kiwioz

Oh how terribly sad I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing - I had no idea of the danger let alone how severe it could be. We have a lot of coffee in this house I will definitely be extra vigilant from now on.

The bolded bit is far more the sorts of things I'm noticing :) Very terrier-typical things that Charlie will do. I'm really glad it has been a lovely reminder for you :) A lot of the time it is for me too! But tinged with a bit of sadness. Dogmad thanks for your story, I guess breed doesn't necessitate dogs being similar but it can certainly happen! I'm sorry it was sad memories for you. I agree with you that I'm not sure I could do it with a breed where colouring was very similar. Shelby I love your notion of feeling like you haven't lost your dogs forever :) Really appreciate the thoughts and insight on this! I'm not sure whether I will ever be a person that has a particular breed as I have a list as long as my arm that I want to own (no doubt in between rescuing more mutts) but I find it very interesting.

I'm sorry you lost your girl so suddenly It was a bit the same with Cal, which now that I think about it may be contributing to this because he was never particularly elderly, and until very near the end behaved very much how Charlie is now.

Thanks for all your thoughts and experiences. I hasten to add that I wasn't implying anyone's dogs weren't unique or that you somehow miss out on 'differentness' by having the same breed :) I'm also not comparing my two dogs as such, just that I've found the similarities quite striking and slightly disconcerting and figured it must happen quite often if dogs are in fact the same breed. Espinay I like your description of having 'sameness' at the same time as having different dogs :)

This is a topic that has been on my mind since adopting our new wee fellow Charlie. He is a silky terrier x. My previous dog Cal was a cairn terrier. Now Charlie is a third the size and certainly looks different, however as another wee terrier, there are of course similarities and every so often I'll glimpse Charlie at a certain angle or in a particular pose and for just an instant he reminds me SO much of Cal. I still miss my old boy a lot and these reminders are slightly bitter sweet - it is really nice in a way but makes me a little sad at the same time. I've only owned 4 dogs in my life so far and this is the closest I've got to having the same breed, so it is not something I've had any experience with. However it made me think of all of you on here who own/breed/show a particular breed and have so many dogs that look so much the same! Do you find that you are constantly being reminded of dogs you've had in the past? Or do you just get used to it? Or do you know your own dogs so well that they look completely different to you? Perhaps this is a silly question and just somewhat stating the obvious, but I'm curious if anyone else has felt this way :)

Having just gone through the process of adopting an adult dog and looking at various avenues (rescue orgs, pound, private rehome, breeders etc) I've been giving some thought to the terminology. We ended up adopting Charlie privately from a family who couldn't keep him any longer. I don't consider him a rescue dog in the true sense of the word, although I've definitely noticed people have jumped to that term when I explain that we've taken on an adult dog rather than a puppy. It seems to be more prevalent in people's vocab and seems to cover a wide range of circumstances in people's minds.

Thank you all! I do have two gorgeous wee boys, and yes Caz Finn is incredibly smoochable poor boy cops it from me often :laugh: :laugh: Pers Charlie is SO tiny, I'm still getting used to how much of a giant Finn seems :laugh:

Oh if you insist! :laugh: Managed to get a handful of nice ones out in the garden...he is so busy it makes him very hard to photograph!

Thank you for all the lovely comments :) Charlie has just slotted himself in like he's always been here. He is happy ALL the time :laugh: He loved the beach this morning and Finn seemed to enjoy having company to chase around Charlie is a little... over excited about having Finn around at the moment and poor Finn keeps ending up as a humping post... but I'm sure between Charlie settling down and Finn becoming more confident to tell him to get lost that will sort itself out. Charlie is a little energiser bunny and Finn is still a bit overwhelmed, but he's loving it as well. Keeps wanting to know where charlie is and they're following each other around and playing together :) I feel like we're not only gaining a new dog, but also getting back our old dog at the same time :) DD you're not wrong about him ruling the roost :laugh: Finn is being quite funny - when we put the leads on to head out Charlie was wriggling SOO much that it was almost impossible to get his attached. Meanwhile Finn, who normally is just as excited, sat there calm as anything and extended his leg for his harness, and looked at Charlie as if to say "pffft...amateur" :laugh:

Thanks all :) Finally all tuckered out...

Thanks guys! :laugh: Yeah Finn is not quite convinced yet! But he is already warming to the idea, they keep playing together :) At first Finn was just running to me and not wanting to engage at all, now they keep ignoring us to play with each other Pers it was so nice when they came to visit the other day, the mum just looked so relieved and said 'this is what he needs'. She wanted him to have a doggy friend and space to play (we have a great yard) and people who would take him out and about :)

Well things came together quite fast in the end and we have welcomed a new member of the family :D Charlie is a 3yo silky x bichon (though at only 3kg I don't know if that's the full story!). He is an absolute sweetheart though a complete nutter at the same time!! After all the discussion on here I was paying attention to both the dog and the background he might be coming from. We got lucky and had the magic combination - Charlie comes from a lovely family who were gutted to see him go There were multiple (genuine) reasons for the rehoming, not least of which being kicked out of their home for long term earthquake repairs. Mum wanted to check out our property and find out all about us and where Charlie would be. I have all his vet/vaccination records and was able to ask all sorts of questions and find out all about him :) He just came home this evening, Finn is still getting used to the idea but we knew we'd done the right thing when the two of them had a HUGE play and chase session, I haven't seen Finn that active and happy in ages I really appreciate all the thoughts and advice in this thread, it helped me find our new boy and I think we've found a great match for us, Finn and our lifestyle. And don't worry, I've been on DOL long enough to know you can't write a post like this without pics!!!

