In need of advice... Help!

Hi all!
I need a little advice. A friends - friend is moving away and cant take their 3 staffs with them so is looking for a new home.
I've been in two minds in weather i should adopt one? They are all up to date with their Jabs, are fully house trained and they have been spade. The one i was looking at is a 4 year old bitch, they live with a 7 month old baby at the moment and are great with my friends little girl, so she should get on well with our two children (1&2 years old)
Would it be stupid of us to adopt her? should we stick to getting a puppy? im very confused please help
Thank you

Bexy xx

rescuing is a good idea. but there a a lot of questions you need to ask them and your self, why are they giving the dogs up so easily, why didn't they make prior arrangements if they knew?. are the dogs all as friendly as they say?are they food or toy aggressive? are the people who are giving the dog's up trust worthy? i wouldn't give my dog up for any reason, and if i ever thought i'd be in a situation where i couldn't have a dog for the life of the dog, marley would not be here, where would the dog go if you didn't take it? can you offer the dog life long care?

Nothing wrong with rescuing. I would advise you to ask if you can take the dog out for a walk and maybe a home visit before you decide to see how it goes. You will also have to supervise your children at all times with the dog. They are great with kids but ones that young will require supervision.

Why can they not take their staffys with them?

Taking a pup (if they were bought as pups) is a long time comitment, and is something they should have thought about

Saying that if they are good healthy dogs you should take one depending on your own circimtances

I would go for the already spayed, housetrained and UTD on shots adopted dog! Puppies are a lot of work and it would be a lot easier to get a dog that has already been trained, especially if you have young kids! I agree with Brian, though, you should definitely visit with her, walk her and maybe even bring her home for a night before deciding!

Thank you so much for the advice. i was going to take her for a walk with the kiddies and try it out to see how we go. im told she is a gorgeous happy dog and their 7 month old is always hanging off / playing / pulling the dogs an they have never shown any aggression towards anyone. i'm waiting for them to get back to me about the food/toy aggression an how they are with strangers. Is there any other questions i should be asking? im pretty sure i'v covered everything?
Oh and my sister is having the other female

xxxx

Well done for considering rescuing anyway. An older dog can in many ways be easier than taking on a younger dog or puppy. A lot of the hard work should already be in place, this is not a cop out for continuing any training already in place though.

Is she well socialised with other dogs and people of all ages.

Is she house trained/ not likely to chew furniture etc. further training may be needed on this.

Is the dog going to be OK away from her original owners, will she be pining for them.

Are her vaccinations up to date ? Do you have an insurance quote for her ?

What method of worming/flea treatement is already in place, can you continue with this ?

Does she have a microchip ? Dont forget to get the details of the registered company so you can change the details listed there.

Just a few things to find out before you decide to go ahead with the adoption. I do hope it all works out well for you, please let us know how it all goes.

I personally think it's a great idea. Obviously if the dogs are what the people say they are. Puppies are hard work, they nip, jump up and defecate everywhere. Rehoming an older dog means you and the kiddies have all the benefits of having a brilliant companion without the 'hard work'. Not to mention another doggie gets a loving family home

I will be looking to re-home a male when my Saffy is older. I love puppies but I do love dogs more. You can't beat grabbing the lead and going for a long, long walk wherever your legs can take you. I miss it alot! But hey ho, before I know me and Saffy will be finding adventures together! Can't wait!

Good luck!

kathytake2 wrote:Well done for considering rescuing anyway. An older dog can in many ways be easier than taking on a younger dog or puppy. A lot of the hard work should already be in place, this is not a cop out for continuing any training already in place though.

Is she well socialised with other dogs and people of all ages.

Is she house trained/ not likely to chew furniture etc. further training may be needed on this.

Is the dog going to be OK away from her original owners, will she be pining for them.

Are her vaccinations up to date ? Do you have an insurance quote for her ?

What method of worming/flea treatement is already in place, can you continue with this ?

Does she have a microchip ? Dont forget to get the details of the registered company so you can change the details listed there.

