I have an 11 yr old lhasa bitch who lost her westie companian 2 months ago. Have been looking for a similar dog/bitch to join her as she is lonely when I am at work. The westie was 'top dog' and the lhasa is very non-assertive.

Went to see a pair of lhasa's today which are with the lhasa apso rescue club. They are lovely dogs - Male 11 and female 8, but am concerned about how they will fit with my dog -

The dog was friendly but kept trying to mount my bitch, he's castrated, she's spayed, which upset her.
The bitch showed no interest at all. A little bit of aggression which could have been confusion and playing.
My bitch showed little interest and ran away from the dog when he tried to mount her.
Ended with my bitch sitting in a corner of the paddock while the others mulled around with us.

I have no experience of re-homing as all my dogs have joined the family as pups. I am swaying between saying no or giving it a go. The dogs will probably be put to sleep if I say no. Need to decide by Wednesday latest.
Advice please? my bitch is my priority - could this work or would she never be part of their pack?

Hi, I am concerned you feel pressured to take one or both of these dogs. Did somebody tell you they would be PTS ? One not so good meeting is not a foundation for a happy family future - but thats just my feeling and I have only one dog. Can you visit again in the evening and maybe see one dog at a time for further information? More experienced people will be along but I think if you are not happy or feeling pressured dont do it.

Hi
The dogs are being held 100 miles away from me.
The charity is paying for kenneling fees, and yes, they definately wanted me to take them today after meeting them for the first time - I guess to save more money being spent on kenneling.
They don't want to split the dogs as they came from the same home, but I certainly got the impression that - because of their ages - they probably wouldn't find another home and a quick solution would be required. I'm trying to be objective and put my own dog first and not give in to the thoughts of what might happen if I don't take them.

I guess I expected they would want to home check me etc so I would have time to get to know them a bit.
I've left it that I'll take them home next weekend and see if the dog stops trying to hump mine :-), and the bitches start to get friendly - and then perhaps extend for a week and so on until it works or not. The lady wasn't too happy but accepted that.

I'm mostly concerned about the affect on my dog and whether I should walk away before then or try it.
Is initial behaviour a good indicator of how dogs will get on/behave in a new home?

No disrespect to you but i am gobsmacked that the rescue were going to allow you to take the dogs straight away without a homecheck. They don,t sound very responsible at all.

It's a breed rescue club as opposed to a rescue centre.

Breed rescue clubs are usualy more strict surely as they are aware of the breed temperaments etc.
I know the centre I check for asks *why* you want the dogs etc, then you HAVE to have a homecheck with all other members of the family there and other pets and then IF you pass the homecheck they have a trial period where the dog lives with you so you can get used to each other
They dont try to force dogs on anyone and they have a no destruction policy.
I do admire you for trying to do the right thing but please use your head and not your heart . Meet up again and if it feels right give it a go . If not , dont feel guilty and walk away .
I wish you the best of luck :)