Malamum stories like that are so sad I don't understand how people can just leave them behind How wonderful you were able to offer her a home, she sounds like an amazing dog :)

Aww he is cute (love the hi five pic!) but the ad must be out of date - when you go to the website he is showing as a dog they've rehomed in the past

Naww Boronia the schnauzer is just gorgeous but way too big for us at the moment! The spitz is a cutie too - though I'd probably prefer to stick to the South Island if possible so that it's easier to drive there with Finn and suss things out :) Poochmad and rosetta if we go the breeder route I'd definitely want to make sure the dog had been a house dog, especially because here they'd be inside a lot of the time. Also rosetta good call on the vet details - I didn't think of asking for that.

Thanks so much for all the replies! Great to hear of the good stories people have had with taking on rehomed dogs Some great suggestions and tips as well which I'm taking on board and investigating, plus talking to cowanbree about any local breeders who might have something :) Saithroth I guess it depends on the dog - from what people have posted here obviously some dogs cope really well, but I'm sure some do find it difficult. Dogs on the whole are pretty adaptable though and I'd hazard a guess that in most cases they cope far better than the owners!

Thanks for the thoughts, advice and experiences. Mrs RB I'd be thrilled if the previous owner wanted to do a property check/visit. I haven't enquired about any dogs yet but some ads imply a more rigorous screening process than others. I suppose at the end of the day you have to use your own judgement about the person and of course the dog itself. Don that's awful - to think you've adopted a new dog then be guilted into giving it back You'd like to think cases like that would be few and far between. Cowanbree thanks so much for that offer, and interesting to know that breeders don't tend to use dol. Because we've very much been aiming towards a rescue/rehome this time around we don't have our hearts set on one particular breed but would certainly be interested in an older dog from a breeder as an option (although I don't know if they prefer to rehome to people that really love their breed specifically?) I'm not sure what type of breeds you have contacts with but we're looking for a small/medium dog that is active enough for a big daily walk and exploring on the weekends but that is happy living inside and cruisy and relaxed left by themselves (with Finn of course). The only problem going through a breeder may be that their dogs are actually a bit too young...I was kind of hoping to give a poor rejected oldie a good home :) Plus, though of course you never know what's going to happen, I wanted them to be somewhat 'in line' with Finn in terms of age (he's 7).

Well yes this is my main thinking! Am just wary of the risks and wanting to 'do the right thing' for both us and the dog. But I guess in terms of risk it is pretty much on par with any rescue/shelter dog with an unknown background.

Poochmad a situation like yours - whilst awful for the owners concerned - would be perfect for us. It is hard to tell just from a written advert but there are certainly some that seem more responsible than others. Some even offer trial periods etc. So I guess a large part of it would be common sense and situation dependent. I'm sorry you had to go through that kelpiecuddles that's one of the things that concerns me, and at the end of the day you only have a stranger's word for it that it is not the reason. Mita thank you that is something I hadn't thought of and will look into :)

Well it has been a year and a half since my cairn Cal died, and with poor wee Finn all on his lonesome we are ready to look for another furry member of the family But where to look? I've just been reading through the 'Would you adopt from a shelter' thread with interest, however am posting a new topic because there is very little attention given to getting a dog through a private rehoming. Is it a good idea? Would you? There is a lot of discussion on here about whether or not you should ever rehome your own dog, but not a lot about whether you should get one from someone else! We want an older dog not a pup and due to Finn, our property and our lifestyle we do of course have certain criteria we want the dog to meet. I do keep my eye on the DOL listings for mature dogs but they are few and far between here. Over here in NZ, particularly Christchurch as a relatively small city, rescue is not nearly as prolific as it is in oz. There is the main, very reputable, rescue group who would be ideal to adopt from - they are responsible, foster their dogs out and have a trial period. However they are pretty small and they tend to have mainly larger dogs who are not suitable for us. I'm certainly watching them closely though. Otherwise there is another smaller rescue group, then that's about it. You can adopt directly from the pound, or you can adopt privately from one of the many ads on trademe. I have trawled these ads constantly for months :laugh: and dogs of all shapes and sizes come up all the time, including ones that would suit us. Some for genuine (heartbreaking ) reasons, some for far less genuine reasons. I figure it is a dog needing a home, same as from a pound/rescue, and you may get the added benefit of a lot more background info from the owner. However it is potentially much more 'risky' as you don't know the person from a bar of soap and once you take that dog that's it! I should mention (because someone always does :laugh:) that there is a GAP here and I have them in the back of my mind - I used to foster greys and would love one one day, but with our current property and fencing they are probably not the best choice right at the moment. So DOL, private rehome yes or no? :)

Haha good to know Sylvie - I won't put too much value on his furniture jumping skills then! That's great that your dogs are loving it, I'm hoping it would help with Finn's socialisation too.

That's awesome TigerJack! Great to hear of other dogs starting later successfully! I'm just trying not to let Finn's failed attempt at jumping on the couch yesterday be too much of an indication of his potential ability at agility :laugh: :laugh:

Thanks sheena! Will have a look :)

The dancing is fantastic! Good to know on the Rally-O. I should add as well that I don't consider Finn 'old' as such either, and I think he's certainly physically capable of doing sports, but I know that people often start when their dogs are pups and I wasn't sure how commonplace it was to start as a complete beginner with an adult dog with no training background. It would be good to be able to find out if my local clubs are too serious!! I suspect with Finn there will be many laughs and a lot of potential for embarrassment :laugh: :laugh:

Ok so working on his stay sounds like a good place to start. It is ok, but I strongly suspect not up to scratch :laugh: Especially with distractions! It is good to know some things to start working on though, as I probably wouldn't bother starting until after my 3 week trip next month. But we can start practising! Sheena from what I can gather the clubs here seem to offer something similar.