[Closed] Rehoming an older dog...

We took on an older dog from the dogs trust and she was brilliant. Don't overlook one just because of their age. Look at insurance options to cover any potential costs. Our dog was absolutely lovely and we are looking at rehoming another older rescue dog again

Late last year we rehomed a 4.5 year old greyhound/staffie bitch and asked ourselves the same question.

Other than we might have less time with her before she gets old and/or ill and it will be sooner that we have to say goodbye, that's not really a reason not to.

It's also worth pointing out that it's perfectly possible to train or change the behaviour of an older dog.

If you've taken a shine to her, just do it.

Look at the plus sides - no chewing and no need to house train.

Not sure what i think of a dog thread with no dog photo.

Labs are great, just go for it.

My parents last dog was a Springer of similar age and was brilliant, but.........

1) He was completely untrainable, to the end eh didn't even come back to his own name! If he got off the lead he would run in a straight line until he hit a fence, then he'd follow the fence until he found a hole and keep running again. Even when he got to 15+ and arthritic he would still amble off as fast as he could in the same straight line. However many books you read or methods you tried he would not walk to heal and would pull like crazy.

And that was despite him being ex prison service (maybe he found the drugs and ate them).

As much as the internet experts will tell you all dogs are trainable and it's the owners fault, some just aren't.

2) Someone obviously can't cope with them for some reason, it's not a puppy that someones got bored with. The fact he was completely uncontrollable was a PITA on days out but was copeable as my parents have a huge garden, with an enclosed grass car park next door, and some FC woods nearby with deer fencing around them so he could go and run himself tired and it not really matter if he was out of sight. And he was content enough to go on days out in the canal boat, motorbike sidecar, etc as long as he was tied up when you stopped!

Other than we might have less time with her before she gets old and/or ill and it will be sooner that we have to say goodbye

Only downside I can think of.

Just thought of another one - it might take longer to settle into a new home. I know my GSP at 6 or 7 was a pain in the arse when my ex moved home (complaints from the neighbours about barking constantly). But then she is a quite highly strung bitch 🙂

(The worst dog he'd ever had stay - from a gun dog specialist kennels owner 😆 )

AS Daz said

@tinas, I'll agree there will always be some outliers on the scale of trainability. We volunteer at a dog rescue and now our Bella is over her "issues" we use her to help other dogs with socialization issues. It certainly seems to me that a large proportion of dogs that end up in rescue are there because of " people problems" rather than "dog problems".

Congratulations Mr Scruff9252 on getting a rescue 😉 You won't regret it.

My mutt was about 5 or 6 when I got him in March 2016 and he is flipping' great. He is snoozing under my desk as I type.

Agree with the above regarding time with an older dog. Just enjoy the time you will have with her. Regarding training, I have taught him a few new things but I struggle with him when he is on the lead and he sees his 2 arch nemesis's. He is strong and reacts when he sees these 2 dogs (and they react too). I manage it and it's not caused any problems. I have tried a trainer/behaviourist but it hasn't worked ( I will only allow positive confirmation training). He regularly walks off lead with up to 25 other dogs and I don't have any issues with him in this environment.

Insurance is essential IMO. When mine realised he wasn't going back into kennels he developed inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally he was stressed from being in kennels and it took about 8 months for that stress to fully disappear, he was in rescue kennels for about a year.

You must post some pictures of her when you get her home! It's the LAW.....

Ok, that is mostly positive, thanks.

Those of you that have had older dogs, what type of insurance have you gone for? There seems to be 4 options;

Accident only £4p/m (feels risky)
Time Limited  £11p/m
Max Benefit   £19p/m
Full Life          £21p/m

Whatever you can afford 😉

DezB has a it.

I started on one that covered all illness but not ongoing treatment and have since moved to Full Life.

If the dog has any pre-existing medical issues, check with the dogs trust as they do a shared adoption scheme. Our boxer-rotty cross is an older chap, and has all sorts of medical problems. The DT though help out with all his pre-existing medical issues, as otherwise we would not have been able to afford to re-home him.

