My wife and I were talking last night about looking at pups and both of us thought about the possibility of using a rescue dog as, let's face it, there are plenty of them out there needing homes. I'm not after a FTch level of dog but something that I can learn to train and use for beating and/or picking up. I'm quite happy to seek professional advice for the training as I have both Mullenscote and Scovellsway just down the road.
For me the concern is, it will be my first gundog and the first I attempt to train, so I'm already have it stacked against me. By going to a breeder I know that the parents have a background in working whereas the rescue dog could come from anywhere. I'm not looking at the rescue route to save money, more just to help out an unfortunate dog. However, I do feel that I might be biting off more than I can chew if I do decide to look for a rescue dog.
What are your thoughts?
Rescue dog?
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Malfuss
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Rescue dog?
Jon
Re: Rescue dog?
I think you have answered your own question. I t's very laudable that you want to take on a rescue dog but considering your lack of experience it may be a step too far. Training your first dog is enough stress on it's own without taking on a dog which may have a dubious background and having to come to terms with that as well. You may well be lucky and get a dog which will fit in but my experience with rescues, not gun dogs by the way, is that you really don't know the full background to the dog as the original owner has been economic with the truth.
Bill
Bill
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cjaus
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Re: Rescue dog?
2 of the Springers i have now came to me second hand. Because both never made the grade for trials.
It is a gamble as to how they will turn out..
My first one who is now 13ish, came to me a nervous wreck after a trainer moved her on to a wrong home, the people he moved her on to where the ones that had her before me, they never really looked after her so i took her on, she is good enough for dogging in and cuddles, and that's about it.
My second one came from the same trainer, he approached me after he saw how well i had done with the other one. She is a cracking dog and i've had many seasons beating with her
It is a gamble as to how they will turn out..
My first one who is now 13ish, came to me a nervous wreck after a trainer moved her on to a wrong home, the people he moved her on to where the ones that had her before me, they never really looked after her so i took her on, she is good enough for dogging in and cuddles, and that's about it.
My second one came from the same trainer, he approached me after he saw how well i had done with the other one. She is a cracking dog and i've had many seasons beating with her
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Springfield Pointers
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Re: Rescue dog?
Personally, you need to decide at what level you want to work the dog at - only you can know that. Training a dog for the field as a newbie is tough enough without having the additional baggage that (may) come with a rescue/rehomed dog. My advice would be to get a good pup from breeders who are passionate about what they do.Malfuss wrote:My wife and I were talking last night about looking at pups and both of us thought about the possibility of using a rescue dog as, let's face it, there are plenty of them out there needing homes. I'm not after a FTch level of dog but something that I can learn to train and use for beating and/or picking up. I'm quite happy to seek professional advice for the training as I have both Mullenscote and Scovellsway just down the road.
For me the concern is, it will be my first gundog and the first I attempt to train, so I'm already have it stacked against me. By going to a breeder I know that the parents have a background in working whereas the rescue dog could come from anywhere. I'm not looking at the rescue route to save money, more just to help out an unfortunate dog. However, I do feel that I might be biting off more than I can chew if I do decide to look for a rescue dog.
What are your thoughts?
However. The other side of the coin is that getting an older dog as a rehomed animal may give you an entry into the game, a foot on the ladder if you like, and from there you may find out what you want as well as what you don't want in a dog. so there are two sides to the coin, but you should do what fits your lifestyle and ambition.
Good luck with your decision.
Re: Rescue dog?
By rescue I thought it would be rehoming from a centre not taking on a dog that didn't make the grade.
Bil
Bil
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cjaus
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Re: Rescue dog?
Malfuss wrote: I'm not looking at the rescue route to save money,
That's always the case any more, we looked at rescuing a Springer pup from a rescue, they suggeseted a donation of the going rate for and unregistered pup
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AlandJake
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Re: Rescue dog?
We took on a rescue lab nine months ago, originally planned as a family pet but took up gundog training back in September and haven't looked back.
To keep this short I hope the following will be helpful:
- Yes, previous owners will almost certainly over state how good the dog is
- Yes, you really won't know how well they were socialised as a pup
- Without KC papers you won't be able to enter many working tests or field trials
- Adopting an older dog means you won't have to deal with house training, chewing and pretty much two years of puppiness
- Go to a breed specific rescue charity. There are plenty for labs and spanners. Tell them what you are looking for and they will do their very best to match you with the right dog, but be prepared to wait for the right one
- If you go down the rescue route, think of the dog as a guinea pig, if you like, for your training. If you both succeed then fantastic and you go for a registered pup for when you get your next dog. If it doesn't quote work out you should still end up with a well trained and behaved family pet with a warm fuzzy feeling about giving it an engaging and active new home. Then get a registered pup for your next one...
You will have to decide for yourselves which is more important to your personal circumstances.
