We were on our walk the other night, when Lana started to approach another dog with a lady owner and two children.  From my distance the dog seemed quite 'spritely' but I quickly noticed it was on a lead.  Lana stopped and waited for me and I put her on her lead so that we could walk passed, although she was clearly gagging to have a play with it :rolleyes:  As we approached, what appeared to be a cute looking, staffy cross type (young as well) turned into a defensive snarling beast.  The lady owner at the end of the lead pulled it up onto its back legs shouting in its face to stop it, one of the kids knealt down in front of its face screaming at it to shut up (and I saw this dog have a snap.)  I'm afraid I couldn't help myself and had to tell them that they were just making matters worse - prepared for an earful I was quite surprised when the owner said oh, please help me I would be grateful of any advice you have   Long story short, I gave her the number of a very good clicker trainer who also works along side another trainer (Angela Stockdale - who has worked wonders with aggression/nervous aggression - which this pup was showing)  Turns out the pup has a history, was beaten and locked away, and was from the local dog's home, but because this lady doesn't work and has a secure garden she was approved to take this dog on, having never owned one in her life!!!!! :( - after a long chat she then announced she probably wouldn't call the trainer as she is very busy and would probably forget!  Also they are moving house soon and would start training after that - I couldn't believe it :rolleyes:  I dont need to tell you guy's whats wrong with this picture....But the grief I had when I was looking for my pup and breeders asked me if I worked...I never lied but was always given a lecture - despite the routine that me and OH are able to provide, yes we work, yes we also have a very happy, well balanced hound who leads a very priveliged life.  But some may think I am unsuitable as a dog owner because I work....Why dont rescue centres (ok dog homes in particular) 'really' vet potential owners?  Horse owners can sit a BHS test that tests their suitability as owners (although not compulsary) why dont rescue centres do the same for dog ownership, and tie in some clauses, such as training??  Just a thought?  Perhaps then dog's with a history/baggage would end up with an experienced/knowledgeable owner who can give them the second chance they deserve???
Sarah

I'm a Rescue Centre Rehomer, I/we would never rehome a problem dog to an inexpereinced person like this.
One hopes that all rehomers and rescue staff have some good dog behaviour experience and formal training, as we do, but besides that, surely this must be a common sense issue, for the rehomer concerned *and* the adopter.
Unfortuantely, there are a *minority* of rescues not staffed this way, and thru the best of intentions, just feel the urge to 'get them dogs out, so we cant take in more rescues'.
I worked briefly for a resuce with this philosophy, and it was like working on a production line, 'quantity over quality', as it were.
Secondly, if it was a 'stray council dog', not a 'gifted dog', the centre isnt necessarily a Rescue organisation, but a Boarding Kennels - business first and foremost, so their philosophy isnt 'rehoming of their strays', but 'sales of their strays'.
These organisations dont usually worry about compatibilities, assessments, and homechecks.
I'm guessing this place fell into one of these catergories.
Or, it may be an organisation with a good/professional reputation, but so big there are many staff, and it might have been a one-off mistake by a less experienced rehomer that escaped the checks and balances of the system?

cheers, kiwi
 

I think you are spot on Kiwi - I believe the breed rescue centres to be more 'particular' about who they rehome to, I also think that its the 'dog's and cat's homes' that are more to blame for this kind of thing.  I saw an article in our local paper a while ago now about a dog who had been destroyed for killing another dog as well as biting a child - it turned out the dog had been from a rescue centre and when staff were questioned it transpired that the dog had been returned three times before   I feel that this is not an isolated incident :(
Sarah

do these rescue centres TELL potential owners that dogs have been returned I wonder?

If I were looking for a rescue dog and was told it had been returned 3 times, I would be wanting to know the reason(s) why!! Do you think there is a certain amount of deception going on in some of these big cat and dog homes? :-(

Hi Rozzer, my distinctions were more between Boarding Kennels who rehome strays and proper 'Rescue Centres' who rehome strays and rescues who are thorough and 'professsional' and rescues who are 'well-meaning, production line, and less knowledgeable.
I do know that this last catergory covers *both* 'cats and dogs rescue homes' and Breed Rescues,
so therefore would not make the distinction you have made.
I am a full-time salaried formally trained professional - I have been on courses run by Battersea, Dogs Trust , Wood Green, Sarah Whitehead, APBC, APDT, Turid Rugrass (stress and calming signals), Sarah Fisher (TTouch), clicker training, etc,etc.
And I am older, and not a young 20's with little life or rehoming experience. Aside from some 'well-intentioned self-pressure to save the world and thus shift as many as quickly to take in as many as quickly, I feel this is the key, and I feel these younger/less expereinced rehomers should make decisions in the context of 'team review', as happens in my rescue, even though we are all nearer 40 with lots of experience.
Equally, because a few breed rescue organisations dont have working centres and can only rely on foster homes and volunteers, sometimes you can get people who are nice and hard-working, but still one step away from "General Member of the Public", and also lack the behaviour, rehoming, and assessing experience of the youngsters from the big centres.
Also, I do know that these foster homes, often due to personal and practical constraints, dont
necessarily get ALL members of the household, including other pet dogs, to come and visit the dog before rehoming.
This counts for a huge amount - no-one gets a dog from my centre WITHOUT all from the home visiting the centre. These are called 'intros', and the average nember of intros is two - as will as assessing for compatibilities, they are also used for pre-homing bonding sessions, and training advice and lessons.
Ditto if the people have another dog already. Another advantage centres have over foster homes is we can do cat/rabbit/horse, etc tests as necessary/possible.
The obvious adantage of foster home rehoming is they can actually tell what a dog is like in the home.
However, if a dog is gifted, we can do this partly thru a previous owner history questionnaire, and in this case of my rescue centre, we can also foster and 'home assess', as we live here too (although this isnt common).
Also, you cannot dismiss the fact that members of the public can also lie and con rehomers and homecheckers to get dogs, and sometimes pass them on to other people later without permission.
Not to metnion disregard ALL advice and instruction.
Lastly, i'm not an expert on the statistics, lots of the dog bite incidents you hear of are performed by pedigrees, such as Staffies, English Bulls, GSD's, Border Collies, JRT's,etc, etc, but you dont hear many stories involving crossbrreds (though i agree this doesnt mean it doesnt happen), and although these particular pedigrees are common to multi and cross-breed 'dogs and cats homes', by defintion, they could also be from the relevant breed rescues.

cheers, kiwi 

PS - do you know what type of place the dog mentioned came from?

Yep, it was the local dog's home/RSPCA centre!