As you know we are due to get our new pup in 3 weeks time. I had also mentioned before that we had intended to try and get 2 dogs at the time but took the advice from here and decided against it for various reasons. However we still fancied getting another dog to keep the pup company at some point. During our search for dogs a month or so ago we came across a 1 year old springer at a rescue centre here in Scotland. At the time we expressed and interest (our last dog was a rescue dog)...and were told she had an ear infection and it would be a few weeks before she would be available. We got a call from the centre yesterday to say she was available and I was delighted at the thought of rescuing this lovely dog. However this very quickly turned to frustration and then upset.....
As I also mentioned before like all my dogs before it is my intention to keep the dogs at NIGHT TIME ONLY in a large run and kennels in our big back garden, during the day the dogs would run free in the garden/house.
We have been turned down for the rescue dog because the unit has a policy of not rehoming to houses which "intend to kennel" the dogs....this phrasing has really upset me as I came of the phone thinking I had done something wrong and they had the impression that because my dogs sleep in an outside kennel at night I would be cruel to my dogs .....and would be locked up 24/7
I could have offered the rescue dog a kind loving home with another dog, an active outdoor life of mountain biking, hill walking, as we live in a National Park area....I imagine the dog couldnt have been happier...???, but instead she stays at the rescue centre.....
I'm so annoyed.....I am right to be so.....is it so wrong to let a dog sleep outside...I thought they liked there own space..?

Tis a difficult one, this! I have no doubt that you would provide good home for the dog but given she's ended up in rescue and wouldn't have had the best start to her life, maybe they think she deserves a corner of a sofa to curl up on of a night time.

My personal opinion is that a dog is a part of the family, and ours live in the family home. In fact, if they had their way, they'd be in the family beds too, but we try to draw the line there (and fail miserably on occasions! )

I'm sure the rescue peeps will be along to tell it from their perspective soon!

Oh Paul, I do sympathise. We had problems with a local rescue centre when we were looking for a dog, because they wouldn't allow us to take a dog to work with us - said it would be a disaster. My experience was the more I tried to convince them they were not being fair, the more determined they got I would never get a dog from them. I'd been volunteering for them as well so it was even more upsetting that they knew me and were still saying I was unsuitable. It is so frustrating when you know you can offer a dog a good, loving home, and someone else's definition of that gets in the way.

We were lucky to find another rescue centre, with whom I was totoally and brutally honest about what life would be like for a dog we rehomed, and we arranged a home visit from them so they could see where we lived and worked, the surrounding area, and the proposed dog's new environment. We had our eye on a dog they had available at that time, but again, that didn't work out - the poor dog had so many issues from it's previous owner it just wouldn't have coped with our various family members and other dogs within the family.

So I'd given up! Then a couple of weeks later, the second rescue centre called us, said they had a dog that had come in over the weekend and they thought she was a perfect match for us. They wanted us to see her before they advertised her to anyone else. I was reluctant, expecting yet another knock back, but the dog was Daisy, and we've had her a year now and we couldn't have been luckier, the rescue centre were spot on - she is the perfect match for us.

So, what I'm trying to say behind all this waffle is, sometimes a personality can get in the way, and prevent someone seeing what you're trying so hard to say, because their rules don't bend. I'd try another rescue place, get a home check done straight away so they can see what you're offering and then they can find a dog that will fit, rather than you falling in love with another dog and then having the same disappointment.

From a rescue point of view I would say individual circumstances have to be taken into account for both the dog and owners. I know a few of my fosters would have been happier out in a kennel on a night time and others would have been mortified.

Ask "spanielmadhouse" his kennel is better equipped than my front room I'd be quite happy to sleep in there

Is the kennel heated? May be worth mentioning to the rescue organisation Also have they actually carried out a homevisit to "see" for themselves rather than jumping to conclusions?

My girls are all indoors on an evening, but our old boy Jasper would have been much happier in a kennel on an evening, due to what he was "used" to from his past.

