Dog rescues

[crazywiggy]

I'm doing some advanced planning here. I should be moving out later this year (to finally get a place with my finace) and at some point in the not-to-distant future we would like to get a dog.

The problem is I'm having trouble finding any rescues that will even consider homing dogs to full time workers.

I know its not optimal so I am certainly not aiming for a puppy, or any dog known to have problems being left (eg separation anxiety) but it seems like most rescues slam the door in your face if you're out for more than 4 hours.

Does anyone know of any rescues based in England that will consider working owners?

I will obviously consider private rehoming (there are hundreds of adult dogs looking for homes in the free ads) but I would rather go through a rescue of possible for the honesty / back up etc.

[willow2]

I think it would really depend on the dog, smaller rescues might be more lenient as they tend to be able to assess the dog in more detail then larger ones.

[crazywiggy]

Believe me I certainly feel it should depend on the dog, as some are fine to be left, whilst others have issues with seperation anxiety or just plain boredom.
I would be happy to wait for a suitable "ok to be left" dog to come in and I'm happy to travel some distance for the right dog.

Problem is I can't find a single rescue that will even consider me. Literally, it is a case of "You are out for more than 4 hours madam? Oh I'm sorry, don't let the door hit your a*** on the way out!"

Every rescue I have looked at states they do not rehome to full time workers / to be left more than 4 hours etc. Most though don't actually give a definitive policy. I have emailed a few but so far they have either not responded or the answer was no.

[willow2]

Where abouts are you? This is a great rescue that is in the south west Dogs Friends,They try to foster the dogs out so they tend to know them a bit better
(I hope that link works!). Also you could try your local dogs warden...

[hannah101]

If you are working full time it does seem unfair to get a dog. Being out from 9-5pm is a long time. I know that some dogs wouldn't mind but most would. Maybe a dog isn't the pet for you at the moment? I know a friend who works full time with a dog, she has to get up at 6:30am to walk the dog for a good hour before going to work and at 5:30pm when she gets back. She never has time to do anything!

[crazywiggy]

Hannah - believe me I have thought this through a thousands times.

1) Contrary to popular belief, normal, sane dogs do not become panic stricken, nervous wrecks when left alone for a few hours.

Dogs that are confident, not over-attached etc, properly accustomed to being left etc can do absolutely fine so long as they recieve the proper amount of exercise, cuddles, training etc.

Many dogs cope with being left with no problems - they just lounge around and snooze - usually the same as they do when their owners are in!

2) I will ONLY consider a suitable dog as described above. I have no intention of making life difficult for myself, or causing suffering to the dog, by adopting a dog that does not suit my lifestyle.

I have already ruled out puppies, the hyper breeds (border collies etc), and any individual dog known to have problems being left.

3) I'm not talking about 9-5, monday to friday.

I work flexi time so I can vary my hours by an hour each day. My fiance works shift work, so virtually every day our hours will overlap, which will significantly reduce the amount of time the dog will be left. He only works 4 days a week anyway, and this has to cover weekends on a rota. So, the dog would only be left at all 2-4 days a week, never 5.

4) The effort of working and keeping a dog doesn't bother me.

I already get up early enough that I could take a dog for an hours walk and still get to work on time. I currently take my parents dog out every afternoon for 1.5 hours, plus training classes once a week, plus daily short training sessions, plus cuddles etc.

5) I'm not talking about buying a "new" dog, I'm talking about adopting a dog. In the UK alone, we euthanise around 7500 strays annually - not to mention there are around 10,000 greyhounds retired every year (many of which are pts). Most UK rescues are no-kill - which is great in theory but I knew of one at a small rescue I volunteered for spent his life in kennels - at least 5 years.

I personally can not justify killing perfectly sane, healthy dogs for want of a home when people like me can offer that home. I can offer plenty of love and hugs, reward based training, fun and games, exercise, a secure garden, the best food, vet care etc.....

These rescues will let dogs die rather than stay home alone for 6 hours a few times a week. Personally, knowing so many dogs are fine with being left - I find this a bit hard to swallow.

[hannah101]

Hiya Crazy Wiggy,

I completely agree in regards to rescues putting dogs down rather than rehoming them, it's crazy but every rescue is different. I personally don't support any charity that does this. I volunteer for the RSPCA Manchester branch which is a separate entity to the RSPCA. They never put a healthy dog down. A similar charity, Lab Rescue based in Chorley never put a healthy dog down and keep them as long as needed. I love both of these charities for this reason.

