Reasons not to rescue

Tucking Fypo

Hello,

Had a little problem hitting enter before actually completing this. The thread title is off too, I wanted to have 'Rescue Rules'.

Okay, here is my dilemma. I would love to rehome a German Shepherd, however I can't, why? Because the majority of rescues will not rehome to me as I don't have a secure garden. I have a lot of land, and the thing is, I will not be keeping the dog outside. It would be indoors only, and only out when I am out. I work from home, so he/she would be with me all of the time. I could very well buy one of those enclosures, but that would be a complete waste or 300 or 400 euros, as the dog will not be kept in it.

So mulling over this, I have decided it is possible I may purchase a German Shepherd at some stage. Something I really don't want to do, but my only option it seems?.

I have been thinking long and hard about this, I am not looking for direction, but I am putting the idea out there that some of the rescue rules are just too much. I am very confident that any dog that comes and lives with me will be treated like royalty, I already have dogs at home and they are the happiest dogs you will ever meet.

Thanks for reading.

Whispered

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056101369&highlight=rescue

Here you go OP, this has been discussed very recently on the forum. You might find it interesting, and join in that discussion.

magentas

where in the country are you?

Different rescues have different rules/terms, maybe get in contact with a private shelter, AFAIK the xSPCAs are the strictest and may not be the most flexible, whereas other shelters may be more flexible and work with you to find a happy outcome

Tucking Fypo

I am midlands, thanks for the reply.

I've filled out countless adoption forms, and the feedback has always been fantastic, however it has always come back to the secure garden. As it happens the NAC/ISPCA Longford were the most lenient. I found the private smaller rescues more strict.

Whispered

I would have though the smaller ones would be more strict too.

I hate to be a pain, but they do have a good point. If your dog ever managed to sneak out of the house, imagine the worry.

However, if you are defintely going to get a dog, and you are adamant that you will not enclose your garden, make sure you have up to date tags just in case he or she manages to get out of the house. Oh and microchipped too.

You can go to the pound and take a pup directly from there, saving you the need to buy and the need to go through a rescue. Unfortunate problem is you could end up waiting for the right pup, and do all the leg work yourself. But worth it to rescue perhaps?

EGAR

There are young Sheps in Dundalk Pound at present, OP.

daenerysstormborn3

OP, I moved in October, a huge move, from Dublin City Centre to the countryside and it was quite a shake up for my dog. He was fine for about the first month, loved the extra space etc but then one day he went missing, after staying out overnight in the lashing rain and cold searching for him it turned out one of the neighbours had given him into the pound because she is very old and he is very big and she couldn't handle keeping him overnight to ask around the neighbours the following day, which was entirely understandable. Plus, I was new in the area and she had no idea who the dog belonged to.

Long story short my dog running off was my own fault, he got out through a gap in the fence that he had been working on and I had not noticed. The abuse my boyfriend got from the woman in the pound when he collected my dog was unreal, a portion of it justified but the majority of it completely over the top.

Dogs are naturally curious, any unfamiliar scent will pique their interest in a second and they'd be gone and before they know it in unfamiliar territory and lost.

I might add that my dog has excellent training and recall and is much loved and receives day long attention but this made no difference when he decided to go for an adventure.

Not only will it be heart breaking for you if your dog was to go missing but it would also be very confusing and distressing for the dog. Plus, the reception in the pound (while somewhat justified) is really belittling, that is if you are lucky enough for your dog to be handed into the pound.

What I'm saying is, is it really that expensive to put in an enclosure if, as you say, you would only be away for short periods of time? And obviously it will help you give a dog a good home as soon as possible.

Tucking Fypo

Ohh I agree that the rules are there for a reason, but my thing is that my dogs are within an arms length of me at all times, micro-chipped etc. I wouldn't even consider leaving them in an enclosed garden regardless, the amount of theft going on these days means nothing is secure, unless supervised by you.

Thank you Egar, I telephoned about those dogs already, one has been rehomed and the other possible home waiting.