Best of luck
To keep this short I hope the following will be helpful:
- Yes, previous owners will almost certainly over state how good the dog is
- Yes, you really won't know how well they were socialised as a pup
- Without KC papers you won't be able to enter many working tests or field trials
- Adopting an older dog means you won't have to deal with house training, chewing and pretty much two years of puppiness
- Go to a breed specific rescue charity. There are plenty for labs and spanners. Tell them what you are looking for and they will do their very best to match you with the right dog, but be prepared to wait for the right one
- If you go down the rescue route, think of the dog as a guinea pig, if you like, for your training. If you both succeed then fantastic and you go for a registered pup for when you get your next dog. If it doesn't quote work out you should still end up with a well trained and behaved family pet with a warm fuzzy feeling about giving it an engaging and active new home. Then get a registered pup for your next one...
You will have to decide for yourselves which is more important to your personal circumstances.
Best of luck
Re: Rescue dog?
You had some great advice so far.
All my springers have been second-hand though not through a rescue centre.
I have learnt so much from each of them, good and bad. What it has taught me that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Go for it if you are prepared to end up with a dog that might not work to a high enough standard to actually take shooting. Also that the inevitable desire to get another will mean it won't stay as a solitary spangle for long!
All my springers have been second-hand though not through a rescue centre.
I have learnt so much from each of them, good and bad. What it has taught me that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Go for it if you are prepared to end up with a dog that might not work to a high enough standard to actually take shooting. Also that the inevitable desire to get another will mean it won't stay as a solitary spangle for long!
Re: Rescue dog?
I agree with Bill here and you need to answer yourself a couple of questions.
1) What do you most want from the dog gundog or pet? Not that it’s not possible to have both because it is but which aspect is most important to you?
2) Have you got the work for a gundog or can you get it, sadly not always easy.
It would be very difficult to take on an older rescue that had, had no previous training and turn it into a gundog so you could just end up with an obedient pet. You could get a two year old for instance that had had two years of free running/hunting and you really would then have your work cut out. You might be lucky enough to get a working dog trained to a decent level where the owner had died or found themselves in difficult circumstances. But there are an awful lot of rescue dogs that are in rescue because their owner’s couldn’t manage them or they have “issues” and would require experienced hands.
As a first dog unless you were very lucky, I’d say possibly a rescue’s not for you, you could try the route of a fully trained dog. Where either the dog hasn’t got the ability for whatever reason for trialling but I’d say caveat emptor here unless you know the trainer well you can get your fingers burnt..... Sometimes you might strike lucky and many trainers are happy to let an older dog go when they’ve got younger dogs coming through for puppy money. If they know their dog is going to a good semi retirement home, where they can end their working life doing some work and then become an aga dog, rather than spending their latter years kennelled and just taken out for exercise.
Why not contact the trainers you mention and pick their brains and see what their advice is you never know they might know just the dog.
Rascal
1) What do you most want from the dog gundog or pet? Not that it’s not possible to have both because it is but which aspect is most important to you?
2) Have you got the work for a gundog or can you get it, sadly not always easy.
It would be very difficult to take on an older rescue that had, had no previous training and turn it into a gundog so you could just end up with an obedient pet. You could get a two year old for instance that had had two years of free running/hunting and you really would then have your work cut out. You might be lucky enough to get a working dog trained to a decent level where the owner had died or found themselves in difficult circumstances. But there are an awful lot of rescue dogs that are in rescue because their owner’s couldn’t manage them or they have “issues” and would require experienced hands.
As a first dog unless you were very lucky, I’d say possibly a rescue’s not for you, you could try the route of a fully trained dog. Where either the dog hasn’t got the ability for whatever reason for trialling but I’d say caveat emptor here unless you know the trainer well you can get your fingers burnt..... Sometimes you might strike lucky and many trainers are happy to let an older dog go when they’ve got younger dogs coming through for puppy money. If they know their dog is going to a good semi retirement home, where they can end their working life doing some work and then become an aga dog, rather than spending their latter years kennelled and just taken out for exercise.
Why not contact the trainers you mention and pick their brains and see what their advice is you never know they might know just the dog.
Rascal
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vicky payne
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Re: Rescue dog?
AlandJake wrote:We took on a rescue lab nine months ago, originally planned as a family pet but took up gundog training back in September and haven't looked back.
To keep this short I hope the following will be helpful:
- Yes, previous owners will almost certainly over state how good the dog is
- Yes, you really won't know how well they were socialised as a pup
- Without KC papers you won't be able to enter many working tests or field trials
- Adopting an older dog means you won't have to deal with house training, chewing and pretty much two years of puppiness
- Go to a breed specific rescue charity. There are plenty for labs and spanners. Tell them what you are looking for and they will do their very best to match you with the right dog, but be prepared to wait for the right one
- If you go down the rescue route, think of the dog as a guinea pig, if you like, for your training. If you both succeed then fantastic and you go for a registered pup for when you get your next dog. If it doesn't quote work out you should still end up with a well trained and behaved family pet with a warm fuzzy feeling about giving it an engaging and active new home. Then get a registered pup for your next one...
You will have to decide for yourselves which is more important to your personal circumstances.
Best of luck