Just a few things to find out before you decide to go ahead with the adoption. I do hope it all works out well for you, please let us know how it all goes.

Hi hun thanks for your reply
She lives with 2 other dogs a male and female but shes not good with cats (not a problem as we dont have any)
I've asked about strangers im just waiting for her to get back to me, they said she has never bitten.
I will get some insurance quotes for her now thanks hun that slipped my mind. i will ask about flea and worming treatment too.
I dont think she is chipped but i'll ask and if not then we'll get that done when we take her for a check up.

xx

Rachb26 wrote:I personally think it's a great idea. Obviously if the dogs are what the people say they are. Puppies are hard work, they nip, jump up and defecate everywhere. Rehoming an older dog means you and the kiddies have all the benefits of having a brilliant companion without the 'hard work'. Not to mention another doggie gets a loving family home

I will be looking to re-home a male when my Saffy is older. I love puppies but I do love dogs more. You can't beat grabbing the lead and going for a long, long walk wherever your legs can take you. I miss it alot! But hey ho, before I know me and Saffy will be finding adventures together! Can't wait!

Good luck!

hi hun, we wanted to rehome a puppy from a rescue but i've fallen for this 4yr old staffy (her name) we'v been thinking of new names for her this morning, She's a blue and white staff so we were thinking something like River? Or Bella, Berry maybe? hmm.
We love long walks too i always went on long walks with my dad when i was young an i want the same for our babies.
Good luck with finding your perfect male doggy
xx

I love the name River! Very sweet! Be sure to put pics up when you get her!

Good luck with her. Maybe she will have a solid home now.

Rachb26 wrote:I love the name River! Very sweet! Be sure to put pics up when you get her!

I will do i cant wait im just waitng for answers to my questions an then find out when we can go and meet her xx

My BIG reservation (other than what everybody else has said!) is food/possession aggression.

With a rescue centre the dogs are tested for this, but obviously a private rescue won't. My advice to you would be to see the dog with toys/food and see if she reacts at all to you being around her, maybe picking up her food bowl or taking a toy off her.

If she's aggressive, she may bite you, but that would be better than not knowing & have her bite one of your children at a later date.

Even if she's good with possessions/food, remember to keep your children away from her when she's eating until she has settled in properly - she will, obviously, be very anxious to start with.

Caryll wrote:My BIG reservation (other than what everybody else has said!) is food/possession aggression.

With a rescue centre the dogs are tested for this, but obviously a private rescue won't. My advice to you would be to see the dog with toys/food and see if she reacts at all to you being around her, maybe picking up her food bowl or taking a toy off her.

If she's aggressive, she may bite you, but that would be better than not knowing & have her bite one of your children at a later date.

Even if she's good with possessions/food, remember to keep your children away from her when she's eating until she has settled in properly - she will, obviously, be very anxious to start with.

I agree.

It might be helpful to write a list of check points that you need to see before you go. For example my big points would be:

Interaction with kids of all ages
Cats
As Caryll said food/toy possession
Dog interaction/aggression while on a walk
Barking (seems silly but excessive barking can mean other things)

Everything else like not house broken, digging, chewing etc. I can deal with. I wouldn't expect a perfect dog, but I wouldnt rehome a dog that I know is not within my capability of re-training. It wouldn't be fair on both sides.

Also, I would visit the dog a few times, take the dog out for a walk with and without current owner and also I would have the dog visit my home a couple if times to see how they react. And I feel that's quite a reasonable thing to ask to do because if they are genuinely looking for a good home they obviously will want to make sure they get the right owner. If the owner wasn't prepared to do it. Me personally, i would look elsewhere.

Rachb26 wrote:Also, I would visit the dog a few times, take the dog out for a walk with and without current owner and also I would have the dog visit my home a couple if times to see how they react. And I feel that's quite a reasonable thing to ask to do because if they are genuinely looking for a good home they obviously will want to make sure they get the right owner. If the owner wasn't prepared to do it. Me personally, i would look elsewhere.

I like Berry