When rescue dogs don't work out :( - Page 2

[SkylarVT]

Looking over your list of previous rescue dogs, it looks like most are all or part of a breed that I would not usually recommend for a family with children. I agree that purebred rescue would be a better fit for you especially if you are open to a kid friendly breed like a Golden or Lab who will likely have a more resilient temperament for kids even if they were not properly socialized as puppies.  I know our local Golden rescue fosters their dogs with families and most of the foster people will let you meet up with the dog and spend time with them at their house or a local park before you decide to adopt them. I think that when you have kids it's critical to adopt a dog that has lived in a home with a foster family before you adopt so that they can give you an idea of the dog's temperament. If you go to GRCA.ORG they will have a list of Golden rescues by state.

[sesa70]

Originally Posted by ReadingMama 

Quote:

Wow!  Housetrained in 4 days!  Do you still have him?  If so, how is he doing now? 

Yes, we do still have him. he has been home for 7 months now. He definitely still has some of his initial 'issues' but we have worked out a way that we can mostly avoid problems. If i know I am going to have guests he has a hard time with, I take him to doggy daycare for the day. He is happy, I am happy :) I saw how fantastic he was with my kids, and how much they loved him, and I realised that if I put in the work we could figure out how to make his issues more workable. So far so good!

[Ldavis24]

sesa I love the picture of your dog! Looks like a very happy pooch!

[ReadingMama]

I know opinions differ here, but I love labs and lab mixes.  They are my favorites!  But I like them after the adolescent period!    However, maybe if we used a crate with a younger dog, it would be more manageable.  We don't use one for our dog Raven because she doesn't need one.  We adopted her at 15 months from the SPCA and she was housetrained very quickly and never chewed things up.  Our local Lab Rescue is a really good organization.  They foster all of their dogs in homes and are very picky.  They have some older puppies too, but most of their dogs tend to be in the 2-6 range.

Perhaps by the time we're ready to adopt another dog, my son and his friends will be old enough that I won't have to worry about this so much.  He's 11 now, but we have kids as young as 5 come over. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkylarVT 

Looking over your list of previous rescue dogs, it looks like most are all or part of a breed that I would not usually recommend for a family with children. I agree that purebred rescue would be a better fit for you especially if you are open to a kid friendly breed like a Golden or Lab who will likely have a more resilient temperament for kids even if they were not properly socialized as puppies. 

Edited by ReadingMama - 5/12/11 at 8:07am

[Ldavis24]

I myself have a lab shepherd pointer mix...I actually prefer mutts over purebreds as a general rule their health is better...