This summer, me and OH are planning on rescuing a dog (well, adopting one from a rescue should I say). We have been considering this for about 9 months, and realise that whilst I am not at uni and the days are sunny and bright would be the best time. It also cincides with some changes in domestic circumstances that would make it best for us and dog

We are looking to adopt a dog of around 6-24 months, rather than an out and out puppy, and having looked around there seem to be a fair few (especially considering my passion for anything scurffy-just ask OH ;) )

But, we live in a pretty typical, sheffield 7, terrace house. The back 'garden' is shared and currently paved. We are looking into fencing off our half, but there are issues regarding access to next door. Currently OH's dog comes to stay ever couple of weekends from his mum and dads (sadly they won't let us steal him full time as are far too attatched) and, provided he is kept a (rough) eye on, he will happily plod round our side or lie on our patio in the sun-and bless him, even guards the guinea pig hutch from wandering cats.
There is a gate at the end of the alley before the road, but is the openess of our garden going to prevent us rescuing a dog.

We're not looking for a great bouncy dog you understand, something little ish, maybe a terrier cross type (I fancy a whippet cross terrier) and it would have free run of the down stairs of the house, and probably never alone more than a couple of hours.
Exercise wise, there is not only a park less than 50 yards away, but I share a horse up in Rivelin valley (and already hack out with OH's dog as a companion) and am a runner (in fact was paritcularly wanting a dog for a running partner).

So....sorry about the waffle, I just wanted to know what the chances of us gettinga rescue dog are in the current situation. It seems stupid to me that experienced, responsible and loving dog owners can't rescue because of one bit of wood, but I really do NOT want to buy a dog from a breeder.


Thanks

Vicki

Vicki,

Rescue centres do a homecheck and most won't let the dog go without a secure yard.

I'd be tempted to get the fencing sorted which will give you a much better chance. Whether you get a bouncy dog or not, if it sees something across the road that it wants to chase/meet etc it'll go ;)

We have a rescue dog that we got from dalmatian welfare and they allowed us to have him because we are securing our yard and we already have a dog from a breeder. (Breeders also do homechecks, so don't assume that's the easy way out for people without fencing ;) )

My dogs never went in the yard until we got half of it secured, now they only go out there if I'm with them in case they get into the bit that's not secure!

Maybe you could speak to them if you have parks closeby and are able to go for more regular walks. I don't see the big deal with having a yard for the dogs to go out in personally. I think you have to be very careful that it doesn't become an easier option than walking the dog, like it did for a friend of mine. If you can take the dog for two or three long walks a day (depending on breed of course, I have dalmatians!) and train it in the house it shouldn't need a yard!

The dog wouldn't be able to get onto the road, as there is a gate there, just wander onto other peoples bit of concrete (shock horror ;) :) )

I can understand totally why they do it, I am just not sure whether we're going to be able to as technically next doors 'garden' extends across the back of our as access to the [structurally beyond repair] outside toilet :rolleyes:

Have alrady decided RSPCA and the like are never going to OK it-seems a lot of red tape with the big organisations, but wondered whether the more local ones might take a more overall view?

Vicki

ETA to final idea is to turf the area as well, and get rid of said manky toilet, but we are not sure that the finances are curerntly in place for such a huge project :9

We had a dog from a rescue before we had our current dog.

When the rescue carried out our homecheck they were very thorough (some might say too thorough), and picked a small (in fact probably small enough to be almost wholly in the imagination of the woman doing the check) problem with our very securely fenced garden.
She came back to check that we had made the minor adjustments she had requested, where upon she found another ssmall problem that she insisted meant they would have to do another check before we could have the poor dog who was waiting to come and live with us.

Hopefully you wont get such a picky homechecker, but I'm just trying to demonstrate that you really need to make sure your yard is secure.

