Doggy Home Check

[VirginVegGrower]

Firstly has anyone undergone one of these, or even undertaken one on behalf of a rescue centre? As you know we are somewhat open on the back. Garden sits in a fairly large space of .5 to .75 of an acre. Instead of regular one type fence all the way around the garden we have green chain link fencing bordering the woods, a hedge with four foot chain link fencing to the field boundary, in which we also have a five bar gate. We have six foot solid panel fence to one neighbour side and semi open to RHS. We are looking to fence of PART of this garden so we can help the rescue quickly. Is this sufficient? Or will they want to see ALL of our garden fenced in high panels?
Anything else I should know?

[veggiechicken]

Can your dog escape from your garden and is it safe in there? I think that's what they're looking for.
I didn't have a home check for mine as I was some distance from the sanctuary but they spoke to my vet to ensure that I cared for my dogs. Hope all goes well

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks VC. We are semi open as said, so there is always potential for escape, although my dogs had recall training. We are on a private lane in the middle of nowhere really. We neither sit in the village or the nearest town. If I had an area, say the knot garden which is gravel led and leads to the flower borders, completely enclosed with say small guage trellis, would they be happy with that do you think. The top half of the garden, which is grassed, two large trees and leading to the fields/woods is very much an ongoing project.

[VirginVegGrower]

I forgot to add that they wanted a letter from the vet, which Bill will do no problem.

[veggiechicken]

Why don't you ask the rescue people what they expect to see? If a smaller, fenced and safe place can be provided, they can't expect more than that - can they?

[Feral007]

I agree with VC. Ask the place what they need (or check their website.) Personally I think if you have a smaller, very safe area you can leave the dog in when you are not at home, or not outside, then that should be good.

I'd say you'd have some training to do as far as recall goes, but that will be ongoing. If you are outside you can keep an eye on the dog. But a safe place when you are away or busy would be good.

[VirginVegGrower]

I used to have Rupert on a training lead attached to me and trained with hot dogs. He is happy to trot around after me. We have decided to fence off the half attached to the house as two sides are already enclosed - just means the two ends, to cut the garden in half. Just until we can secure the rest. They all insist on a fenced in garden don't they? So half of our garden is still as big as the average garden I reckon
So excited!
They asked how we feel about dogs on furniture. I replied "it's compulsory!"

[VirginVegGrower]

BTW thanks you two. I feel very nervous, I don't know why.

[binley100]

I'm sure you'll be an excellent rehomer........
Jake only goes on our settee when he thinks we're not watching .....at the sound of our footsteps he leaps off and pretends he wasn't on it.....

[veggiechicken]

Mine have their own settee - sometimes they let me share it
You're a bad influence - I've been looking at the dogs at the sanctuary where my 2 came from - and wondering about having another one

[out in the cold]

We had a home visit from Bullies In Need before we got Maisie.

They just wanted to see how our dog interacted with another dog and check to make sure that we were decent people that looked after our existing dog.

[VirginVegGrower]

Mine have their own settee - sometimes they let me share it
You're a bad influence - I've been looking at the dogs at the sanctuary where my 2 came from - and wondering about having another one

Rooty has his own sofa, but he also shares ours and can be found taking comfort on our bed when Daddyo vacates

[Glutton4...]

I'd agree with what the others have said, and check out their website. If that's no good, then ask them what they expect, and tell them you'll comply.

As for dogs on the furniture, well, my sister and I grew up sitting on the floor, as the dogs had the sofa. My dogs have all trained me this way, too. Seriously, he knows it's a privilege, and will get off if he's told to, albeit begrudgingly!

[Two_Sheds]

Firstly has anyone undergone one of these

Yes, I did.
They were pleased with my security (6ft solid panel fence) but I had a 6" gap underneath the gate which a dog could feasibly get under. It was my idea to nail an extra bit of wood across that, RSPCA lady wasn't that bothered.
She did tell me off when I allowed the dog to jump up on the table between us while we were talking (2nd visit to see how dog was settling in). She was right, the dog shelf is on the floor

Ironically, although I was pretty much grilled before I could have the dog, it turned out she hadn't even been spayed, as per her paperwork. So we could have been handing her back with 6 little puppies: not quite the result the RSPCA were after.

I've not had a visit since that 2nd one, and I did send video updates to the shelter for a while, but nobody ever bothered to reply to them, so I stopped.

[Two_Sheds]

Why don't you ask the rescue people what they expect to see?

I've still got the checklist the RSPCA left with me. I'll dig it out later and let you know what you can expect to be asked.