We are currently thinking about getting another puppy.
Our last dog we ha for 9yrs, she was a lab cross (with big black dog, what kind is unknown but that is the only description of the father). And we got her from friends of dhs family.
This time I have really no idea where to start looking. Where to start?
I've looked at the local animal shelter (which was a sad joke), and checked out the RSPCA website, as we don't have one near by. We have one pet shop. I'm a member of an animal adoption fb page, but I'm not entirely confident adopting through it (rules are strict, they choose the pup for you and their prices are extreme for rescue animals).
Besides checking out vet noticeboards is there any other places to check out?
I am in the same boat but not so much looking for a puppy. Just the right dog for us. I have actually found a dog through a rescue organisation for Australian working dogs but it is over 6 hours away in Vic. We are gong through the adoption process, waiting for someone to come check our property. They don't seem to be in any hurry though to do it. Have you tried Renbury or Animal welfare league. They are in the Leppington area so not as far as RSPCA. DH council pound gets puppies fairly often. They post pictures of all dogs on their website.
We found one of ours at the Animal Welfare League and the other on the Australian Working Dogs rescue page. The one from AWDR was located in a Sydney pound when we adopted him so we went through an animal transfer company to bring him up to Brisbane for us.
We were fairly certain there weren't going to be any issues between the dog and our children/existing dog, but you do take that chance when adopting a pet from a distance.
Assumed you've tried on gumtree and fb pages for your local area?
Couldn't agree more with finding the right dog for us. We thought we'd start with looking for a pup because we think that a pup would be easier to train over an older dog.
I just went and checked out both sites, was a few contenders, one was 6hrs away (which seems to be my luck at the moment, every site I look at and find possible new members is at least 6hrs away). Then to add to it, dd2 doesn't want a black dog because our girl we lost was black and dd2 says it would hurt our dogs feelings thinking we may be trying to her.
Im thinking this search is going to be a long one
Funny how the organisations want to rehome the dogs but don't seem to be in a hurry to do the inspection.
I used Pedigree's website. They have a find a dog questionnaire that works really well. It asks a bunch of questions to help you narrow down what breed/ size would suit you and your family. It will give you the option of finding out more of the particular breed so you know what you're getting into. Then you can go searching for the real thing with either a breeder or a shelter. The two dogs I have now started this way and they suit our family.
We found our dog just through a newspaper ad. We had been checking the RSPCA and other adoption pages, but struggled.
With the RSPCA the type of dog were after were adopted quite quickly.
The other sites, well huge processes to just apply to adopt a dog. Which honestly I found it a joke, yes do some vetting of families, but with so many dogs needing homes and the constant call for donations you would think they would need/want to find a home quickly. Also a lot of the dogs really were hard to rehome, so many had issues (on meds, cannot be with kids, must be home ALL day etc), those dogs were listed for many months.
Have you spoken to your local vets. They sometimes know of someone who needs to hand in a dog and want to find a good home for it. Or a litter needs homes
Local vets are my next stop, possibly when I can get myself children free.
Astrid, I agree, although I understand why they don't just give the animals away, the application process of some of the places is ridiculous. Especially when all a lot of them need is a loving home. Going through some of the sites, some dogs have been listed for months and their needs are too high for us to take on, like you mentioned medical needs and age etc.
I actually get your kids wishes in not wanting another black dog. I want the complete opposite to Squeak (White Chihuahua). The dog I am looking at is a Border Collie x Jack Russel and in nearly all white with a few tan patches though. I have decided that DS and I are going to take the drive to Cobram, and meet him next weekend His foster mum is really nice though and said she will meet us a a little less then half way to make it easier.
I know the process of adopting can be long but I do understand the process. A lot of the animals probably don't get the best start to life so they would want to make sure that their next home is right. I also like that you can get a good idea of the dog, going from the pound, paper, vets, you can never be too sure what your getting. DH job involves the pound but I am reluctant to look there for that reason, specially with having young kids.
It is hard though, I have been looking for about 6 months now and it was getting me really sad constantly looking at so many dogs needed a family, and this was only one organisation.
If you are keen to adopt, I would suggest get the ball rolling by filling out an application, getting your home checked if that is required and that way if you do see a dog you like you are already steps ahead.
Ok so to update:
Yesterday I ducked into the local pet shop. I figured I probably wouldn't find any pups in there but figured I could ask about future litters they may be getting in.
But when I went in there was a little shaggy pup all by himself. At first he didn't get a look in by me because I was only info gathering.
Anyway after talking to the owner of the pet shop, and having a cuddle with the pup, I put him on hold so that dh and dd's could give their verdict.
So on Tuesday we pick up our new little member of our family, a mini groodle pup (it's golden retriever crossed with a poodle). Totally not the breed we were going for and thought we would own, but yeah.
Have you picked puppy up yet? How exciting and great that you found something so quickly. Poodles are really great dogs, it is an interesting mix. Can't wait to see a pic hint hint. Did you let your girls pick a name?
We picked him up today, whilst the big two were at school and preschool. Thought it was a good decision because we got to get acquainted with him, and dd3 got to have a play with him before he was too hypo
And we got a chance to name him before the crazy name choices got any more air time. Name at the moment is oscar.
Dd2 was my worry, and she seems to be ok so far, but she has already told the puppy that our other dog was really fun, but she has passed away and is now in heaven. She has since told everyone who has met the puppy the same thing. But she is so far in love.
It's an interesting mix, I've never been a fan of poodles or poodle mixes, so this shall be interesting.
Shall post a pic soon
Welcome to the family Oscar. How did his first night go. DH threw a spanner into the works for me. I got approved to adopt the dog I mentioned earlier but yesterday he tells me there is a pure breed german short haired pointer in the pound and she is beautiful. Today was her last day to be claimed so she could actually be PTS tomorrow, not that I think she would but DH put his name down for her JIC. Now what to do. Might mean two dogs now.
Beansbeans, I had a poodle x spaniel and he was so intelligent. They are scarily so! We had lots of training and he caught on to all of it quickly. Sadly, he had other issues and we believe he was a puppy farm dog. Hope the puppy fits in well. I imagine he'll be a big dog!
Kazzo, I have two dogs and seriously the best thing we did. We had our beagle for a year and then got our spaniel and they are just the best of friends.
Kazzo you should definitely get both!! You have enough space for both dogs and definitely enough love for them! Also yay for getting approval for the first dog too!!
First night went really well, he cried at bedtime for half hour then slept the night away.
I must admit he is rather intelligent and he is getting to know the rules of the house pretty quickly for his age. And the girls are so keen to train him so I'm sure it won't be long before it all falls in place. Currently he is asleep at my feet.
I'm not too sure of how big he will grow, but he is classed as a mini, so he should end up being a medium sized dog.
We had a look at local breeders but the local ones all bred large breed dogs and we didn't want another large dog. And the idea of travelling for a dog wasn't possible, nor was it really ideal.
However the paperwork we have for this pup, he comes from a breeder 6+hrs away, and from what I have read and researched he comes from one of the best. In the end we wouldn't have and couldn't have travelled that far to pick him. Sounds silly I know.
The puppy search
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His foster mum is really nice though and said she will meet us a a little less then half way to make it easier.
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