We have to rehome our dog due to family problems - however i have contacted the breeder and they are not willing to take the pup back - we paid good money for her and they said they would always be there to help - how else can we look into rehoming her with a good family? The RSPCA are full at the moment and we would rather like to know where she is going.

Hi Guest,
I definitely wouldn't use the RSPCA if I was re-homing a dog.  What breed is your dog?  Couldn't you get in touch with the breed rescue for your particular breed of dog because they will probably find her a very good home, or if not advertise her privately and check out the prospective home before you let her go.

You don't say what breed she is, but I would contact a breed rescue.  Try here http://www.dogpages.org.uk/breeds.htm (sorry can't seem to do a link)

Breed Rescues :)

advertise her free of course to a good home but make sure you vet them properly to be sure she gets a good home i would visit them and check them out  make sure the accomadation is right and that new children get on with her ect ect.shame to have to be rehomed again.

I would never, ever, ever advertise "free to a good home" - IMO this can mean that a BAD home will materialise - after all, if someone cannot afford to BUY a dog, how can they expect to KEEP a dog!

I too would advise breed rescue, first and foremost.

Margot

cant afford to buy a dog cant afford to keep a dog thats rubbish how do you think strays get rehomed you get charged a fee for neuturing and then your veted to make sure your suitable having lots of money doesnt mean your a better owner.a few pounds a week on food and insurance is much easier than £1000.to come up with.

I agree.
That  to me is an indirect form of class discrimination.

That's rubbish :) :) A person who wants a dog WILL afford it - by saving and budgeting. A person who can't afford a couple of hundred of pounds, whether by having the ready money or saving - what is the chance of them having the money for vaccinations etc etc . Life sometimes isn't fair - dogs aren't a god-given right. For the dog's sake, you have to be able to afford it.

Daisy

Ok, so.....

A single mother has a total monthly income of £450, two children to feed, bills to pay, the sofa to pay off on tick, the tv rental, the food to buy. She is left with £40 per month. The children would like a dog so she looks into getting an older dog, free to good home, knowing she can spend £20 per month on food, £10 on insurance and leave the rest aside for innoculations and wormer. It can be done.
What she cannot do is manage to save the £500 for a new puppy, or the £200 asked for a re-home, or the £100 asked for by a rescue kennel.
**smile** (cant do smileys)

So - she should save until she can afford the price of a dog. What is wrong with the old principle of saving for something until you can afford it ? Everybody wants everything straight away now. I had to wait until I was in my 40's for a dog - not because I couldn't afford it, but because circumstances weren't right. You can't just have everything simply because you want it :)

Daisy

I still think people are too distrustful. Some people simply could not manage to save for a dog, even £100 is still an awful lot of money for some people.

I have helped with re-homes before. Vetting a home is not rocket science.

I am fortunate enough to be able to afford my dogs every need. Others struggle to afford the dog but can care for them perfectly well.

There is more to it than forking out for the dog initially.

If people can afford to insure the dog (if they can't, then they can't afford to have a dog) - then they can save that amount for a year and get a rescue. £100 isn't a lot in terms of paying out for doggy things - food, jabs, bedding etc etc. Sorry - no money - no dog

Daisy

I'm not saying that they HAVE to insure it - just having that amount of money spare each month

And a single mother definitely shouldn't get a dog because the children want one, because they will probably want something else the week after and the poor dog loses out.

Well said - and the children could probably do with the money anyway :)

Daisy

I dont agree.
If children want a dog, and are made to realise that they are to be responsible for feeding and walking the dog there is no problem.
What about all those people, every month, who go out and buy a dog from a newspaper, classified website, whatever, for the kids?
Is this ok because they are a nuclear family?

Dogs are a vital part of family life in my home, with all of my familys homes. The children are given the jobs of washing the dishes after they have fed the dgo, grooming, walking, playing. Its one of the best ways to teach them responsibility.
It shouldnt make a different whether it is a single parent family. Everyone has the right to have a family pet. I can think of many worse homes for dogs to be in.

You gave the example of a single parent family :) We are talking about any person with limited funds. Yes - having money doesn't guarantee a good home, but at least there is a good chance the dog will get whatever food, medical attention it needs. Having a dog is not a right.

Daisy

Of course dogs are (and IMO should be) a vital part of family life in most homes - but realistically if a single mum has only £40 per month over after all bills have been paid, she's still going to find it tough going - although PDSA should pay for vets bills.   As Daisy says, learning to budget is also a vital part of family life - and saving that £40 per month for 4 or 6 months does either stiffen the determination to have a dog - or if other things become more important, show that there isn't sufficient commitment!