We have struck gold with our rescue, he is an absolute cracker of a dog. Always makes us wonder how any one could have abandoned him.

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Thanks MrWhyte - the dog was just in yesterday afternoon when we met her & the vet hadn't seen her yet. Her folder was "clean" but getting her first vet check today. We will be getting a call at some point over the weekend / next week once she has undergone a few days of observations. At that point we need to decide if we want to take her for a walk / bring her home...

No worries, worth knowing those bits of info, as it could put people off a dog. They were really good though at our Dogs Trust. Do you have a cat or anything? As they may want you to do a Cat test first, so take home, make sure dog does not react.

Hope all goes well, I am sure if you get the dog, you will certainly have a friend for life.

Do it. Sounds like you have the perfect home and back garden/regional park for her.

We re-homed/adopted our neighbour's Cocker Spaniel.

She is an absolute joy, other than eating crap and being a bit deaf.

She was a wee fat barrel when she came to us as the old guy couldn't walk her enough. She's now slimmed down and looks a few years younger then when she came to us.

Wouldn't be without her now.

I rehomed an 11 year old terrier - 13 now - and I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made.

I'd rehome an older dog in a heartbeat again too. Much as I love puppies, there is something about giving an older dog a second chance.

The downsides for me are, as others have said, she'll go far too soon. Cost, you definitely need insurance with an older dog. And, this probably won't apply to you as you say she's laidback, but with mine, I sometimes feel like the fun police. She is a bit crazy and wants to be out exploring at a million miles an hour all day, every day and I have to limit her exercise so she doesn't further damage her joints and I sometimes find it hard.

A couple of things for you to bear in mind, even if she (fingers crossed) gets a clean bill of health, she'll almost certainly have a degree of arthritis in her joints and, as a lab, she will also be susceptible to hip dysplasia.There is loads of really good, practical info here:  https://www.caninearthritis.co.uk/ A lot of it is not rocket science but just good to have something to refer to.

Also, get yourself a good vet, one who can help with regenerative medicine. I moved house a little while ago and now I use Greenside Vets in Newton St Boswells (not too far from you). There's a night and day difference between them and my previous vet.

Insurance is really important with an older dog. Lifetime Cover have no upper age limit and have paid out a few thousand for me.

So yes, she might cost you a bit more and you will have less time with her than you want but I'm sure you too will regard it as one of your best decisions if you do rehome her!

Woof

Well as a bit of an update, the lab we were looking to re-home was decided to be unsuitable for our home - she wanted a more sedate life than we were offering.

Fast forward three weeks and today we have just rehomed a 9yr old Cocker bitch. She's been here for 3 hours and has not left my side all day.

How do you upload photos here these days?

Great news. Be patient, they say it can take up to 6months for a dog to settle into a new home.

Hope you sort the picture thing soon.

When things get tricky, just remember this pearl of wisdom.

Your dog isn't giving you a hard time, your dog is having a hard time.

PHOTOS!!!!!!! Dammit man, you CANNOT tease us like this!

Also, well done. Any chance to give a dog a loving new home is to be welcomed.

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">we have just rehomed a 9yr old Cocker bitch. She’s been here for 3 hours and has not left my side all day.</span>

How do you upload photos here these days?

Excellent!

You don't upload photos here, you upload them to flickr/google/postimage.org and you copy and paste them here! It's simple 😀

nice one scruff

Give her time to adjust.

First one of our pair to arrive was very quiet and practically stayed in her box for three weeks before coming out of her shell and being a bit more active* around the house.

Second one took a couple of weeks before leaving mrsm's side*.

They're 5 years (we think) and 18 months (we think) respectively. Age didn't factor in the choice, just that they were great dogs.

* Greyhound, so, "active around the house" is a relative thing.

* Whippet, so, "leaving mrsm's side" is a relative thing.

BTW, Staffies make excellent dogs!

 It’s simple

I lied 😆

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