I am very fit and active at the moment but who knows what's round the corner.

My Poppy is a rescue dog she came to us at 18mths after she was found with her previous owner who had died,they where on their own for 4/5 days before they where found so she was in a pretty bad way,she had been bought for the elderly lady when the lady was 80!! so she was not socialized in any way,she is now the constant companion of my hubby and is now 4yrs old she is an absolute delight,we have always had rescue dogs some stayed some where rehomed when forever homes where found it is a rewarding job to do .

Poppy looks lovely and so settled there on the sofa, I hope you have many more happy years with her.

You need to be sure of the history when taking a rescue dog. We had one from the local SPA (equivalent of Battersea dog's home) and didn't realise he was a chasse dog - a hunter. He kept running away, and eventually ended up at the SPA again.
We often see stray dogs here - today someone brought round 2 adorable border collie puppies he had found straying on the main road, I had earlier seen an adult bc running along the field, which could have been their mother. Still haven't found out who they belong to.

These are my 3 dogs ,

They are lovely jacksmum., look so cute together.

Yes TriciaF the chasse dogs are often turned out if they don't hunt well, it's a problem in rural areas like ours. We also hear of a lot of dogs left behind by English people when they return to the UK, so cruel.

Jackson, they are gorgeous!! Is one a lurcher?

We have had a rescue dog and so many rescue cats I have lost count ( not all at once, usually two at a time.)I would always go down the rescue route when needing pets.

Jacksmum, I meant.

Thanks for your nice comments , x from L-R Jack, (will be 11 yrs old April) was found dumped in a box aged about 6 wks old , Charlie came from a Lurcher rescue , Lilly we were told is a greyhound/bedlington x greyhound , found in a shed aged 10 weeks old, Jack and Charlie are both care home visit dogs ,

Here's my dog, Sophie. a rescue Lurcher brought over from Ireland.

TriciaF One of the things we did when fostering was "short term care" where hubby would evaluate the poor abandoned animal over a period of a month or so and check how they responded to our own dogs and cats and even how they reacted with our children but we where always extra careful with regard to the DCs as it could have been a child who had poked or prodded in the past and as soon as we where convinced the dog was calm and safe to be rehomed we then arranged with the Charity for them to be advertised always on the understanding they could come back if things did not work out,over the years we had very few returned and many happy placements thank goodness.

My first dog was left tied up outside a supermarket. An employee saw her when she started at 8.30am. She thought the owner was shopping until she finished at 5.30pm and my darling girl was still there. It was the beginning of January and she was frozen. We had her for 16 years and it broke my heart to lose her. My second fur baby was 15 when I got her. Her owner had died and she had been put in rescue kennels but she was left there for 7 months. No-one wanted her because of her age. She was a joy to have (quite a diva) and we got to share the last 17 months of her life. I currently have one rescue and one rehomed. My rehomed boy was truly loved by his owner but she found she couldn't give him the time he deserved. She sobbed when he left but I still keep in touch 2 or ,3 times a year so she knows he's ok. My Maggie came to live with us 6 months ago (a friend for my boy). Heaven only knows what her story is. I was told she was about 10 month when I got her but I suspect she's been passed from pillar to post. She's home now and this is where she's staying

My rescue dog has been with me for ten days. He's brilliant with people and children, he sits on command and indoors he's super obedient, but he's an absolute terror out walking if he sees other dogs - barking and lunging at them as if he'd like to eat them. The first day he was home he was reasonably fine, but day by day he's become more difficult so that we now take him for walks in places where there are no or few other dogs. He's being castrated in ten days so I'm hoping he will calm down then.

There are so many dogs needing re-homing that the rescue centre is full. Staff told me that Christmas is a time when older dogs are often turfed out in favour of healthier young puppies and then in March they get calls from people who had a dog or puppy for Christmas, but don't want it any more.

grannyactivist , could you join a local dog training club that would let you take your dog there for social skills, this is what i did when i got Charlie, he was 13 months old and i am his 4th home, dont think he had ever been out on a lead , so i took him to the club and just stayed for a short time then a walk outside then back in , little and often, now he is ok when he sees another dog ,i ended up becoming a dog trainer there, and really enjoy taking classes ,x

Yes grannyacivist, get involved in some kind of dog training group. Your new rescue is 'reactive', there's a great website for owners of reactive dogs. I've rescued for over 40 years but never had a reactive dog till I bought a puppy, carefully chosen from a breeder as I wanted a puppy without the issues rescue's bring. Hah, let that be a lesson to me.

I have had both rescue dogs and rescue cats – many at the same time. Sometimes they can be tricky because of things, sometimes horrible things, that have happened in their past. I think they take a bit more time to train – that's dogs because you really don't train cats – and you do have to be careful about how they react to strangers, children and sundry other people, say, someone wearing turban or a woman with long hair, until you have established pack order and a way of life in which they feel absolutely safe and know their role in the family. My dogs have always been wonderfully loyal and have adored my cats. My cats have always been, well, cats but much given to being stroked and made a fuss of even when they wouldn't let me touch them to begin with.