Each rescue place varies, I think most want to make sure you have a secure outdoor area so the dog doesn't escape. Some wont re-home unless you have a garden but others would be happy to home a dog with you if they are confident it will get plenty of exercise. The best thing would be to secure the garden, would a gate sort out the access problem? then phone up various places. There's Rainrescue, http://www.rainrescue.co.uk/ Millhouse Animal Sanctuary http://www.millhouseanimalsanctuary.org.uk/ and Thornberry Animal Sanctuary http://www.thornberry-animal-sanctuary.org/ for somewhere to start, they will be able to tell you what their guidelines are regarding re-homing. It sounds like you will be able to offer a good home for a dog, although I wouldn't get your hopes up about a new dog going out riding with you, most just love getting under hooves or causing trouble around horses. :hihi:

Each rescue place varies, I think most want to make sure you have a secure outdoor area so the dog doesn't escape. Some wont re-home unless you have a garden but others would be happy to home a dog with you if they are confident it will get plenty of exercise. The best thing would be to secure the garden, would a gate sort out the access

It sounds like you will be able to offer a good home for a dog, although I wouldn't get your hopes up about a new dog going out riding with you, most just love getting under hooves or causing trouble around horses. :hihi:

That is already one of Blade's favourite tricks, but most do pick up the idea eventually, and OH often comes out too for lead duties. Alternatively we get a great dane, the pony's only tiny, he he


I would imagine the gate will sort out access to their back door, but techincally the back corner of our garden isn't ours (theres is L shaped).

ps, thanks for the millhouses one, hadn't found that yet

Vicki, sorry I hadn't read your post properly :rolleyes:

If you already have a dog on a part time basis and are a runner and rider with a park nearby I'm sure that one of the smaller rescues would allow it... Dalmatian welfare did with us.
The larger rescues don't have time to bend the rules and look at each case individually - hence their strict rules :( (hence so many dogs not getting rehomed!)

Remember though that terriers are excitable little guys and crossed with a whippet you will have a bouncy, energetic dog! :lol:

You might also consider looking at a dog built for long distance, steady running rather than short distances but very fast if you are wanting a running and riding companion.

Sorry that's probably not that much help...

Cocker spaniels can go for ages over distance, as can collies

ps, thanks for the millhouses one, hadn't found that yet

Thats where we got our dog from. They have quite a few in.

my daughter got a lurcher from somehwere near penistone -they never home checked.

as it spends 50% of the time at mine anyway, it would have been a bit pointless really.

We live in a terraced house too,(S11) in a court of 4 houses and have a big daft doberman - we thought it would be impossible to own a dog in those circumstances but if you are willing to make changes you can . It helps if you are close to lots of parks and woodland and won't be dumping the dog in the yard all day, (as some people are still prone to do and then think thats all the exercise their dog needs, I am amazed to say!).

Our house backs onto the passage, there is a right of way between ours and the next-door neighbours and, as you probably know, space is at a premium in a terrace, so most people tend to use their backdoors. All visitors, deliveries etc to ours or next door's house have to open our gate and go past our back door and into the neighbour's yard/garden. This makes it awkward trying to fence our yard in...

We've done the best we can - we've seperated the 2 yards with a fence and gate, there's a high wall at the bottom of our gardens and another fence and sturdy gate on the other side, seperating us from the passage and the other adjoining neighbours' houses. In theory, our yard is fairly secure, but not ideal. There's still the path across our backyard leading to the next door's yard/door. It is impractical to try to fence the other side of this path ACROSS the width of our yard so we have got lots of sturdy planters crammed with bushy/ spiky plants, which we use as a barrier instead. This deters madam from breaking out when she is outside 'doing what dogs need to do' and gives us something pretty to look at rather than just concrete flagstones (one of the changes we had to make to give dobermutt somewhere appropriate to 'toilet'), or the dog's latest choice offering - you can still have a garden as well as a dog.

A word of caution though- we NEVER leave Ailsa outside on her own, not even for a minute, as that's all it would take for her to escape if someone happened to walk down the passage and open our gate without seeing her. (Having said that- the dobermutt goes into guard-dog mode the minute she hears footsteps, so it is highly unlikely the gate would get as far as being opened...) but we don't take that risk.

As I said, it isnt ideal, but we've done as much as we can and when we were vetted by the breeder, she was happy with this arrangement, and reassured that we would be sensible pet owners and would never let Ailsa out on her own.

I suppose it depends how keen the rescue societies are to rehome their dogs- if they think that you are competent and capable of ensuring the dog's safety at all times and can reassure them that it will never be allowed outside unsupervised, you ought to be OK - but seriously- you have to mean it- 1 second looking the other way or nipping indoors to answer the phone and your dog could be off...It doesnt bear thinking about.

PS Our neighbour also has right of way to the outside loos at the end of our yard- in practice, she never goes anywhere near it, but we have fenced in the end of the yard so that she can enter from the bottom of the garden if she ever needs to. Means we lose a little bit more of our yard, but saves a lot of grief in the long run - however much the neighbours like the dobermutt and welcome having a built in burglar alarm keeping an eye (and ear) on the court, they shouldnt really have to put up with her wandering into their private space uninvited, everytime she's let outside...