I would much much prefer to take a pound dog than purchase, I dont mind doing the leg work at all. I keep update with pounds via Facebook and their websites. My only concern being that I could end up with the wrong dog, i.e. as the temprement is unknown, I could unknowingly put my dogs and cats at risk. Whereas with a rescue, they sometimes have that dog in foster and know if the dog is good with cat/mouse/child etc.

Whispered

If you keep an eye out for a pup you should be ok. Well as ok as you would be buying from a lot of breeders anyway.

Tucking Fypo

pixiebean22 wrote: »

OP, I moved in October, a huge move, from Dublin City Centre to the countryside and it was quite a shake up for my dog. He was fine for about the first month, loved the extra space etc but then one day he went missing, after staying out overnight in the lashing rain and cold searching for him it turned out one of the neighbours had given him into the pound because she is very old and he is very big and she couldn't handle keeping him overnight to ask around the neighbours the following day, which was entirely understandable. Plus, I was new in the area and she had no idea who the dog belonged to.

Long story short my dog running off was my own fault, he got out through a gap in the fence that he had been working on and I had not noticed. The abuse my boyfriend got from the woman in the pound when he collected my dog was unreal, a portion of it justified but the majority of it completely over the top.

Dogs are naturally curious, any unfamiliar scent will pique their interest in a second and they'd be gone and before they know it in unfamiliar territory and lost.

I might add that my dog has excellent training and recall and is much loved and receives day long attention but this made no difference when he decided to go for an adventure.

Not only will it be heart breaking for you if your dog was to go missing but it would also be very confusing and distressing for the dog. Plus, the reception in the pound (while somewhat justified) is really belittling, that is if you are lucky enough for your dog to be handed into the pound.

What I'm saying is, is it really that expensive to put in an enclosure if, as you say, you would only be away for short periods of time? And obviously it will help you give a dog a good home as soon as possible.

You see that is kind of my whole point.

I could put in an enclosure, spend a little on a homemade one, or a lot on a pro one, however the dogs instinct would be to roam out of curiousity, and the fact I'd left him/her in there.

I think I will hound (pun intended) the pounds for a younger dog/pup over this year. I will hopefully update with some good news.

TooManyDogs

Tucking Fypo wrote: »

It would be indoors only, and only out when I am out.

I think this would be the main concern of most rescues, if the dog would be out when you're out how would you contain it if your garden is unsecure? One of the reasons a rescue will demand a secure area for the dog is there are too many dogs turning up stray who have wandered off after a bitch in heat, running huge distances because of fireworks/bangers. Work men leaving the front door open by accident and the dog escaping, dog following a particularly interesting scent.....

I know it may seem pedantic to you for the rescues to be a stickler for the secure area, and I have no doubt that the dogs you have already are the happiest and most well cared for dogs but the dogs that end up in rescue have already had a rough first start so the rescue will want to make the second start as good and safe as it can possibly be. There's just too many things can go wrong if a dog isn't in a secure area if you're not there - dog theft, straying, traffic accident, teased by children, provoked into snapping or nipping someone, another dog attacking it, the list goes on.

Please don't think it's a personal insult, it's really not, the rescue will want to make sure nothing can happen to the dog and has the dog's best interests at heart.

Whispered

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I think this would be the main concern of most rescues, if the dog would be out when you're out how would you contain it if your garden is unsecure?

Oh god I didn't even notice that. OP was that a typo (no pun intended). How would your dog be safe, at all, if out unsecured when you are out. Or did you mean the dog would only be out when you're out, and would be with you?

magentas

I'm pretty sure he meant that:
when he is not at home, the dog will be safe indoors
when he is AT home (not neccessarily IN the home!), the dog will be allowed outdoors WITH him:)

doubleglaze

You put a compelling case, OP, although for me, a large enclosure -( minimum 30 ft. square, with grass, bushes, trees, etc. in it and surrounded by 6 foot walls - minimum that are difficult to climb) would be one of the most basic things I would want for my dog.

My own dog is a house dog, walked once a day, but allowed out for a ramble in the enclosed back garden whenever it demands it. Dogs generally like to go out for short periods to do things like pee/poo/roll in the snow/sniff the dew/hide stolen booty in bushes/enjoy the sun...

