I've just seen an item on Richard and Judy explaining Manchester Dogs Home's new 'wonderful' idea. Apparently they are trying to get people to take dogs home over  the Christmas period and then return them back to the home after the holidays ( they are obviously hoping that some will be permanently adopted using this plan). BUT how unfair to the poor dogs who are not- not only have they had to cope with being rejected once but now they are to be used to 'amuse the kids' presumably over the Christmas hols before finding themselves once more back in the dogs home- how confusing -I suppose these poor dogs will be expected to 'remember' their house training whilst in their adopted home for two weeks then forget it again afterwards  . :rolleyes:

I feel that this plan may have more to do with trying to empty the home as much as possible over the Christmas period so that a reduced staff have less to do that any real concern about how the dogs will benefit.

Or is it just me  ?:(

Typical of MDH I'm afraid to get publicity at Xmas The very worst time for the GP to get a dog I don't do Xmas(wrong faith) so for me it's a good time as we get less folks visiting !

Actually although I dont completely agree with it, I do think it is good in some ways because at least then the people that foster the dog over the xmas period are less likely to go out on impulse and get a pup as a present.

It gives the dogs a chance to have some individiual attention, I imagine they're not very used to getting lots of time spent on them! It does have its drawbacks, as the dog can be returned after the 2 week period, but I still think it's a lot better than being in kennels over xmas and getting hardly any attention due to the low staffing levels.

Char

Thats exactly what I thought too Trevor, be interesting to see if they ever run a similar campaign at another time of year after dogs don't know its Christmas do they? 

No its not just you Trevor, I also thought it was an absolutely ridiculous idea, especially the bit at the end where the presenter said ' Remember a dog is fro life, but asometimes it's also just for Chritmas'. All the effort that has been put into educationg people about not buying pets at christmas, it sends out totally the wrong message. I suspect alot of those dogs will not be used to living in a home and to 'foster' them out at potentially the mosr stressful time of year well...I couldn't believe it. :(
Interesting to hear others peoples opinions-I knew it would spark alot of interest with us Champdoggers!
Emily xx

Totally the opposite to when they had the dogs on Paul O'Grady's show, he loves Staffies & they had a little X on & he said "I will have to think about it long & hard to make sure I make the right decision" Paul is a push over for any dog ;)

Manchester dogs home did this last year and apparently was a massive success, but i can't help but feel that this is not very kind on the dogs that have to go back, the poor things won't know where they stand. They also say that they have a huge shortage of staff around christmas so this helps them as well.

I'd like to hear more about it before i pass comment, but agree that on the face of it it does sound worrying  - especially as Trevor pointed out because of housetraining issues etc...not to mention all the excitement at Christmas.

Lindsay
X

I hope they're at least careful about which dogs they let out for christmas. Although I agree that x mas is probably the worst time of year for rescue dogs to try and start a new life, I can see that the happy go lucky dogs that just want to be with people may not have a problem. But what about the more insecure ones who need their trust in people restored?

I can see how bad it is, dogs go to a nice house for coiuple of weeks but then end up back at the dogs home :(

But the dogs do get a nice christmas and may be adopted...It's a funny one, sounds good at first but theres alot to it, difficult to judge

not sure about this one, we have a girl over to us for 4 weeks in the summer from chernobyl , should we not have her over because it will be worse when she goes back?  poor comparision really, she can be explained the reasoning behind the decision, this ones very tricky, lets hope some of the homes fall in love with the dogs permanantly!

I suppose it all boils down to getting staff to work over Christmas, but seems very unfair on the dogs
who do not understand what's going on. A bit like an Old People's Home who try and farm them out as much as possible to help keep the staffing levels down, but at least hopefully THEY understand the concequences afterwards the holiday period. I used to have to work 26 hr shifts, but now it's very different as people demand double time etc. Poor dogs though, they could be well loved for 2 weeks within a family setting ,then it's back to kennels. On the other hand someone could take a dog in and find it totally unacceptable, I wonder which is the worst?

The christmas thing doesn't really matter to dogs but for some reason humans seem to think that dogs have the same sentiments as some of the population.

R&J really annoyed me as they seemed to think the most important thing was that you could give the dog back as if that was a good message.

There is absolutley no difference in what MDH is doing, and shelters that have foster carer's for their dogs for a couple of weeks here and there. I personally think its a good idea.

***"R&J really annoyed me as they seemed to think the most important thing was that you could give the dog back as if that was a good message. "***

But thats the whole point of the process. To foster a dog over the Christmas period, if you find that a dog isnt for you, it can then go back. Imagine if that couple bought a dog and decided that a dog wasnt for them, what would happen to it??

Even if one dog gets a permanent home after the process, its worth it.

  I don't like the thought of the dogs that are returned after the 2 weeks. Rescue dogs always seem alot more vulnerable. It's awful to imagine the look in a dogs eyes when it realises it's been taken back to the home.

I was going to say they wouldn't do it to human children but knowing howmany homes/foster parents some of my friends went through they do. :(

I just pray that the type of people who have heart enough to foster a dog over xmas are the type that won't be able to part with it and they don't just let anybody foster.

Dogs are often fostered, but I assumed that the fosterers have been approved and are experienced so the dogs homes know that the dog is going to be treated properly. However, letting just anyone foster a dog will undoubtedly ruin some already traumatised dogs. Yes, 'one might find a good home', but if even one poor dog is hurt/truaumatised by the process then it's not worth it, IMO. However, i don't know the ins and outs of this, and it might be that MDH do a full homecheck etc and are confident that the dogs will be cared for properly

I always thought Richard and Judy should be kept in cages!! Nutters. Even if the people taking these dogs in 'temporarily' do decide to keep them, what bad timing! Home is always loud and boisterous over the Xmas period so would be very unsettling for dogs who have started with troubled pasts anyway. What a thoughtless idea.

I can't help wondering what damage it will do to the ones who are returned :(    Many years ago I took in a dog who had a home near my parents' but wasn't allowed inside (shed in the garden, but roaming mostly as he wouldn't stay in the garden on his own)  The owners were threatened with the RSPCA as the dog was outside even in severe snow/freezing weather so I asked them if I could have him.  The next time I visited my parents (2 weeks later) I had to coax the dog down the road, once past his old house he ran all the way to my parents house, he wasn't going back ;)   This dog hadn't been abused, merely kept in the garden with a shed as a kennel and playing with the kids in the back lane.  But he'd lived in my home for 2 weeks and knew which was better, I can't imagine how he'd have coped if he'd had to go back.

I live in this area and this scheme received a lot of press last year - part of the issue is that they have SO MANY dogs dumped over the festive period that thgey can not physically house them all.
The scheme was a big success last year with a large %age of the dogs being permanantly adopted.
I am not a fan of this place generally though :(