I know all rescues have different guidelines but I think each dog and prospective home should be matched accordingly and taken on thier own merits, if that makes sense?? We were turned down for a rescue springer x pup before Missy came along as we had the dreaded......."children" .........a swear word among a lot of rescues, as app. our children WOULD pull the dog around My kids have never been without a springer in the house and help so much with the fosters but also show a lot of respect to the dogs and vica versa!

Also in my opinion I would get your pup settled in get some good basic training in and then start a search for a new friend as a lot of the rescues although older will also need a lot of seperate training time spent with them. It will lessen the load for yourselves, give you more time for one on one and you should end up with a happier house in the long run

thanks for your comments.......
I just felt as if I was being made out to be cruel in some way....I even felt like saying to them, that the dogs where in an outside kennel at the shelter...whats the difference....but I hadnt thought about asking them to come and see the environment and what we could offer the dog....
I understand though about it being better to leave it for a while until the little one settles.....

God my three would think their lives had ended if they were put outside for the night Jack gets the arse on if he's in the fresh air for too long He doesn't do outside

Each to their own.

What's the kennel set up like ? Surely you would have been homechecked by the Rescue or did it go no further after you mentioned the kennel ?

All the dogs I have ever had have lived in the house with us, until the present two. When I spoke about my lifestyle I told the people this time I would like two dogs (not necessarily at the same time) which would sleep outside in a kennel in the garden (without an attached run, but access to the whole lawned and flowered area), but would be allowed in the home too, and that I wanted two so they had company when I was unable to be with them.
Two weeks later I was lucky enough to rehome two (mother and son), and we fitted each others criterea.
Incedently, my two slept in the house for a week whilst Ben recovered from his bigboys op, and they couldnt wait to go back outside into their own 'room'.
(It was lined before, but OH has insulated it too, and they drag their beds nearer to the door now, so next on the list is to make an opening window instead of fixed.)

Maybe the particular dog you were interested in was one used to being in a house 24/7, and they didnt explain things well enough.

Are we talking Big National Rescue here or local? Breed or general? Have you been homechecked by them? It does sound as if they haven't homechecked you first. Weird!

No it didnt go any further...as soon as I mentioned kennel the conversation ended with a quoting of "policy"........

I have spent a lot of money redoing the run and kennel area after our last dog died...wanted to give the new one a fresh start and area....its a large fenced wire mesh run...with a large kennel complete with door flaps seperate sleeping enclosed area....and even have a snuggle heat pad for night time use..its crackin looking....and I'm sure when Finn eventually moves outside after his first few weeks with us he will love it to....

and our last dog was the same...hated being inside...10pm every night without fail would be standing by the back door with his blanket to go out to sleep in his "room" as you so rightly called it.....his area, his space....I dont see whats wrong with that.....I dont disagree with keeping him in the house either mind you, just have always preferred them to be outside...

Correct me if i am wrong (which i most probably am) but at this rescue place...isnt the dog in kennels now?
I do understand that different rescue's have "policies" for a reason BUT they haven't even given you a homecheck?

Thats my point exactly Ellie.....the dog has been with them for 2 months and is kept in an outside concrete KENNEL....Arghhhhhhhhhhh

Thats my point exactly Ellie.....the dog has been with them for 2 months and is kept in an outside concrete KENNEL....Arghhhhhhhhhhh...

so how exactly does my outdoor run, brand new kennel with seperate sleeping area, large garden backing onto woodland and open fields seem unsuitable.....they didnt even offer a homecheck it was a simple NO....policy says...blah blah blah..

Paul, this is exactly what we went through - the first rescue told us we couldn't offer a better home than consigning a dog that had been booked and rejected three times by that point to who knew how much longer in a kennel.

Anyway, just put it down to experience, and move on to another rescue place that will be more flexible and understanding.

no not cruel at all...i'm sure most dogs don't worry whether they sleep in an inside room or an outside room. as long as they are cared for and loved, they are very adaptable -I think most negatives in sleeping outside occur when we are considering it from a human perspective ( I don't even do tents!) - not necesarily that of a dog.

my OHs springer loved her outdoor life - and couldn't bear being inside.

I often look at the rescue pages, and on several occasions have read details on dogs who would prefer to sleep outside... keep looking, i'm sure the right dog is out there

Pol