You may or may not be right but you have overlooked the fact that the SPAs are not a national organisation with a unified poicy.
I remember in my early days of dog rescue here that Perigueux SPA was sadly overcrowded with disturbed dogs pacing up and down in crowded cages because they had a no kill policy.
On the other hand, once was asked by Phoenix to collect a dog to go to its new home from SPA Bergerac. It was a Thursday and I was told that the place would be shut to the public so that I must present at the gate at precisely 2pm and they would bring the dog out to me. The reason was because they were shut to the public on that day as a vet came in to kill dogs.
I was very shocked in both cases, but it made the point.
Ah. OK, I did not know they are regional. In which case, I alter my suggestion to be âdo not buy a rescue from Carcassonne SPAâ
Yes I know culling animals is not savoury, but it controls the species and, in this case, the culling of aggressive dogs is necessary for the preservation of a good âdogâ name.
Our current dog comes from the Grenoble SPA. Or rather doesnât as he never even spent a night there as had been traumatised by being locked in a box (possibly horse box or stable) so they weren"t going to put him in a kennel. He was immediately given to a foster family to help him recover.
I was very frequently into that place some years ago, at one time the President was an Englishwoman who was very strange and with whom I fell out with in a big way. The staff were marvellous though and I had a very good working relationship with them.
And I did in fact adopt one little dog myself from there, or rather in answer to a distress call pleading overcrowding by the aforementioned president, I agreed to foster him. When we eventually decided to keep him and adopt, it took 12 months before she transferred his ownership to me and I only found out one morning in our vets when the vet, who knew our history, shouted in triumph after seeing it on his screen âheâs yoursâ
BTW I was onced asked to collect a St.Bernard and a Great Dane from there both to the same destination in the Dordogne. Because neither would obviously be in a cage in the car (way too big) I requested that the 2 of them be housed together for a few days before my arrival. The staff there did exactly as I asked and by the time I arrived they were best friends. So off we went but when I stopped halfway to give them a break, as soon as I opened my door I found the Daneâs head on my shoulder, desparate to get out. I managed, with the palm of my hand firmly on his forehead to force him back and gratefully re-closed the door. Only then did I realise that my walking about slip on shoe was outside on the ground where it had been dropped ready to replace my driving clogs. So I had to struggle with the Dane all over again in order to retrieve it.
The Dane was adopted here but a few days later I was to take the St.B to his adopter in Brittany. No problem at all but once again âtill we came to our break. He came out for his walk around well enough, and went back in again, but fiercely objected to me reaching to unclip his lead and he did his best to bite me. So when I got to destination and realised that his prospective owner was a very frail little old American lady, I felt I should warn her of his sore point. She, well used to the breed, brushed aside my well meant warning, and he was lovely with her right from the off, a match made in err, well, Brittany.
One proscript re the strange Carcassone president was that a year later, the little American lady was pleading with me to intercede because she still hadnât received her ownership papers and, worse than that, was bombarded by payment demands even though that had been made before I even collected them.
I am interested in your âdonât get a rescueâ point of view Adam. Putting SPA aside, and by the way each Centre is a different part of a larger organisation and not all are run the same, yes you are quite right, not every stray or dog put up for adoption has a full history. Neither does any child over 5 years also put up for adoption. You just have what someone tells you. What matters is what you see, what you hear, what you experience and what you do. I have, to date, had 5 rescues, of different breed types and of different ages, from 3 months to 7 years. They have all been work and effort, and you get out what you put in. I have dealt with âpottyâ training, reactivity, leash pulling, guarding and other established habits and learnt a lot along the way. All have been the most wonderful companions. If you are prepared to put the effort in then you will get the result your efforts deserve. In contrast, my Daughter has had 4 dogs from breeders, again, put in the effort and out comes a lovely dog. So, I would say, take your time to make your choice, either from a rescue or a breeder, but understand, your responsibility starts there. The dog you end up with is determined by you, after that, and not itâs history. Personally, I think that there are already enough dogs to go around without perpetuating the âdog breedingâ industry, but that is just my take on it. Must end it there, my dogs are on the couch looking to share some love.
In fact I did not miss it at all. My point was and still is this applies equally to rescue and non rescue dogs. Your point seems to suggest rescues only?
In my limited experience, thatâs true, for better or worse. I had friends who adopted a dog who, it turned out, had psychiatric problems. Theirs was a very volatile home and, despite the dog being loved, the volatility and stress just exacerbated his pre-existing condition.
Surely for Toryâs situation, the simplest (and I believe the best) approach is to get a young pup, whether it be pedigree from a licensed breeder (not cheap) or from a rescue centre. And then get it properly trained and well-integrated into the family.
Our miniature poodle has had two walks today totalling over 10kms, plus a trip to the market, but still wanted us to play fetch ball with her for a couple of hours at lunchtime and this evening while I was preparing dinner and my wife was trying to read. Eventually collapsed into its pannier about 8.30pm.
Mark, Poodles are generally high energy dogs. So mix that with a Spaniel and you are going to get a high energy, non shedding, bundle of fun. My Daughters cockerpoo never stops running or chasing a ball. What a mix!
One of our nephewâs family has a Cockerpoo and the other nephew has a Cavapoo. Very alike in colour but unalike in character, though both very lovable. The spaniel mix is far more busy and the Cava mix very cuddly, both as you might expect from breed. The only poodle inheritance that we can see, apart from woolly coats, is the Cava being a bit picky with food. Just as well they are not in the same home or one would be eating for two, like my Agnes doodle if given the chance.
Yes indeed, and so like people. Two brothers, same Mum, same Dad, but different. Could it be the same with Dogs? Possibly. Results can never be ascribed, too many variables. No two situations the same. You can only do your best and trust that what you have put in equals what comes out. If you put in more then the results should be immense. Sorry, got to go, dogs on the couch looking to share some love.
Iâm so glad we got a Cav and not a Cavapoo. Our Tommy isnât a patch on Markâs miniature poodle but I wouldnât want him to be any more energetic, lol. Heâs also quite picky about food - our last Cav would eat anything, any time.
Picky about food may well be an advantage. With those meltingly sweet little round eyes they can get given way too many treats. Iâm afraid there are some really darling ones in our village shaped like furry potatoes. Not at all good for their health but the people would not be happy hearing that from me
My lovely lab/pointer cross (Pointrador? Labrointer?) was picky, never greedy which is how she kept her wasp waist and lived to 17½. That said she also crunched up lots of rabbits she caught in the vines so her teeth were marvellous, best the vet had ever seen.
