Adopt don’t shop. Is getting a rescue the right decision for you?

AI rescue dogs

So as a business with 3 members of staff we have a mix of dogs. I fully admit that some of my older dogs are probably classed as "back yard bred" dogs, they're not kennel club, they're crossbreeds. We have a rescue and one staff member also has a rescue, I also have a KC dog and so does another staff member. So this is a conversation that has been discussed a lot between us.

Also working in the industry we do, walking dogs, training dogs, we work with a lot of rescues and a lot of KC dogs. Unfortunately a lot of the rescues we walk are reactive, and actually all of the KC dogs we have aren't. Now this isn't to say that KC dogs can't be reactive and rescues can't be friendly. However there are factors behind these scenarios, most KC dogs are temperament tested before they're bred (most), and a lot of the time we don't know what a rescue dog has previously been through.

Now we know that "rescue" isn't a breed type, but nowadays there are a lot of mixed breed/mongrel type dogs around, which a lot (not all) have been rescued. You have the UK rescues, the over seas rescues, there's a lot. The problem you have is that we don't have 100% of their background and their story, and we will never know. So you never know what that dog has been exposed to, what has happened to it, has it been abused? Neglected? Starved? OR has it just been surrendered due to owners inability to give it the proper care it needs? Did it have an elderly owner who passed away?

I am fully someone who will say adopt OR shop responsibly. Because for me, I have a pure bred Dalmatian who became reactive due to life circumstances. We went through lockdown and that was enough to make him become reactive. However it could be because of his breeding, non KC lines that there was factors that I didn't even notice or know about that added to this. So I am now fully pro shop responsibly. Do your research into breeders, take your time to plan for a new puppy. For myself I couldn't rescue another dog knowing that I could possibly be faced with more behavioural issues because of a background we don't know about.

This for me is the issue with rescuing, and especially overseas. Because we've seen it a lot, unknowing owners doing a good deed and rescuing a dog who seems perfectly fine. For the dog to become reactive or develop severe separation anxiety once it has settled in, all because of its unknown past. For everyone who has a dog with behavioural issues you know how life limiting it really is. You can't take your dog for a nice Sunday stroll to the park, you have to plan it, plan the times, plan the location, dog can't go off lead. It's a lot. For those who have a dog with SA I commend you, it's hard work! It really is life limiting.

As a general consensus I believe that people need to prepare for longer before getting a dog, it's not something you do on a whim. Before purchasing Bucky I was looking at his breeder for a few years to ensure I liked what she produced, to ensure I liked the temperament of the dogs, and what they looked like. Now this isn't to say I will never adopt an animal, but for me PERSONALLY, I wouldn't adopt a dog. I will help out with rescues, raise money, help train, you name it. But adopting one isn't for me. I would adopt a horse or a cat, it's not as life limiting. If they have behavioural issues it's not a problem, it's not as hard as rescuing a dog.

I commend all of you that do rescue dogs, it's an amazing thing. All i say to anyone who is buying or rescuing a dog is PREPARE. Prepare like there is no tomorrow, do your research. Owning a dog isn't easy.