Looking to buy or adopt a dog

[sarahsouthlondon]

Hello

We are looking to get a dog of 1 year plus - know how hard puppy training is and want to avoid it! Also keen to know dog’s personality before we jump in as friends have had very difficult experiences with puppies who turned out to be tricky. 
Ideally would like to adopt but also open to buying - does anyone have any ideas of where one might buy a dog? 
thanks in advance! 

[Angelina]

You are best going to Battersea and adopting a dog. You’ll be able to meet different dogs and work with the staff to understand the breeds, temperaments etc. 

Training is ongoing. If you get a very well trained puppy and don’t continue and maintain the training you will soon have an untrained puppy. 
You have to put the work in. 
Are you ready for this? It’s a lifetimes commitment and you don’t get to walk away or change your mind.

Maybe register with Borrow My Doggy for six months and get to know local dogs.

I’d happily meet you for a dog walk if it will help?

[Azalea]

By ‘adopting’ you would still have to pay for the dog.  Do you have children?  Have you ever had a dog before?  Looked after anyone’s dog?  Work away from home? 

Are there any breeds you are particularly interested in?    I would suggest going to Discover Dogs which is part of Crufts but that won’t be until next year now. That way you can meet many different breeds and their owners.  They used to have a standalone DD at the Excel Centre in November but I don’t think it exists anymore. You could also go to different dog shows to see different breeds. They are held throughout the year. 

if you get certain breeds like a shitzu or poodle then you’d have to factor in grooming costs if you can’t do it yourself.  You can always keep them in a very short clip.  Many dogs shed a lot including short haired dogs like pugs.  Golden retrievers are also notorious for shedding.  I personally would never get a brachy dog like a pug, French bulldog or English bulldog ever. 
 

If you get a well bred dog from a breeder and can meet the parents then you would get an idea of what the dog will turn out like.  Sometimes breeders have dogs returned to them for various reasons including illness of the owner.  You could look for such a dog.  It’s important that all dogs are socialised correctly during their first year as well as being exposed to outside influences. If this doesn’t take place then the dog has been done a disservice.  But, there’s no substitute to good breeding in my opinion or if you are getting an older dog perhaps you could foster first to get to know them.  You could end up with a dog who’d been badly treated in a previous home and that would take a lot of fixing.  

If you are interested in sight hounds, @galgosdelsol are a rescue in Spain run by an English woman (they are on Instagram and have a website) who rehomes Galgos, Spanish dogs similar to greyhounds.  They are often dumped by Spanish hunters if they won’t hunt and retrieve.  They are thoroughly assessed and trained before being rehomed. A breeder of my favourite breed in York works with a Romanian rescue and she fosters a few dogs a year in order to rehome them in the UK.  She’s even kept a few herself.  
 

 

Edited June 28 by Azalea
Addition

[Pugwash]

We have had a number of ex racing greyhounds. Very much couch potatoes, but require walking at least twice a day. Not all of them are cat friendly. Contact the Greyhound Trust.

[LondonFermentation]

I have a rescue Spanish greyhound (galgo) from the charity mentioned above. You can contact Greyhounds in Need or one of the more local Kent greyhound rescue charities. They are fantastic family dogs. They do love walkies 2 or 3 times a day but they actually don't need to be walked too far and then they will happily loaf around on the sofa being very chill. They are brilliant with kids but not recommended if you own a cat as they have a strong prey drive. They also should be kept on the lead in local parks. They prefer to be around other sight-hounds (well my one does) and there are loads of local sighthound owners in Peckham, Crystal Palace etc and a very lively WhatsApp group that is brilliant if you need dog sitting as you can usually find someone to do that for free in return for you looking after the dog at a later date etc.

[Pugwash]

We have had 4 greyhounds - the last one, a bitch, was not speyed so we  had to pay for that at our local vet.  Only one dog was nervous around children and only one was cat friendly.