Consider giving a home to a rescue dog as long as you are prepared to put in extra work if it is needed but it can be an immensely rewarding experience.  Do not consider adopting a rehomed dog if you have a busy life, or very young children, as they often need special care.  Links to UK Rescue Centres and Animal Shelters can be found at the end of the article.

Find out as much as you can about the dog, as this may help you to settle it in.  If you are getting a dog without a confirmed case history, make sure you can take it back if it does not fit into your household.  Ex-racing Greyhounds usually make excellent pets but may not if you have cats or other pets.

Rescue societies come in all shapes and sizes and with a variety of policies. Some rescue groups have no facilities to keep dogs; they make referrals from the current owners to potential adopters. Others such as the Dogs Trust and Battersea have enormous resources and large kennel facilities.

All try to help owners find new homes for their dogs, give advice for solving problems, maintain a list of available dogs, and screen potential owners. Most rescue societies are anxious to place dogs in good homes.

Rescue dogs should always be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and at least relatively healthy before purchase. A dog on medication for an ear infection or arthritis can easily go to a new home; a dog with heartworm or an active respiratory or intestinal infection should stay put until the disease is cured to avoid the stress of relocation while under treatment.

Good rescuers try to match each applicant with an appropriate dog. They know if a particular dog likes children, can get along with other pets, needs lots of exercise, plays rough, is easy to train, is afraid of adults, jumps fences and so on.  They cannot make a good match if they don't ask questions about the type of home the adopter will provide. So be prepared for the following types of questions:

• Why do you want this breed?
• Do you have enough time and energy for a Border Collie (or a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Labrador Retriever, or a...)?
• Do you have a fenced garden?
• Do you plan to walk the dog a mile or more every day?
• Will the dog live indoors or outside?
• Do you have children? How old?
• Do you have other pets?
• Do you plan to visit your vet at least once a year?

Most rescue dogs have had at least one home and sometimes many homes. They may come with behavioural baggage and some problems from the fact that they may have been rejected at least once and in some cases a number of times.

Some will have been in kennels or the rescue centre for some considerable time. This will have an effect on dogs, especially those that are normally used to family life and constant attention. The dog may have been put in a rescue centre because of behavioural problems, which could include aggression, toileting, excessive barking, destructive tendencies etc.

Rescued dogs are usually more than six months old, are housetrained, and mainly past the chewing-everything stage, they are normally happy to be placed in a loving home. Many have been precipitously uprooted from a loving family by some misfortune, and some have been abused or neglected and need lots of patience and care, to get past the trauma in their short lives.

The initial adjustment can sometimes be difficult as the dog may need to learn to trust again or even for the first time. Separation anxiety, fear of noises, and attempts to run away are common. But once past the first few months, when the dog learns to depend on the kindness of his new owners, then the bond is forged.

Here are some points to keep in mind when choosing a dog:

1. If your time is limited, choose a dog that needs little grooming, minimal training, and only moderate exercise.
2. If your budget is tight, choose a small-to-medium dog that needs little grooming and minimal training ands less food.
3. If you are an inexperienced dog owner, do not choose a large dominant dog or a dog with high energy level unless you are committed to six months of steady, patient, consistent training and a dozen years of daily walks of a mile or more.
4. If you have children or elderly people in your home, do not choose a large, dominant dog that needs lots of training and exercise or a high-strung dog that is fearful of high-pitched voices and childish behaviour.

Be prepared to walk the dog at least twice a day and to clean up his/her waste.

There may not be any background or information on the dog not even the dog's original name or age or even what crossbreed it really is. Many will have been found wandering the streets cold and hungry. Whatever the case there are a few principles and rules you should adhere to:

1. Do your homework: decide on size and basic type or breed before you even start looking. Look at your working and time commitments. Can you really afford the time and expense of dog ownership?
2. If you have children under five it is strongly recommended not to take on a rescue dog, the temperament may be unknown or masked by the environment of the kennels. In most cases responsible rescue centres will not allow their dogs to be re-homed to couples with young children.
3. Never buy on impulse or because you feel sorry for a frightened and timid dog, especially if you are not an experienced and confident dog owner.
4. Discuss what you want in a dog (e.g. an active dog that will play willingly, happily go on long walks, or a homely laid back dog that will happily sit for hours by the fire, and only requires gentle exercise).
5. If you have decided on a pedigree, check the breed requirements and possible problems, then discuss the positive and negatives of that breed with breeders and the rescue staff.
6. Don't expect to walk into a rescue centre and walk out with a dog. They will need to check your suitability to own a dog including your home, garden, and work commitments.  In many cases they will pay a home visit and will require you to complete a long questionnaire.
7. Once you have decided that you are going to re-home a dog then prepare the home and garden well before the arrival

Remember your new dog will be ‘stressed', worried and uncertain of you, your family and the new surroundings/environment. He/she must have time to adjust. By taking on a rescued dog, you will be taking on his/her past too, and this could be an unhappy past.

If you are considering taking a dog into your life, think long hard and seriously about the commitment that dog ownership entails.

UK Rescue Centre and Animal Shelters

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