looking for an adult oes
 I don't really want a puppy because there are dogs in need. I'm in no hurry. Any suggestions? I've offered to help foster too but there aren't any in this area in need. |
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| I am looking to adopt and have children. I was wondering that very thin. I am actually debating the puppy dog thing too. I also am in no rush. How did it go, did you get a dog or a puppy? |
| There are good reasons that most reputable rescues prefer to place rescue dogs in homes with older or no children. First, just the nature of the breed. The instinct of an Old English to herd anything that moves is obvious when a small child tries to get away from an OES for any reason. Kids tend to get knocked down and accidents, sometimes serious, do happen. Most Old English that end up in rescue were surrendered due to injuries to children. Still, if a dog from a home with small children was surrendered by a family for another reason, such as financial difficulties, most rescues would be fine with placing that dog with a young family. Many of the Old English in shelters ended up there for behavioral or temperament issues. It often takes some time for a dog's true personality to surface. Most rescues foster their dogs until they know how well they would get along with kids, other pets, etc. Some dogs may be naughty, some have health issues that require the full attention of the owner, some are escape artists. A family with several small children cannot easily watch the kids and the dog, especially if they rely on an electronic fence for the dog. Naughty dogs are best placed in homes familiar with the breed. They were probably surrendered by families who didn't know how to deal with the stubbornness of an OES. A reputable rescue isn't going to let this dog go where the same thing would most likely happen again. There actually is not an overwhelming number of Old English Sheepdogs in rescue. Many of the dogs surrendered are adults and seniors and the majority of adopters are looking for puppies or young adult dogs. Most of the OES on Petfinder are usually older or have medical or behavioral issues. Younger dogs are more rambunctious so typically a rescue would think twice about such a dog with toddlers or pre-school age kids. Those are just a few examples of why families with children under the age of 8 yrs. old are discriminated against. If you are set on adopting a rescued dog, check Petfinder and put applications to every OES rescue in your immediate area. Keep checking back so your name fresh in the rescue's mind. If you are patient, a suitable dog may become available fairly soon. If you feel you are being ignored, ask the rescue why. You may be surprised to find it has more to do with the dog than your family. It is frustrating that getting a family pet can be so difficult. Please remember that reputable rescues are looking out for your best interest as well as the dogs they place. Safety is the #1 priority and if there is any question, you will not get the dog. Trust the rescue you work with to make the best decision on what dog is suitable for you. |
| We just rescued an OES, and you are right its very, very hard to do with younger kids. My youngest is 6 and if our family hadn't had proven experience with large dogs in the past, if I hadn't worked with fostered dogs before, if we hadn't had fantastic references, we would not have gotten Amy. We were rejected from one rescue because our kids are 6, 9 and 10. We provided essentially what amounted to a dog owner resume/curriculum vitae, an introductory letter, picture file of our home, children, current and previous pets, letter from our vet, and recommendation letters. To us, it seemed like an excessive amount of information. Yet, there were some members on the rescue's board that still had reservations with adopting the dog out to us--because we have younger kids. I've promised to keep them updated at the 1 week mark, the 1 month mark, 2 month, 6 month and 1 year marks. With yearly updates after that. The problems we've had with the kids and Amy are likely due to the kids being younger. Amy bit my 9-year-old when my daughter accidentally brushed over a hotspot. If my daughter had known more about watching for warning signs, that may not have happened. Amy knocked the 6-year-old over when she ran across the backyard at fullspeed and he tried to step in front of her to stop her. No serious injuries, but a 60 pound kid is very easily ran over by a 75 pound freight train of a dog. I imagine there would have been serious damage if a smaller child tried the same thing. It took us about 2 years to find an OES in a rescue that would consider us. If you have your heart set on an OES, be prepared to wait. Do all the research you can while you wait. We knew we wanted a rescue dog, but we knew we wanted a specific breed. That makes the wait for a family dog take a lot longer. |
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