The point that I wanted to make is never ADVERTISE free to a good home - after all, if the right home turns up for the dog, and you know, deep down, that it is the right home, then money needn't change hands.

Margot

No I said this from experience.  My daughter wanted a small dog to call her own last year (she was 12 1/2 then) and promised to do everything for it, walk it, feed it etc.   I always said I wouldn't have a small dog because I would prefer the larger breeds of dogs and we had a german shepherd who I loved more than anything.  He became ill with anal furunclosis round about March last year (although he wasn't that ill at first)  In June we popped in at the local kennels (which was a big mistake) and she fell in love with an adorable Bichon.  She cried all the way round the park and me and my partner talked about it and agreed to go back and have another look the following day.  We thought she was old enough to have her own dog and there is no way she could have walked our German Shepherd because he was a very big strong dog.  She initially wanted a Westie puppy.   Guess who does all the walking and feeding and grooming and worrying over the dog now - yes me!!  She won't walk it at all and just gives him a quick 5 minute play with a toy at nightime (if she can be bothered)   Same with her Guinea pigs that she loved like mad about 18 months ago, she just can't be bothered now she is 13 and we have many a row over her cleaning them out.  She wants to re-home them but I told her you can't just get rid of animals like that.
I am a single mother myself and if my partner had not bought the dog we would not have been able to afford him and he also pays some of the vet bills.

I had exactly the same with GP's fro my daughter. I end up cleaning up after them. I bought the dogs for me and she has to earn her pocket money by feeding them their tripe *grins evilly* and she has a pony to ride, but that pony is mine and she only gets to ride when she cleans tack, sweeps up and helps out with the feeding ;) All part of being kids I guess - but I've yet to meet one who manages to keep up with the commitment!

They do sometimes :) We got Bramble when my daughter was 13 - she had wanted a dog for ages, but I got the dog for me, not her :) However, she walked him (and Tara ) before and after school every day, come rain or snow, for 5 years until she went to Uni. She kept her part of the bargain :D

Daisy

I was 10 when I got my border collie, I'm 16 now and even more keen :D I think dad regrets getting me a dog coz he spends every weekend taking me to shows! But I had to work like hell to get my pup, get up early in the morning to take dads spaniel out with him, took him to obedience classes for a year, did all sorts of jobs around the house, etc etc, so I got my dog in the end. Sister on the other hand suddenly decided she wanted a dog, got one within about 2 months of wanting (in total I begged for a dog for about 2 years) and she got bored of her within 4 months, so I've got her now :D and she's gorgeous! And I'm getting my 3rd dog - a sheltie - sometime this year!!!
Char

I was exactly in that position and I saved up :D

OK, so if you are giving a dog away free - how do you distinguish the impulsive purchaser from someone who is more serious?

You have to give a donation at a rescue centre - and I happen to agree that even a cost of £20 is enough to deter someone who might be impulsively buying a dog.

What about 50 pounds to take a pedigree dog that no one else wants (3 homes later at least) .  Impulsive owner?  Well that was me and yes they did agree to sell him to me for 50 quid with no qualms, here you go, take him and good luck.  Had I experience with pedigrees?  No.  Did anyone vet me?  Well, yes, verbally and the previous owner met me and obviously thought I could look after a dog.  Did I know what I was getting into?  No.  Was I prepared for a difficult dog.  No.  Had I had dogs before?  Yes, but very easy oasy dogs.  Did I wish I hadn't done it?  Often.  Do I really regret re-homing the dog?  No. No.  No.  It's like he's here, he's mine and we get on with it.  Oh yeah, and we love him :D  It's a dog thing :)

I have just re-read the initial post and one thing has struck me - Guest, did you expect the breeder to refund the "good money" you paid for the dog?   If that is the case, you would find that very very few breeders would refund your money, unless there was a health problem.  

You might get something back, if the breeder were able to re-sell the dog (and don't let's forget, a dog has less value in the eyes of Joe Public, than a pup).  The breeder would be entitled to his/her expenses for advertising/looking after/vertting the new home - and you would get the balance.   But as you say, the breeder is unable to help you in this instance.

Margot

Hopefully, Margot, the guest is just disappointed at the 'service' that the breeder is providing, not taking the dog back :)

Daisy

Have to say that crossed my mind too, Margot, but on re-reading it, I think (hope) that they were upset  that having paid a good price they have been refused the help they were promised.

