Advice for rehoming

HI Everyone,

My name is siobhan and im new to the forums.

I have decided after much thought to get a dog. I have came across so many poor staffy's in need of a love and home. I have the chance to rehome a 2yr old staffy from a private owner whos circumstances have changed and can no longer look after the dog.

I just wanted some advice on what questions to ask at the visit, what evidence to ask for , if any etc and just to assess if the dog has been trained /looked after. Obviously I will look at the condition of the dog etc but i m thinking more behavioural signs.

My situation is that I live in a flat with my husband and cat. We both work full time, however we work shifts which would mean we can be home during day with certain shifts, I also work 5mins away from my home so can do walkies at lunch times. My mum and dad are on board to look after the dog if shifts would mean leaving it for long periods.

There are several other dogs in my extended familt and kids ranging from just born to 15 years. I have a nephew at 5yrs old. Just wondering about socialising my new staffy with them and my cat.

Any advice would be much appreciated.# Thanks

Why not contact a shelter, then they will work with you to find the right dog. The problem of private re-homing s that you will never know the past.....well you may but you can never prove it, I have met some lovely dogs saying that and Moo was kinda like that, but I really would advise some sort of check first, especially with a cat

I assume you don't know this private person . TBH I would go straight to a rescue and advise them to do the same . They could tell you 1 reason , illness, loss of job for example, and the real reason could be somethign totally different like a newly discovered illness , hatred towards cats .......................................

At the rescues the dogs will be assessed properly and matched to the correct people

Where abouts are you?

Thanks Guys.

Im in Glasgow Janey
x

Yeah Dave I dont know the current owners.

Bit far for Battersea then!! They where great, I live n a flat and work full time also, have the mother on board for help. Honestly I would go to a rescue

Thanks Janey.

I was a bit afraid i wouldnt cut the mustard with my situation. So your experience gives me hope !

X

It does sound like you've done your homework and are equipped to handle it correctly for exercise so have a look for the local rescues

I'm sure there's a rescue centre who would love to hear from you

Thanks Darcy-may

We have slightly different circumstances, Moo did come to work with me.

I did approach a rescue though for my first when I lived in a house but didn't have instant access to a garden (it was a pub so the garden was on the side) and they wouldn't even run a home check!

Its a tough call really, but worth a chat with a rescue first Xx

Saf23 wrote:Thanks Janey.

I was a bit afraid i wouldnt cut the mustard with my situation. So your experience gives me hope !

X

Some rescue centres want everything 100% perfect before they rehome a dog, others will look at the situation & assess what is best for the dog! As you've gone into it so thoroughly I think any rescue centre would be mad to turn you away!

Thanks Caryll !

I hope so. the couple im speaking to do seem genuine but i'm wary becuase its not a centre etc.

I have arranged to visit them in their home and plan to ask to take the dog for supervised walk etc and then they will visit me at my home, to see how the dog interacts in a new place and with my cat!

But im determind to find the right pooch for my pad LOL! and also do whats right for the dog, so i wont be sealing any deals until im a hundred percent happy !

Thanks again Janey. good advice. I have called the SSPCA who have given me the number for the rehoming team to discuss the private sale option. Also my friend is a Dog Groomer and has study animal behviour so has given me so signs to look out for!

I do work 5mins from my house , so would may be able to pop back if not the dog would be at my mums x

Good luck, and keep us updated

Will do.

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful!!!

I think no matter how many questions you ask, you'll get what you get. I don't mean that in a harsh way, but you can't be sure that the person you're rehoming the dog from is telling the truth.

I'm not saying don't do it privately, but just to beware of the possible pitfalls!

Some of the things I would look for are;
The dog's condition - does he/she have a glossy coat & bright, clean eyes?
The dog's friendliness to strangers
Does the dog look wary/scared of either the owners or you?
Does the dog appear to be hyperactive?

Some of the things I would ask are;
Exactly why are they rehoming this dog?
Is he/she friendly & outgoing with humans?
What is he/she like with other dogs?
What is he/she like with other animals?
Has any training been done, and if so, what?
Has the dog been to the vets recently, and if so, for what purpose?
Ask to see evidence of vaccinations etc (and when you do, make a note of the vets!)
What food is he/she used to?
What exercise routines is he/she accustomed to?

Brilliant Caryll !!!

Thanks so much. I am writing all that down now!

I think if possible you're best going to a rescue. Especially since you have a cat, you get lots of cat-friendly dogs advertised and they've all been properly assessed. With a private rehoming, they might be telling the truth, but you can never be 100% sure, and if any issues come out that you weren't told about, it's too late because the dog is now your responsibility. The questions Caryll has given sound very good though nothing wrong with a private rehoming, just as long as you're careful about it. Hope it goes well, keep us updated!

Will do Tara. Thanks x

I can't really add to what's been said, Daisy is a rescue and while personally I would go through a rescue centre but even then you still don't know exactly what your getting, for example Daisy has had a lot of heath problems that I was unaware of.

Good luck and do keep us posted, we will look forward to meeting your new addition when you find him/her

Having read through the above post and the comments/advice etc i thought i would share my story :

Back in December my best mate, Shearer, died suddenly leaving a very large void in my life. After a few months i decided to look into giving a dog home so looked up a good fair number of rescue centre websites registering with several, thats as far as it has gone with the centres, i havent had any contact from them. Unfortunately covid came a long and has put a stop visits etc.

I did take the time to review all help and general information pages regarding dog ownership, fostering etc and well was pretty dismayed at the very ngative Bias towards people who work for a living, live in a n upstairs flat with only a small shared paved " garden " because the dogs deserve a secure accessible garden to exercise or lounge about in, rather than be couped up all day indoors with little chance of developing.

I dont know what preconceived ideas they have about how we treat the dog in our care but i can only guess its worse case senario, tarring us all with the same brush.

Well with regards to the ill treatment and abuse i inflicted on Shearer on a daily basis :

Up at 5am every day so that Shearer got atleast an hour running free off the lead before i set off for work at roughly just gone 7am. He had access to every room in the flat, i did lay the bathroom floor with lino, rising up the skirting and sealed with silocon sealent, thus allowing for him to relieve himself as and when on the paper and pads and i kept it clean.

On return home at 4pm more often than not it was straight out for an hour or so before i settled, if i journeyed to the pub was more like 3 hours or so, again out for half an hour bfore bed.

As i had to drive past the street i live in on a regular basis during the day to empty green waste i often took a detour to check in on Shearer and often get him over the field for 10 minutes.

Shearer was my life, every where i went Shearer was with me, train journeys long drives to see friends for a weekend even to the corner shop for milk. When on days off if the weather was good we would be out nearly all day or often 4-5 times a day just cus we could.

One final comment (quite possibly a spoiler) dogs DO GET STOLEN FROM SECURE GARDENS sometimes right from under your noses. Thieves steal to order and have it down to a fine art.

So please atleast hear or read my story before passing judgement on my surroundings, we all make the most of what we got and we all love your animals be it cat or dog......or other

P.S (selfish plug) search for Shearers pictures to see how loved he was.