KittyKat

Well we finally have a new little rescue dog... thank you guys for all the discussion. I was trying to express the difficulty of obtaining a rescue dog when organisations would not contact you. With rescue organisations full to overflowing with dogs and dogs being left in the pound due to no capacity, I personally would of thought that inquiries to have a rescue dog would of been met with more enthusiasm. I have now got a beautiful little rescue dog after Canberra Pooch Rescue responded to me promptly and we matched the new dog with my current dog (jewels removed :laugh: ). I was looking for a dog (not a specific breed) that would fit our family, our current pup and our lifestyle for over a period of 6 months and was met constantly with frustration of not receiving responses to even notify me that the dog had been rehomed and was very close to getting a dog from a breeder and forgetting the rescue arena. New little Scruff is very much part of our family now and loving life to the fullest. Thank you Keetamouse and the wonderful foster carers at Canberra Pooch Rescue.

I started this thread, not to be critical of resuce, but to wonder about the process of rehoming when there are so many dogs coming into rescue and so many more needing to be rehomed. Simple communication is not hard, if I got an email stating "you live too far away, but thank you for your interest" would be sufficient. What is my alternative? An unknown off Gumtree? As a responsible dog owner, I value what rescue do and the expertise in rehoming by matching dogs with homes. But what is "good enough" dog ownership? A dog who spends 3 hours a day at home alone vs not getting out of the pound and that alternative?? A dog who gets let out of the house by a concerned owner (social interaction) vs a doggie door (no social interaction). Why are the standards across rescues so inconsistent? What message is being sent to those new potential homes that they cannot measure up? Who are rescue "rescuing" for??? My last rescue was a senior Jack Russell whom, I'm assuming, would not have been assessed as being suitable for me, however, as a failed rescue... he was perfect and lived another 7 years being totally loved and part of my family! Why do I look to rescue for another dog? Because I'm totally aware of those dogs that don't get those second chances and I wish to free up another space and provide a dog with a wonderful, but not perfect, home. :)

For years I was involved in rescue and loved every minute of it, those gorgeous doggies that found wonderful new homes. Now, after having my own dogs for 16 years (two were rescue failures) who lived spoilt and pampered lives right to the end, I find myself trying to find new dogs to love and pamper. I have applied several times for specific dogs that I felt would suit this family - bearing in mind, that we are looking at a lifetime of them being a part of this family, so we need to know they are suitable for this family. The experience has been rather like applying for a job... most of my applications have NOT been acknowledged, or after some weeks, I have been told they have already been rehomed or someone else was more suitable. That is not what I'm concerned about as any dog finding a new good home is wonderful, but from the outside looking in perspective, this lack of communication from rescues to potential new homes is disheartening. With so many wonderful doggies looking for a stable lifetime home, I wonder why this (meaning me!) particular family have not had offers coming out of the woodwork??? We ended up getting one dog that was advertised (not in rescue) and now have a bouncy boisterous Kelpie male puppy (6 months old) who is going to puppy school longer term. We need a gentle dog that is able to tolerate his bouncy ways and be a calm influence on him (he responds well to these dogs). Do I keep persevering with rescue in an attempt to offer a dog another opportunity to live the good life, or do I go to the classifieds on line - no questions asked?

Thank you so much everyone for acknowledging little Jack... we will miss him terribly. Rescuing senior dogs is rewarding and little Jack, although he wasn't re-homed, shows that there are often many years and precious memories in these little darlings left to enjoy. Perhaps one day, I will go back to rescuing and come across another one that I can't part with! It was with the help of JRT Rescue, Senior Dog Rescue and ARF that little Jack was given that extra time.

Hi Everyone, 9 years ago, I rescued my last dog who was a senior (9 years old) Jack Russell from Hawkesbury, I ended up keeping him as he was just to strange to rehome. Since that time, he protected my back door twice from brown snakes without ever being touched, he kept vigil for mice and vermin and just generally filled out lives with his funny antics during that time. Today - 9 years after rescuing him as an older dog... he has taken his final breath from old age and I am happy that we gave him such a lovely long life after the things he had been through in his first 9 years... RIP Little Jack

I had a dominant Husky (8 years old), and have found some of the rescue dogs coming in with the nipping problems, the little one I have at the moment is 6 months old, would race into the lounge, jump up onto the lounge suite and nip at my son, kinda "hit and run" tactic I also have had behaviourists come to help with me Husky and the fosters, but it wasn't until I started watching Cesar Millan that everything came together. Once I showed calm leadership, I had to do very little to get the required behaviour, little nipping puppy one week later, wouldn't dream of doing that again and looks to me for her guidance... all that and it didn't cost me a fortune for dog specialists... can't believe how simple it turned out to be. Weird thing is that I use the same practise for controlling my horses, but didn't do it with dogs! I'm in the ACT as well Carp, so probably used the same dog behaviourists.

lilli... the amount of times people have told me they could ride a horse and when I've put them on... they really meant they could "sit" on a horse without freaking out! Dog language is something I'm learning as I go along as it tends to differ from animal to animal

Great post Shmoo Can't wait for the book to come out!

Arolf... was just thinking the same thing... even my kids don't get fed that well!

gorgeous pups!!! Your doing an amazing job. Particularly loved the kennel and enclosure... methinks I need something like that!