I tried to get a rescue dog years ago before we got Star. Got the usual reasons kids too young, fence to low So we ended up with Star.

Now when the decision was made to get another dog we decided to go for another pup because I know Star would not accept an adult dog in the house. She can be really bossy at times and I did not want to risk having to rehome the rescue if it did not work out and in all honesty I dont think it would have worked.

Lel...it is possible to find out the basic attitude of a puppy if either you do the puppy aptitude test or find a breeder who does. Are you all familiar with it in the UK?

I have 2 'puppies' and 4 'rescues'. My dogs that I've raised since puppies are better behaved all around than my rescues. But that's because I took the time with them.

My rescues were all brought in as adults so I didn't have to go through the housetraining, etc. with them. I knew how large they were going to be, what they were going to look like and so on.

I think it would depend on what stage of your life you were in if you were undecided. If you had enough time for a puppy or if you had enough time to figure out a rescue dog.

Some people are very adamant about one or the other and for them, I don't think it would matter.

I chose a rescue dog mainly cos the kids were so young and we felt that a more 'streetwise' dog would be more appropriate. Our first dog was an adult bitch of about 5 years old. It was my sisters dog and as she had a bad chest and her hubby a bad back they felt they could no longer cope with her and a baby. We offered to take her as she was a great little thing. When she passed on we decided that we should go for another rescue and along came Jas. Just under 2 years later along came Tammy our third rescue and now that I feel enough time has elapsed since Tammy's death we are on the look out for another rescue. I like to think that I'm giving a normally 'unwanted' animal another chance of a good family life.

Nicole
is that from a tiny puppy?
Is there really a way of finding if your pup will become dog aggressive or hate cats etc from such a young age
Can you give us some more info- sounds interesting

I don't mind at all taking a rescue dog as long as it is a Mini Schnauzer . My previous dog was a rescue (aged 3 ish) and spent her first two weeks with us hiding under a chair growling at my small son. We ignored her completely, when she eventually overcame her fear and emerged she was a fantastic little dog, loving ,gentle and good with children. I would have another tomorrow, but they are not always easy to find.

Your right there Mini. We were told we were lucky to have such fantastic resuces as Jas and Tammy. Okay Tam had her problems but that's wot you've got to expect from a rescue but thre was no way we'd swop her for the world.

For me the long and short is that for some people a rescue dog is ideal and for others a pup from a breeder is more suitable depending on their requirements and facilities, time etc. All are perfectly acceptable really what needs to happen is those breeders who sell pups need to be more wary about who they pick to own pups and people looking for dogs need to be better educated, I guess that is in an ideal world

Our next dog will be a pup, from similar lines to Cassy - again something I could not get in a rescue dog. When I move back to Argyll I will (hopefully) have more room and at that time I will be considering a few golden oldies as I realise more often than not they are the ones who are overlooked

We were looking at rescues a few years ago, but most of them said no small children so we gave up and bought a pup.

i am quite surprised by the amount of people who have looked at rescues and been turned down by having small children etc. One of our good friends got a dog from Dogstrust and at the time his kids were 5 and 3 and it wasnt a problem. It must depend on the breed of dog aswell as which centre etc you go to. his is a staffie x and although its a majorly hyper dog its good with the kids. Bruno although we dont have any kids is fantastic with them and lets them do anything and he is really gentle when he needs to be.

I have never had a pup and Bruno is my first dog, but he is far less work than a puppy wqould have been as he was housetrained etc already - the only thing I would change is if he was a bit friendlier with the other dogs - however there isnt even any guarantees with a pup that it would end up being friendly either....

In my opinion if I was to get another dog I think it would always be rescue first and foremost, but I woudl want another staffie so it would always either be a breed rescue or dogstrust as they tend to have the most staffies.

before getting Bruno, I did go to the local cat and dogs home and would have come away with all of them if I hadnt been with OH who is a little bit stronger when it comes to saying no !!

I do think there are too many breeders and not enough homechecking etc done by them as many of the dogs that end up in the homes start out as lovely puppies that people think will be nice and easy and cuddly. I also think too many people give up on their dogs if they arent doing what they want them to do or to be like - due to their poor training, socialisation etc.

Goes back to what i said on another thread - In my ideal world - you would have to prove yourself worthy before you are allowed a dog !! JMO
thanks for all your thoughts - keep them coming !!
Dani

I think its necessary though if the dog has been a stray or come from a pound with no history rehoming a dog to the wrong enviroment could possible end in its death

I think some rescues just err on the side of caution