General rescue centres such as the RSPCA charge (or ask for donations!) for rehomes, and so do many breed rescues. The usual sum required is about £100.

I bought my first dog when I was on benifits - saved for about a year (poor kids lived on toast - lol) Paid £500.00 for her - BUT I had her insured for vets bills etc.

I tried to get a rescue dog but because I had young children they would not let me :-(

I paid a small amount to the vet each month for vacination, flees, worms etc.

Food is not expensive - I feed JWB, but buy in large sacks.

Not on benifits now but if you want somthing bad enough you will save IMO even though it is hard!

Yes I wound be inclined to agree with you there Margot, I would never advertise any animal free to good home.  The RSPCA in our area charges about £80 for mongrels and more than £100 for pedigrees and the neutering fee is on top of that, although I think you might get it a bit cheaper.   A free dog would probably attract the wrong sort of people, the breed rescue are probably the best people because they will probably be experienced and know what to look for when interviewing prospective owners.

Just to add, if you do give her away free to good home make sure you keep her papers. I would never pass the KC registration paperwork on with a re-home.

If you register and describe the dog in more detail maby someone will know a rescue near you (one of the smaller ones like we have here, privately run) and be able to put you in touch?

From what I've heard, puppy farmers and dealers trawl the free ads.  The advantage of breed rescue is that not only will they be home checked, but many will keep in touch with the new owners and adopted dog throughout its life (certainly the one I help with does, and others I've heard about too).

I wouldn't advertise her free , people tend to value things often by what the paid for it. Not all the cases. Whatever you charge the person should want the dog but no because it is cheap.

Contact the breed club I am sure the will help you 100% or I hope they will.

Margot,
I have taken in rescues before, driect from the breeder tho. I flat refuse to pay for a re-home, under any circumstances. You are rarely given enough background on the dog and are therefore leaving yourself wide open for someone to both cash in on the dog a second time around and leave you parting with good money many times over for re-training, health cheacks and worse if the dog is found to have some kind of illness that you were never told about.
But thats another of my bad experiences lol.

I do see where you are coming from, and I think, that very rarely, do you PAY for a dog from breed rescue.   However, I still say that I would never ADVERTISE "Free to a good home"!    If you look at the freebie papers, they are full of adverts from people allegedly unable to pay for dog, but who will offer good home - if you look on a regular basis, you will see that the same numbers appear , time after time.   These dogs generally finish up in puppy farms, or with backyard breeders. 

As someone else said, people very rarely value something for nothing.

Margot.

I thought breed rescues always charged for dogs, although I may be wrong.  Think the Bichon rescue society charge £100 for rescue Bichons according to their website.

I would not ever let a dog go free especially a pedigree as it is as someone suggested earlier leaving the door wide open for puppy farmers and IMO I would say if someone has to pay for something they will value it more than something for nothing.  But that is just my opinion and the end of the day it is up to the person concerned to make their own decision.  I have had a dog given to me for free and yes it was very loved and cared for.

The best place to go is definately a breed rescue as they will vet the homes and hopefully try and ensure they go to the correct owners.

dont rush in to putting this dog in to a newspaper sit back have a cup of tea log on here say what breed it is and hopefully we could come up with some breed rescue numbers for you who will check any new homes out for you please dont put in a newspaper who knows where this dog will end up 

I have never charged for a dog I have taken back and rehomned, but have acted as liason between old owners and new owners and the new owners were happy to pay about half price for the pup.

I would contact the breed club,a dn shame the breeder to be honest.  I understand that the breeder may not physically be in a position to take the dog back but should be helping you home it.

As a breeder they will ahve contacts within the breed, past pwners of p[ups or people on their waiting list who may consider and older pup/dog.

Failing that breed rescue is the way to go.  General rescue shoudl really be for the ones who have no breed rescue or breeder to fall back on.

I've never been in this position (yet!) - but I think I would prefer to go along the way that Brainless goes - that way, prospective owner/new owner can work things out between themselves.

Margot

Having reread it I must point out that the dogs I had to actually physically have back to find homes for I homed free of charge to experienced dog owners who were knowlegeable about the breed or rescue dogs.  I wouldn't take any risks on a first time owners for a rehome, as want to be sure as possible that the new owner can deal with the rehabilitation of a dog, and that is won't likely need rehoming again.

What if its a cross breed though?