I've had dogs for years and appreciate all are different. My labs would happily sleep all day but as you say they are balanced. A lot of dogs in rescues are not. If they aren't being left for longer than 4 hours then I don't see the problem. Which charities have you tried out of interest?

Hannah

[hannah101]

Sorry I miss read 2-4 days as 2-4 hours, which would completely defeat the point of the post! What's the longest the dog would be left alone if you don't mind me asking?

[crazywiggy]

Sorry if my last post came off as defensive - I'm just getting annoyed with the whole situation.

The absolute max the dog would be left is 8 hours, but that would be rare because of our shift patterns. Usually it would be 5 hours max.
This would only be 3 days a weeks on average.

Whoever starts work later each day would take the dog for a morning walk (30mins to 1 hr), then whoever gets home first would walk in the afternoon (1.5 - 2 hours). If necessary ww will add a third short walk.

I certainly don't expect the dog to not need a pee for 8 hours straight, but I would do what many of my friends do and train the dog to use paper when it can't get outside.

I'm also pretty clued up on all the "interactive" toys on the market, from chew toys, through kongs, activity balls, buster cubes etc. My plan is to gve the dog its breakfast right before leaving, in one of these, then leave at least one other decent toy for during the day. You can even buy kong dispensers that you set to open at a specific time - so I could set one up for the dog to get a new kong in the middle of the day.

I'm already saving my holiday so that I can take time off for getting the dog. The idea is to take the first week off completely, so the dog can get settled in and used to being left for short periods, then the second week doing half-days, and building it up that way.

I would prefer to get a dog from a foster homee rather than kennels because they will have a better idea of how the dog copes with being left.

I look at it this way - there are 2 reasons for dogs "suffering" when left alone.
One is seperation anxiety - In this case the dog becomes distressed immediately the owner leaves, and will panic even if they are gone only 2 minutes.
The second is boredom - the dog will be fine for a certain period, but eventually get bored and find its own entertainment.

Obviously I don't intend to get a dog known to have SA, or one that gets bored very quickly, and obviously I will be leaving toys as mentioned above.

What bugs me is that some dogs are advertised as being "fine to be left", having been left at home by their fosterers for up to 4 hours with no problems. These dogs clearly do not have SA, and do not get bored quick. Yet I can't even adopt one of these dogs.

I seem to have tried pretty much everywhere - every site I have looked at specifies "no full time workers", or "won't rehome if the dog will be left more than 4 hours".

Sorry, but if a dog can cope fine being left for 4 hours, then 5 hours 3 times a week is really not the end of the world.

It just infuriates me that the rescues are desperate for new homes - thousands of dogs are living and dying in kennels round the country - but they turn away lving, responsible people because of the magic number 4.

What annoyed me even more was finding out that in one of the large rescues the dogs are left from about 4pm, to 8 the next day (16 hours) but they still insist on less than 4 hours for new owners!

[hannah101]

5 hours surely isn't too bad. Do you have a friend that could pop in and let the dog out when your away for 8 hours? The thing is that people say they won't leave the dog for 4 hours - how does the rescue know this? I personally think if you work flexitime and it's only the odd occasion you're away for a significant amount of time then is it the rescues business? Even the most perfect owner may have to leave their dog for this long. I'm totally on your side here.
If you can accrue holiday and spend that time getting the dog settled and building up the time it is left alone that would be great.
Where abouts in the country are you? Being a home checker myself I'm very interested in your situation. Would you mind if I had a chat with my branch manager about this as a hyperthetical situation and she what she says?
Hannah

[crazywiggy]

Funnily enough a few people have asked me why I don't just lie about the working hours - but I would rather not. But I do agree with you - most people leave their dogs more than 4 hours on the odd occasion - lets be honest, just going out for dinner and a movie takes that long!

I'm in Bedfordshire, so a bit far south for Manchester - but please do ask your manager - I'd be interested to get any sort of feedback. (I haven't really spoken to anyone in person yet as I won't be dog-hunting for a few months).

I don't know anyone in the area we are looking at moving to, but worst case scenario I could hire a professional dog walker / pet sitter to pop in for an hour on the long days.