Looking for a female addition- age immaterial but might still be a tall order!

[bunt]

we would dearly love to fill the gaping hole that was  left when  our collie x went to the bridge over 2 years ago aged just 8.
We are a family of 5.....
Ruby Tuesday our 7 year old cocker, Honey our 4 year old rescue, me, my dh, and our 3 year old little girl.
I keep an eye out on lots of rescue sites and realise that adopting another rescue could be tricky due to our (human)daughter. I personally would- if we were able to adopt- really love another cocker and young or old...it really doesn't matter.
We have a large garden which has access to a country park, I am at home most of the time and our daughter is dog savvy- respectful etc...although I understand this isn't enough in a lot of cases.
Thanks for reading

[PennyB]

How far would you want to travel?

Most cockers in rescues are cross-posted on here (or you may want to get in touch with cocker rescue for the cocker spaniel club - http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/rescue_reps.htm - however, if anyone suggests a private rehome you sometimes have to be careful as sometimes people are economical with the truth plus may just inadvertently forgot to mention something that may become a problem for you (even if its not a problem for them). You also have to be aware of how much contact you want with old owner if you receive details of a private rehome - with rescues we tend to tell old owners whats happening to their dogs 3rd hand so there is no owner to owner contact.

[black taz]

I looked for another rescue dog when i lost my collie cross last year.  All the rescue places, online, everywhere, and found nothing suitable.  EIther the dogs couldnt be placed with another dog or cat, or couldnt be left for more than an hour or so, or some other reason.  It was if they were trying to find a reason not to home them.  In the end, i finished up getting a puppy (she is now nearly 18 months and an absolute  )

[Dinah]

It's not that Rescue Centres are looking for a reason not to home their dogs.  Good Rescues want to make as sure as possible that it is a good match and the dog isn't bounced back again.  If you do decide to have a puppy please, please make sure that you go see it first with its mother and are happy about the conditions it was bred in.  Never buy online/ take delivery of your pup from a car park/ buy from a puppy supermarket.  I have two rescue dogs - one, a cocker, was really hard work but worth every minute of it.   Good luck.

[bunt]

Thanks for the replies.
We are willing to travel 2/3 hours or maybe further. I have enquired about a couple of dogs- 1 posted on here, but sadly it's the young children aspect that's the sticking point and I can totally understand that. There have been perhaps 2 dogs  on other sites that sounded ideal, but then the breed wasn't for us...ie too big!! so I suppose we will keep on looking....
We have been very lucky with our collie x rescue, but then she came along before our daughter did and no doubt we wouldn't've got her had it been the other way around especially as she was a stray. Even then we were really lucky as I know Honey had at least 3 home checks which failed before she came home with us.
Re getting a puppy- of course we always ( well the 2 occasions that we've got a puppy) been to reputable breeders and met mum and dad too. I am quite educated re puppy farming etc, but understand many people aren't sadly...
We don't have a time scale as such and are willing to wait...just would be nice to fill that gap in the big bed!

[Spanielsmum]

Hiya, why don't you give Cynthia at www.nessr.net a ring? She often gets different breeds, not necessarily just springers and cockers. She's very good at matching dogs and families too.

[PennyB]

It's not that Rescue Centres are looking for a reason not to home their dogs.  Good Rescues want to make as sure as possible that it is a good match and the dog isn't bounced back again.

I couldn't agree more - they would be irresponsible if they then rehomed a dog to people just becuae they wanted them without looking at the dog's needs. Four Paws have a good record of dogs remaining in their forever homes (and I remember the flack I got from some re not rehoming one of the recent cocker pups to them but I wanted to make sure they got the right homes for them).

Sometimes you have to wait a while to get the right dog.

One thing that may be important is whether your own dogs are already neutered and another is how long a dog will be left for.

[bunt]

As a supporter of rescue dogs both our girls are neutered and as a responsible dog owner they are left for a maximum of 2 /3 hours - that's not everyday by the way, just when I go to do the shopping! I don't work contracted hours, I do the odd 4 hour shift when my dh is at home ( he has to be home for childcare) and the odd shift usually amounts to 1 or 2 a month.
As I have written earlier I totally 'get' why rescues won't place dogs with certain families. After going through the adoption process for our daughter ( took 2 years!)- rest assured I understand the 'ifs and buts' The home has got to be right to avoid placement disruption. All  anyone wants is to get that perfect 'forever home' and we are willing to wait to get it right.

[vixen]

Not sure where you live but  CAESSR  are based in Straffordshire.  They rehome springers, show and working cockers.
You could try getting in touch with one of the co-ordinators and let them know what you have to offer a dog  .
Sometimes dogs are rehomed before they are posted on the web-site.

http://www.caessr.org.uk/dogs-needing-homes.html

[bunt]

Thanks Vixen I've just had an in-depth look at the site ( have looked in the past) and have discovered that there's a co-ordinator/ facilities in the Tameside area which isn't far from us. Will probably contact CAESSR at some stage and take it from there.
Thanks again

[vixen]

Thanks Vixen I've just had an in-depth look at the site ( have looked in the past) and have discovered that there's a co-ordinator/ facilities in the Tameside area which isn't far from us. Will probably contact CAESSR at some stage and take it from there.
Thanks again

Fingers crossed for you. 
Please let us know how you get on in the future. 

[Cockertime Blues]

Good luck with your search - I'm sure there's a rescue dog waiting out there for you and you just don't know it yet.  Register your details with your rescue sites even if there's nothing suitable at the moment.  I know the rescue I volunteer for will often contact someone suitable who's registered an interest in a particular breed before the dog gets anywhere near their website.  Also, if you see a dog you think might be right, phone immediately.  If it's some distance away but they think you sound suitable, they might let you put a 24 hour reserve on till you can meet the dog etc.  You have to be quick as child-friendly spaniels get rehomed fast.  You sound like you have a lot to offer and the fact that you will consider any age dog really stands you in good stead.

[bunt]

Many thanks cockertime blues (loving the name btw ) for the encouraging reply. that,s really good advice and it does make sense to register with the rescues- especially with the spaniel related ones!

[dbidas]

Hi

We registered with every possible Cocker related site and it took months before Archie came along.  We had almost given up on our search and then one evening the phone rang, hence why its best to register your interest even if the rescue sites have nothing to offer at the present time.  Most dogs which come in are rehomed before they even make it onto any website!

Good luck with your search 

[PennyB]

You also need to keep looking at same rescues though as sometimes they don't always have time to remember if people are interested in a certain dog