How to Choose a Second Dog - the Wrong Way
Papy: Photo taken by DreyaB
The 1st March is the anniversary of when our
second dog entered our home and our lives, and it seems an appropriate point to
recount our experience of selecting him for others to learn from our decisions.
We’d been wanting another dog for quite a while; a companion or friend for our first dog, Lady, and also as she was getting a bit older, a younger dog that Lady and we could train before she was too old to influence and teach it. We also just wanted another dog in our lives and now we had the space and time to be able to give another canine the attention they would both deserve.
When we finally decided that we would take the plunge we felt, for us, the best thing we could do was offer a home to a dog that deserved a second chance. There are, of course, risks involved with going down this route, there’s a good chance that you may never know anything about the history of the dog, or perhaps by taking on a rescue dog it will be an animal that has a good chance of having issues. But for us it’s what we wanted to do. Lady had been a literal rescue dog; found by a friend of mine and after going through the proper channels she became a permanent fixture with me. I captured that tale as well and if you’d like you can read more about that by clicking here.
So we found out about two or three rescue centres in the area and had a look on their websites at the range of dogs available. We’re both great dog lovers so looking at these pages was really tricky and we’d nearly take on any of them, but we tried to come up with a basic idea of what sort of dog we wanted to take on. The other half felt that a dog around the age of three or younger would probably be ideal and to be honest I didn’t mind either way. At the end of the day we both knew that the one to have the final decision would be Lady. Whatever dog we thought we may want would have to get on with her and being quite independently minded we knew she would be the final test.
We’d been wanting another dog for quite a while; a companion or friend for our first dog, Lady, and also as she was getting a bit older, a younger dog that Lady and we could train before she was too old to influence and teach it. We also just wanted another dog in our lives and now we had the space and time to be able to give another canine the attention they would both deserve.
When we finally decided that we would take the plunge we felt, for us, the best thing we could do was offer a home to a dog that deserved a second chance. There are, of course, risks involved with going down this route, there’s a good chance that you may never know anything about the history of the dog, or perhaps by taking on a rescue dog it will be an animal that has a good chance of having issues. But for us it’s what we wanted to do. Lady had been a literal rescue dog; found by a friend of mine and after going through the proper channels she became a permanent fixture with me. I captured that tale as well and if you’d like you can read more about that by clicking here.
So we found out about two or three rescue centres in the area and had a look on their websites at the range of dogs available. We’re both great dog lovers so looking at these pages was really tricky and we’d nearly take on any of them, but we tried to come up with a basic idea of what sort of dog we wanted to take on. The other half felt that a dog around the age of three or younger would probably be ideal and to be honest I didn’t mind either way. At the end of the day we both knew that the one to have the final decision would be Lady. Whatever dog we thought we may want would have to get on with her and being quite independently minded we knew she would be the final test.
Let's go and have a look
Photo taken by DreyaB
On the following Saturday, having previously found the place, we got in the car (Lady included) and travelled to the local SPA centre. The SPA or Société Protectrice des Animaux is the equivalent to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the UK and was one of the places where we’d looked at the animals online.
We parked up and left Lady in the car for the time being, while we headed inside to reception. My French isn’t great but it’s improving, yet some of the staff spoke English as well and we were told we could just go through and wander around the public areas to view all the dogs available for rehoming in their kennels.
As we made our way over to the area we got our first glimpse of the full extent of the place. There were two areas for dogs, each was a square of kennels around a grassy centre, with kennels running on at least three sides, each side consisted of around fifteen kennels with generally one or two dogs in each. This meant there appeared to be hundreds of dogs. We were overwhelmed! Not just with the noise – as anyone approached most of the dogs barked and set the others off and along with that it was walk time so it was all quite exciting and probably stressful for the animals – but we were also taken aback by the sheer volume of dogs and on reflection how sad it all was. It’s was quite an emotionally draining experience, which neither of us had experienced before.
Pulling ourselves together as best we could we walked around both areas looking at the dogs, trying to see what temperaments were on show, their health and condition, their ages etc. Having wandered around and looked at every animal we were still none the wiser. The place was so overwhelming we just couldn’t think clearly. Part of us would have offered to take several of the dogs, if not all of them (!) but that just wasn’t practical. In the end we decided the best thing to do was retreat…
We parked up and left Lady in the car for the time being, while we headed inside to reception. My French isn’t great but it’s improving, yet some of the staff spoke English as well and we were told we could just go through and wander around the public areas to view all the dogs available for rehoming in their kennels.
