indigomama Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Our family was really hoping to get a particular breed of dog, but we wanted an older more mature (read mellower) dog so we applied to adopt from a rescue group. But with all the recent threads on difficult rescues and little kids, I was wondering if we should not do it? Should we wait until we're ready for a puppy? Meaning is it always safer when having children to get a puppy from a reputable breeder than to get an adult dog? (ETA:we are not applying to adopt a puppy, we only want an older dog-we know puppy hood is not for us right now) Do rescues ever work in a home with small kids? If so, please share stories. Thanks! ETA: The rescue group we contacted, is breed specific, been around for 30 years and has a good reputation of matching dogs to families, that's why we picked them. Edited January 29, 2012 by indigomama clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Yes you can get a good rescue dog if you have little kids. Many times you have to follow your gut. Our 1st dog was wonderful. She was not from a breed specific rescue but from the local shelter in WA where we lived. They didn't know much about her, but when dh and I were looking for a dog before we had kids we picked her, despite warnings. Sometimes shelters just don't know and will pin a dog with certain stereotypes due to breed. Our dog (I'm using past tense because she had to be put down almost 2 years ago due to cancer, she was 12) was part Shar-pei and more than one person/vet told us we'd never be able to have kids if we got her, because they are "one person" dogs and are not good with kids. They kept trying to push a lab or terrier on us. We spent a good amount of time in the room just watching the dogs (they were all puppies but some older than others) and how they interacted with other dogs and people. The one we picked was quiet while all the others were jumping on us and making lots of noise. She just hung out and seemed to be watching all the other dogs too. She stayed calm, but not timid the whole time. Following our gut was the best thing we ever did. She was a great dog, when we had kids she was the perfect dog to have with them. She loved our oldest son like he was her own from the get go. All the problems we were told we'd have with her were all not true. If you can find a group that will help you recognize the traits you want in the personality of the dog that can help, but remember to listen to your gut too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 In our experience, many shelters and rescue organizations wouldn't adopt to us because we had young children. We found a wonderful rescue that let us take our dog home for what they referred to as a "test drive". If things worked out, we could bring a check for her adoption to their next on-site adoption event at the tractor supply the following weekend. If things didn't work out, we could bring *her* to the event. I thought this was a great idea! She fit beautifully into our lives :D. She'll be 10 next fall. Unfortunately, we found out she has Addison's Disease this month. It's not curable, but treatable, and she has full life expectancy, just on meds. We love her and she's worth it :001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 When we had to re-adopt our dog from the shelter a few weeks ago, they gave us a really hard time about bringing her into a home with kids. Um... she's our dog. Someone took her, decided not to keep her, and then surrendered her to you. (Yup, they even knew her name at the shelter.... so it was someone who "knew" her because her name was not on her collar when she disappeared.) Anyway.... I think most shelters are pretty leary of sending dogs into homes with kids because rescued dogs often have some idiosyncracies that don't go well with kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 I completely understand a shelter being nervous about sending dogs to a home with kids. The rescue we are trying to go through (they have not yet approved our application) did say that they will send dogs to homes with children. And their application was quite extensive, plus I added another page with more detail about our family so that there would be no surprises. It seems the rescues are a little more thorough then county shelters. We really want to add a dog to our lives, but we don't want to make things worse for the dog or us:001_smile: Thanks for the stories, love to hear more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 My dd32 and her dh adopted from a breed specific rescue group and they have small children. Their pooch is just the sweetest dog - and he is not small -- but he is sweet, socialized, and he comes with them when they visit us here (usually at least an overnight) -- and gets along fine with our rescue. I think their dog is probably 3 years old - they have had him two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in OH Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I foster for a reputable, longstanding breed rescue like the one you describe. We spend an enormous amount of time matching our dogs to potential adopters, and we will absolutely adopt out to families with young children. As a dog foster, I am brutally honest about my dog's characteristics when a potential adopter asks me questions. My rescue enourages us to disclose the good, bad, and the ugly (make sure yours does, too). My rescue also spends time getting to know the adopters. We require a home visit before the family can even meet one of our dogs. Then, I will have a long phone conversation with the interested adopter. I