[Al Dente]

Okay, I need some wise advise please

I posted before about how much I LURVE Rhodies, and I feel comfy training them and all that. Except...I have a 2.5 year old ds and I do not, not, not want to go through the puppy madness (which for a Rhodie is at least a couple of years) and potty training and all that right now. And honestly, it will be a while, probably 3-4 more years, before I'm "ready" to go through the puppy madness.

BUT, I have a Rhodie-shaped hole in my heart. I would like ds to be exposed to these wonderful dogs, and be a part of their daily life. I've looked at breed-specific rescue websites such as rrus and they have a couple of older dogs that they say are "acceptable for kids of all ages". I've never thought about adopting an older Rhodie, by older I'm talking over age 6, just because I didn't want to go through a painful loss when they died in as little as 4 years (my Rhodie was 10 years 6 mos when she died of cancer).

So, providing I can get an application approved, what do you all think? Is this a good idea? Or should I just forget the dog idea altogether until our second baby (not even ttc until next summer) is 5 y.o. like some of the Rhodie breeders recommend?

Please weigh in. Thanks!

 

[mama2toomany]

I am in no way an expert... our dogs taught us more than we taught them I think. But with RRs we did rescue we took on the older/trained ones because my daughter was/is so little. Both our rrs have such good hearts around kids. they are so gentle. If i decided to take on another rescue... I would wait for a puppy but I would totally take on another middle aged rr

 

[shannon0218]

I think you need to get a good feel for the rescue and see if they are all they cracked up to be. RR's are like GSD's where rehoming is concerned, they're not easy. I personally wouldn't want a rehomed or rescue GSD (unless it was a baby when it was adopted) because of bonding issues but also training issues. Few people are going to have the same standards I have regarding puppy rearing and I would have to assume mistakes have been made (like I had said before, people don't give away the perfect dog as a rule)
I had a RR cross years ago, to be honest, Bear did some SERIOUS damage to my opinion of the breed. He was put down at 4 yrs with a very large brain tumor, I came to find out later while working with a veterinary neuroligist that the breed is very prone to brain tumors and one of the first symptoms is temperment changes for the worse (I asked him after the 3rd ridgeback in a year with a tumor--they're not common dogs so that's a lot of tumors!) He said of all the brain tumors he's dealt with in the breed a first sign is generally the dog biting unprovoked. (this was what happened with us, Bear attacked a child he'd known since the day we brought him home, had 2 adults not been standing RIGHT there, things would have been VERY bad, as it stood, there were a number of stitches involved. This was a dog that everything had been done right with, he'd gone through 4 levels of obedience, the works. So, understanding my background with the breed (and that I received one of the worst bites I've every received from one that we were treating) I'm probably not the best to ask on that front.
That said, ask questions and ask TONS of them. Why do they think this 6 yr old dog is fine with kids, what are they basing their opinion on, who had him before, what was done with him before, why was he turned over to rescue, what has his health history been, etc, etc.
I think an adult dog in the situation you're describing is best, I also think you can never trust any dog with children unless closely supervised--but I will admit, I feel more comfortable trusting when I know every little bit of their history up to their time with a child. I trust Havoc far more than I trust Bedlam because I raised him pulling his tail, poking his eye and I know what his reaction will be to those stimulus. Bedlam, was initially raised by my partner, but she was raised as a kennel dog in a pack and as such, I don't 100% trust her (and never will) but I think, myself personally, I'd have more trouble trusting her if I was constantly wondering "but what if some child had teased her?" That thought process however is flawed, but it is how my mind works in that situation--and a dog will feed off your stressors.

Have I confused you enough yet?? Do you have a RR breeder who's opinion you trust that you could ask about the rescue in question???

 

[Al Dente]

Shannon, sorry if I confused you but the rescue organization I'm talking about is the Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue of the United States, not a shelter or individual rescue. The RRUS has rescue coordinators in each state, and although the parent organization (RRUS) has rather strict criteria for re-homing, I suspect this varies from state to state depending on who's running it. I know firsthand that most of their dogs spend at least a year fostering before being rehomed, but...and it's a very big but...most of the dogs are from terribly abused backgrounds so you just never kind of know what's there.

Does that make sense? I think the RR rescue org. is basing their assessment of what dogs are good with small children on their observation of said dog in the amount of time it has been fostered, and also clinical observation from the vets and psychologists that volunteer their time with the rescue. There are many dogs available to adopt that are NOT available to homes with kids under 10. But I'm still nervous because I agree with you that raising a puppy to certain standards takes a lot of the guesswork out as far as behavior later on.

(Sorry about your experience with Rhodies. That's such a bummer, because they are amazing dogs. I wonder why cancer keeps popping up in them, though.)

 

[mama2toomany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacheePoo Shannon, sorry if I confused you but the rescue organization I'm talking about is the Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue of the United States, not a shelter or individual rescue. The RRUS has rescue coordinators in each state, and although the parent organization (RRUS) has rather strict criteria for re-homing, I suspect this varies from state to state depending on who's running it. I know firsthand that most of their dogs spend at least a year fostering before being rehomed, but...and it's a very big but...most of the dogs are from terribly abused backgrounds so you just never kind of know what's there. Does that make sense? I think the RR rescue org. is basing their assessment of what dogs are good with small children on their observation of said dog in the amount of time it has been fostered, and also clinical observation from the vets and psychologists that volunteer their time with the rescue. There are many dogs available to adopt that are NOT available to homes with kids under 10. But I'm still nervous because I agree with you that raising a puppy to certain standards takes a lot of the guesswork out as far as behavior later on. (Sorry about your experience with Rhodies. That's such a bummer, because they are amazing dogs. I wonder why cancer keeps popping up in them, though.)

Its the same rescue we use/used