As we made our way over to the area we got our first glimpse of the full extent of the place. There were two areas for dogs, each was a square of kennels around a grassy centre, with kennels running on at least three sides, each side consisted of around fifteen kennels with generally one or two dogs in each. This meant there appeared to be hundreds of dogs. We were overwhelmed! Not just with the noise – as anyone approached most of the dogs barked and set the others off and along with that it was walk time so it was all quite exciting and probably stressful for the animals – but we were also taken aback by the sheer volume of dogs and on reflection how sad it all was. It’s was quite an emotionally draining experience, which neither of us had experienced before.
Pulling ourselves together as best we could we walked around both areas looking at the dogs, trying to see what temperaments were on show, their health and condition, their ages etc. Having wandered around and looked at every animal we were still none the wiser. The place was so overwhelming we just couldn’t think clearly. Part of us would have offered to take several of the dogs, if not all of them (!) but that just wasn’t practical. In the end we decided the best thing to do was retreat…
Clear your head and have a think
Photo taken by DreyaB
We went back to the car and let Lady out on a lead, and went for a walk to clear our heads and give us some breathing space to try and help us decide what to do next. The SPA centre was set in some woods so there were some lovely areas to go and walk and we even saw some of the dogs available having their afternoon promenade.
By the time we got back to the car we’d decided we’d go back in and see if we could draw up a shortlist of three dogs that we would ask to meet, if we liked them we’d let Lady meet them and take things from there. So in we went again and wandered around even more to see if we could find three suitable candidates. It took us some time but eventually we narrowed it down to three youngish looking animals; one was a wire-coated, black and white marl, hunting dog cross, another a black Staffy, Lab cross and the third a black setter cross type.
We went back into the reception area to see if we could find someone to help us and the first person I spoke to seemed to have marvellous English skills though of course she said she only spoke a little English. Anyway we managed to identify each of our shortlist and she arranged for us to meet the first one, the setter.
It seemed a lovely animal and very friendly, though quite young of course, our French helper suggested that if we liked him then perhaps Lady should meet him too. We agreed and fetched Lady into a grassy area set aside for dogs to meet up and play.
Once in there our first dog option was brought in and let loose. The people there knew the temperaments roughly of all the animals and whether there would be any problems or not so we knew it was all relatively safe. Well the young chap was more than happy to be let out and had a great run around; in fact he went quite loopy! However, he didn’t really seem that bothered about Lady and for once in her life Lady wasn’t that bothered about him, so we decided to move on to the next one.
This was the hunting-type dog which had just been out for its walk. When he was let in to meet Lady you would never have known. He too was just pleased to have some space to run around in and though there was a little more interest from the two parties concerned this one also seemed too wild and exuberant in this first instance to believe he was a real option.
By the time we got back to the car we’d decided we’d go back in and see if we could draw up a shortlist of three dogs that we would ask to meet, if we liked them we’d let Lady meet them and take things from there. So in we went again and wandered around even more to see if we could find three suitable candidates. It took us some time but eventually we narrowed it down to three youngish looking animals; one was a wire-coated, black and white marl, hunting dog cross, another a black Staffy, Lab cross and the third a black setter cross type.
We went back into the reception area to see if we could find someone to help us and the first person I spoke to seemed to have marvellous English skills though of course she said she only spoke a little English. Anyway we managed to identify each of our shortlist and she arranged for us to meet the first one, the setter.
It seemed a lovely animal and very friendly, though quite young of course, our French helper suggested that if we liked him then perhaps Lady should meet him too. We agreed and fetched Lady into a grassy area set aside for dogs to meet up and play.
Once in there our first dog option was brought in and let loose. The people there knew the temperaments roughly of all the animals and whether there would be any problems or not so we knew it was all relatively safe. Well the young chap was more than happy to be let out and had a great run around; in fact he went quite loopy! However, he didn’t really seem that bothered about Lady and for once in her life Lady wasn’t that bothered about him, so we decided to move on to the next one.
This was the hunting-type dog which had just been out for its walk. When he was let in to meet Lady you would never have known. He too was just pleased to have some space to run around in and though there was a little more interest from the two parties concerned this one also seemed too wild and exuberant in this first instance to believe he was a real option.
It's not going to plan...
Photo taken by DreyaB
The lady that was helping us probably realised things were not quite going right for us and knowing we already had a collie cross turned around and asked us if we’d seen Papillon, who was similar. I thought I might have seen a large, pulling monster on our walk that had been called that, but the other half didn’t think he had, and having been told he was a nice dog and got on well with females, in fact he generally deferred to them and was submissive, we agreed to meet him.