listen to the adopter's wish list and think about whether my dog is consistent with their desires. I talk about my dog's issues and let the family think about it. Only if everyone is still interested ( including me on behalf of my dog) will there be a meeting. Yes, most rescue dogs have issues. Things like occasional accidents are pet issues, not rescue issues. Do your homework to make sure you are ok with the usual stuff that goes along with pet ownership. If you don't time to focus on your dog (imagine having the dog leashed to you when he's out of the crate for the first month, or spending 10 minutes outside every 45 minutes until he's housebroken), it might be best to wait. For my own family, my youngest child needed to be at least 5 before I had that kind of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 We have a rescue dog that was rehomed to us that at first glance would seem to be a poor match for a home with children. She is an 80+lb. belgian Malinois who is very timid and fearful of unfamiliar people. She has probably been abused in the past. However, the family that gave her to us has a daughter the same age as ours so we knew she was not afraid of children at all. She is actually quite happy to have children wallowing all over her and is very protective of children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 My dd32 and her dh adopted from a breed specific rescue group and they have small children. Their pooch is just the sweetest dog - and he is not small -- but he is sweet, socialized, and he comes with them when they visit us here (usually at least an overnight) -- and gets along fine with our rescue. I think their dog is probably 3 years old - they have had him two years. Ahh, great story, thank you. The breed we want is not small either. Glad to hear how well it went for your DD's family! I foster for a reputable, longstanding breed rescue like the one you describe. We spend an enormous amount of time matching our dogs to potential adopters, and we will absolutely adopt out to families with young children. As a dog foster, I am brutally honest about my dog's characteristics when a potential adopter asks me questions. My rescue enourages us to disclose the good, bad, and the ugly (make sure yours does, too). My rescue also spends time getting to know the adopters. We require a home visit before the family can even meet one of our dogs. Then, I will have a long phone conversation with the interested adopter. I listen to the adopter's wish list and think about whether my dog is consistent with their desires. I talk about my dog's issues and let the family think about it. Only if everyone is still interested ( including me on behalf of my dog) will there be a meeting. Yes, most rescue dogs have issues. Things like occasional accidents are pet issues, not rescue issues. Do your homework to make sure you are ok with the usual stuff that goes along with pet ownership. If you don't time to focus on your dog (imagine having the dog leashed to you when he's out of the crate for the first month, or spending 10 minutes outside every 45 minutes until he's housebroken), it might be best to wait. For my own family, my youngest child needed to be at least 5 before I had that kind of time. Yes, your rescue and ours sound similar. We can't do an actual home visit, because we're out of state, a few hours away, but from what I understand, it's a very thorough check. The dog we get will be housebroken. And all of the ones we've seen listed, know basic commands and most crate trained. That's why,even with young kids I think it will work better than a puppy. We will however, still take some obedience classes, to bond and improve our dogs manners. We have a rescue dog that was rehomed to us that at first glance would seem to be a poor match for a home with children. She is an 80+lb. belgian Malinois who is very timid and fearful of unfamiliar people. She has probably been abused in the past. However, the family that gave her to us has a daughter the same age as ours so we knew she was not afraid of children at all. She is actually quite happy to have children wallowing all over her and is very protective of children. I think the key will be if the dog has positive prior kid experience. Thanks for sharing, it sounds like a wonderful companion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Having had a bad experience with two adult dogs we adopted in the past, I won't recommend an adult dog with an unknown past to anyone with small kids. You don't know what the dog was exposed to in its prior home, so it's impossible to rely on it IMHO. Both of the dogs referenced above didn't exhibit their issues for about a year...until something triggered a memory and they reacted. Neither case was a serious problem on an ongoing basis, and we were able to deal with them but it certainly made us think. One died of natural causes and the second one was put to sleep after he went berserk suddenly and attacked the cat as she walked around the corner in the kitchen. The cat had been with us before we even got the dog 3 years prior. He tore into her and nearly killed her; she got away once and he chased her down again and shook her until I was able to subdue him. We put him to sleep that evening. My 1.5 year old son saw this first hand; if it had been him walking around the kitchen corner, well, who knows. Until there's no longer a little in our house it's puppies only. You just don't know what's in a dog's history. Edited January 29, 2012 by bbkaren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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