My dog would often go out maybe every half hour and I wouldn't fancy standing around in the cold outside keeping it on a leash while it was burying a bone or about other such doggy business.

If I lived on a a house on, say, a half acre site in the countryside, I'd create a secure-garden-within-a-garden just to give the dog a decent- sized secure toilet where I could let it off without having to supervise it all the time!

I just don't see how a dog can have a great quality of life without a secure back garden.

portgirl123

Also OP, and no way am i saying this about you, but i wonder how many times rescues would have heard the dog will be indoor dog, not let out etc. and then that happens for what ever reason dog is let out. Im sure ppl interested in dogs tell rescue what they need to at the time to get a dog and then do the complete opposite when they get dog, i think this is why some rescues to follow ups after dog has been placed. Please OP dont think im saying you would let your dog out, im not, but id imagine this is why rescue have to their rules.
good luck with finding your guy. by the way how many dogs do you own already

ashyle

I think it would be cruel to keep a big dog like that indoors all day. Dogs need space!

Graces7

ashyle wrote: »

I think it would be cruel to keep a big dog like that indoors all day. Dogs need space!

Not at all; a dog like that needs a lot of exercise as surely the OP knows. A dog needs to be kept safe; and in these days, it is not safe to leave a dog in any garden however secure from the point of view of escape. Theft is common and most of us like to be know where our dogs are. We have two high energy dogs ( JRT Cross and collie) and they are inside when we are inside. And when we are out, as in away from the house. In the garden they always supervised. They are well exercised and healthy and happy.

Nothing to do with size; many huge dogs are couch potatoes. or hearthugs...

micheleabc

OP in Meath Pound, located just off Slane there is a beautiful German Shepperd adult. In the pound they don't do any house check, all you need is go there, pay a fee (I think is € 100) and take the dog with you).
If interested this is their web site link: http://www.meath.ie/LocalAuthorities/Environment/DogPound-Meath/DogsCurrentlyinMeathDogPound/Name,44575,en.html
Best Luck

Tucking Fypo

Thank you everyone. Just to clarify I meant the dog would be out only when with me. My personal belief is that it just wouldn't be safe to have any dog outside, escaping and theft would be my main worries.

I do realise though that many people would use the old chesnut of an 'indoor' dog, and that ruins it for the rest of us. My dogs are happy and content indoors, they get their exercise aswell as agility classes (social purposes only), walks etc.

thanks for that link to the pound, I will certainly be back to update if a new doggy adopts us in the near future.;)

liquoriceall

Hi good luck with the search, I know what you mean my mother has 2 dogs living with her its a farm so no secure garden or any of that craic but the dogs are inside sitting on the couch 23 hours a day and the other hour they are down the yard or fields. Dont get the problem if you are there most of the time

Discodog

Well I have three rescue dogs in a small house that does not have a secure garden. I have encountered no problems in the many years that I have lived here.

When I get up my pup (1 year old now) & my Greyhound go into the garden on flexi leads for a pee. Especially in this weather they rush back in pretty quick.

After breakfast they get a 45 minute off lead walk. Then the two older dogs stay in the house & the pup comes with me for the day (typically 6 hours). The only reason that I take him is he is relatively new, it's great socialising for him & he might chew if left ( or drive the other two nuts ). I do occasionally leave him at home for up to 2 hours to get him used to it. Then when I come home it's the same routine with another long off lead walk.

Dogs do not need space. Webcam footage reveals that mine never move off of their bed when I am out just as they don't when I am home. I would also add that none of my dogs were used to indoor living when I got them.

My advice would be to get to know the local rescues rather than just filling in forms. People tend to be much more flexible when they see that you are a responsible caring owner & get to know you a bit.

EGAR

GSD is STILL in Dundalk Pound: http://petsireland.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=77666&hl=

toadfly

Aw poor dog shes gorgeous. Hopefully she gets out soon..

boxerly

A beautiful young GSD in today Dundalk Dog Rescue's Photos - Dogs in Pound 06/01/11