While the lady went away to get him, we chatted things through. The whole experience was so emotional and heart-wrenching that I thought we had better try and come up with a strategy for coping with any next steps. Having tried to look at all sides and be balanced, sensible and practical the woman arrived with Papillon. Boy was he big! Was that really a collie?
We went over to meet him and then he was let off his lead to have a run around and meet Lady properly. This time things were a bit less manic. He was in fact coming up to five years old in a few months and apart from his size I felt this was one of the reasons why he was a little calmer than the last two. He however, didn’t seem the size of a Border collie! Yes, his colouring was right but he seemed massive.
Things went a little better, both dogs took some interest in each other, had a run around and a sniff; balls were thrown etc. The circumstances were a bit artificial for Lady but things were a definite improvement on what had been before. We talked to the lady and asked a bit more about him. She told us that he was usually passed over by visitors as his female kennel mates had normally taken dominance when people were viewing and that really he was a good, nice-hearted dog that got missed. So much so he’d been in the kennels for fourteen months.
We watched them a bit more. I talked things over with the other half. By this time I think he’d found the situation so overwhelming and involving he was reluctant to leave without another dog. I on the other hand, the cold-hearted woman I am, was prepared to leave and try somewhere else or come back after we’d had chance to think about things further. Let’s be honest we weren’t ready that day to take a dog there and then; we didn’t have a spare bed or another collar or anything. I asked again, what were we going to do?
‘I’d like to take him home with us,’ he said.
‘Are you sure?’ I replied. I got a nod of the head and that look…
While the lady went away to get him, we chatted things through. The whole experience was so emotional and heart-wrenching that I thought we had better try and come up with a strategy for coping with any next steps. Having tried to look at all sides and be balanced, sensible and practical the woman arrived with Papillon. Boy was he big! Was that really a collie?
We went over to meet him and then he was let off his lead to have a run around and meet Lady properly. This time things were a bit less manic. He was in fact coming up to five years old in a few months and apart from his size I felt this was one of the reasons why he was a little calmer than the last two. He however, didn’t seem the size of a Border collie! Yes, his colouring was right but he seemed massive.
Things went a little better, both dogs took some interest in each other, had a run around and a sniff; balls were thrown etc. The circumstances were a bit artificial for Lady but things were a definite improvement on what had been before. We talked to the lady and asked a bit more about him. She told us that he was usually passed over by visitors as his female kennel mates had normally taken dominance when people were viewing and that really he was a good, nice-hearted dog that got missed. So much so he’d been in the kennels for fourteen months.
We watched them a bit more. I talked things over with the other half. By this time I think he’d found the situation so overwhelming and involving he was reluctant to leave without another dog. I on the other hand, the cold-hearted woman I am, was prepared to leave and try somewhere else or come back after we’d had chance to think about things further. Let’s be honest we weren’t ready that day to take a dog there and then; we didn’t have a spare bed or another collar or anything. I asked again, what were we going to do?
‘I’d like to take him home with us,’ he said.
‘Are you sure?’ I replied. I got a nod of the head and that look…
So that was that!
Photo taken by DreyaB
And that was it; we decided there and then to take him home. I was happy that the two dogs got on OK and was prepared to give it a try. We always had the option of bringing him back if we needed to – that was their policy.
The centre sorted out a blanket for us, they had collars on sale and we’d already found a spare short lead – just in case. And we haven’t looked back since! Papy is now part of the family and we wouldn’t be without him.
Yes, there have been a few issues – there always are as you get used to a new dog and the dog gets used to you. But we’re all together and we’re all settled.
I still wouldn’t recommend getting a dog in this way. I would tell you to go and look at your options, meet some dogs, go elsewhere, think about it – at least for 24 hours! – and then make your decision knowing you’ve assessed everything and everyone has met a few times and is happy. But that’s me being sensible and practical, and though you do have to be those things when you’re a dog owner you also have to have a heart, and I have one of those as well…
The centre sorted out a blanket for us, they had collars on sale and we’d already found a spare short lead – just in case. And we haven’t looked back since! Papy is now part of the family and we wouldn’t be without him.
Yes, there have been a few issues – there always are as you get used to a new dog and the dog gets used to you. But we’re all together and we’re all settled.
I still wouldn’t recommend getting a dog in this way. I would tell you to go and look at your options, meet some dogs, go elsewhere, think about it – at least for 24 hours! – and then make your decision knowing you’ve assessed everything and everyone has met a few times and is happy. But that’s me being sensible and practical, and though you do have to be those things when you’re a dog owner you also have to have a heart, and I have one of those as well…
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