i rescued a 4 yr old an it was a fantastic experience. (he still thinks he is a little pup anyway)

My next will likely be a pup though just for that experience too

If I were going for a rescue gsd I would want one thats 4 plus! I remember how much work logan was for the first 4 years
His training became so easy after 4yrs, by the time he was 7 I would say he was just hitting the prime of his life, I had 13/14 wonderful years from logan, the first 4 being the hardest lol

Hi Kirsty

We have exactly the same problem, dogs over 4 here take so much longer to rehome, and considering I would say most staffies dont actually calm down til about 5 its really confusing why that is.

If I have someone who sounds like they wont be convinced on an older dog then I usually take Bruno along and get them to guess how old he is. they are always surprised !!

In some circumstances i can see why a 7+ yr old is more difficult ( especially down to insurance etc) but most dont even think of it, they just see them as being old..

We have a few older ones presently and have had NO interest at all and its been months.
On the other side of that though we had 2 dogs last year that the owner was rehoming at 13 & 14 and I just felt that was downright cruel and completely unnecessary and said as much in the end as couldnt believe owner could be so selfish.

It is heartening to hear that some of us out there would certainly look into rehoming an older dog

Dani - I will never be able to get over the fact that some owners are quite happy and prepared to rehome their really old dogs. It beggars belief.

Although there are always lots of different breeds and crosses in rescue, there does always seem to be a large proportion of staffies and german shepherds

We have some fab older dogs in a the mo Shona, I am sure one would be perfect for you

Funny i was talking about this with DOH last night on the way back from walking the spangles, we have with us at the moment a foster who is nervous and fearfull and the only way she knows how to deal with that is with teeth, we were also talking about a youngster we rehomed a month or so ago with no issues how he was a cracking dog and Nev said that je was his kind of dog. My little pack is made up of one from a pup, and 3 rescues, all of which for one reason or another would have been difficult rehomes and Missy moo, nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing a scared/ mal adjusted dog turning into a happy confident one. For me if we could have 5 Missy Moo would be it she's slightly screwed up, but everyday is improving more and more, i think in a year or so we won't recognise her and thats very satisfying. I have promised my DOH the next one we have will be a pup from strong working lines as this is what he want's, he wants to train a dog to work from scratch (We wasn't beating when we first got Meg) For me it will always be something older that needs turning around

It's a popular misconception athat older rescues (or even young adults) all have issues and cannot be trained. So many people seem to think that pups are the easy option (my OH included). I'd like to take on an adult rescue Rottie or Akita some some day, but would need to do a lot of convincing at home.

im biding my time until i am in a position to have another dobe and it will be a girl the same age as my boy! hes 3 now and i wouldnt have anything younger/less robust! as i dont think they would cope

if I ever do have another GSD it would be a rescue and I would come to you for it,

tbh unless its a rottie {which I would breed myself} or a frenchie which Im sure I couldnt get in rescue, any other dog I have in my life will most likely be a rescue

i think its a shame older dogs can be overlooked

i got a puppy, but i had to get a dog who was good with young kids. we looked at a SBTx (18 months) who had lived with young kids but she was extremely bouncy and my mum is wary of dogs she doesnt know so sadly bonnie was just a bit too much for her. so they suggested a pup that could grow up with the kids, and my mum could be comfortable with. jake is just as bouncy as bonnie but because my mum knows him she is great with him!

i would happily have taken a oldie though i think for some people it just depends on circumstances, like for us with the kids. it can be hard to find an older dog who can go to a home with kids, especially young kids. many rescues say kids over 8 or over 12...