this is very true - suppose its quite difficult if there is no history - the dogstrust though tend to get quite a few "gifted" to them so perhaps this is why my friend got one so easily. He was a very young dog too.

It just makes me so sad to see so many in rescue centres - I was on dogstrust the other night and there are two gorgeous staffies looking for a home together and honestly if i didnt have bruno I would have them in a heartbeat as they are so cute
http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming...=17&DogID=1925
they are called Bismark & holly and I am in love !!!

dani

I noticed on alot of responsible breeders websites they say they will only consider homes with previous experience.If you had the possibility of having all your pups returned by unsuitable owners you would soon get very fussy about who you homed them with.I supose the same can't be said of irresponsible ones
I can well understand rescues being very careful who they home to. It just seems to leave people who want a dog "now" after being turned down by rescue and breeders ending up getting one from a less reputable source

the reason we got a puppy is simply because of the children. I know people will disagree with me here but I feel that when you take on a rescue dog you are taking a bit of a gamble as to how it will be with kids. It may be ok but as you dont know it or its history 100% could you know for sure how it will react to being accidently trod on or kncoked into. If a kids had treated it badly in one of its previous homes it could turn on the inncoent child now. I just couldnt take the gamble of rescuing a dog that the rescue thought was sound with kids and for it to turn out unhappy and have to rehome again. I think a lot of rescue centres are reluctant to rehome to houses with young children for good reason. We know Max 100% and he knows no different but being in a house with 4 lively kids who cuddle him and follwo him round and its normal to him and he loves them and has no fear of them as he has never been mistreated. When all my kids have left hjome I wouldnt hesitate in getting a rescue dog

I have six dogs, all rescues. Had them from various shelters from 6 weeks up to 3 years of age. All my dogs had 'problems' (yes even the 6 week old pup who is still mentally scarred by the treatment he received prior to being taken from the 'breeder' and whisked off to the shelter!) but because I 'know what I am doing', their problems have either been sorted or are well managed. Not all owners can do this with rescue dogs as some do come with the usual human induced problems such as lack of housetraining, seperation anxiety, dog to dog aggression etc so a bought - in puppy may be the better option for them. I did some voluntary work for a while with a shelter and noted that an awful lot of people will simply go for the dogs they like the look of? Plainer dogs tend to get overlooked even if they have the sweeter natures, less problems etc. However, this does not mean that when I next want a dog (you know, in a few years time when the present pack has decreased in size! ) that I won't buy in a pup. I probably will as I have a longing to start with a clean sheet, a pup who has been well reared/handled/bred etc of a certain breed. It would just make a change! I love all my dogs and they will be here to the end of their days and living with them has taught me so much.
In case you haven't seen them before, here is the pack!
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I am so proud of them!

When I was thinking about getting Archie I did think about getting a rescue. The reason I didn't was because I don't feel I have enough doggy experience to take on a rescue and its possible problems. I know that there's a lot of good natured rescues around but you never know how they've been treated in the past and I felt it would be best to have more experience before considering one. The next one will probably be a rescue, although it might be quite a few years from now.

Before i got Abe,i took a wander round the local rehoming shelter and found a male Rottie which was 11 months old.I was allowed to be introduced to it and he was a lovley thing who wanted constant fuss.

Unfortunately,the shelter refused me for these reasons=

a)I had no prior experinece with Rottweilers,but had already told them i was brought up with German Shepherds-so owning a big dog would not cause me any problems.

b)They didnt want me to leave it at home alone-although i had again informed them he would be comming to work with me.

I walked away from there,contacted some Rottie breeders who had pups at the time,checked out a few litters and ended up with Abe at 9 weeks old who cost me £400.I dont regret getting Abe one bit,but do feel i could have given that one a superb home and the best care available.

I can relate to Katys sentiment about not being 'sure' about the history and temperment of a rescue dog. We were on the list for a particular dog but it went to a home that was closer to the rescue. In all honesty in hindsight I am glad because the dog was an adult bull breed and theres no way I could have known it was dependable/trustable around children/ other animals - and in all fairness there's no way I should have even considered that risk.

I also think it boils down to people and what they would prefer, Rocky is my first 'own' dog (ie exlcuding parents dogs) and I didnt want to miss out on his 'blink and it's gone' puppy stage. In addition I think people chose certain 'breeds' because they like the traits of that particular breed. Once you add those two up, a pup and a preffered breed, you'd prob find that your chances are close to zilch if looking for one in a rescue!

Perhaps in the future when I've got all the breeds I want and can do without the 'teenage' years things might be different, but for now I and I think quite a few people can relate to this, I have my eye firmly set on my next 'breed'! Even down to the lines and the breeder!

http://www.volhard.com/puppy/pat.htm

There's the link for the puppy aptitude test. Can you tell if he'll be aggressive towards cats, etc. Maybe, maybe not. I'd think a puppy isn't terribly aggressive towards anything when it's introduced early enough.

My obedience instructor raises Leo's. Every litter goes through this test and then they are all matched with the new owners who also go through an extensive interview. People don't pick her puppies, she matches her puppies and the people according to the interviews and the PAT. I helped her with the testing of one litter, it was really interesting.

taking in what every one has said the only thing that keeps going over in my mind "A DOG IS FOR LIFE NOT JUST FOR CHRISMAS"

no matter if it's a pup, rescue or a stray.

i'd have any of the above dogs as every dog deserves a chance.

For me it will always be a rescue dog, even my two rabbits are rescues but I don't have a problem with people that go to a reputable breeder or with reputable breeders themselves its the BYB that do my head in

I spent over a year looking for a second dog and researched so many breeds, temperaments etc and what suited my family, then Murphy popped up unexpectedly and I am sooooo thankful he did

When I spoke to the rescue about Murphy and explained that I had 2 youngish kids and another dog (GSD) and that I worked full time (although hubby works shifts and the au pair is at home all day), she had her reservations about whether Murphy would be suited for us and vice versa, even when I told her I was a homechecker for a local rescue, she still wasn't totally convinced, she asked me loads of questions about healthcare, what were my kids like with dogs etc and it wasn't until we all wen't up to the rescue, the kids, the au pair, me and hubby and Jesse that they were finally convinced that we were right for Murphy and he was right for us, she said she saw it instantly, the way he just came right to us.

It's a huge decision to take on a rescue dog especially if you have kids and other dogs in the household too, we also had to make sure that Ewelina our au pair was ok with it too, luckily she adores dogs and she absolutely idolises Murphy (and vice versa) and I'm sure that it'll be Murphy that she misses most when she leaves us at the end of June.

There are so many dogs (and other animals) in rescues it breaks my heart, and for me adopting a rescue dog and giving it a second chance at life and seeing a positive change in the dog and looking happy and having that spark put back in its eyes makes me smile and feel proud every time

....sorry, I got a bit emotional towards the end there lol

on a final note, not all dogs that go into rescue/pounds have problems (health or behavioural), some do come from genuine loving caring families where for whatever reason they genuinely cannot look after their dogs anymore.