Good luck with rescue- hope you find what you want and when you do- piccies please.

Katikin, thats sounds so much like our little part time guy. He's only a terrier, but boy if anyone so much as dares walk down the passage he wakes half the street up.

Likewise, as we only havea gate at the bottom end of the passage he is never out un-supervised, the further we ever stray is the kitchen with the door open-the main problem we've found with this is his delight habit of toiletting in 'innappropriate' places (like the top of the passage right in the middle in the dark)

Vicki xx

you can always ventre outside Sheffield, Rotherham Dog rescue have quite a few dogs in at the moment

We have looked at lots of dogs on the web, we are just pondering about whether it is worth the hassle and expense with the fence right now, or whether some resuces are prepared to over look this, given the other circumstances.

ETA Thanksdidn't mean to sound ungreatful there

Katikin, thats sounds so much like our little part time guy. He's only a terrier, but boy if anyone so much as dares walk down the passage he wakes half the street up.

Likewise, as we only havea gate at the bottom end of the passage he is never out un-supervised, the further we ever stray is the kitchen with the door open-the main problem we've found with this is his delight habit of toiletting in 'innappropriate' places (like the top of the passage right in the middle in the dark)

Vicki xx

we had that at first - Ailsa wanted to wee (or worse) on the path and we didnt want to fall out with the neighbours so we taught her to go 'all the way' to the bottom of the yard and to 'get it done' and 'be quick'. She still tries it on, especially if its raining or cold out, but we are insistent with her and she normally does as she is told where she is told. Course, getting her back indoors on a nice day/ evening is another thing- we have to bribe her with the prospect of a 'treat'. and then we have the escaping houdini cats to contend with everytime we open the back door. We now have a mesh screendoor fixed to the outside of the backdoor so we can have that open on hot days, get the benefit of fresh air but no worries about ecaping felines or dobermutt.

Most Rescues will insist on a secure garden I am afraid, but some will also bend the rules on how responsible you are. If I was doing your homecheck then I would be concerned that the neighbours, postman, etc would accidentally leave the gate open :o Forgive me if I have misunderstood the garden set up, would this be a possibility?

I would advise against a whippet/terrier type for hacking out though, as they are more likely to take off after a passing rabbit, a trauma you dont need whilst out riding. :help:

Good luck and well done for considering a rescue dog.

I do home checks for losts of organisations & they all insist on the garden being secure





Hopefully you wont get such a picky homechecker, but I'm just trying to demonstrate that you really need to make sure your yard is secure.

It' not being picky - it's being careful. If I find a fault I always request it to be corrected & then go back & check.



But, we live in a pretty typical, sheffield 7, terrace house. The back 'garden' is shared and currently paved. We are looking into fencing off our half, but there are issues regarding access to next door. Currently OH's dog comes to stay ever couple of weekends from his mum and dads (sadly they won't let us steal him full time as are far too attatched) and, provided he is kept a (rough) eye on, he will happily plod round our side or lie on our patio in the sun-and bless him, even guards the guinea pig hutch from wandering cats.
There is a gate at the end of the alley before the road, but is the openess of our garden going to prevent us rescuing a dog.


Vicky I have rehomed to a couple who had a flat, as they had a HUGE park at the side of their building, so that shouldn't be a problem



Have alrady decided RSPCA and the like are never going to OK it-seems a lot of red tape with the big organisations, but wondered whether the more local ones might take a more overall view?

Vicki


Try Thornberry - see my signature.

it' not being picky - it's being careful. If I find a fault I always request it to be corrected & then go back & check.



Unfortunatly in our case they were overly picky, (you'd have to see our garden to understand it has a very good quality fence totally surrounding it with no gaps whatsoever) the whole checking process went on for three weeks, during which time their conditions for us having the dog escalated, goalposts shifting and changing on each visit.

We carried out work exactly as requested following the first visit (which was unneceserry in my opinion), when they came back to check the work, they picked other problems and said they needed to come back again.

We had two checkers come to our house together, the one who was laying down the law was almost manic, the other kept quiet and looked very uncomfortable throughout at her colleagues demands.

Unfortunatly this attitude put me off having a rescue dog again, it transpired later that there was alot disquiet within the rescue, so it may be just that we picked the wrong rescue at the wrong time, but we had a very unfortunate experience.