[titaniummd]

What is the purpose of the home visit for a rescue group? What is needed to prepare for this? I realize that they bring the dog and visit you but is it more of an inspection or interview?

[soleilwhippet]

its kind of like both. they go to your house and make sure that your ready for a dog/puppy like if your getting a puppy from the pet rescue than the person who comes to your house will make sure that your house is puppy proof and that you have all the supplys,food &water bowls, bed,toys,ect. she/he will also cheak the space of your house, backyard, ect.they will also give you pointers to improve your living quarters.

baiscly they come to see if you and your house are ready for the dog/puppy.

(P.S. you dont have to use this one because this has acutualy never happened to me yet because i got soleil from a rescue in Puerto Rico. so its hard to get a visit when your all the in NH.but ive seen it in the show adoption tales wich i watch reguarly.)
oh are you trying to adopt a puppy or a dog. also what breed is she/he?

[lovemygreys]

When I've done home visits, I always take a dog with me so the people can see how a greyhound will "look" in their house...other than that I'm just using the opportunity to get to know the family a bit better and look for anything that might be dangerous for the dog (i.e. holes in the fence, poisons sitting out at low levels, etc....). You'd be surprised how many people will lie on a application and say they have a fenced yard, but don't...or even that they live in a house when actually it's an apartment. Home visits have uncovered people who've "forgotten" to mention their other pets (including dogs!) on their app...or you do the home visit and the husband/wife/partner reveals that they are against getting a dog...

Home visits are not to scrutinize your decorating style or give your place a white glove test...it's really just to help the potential owner "dog proof" the house, if necessary and to get to know the family better.

[the-tenth]

Originally Posted by lovemygreys

You'd be surprised how many people will lie on a application and say they have a fenced yard, but don't...or even that they live in a house when actually it's an apartment. Home visits have uncovered people who've "forgotten" to mention their other pets (including dogs!) on their app...or you do the home visit and the husband/wife/partner reveals that they are against getting a dog...

Or people that say there are no kids under 12 (because a particular dog is listed as not good with children), only to find a house full of toddler toys and Wiggles DVD's.

[dcmidnight]

Yeah when our rescue group came over they told us the same thing. Look we're not here to comment on your paint schemes or choice of furniture. Basically they want to double check what you put on your application. Did you say you have a fenced yard - they want to see that. Did you say you have no toddlers - they want to make sure. Its not really an inspection so to speak, just to make sure the dog is going to the best home. The lady told us that a lot of times with special needs dogs people who fall in love with them at fairs but arent a good fit would lie anyway - like if a dog that was really shy couldnt be around kids they would get to the inspection and find 8 kids running around.

[titaniummd]

Everything I wrote on the application was truthful. I have a kid under 10, I have no fence, and I now realize that the bonus room is still a dangerous place for a dog with all of my daughter's toys up there. That could remain closed.

They will check out references, also. I don't have a vet but will take it to one in town, when I get a dog - does that matter?

I don't have supplies, yet, since I don't have the dog. Does that matter?

It's a 1 year old Bichon. I called around to about 10 groomers and the cost is anywhere from $34 to $44 / month.

Some rescues state that they don't like crating when the family is away (they like them gated in someplace). I would gate until I figure he is 'safe' to run around. How much time would that take, or do most people crate their pets when they leave for work?

If that doesn't work out, I will try to get a Shih Tzu. I have even read that Italian Greyhounds are very loving, also, but based upon what I have read they would seem prone to separation anxiety.

[lovemygreys]

I wouldn't expect a family that's applied to adopt a dog to have supplies until they've been approved and even then probalby not until a day or two until the dog comes home. So I wouldn't worry about that. How long it takes to trust a dog with full run of the house is individual to the dog. Some people prefer to always gate the dog in a "safe" room when they are away...or to always crate. Some dogs do better in a crate, others gated in a room, others are fine from day 1 having full run of the house. Your adoption group & the foster family should be able to best advise you on how to proceed with the individual dog you are adopting.

A word on Italian Greyhounds - they do LOVE LOVE LOVE to be with their people. At lure coursing events, many of them run out 10 feet after the lure and then run back to mommy or daddy LOL They can also be really hard to house train (primary reason they end up in rescues). Not sure how old your child is, but IGs are fairly fragile (esp the ones from pet stores...those bred for coursing/AKC tend to be a bit hardier from what I understand), so a small children who may play rough with a pup would not be a good match for an IG.

[007Dogs]

When I do a home visit for one of my fur kids, I ask them to set aside at least one hour where ALL family members can be there. Because adding a dog should be something that the entire family agrees upon. So many people get a dog, and then assign the care to a child who really didn't want a dog in the first place. That is not fair. I want to see the dog interact with all the members of the family and other animals if they are present. Then I go away with the dog, and give the family time to discuss any issue they might have. Then they get back to me, to see if we think it would be a good fit for everyone including the dog.

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by lovemygreys

A word on Italian Greyhounds - they do LOVE LOVE LOVE to be with their people. At lure coursing events, many of them run out 10 feet after the lure and then run back to mommy or daddy LOL They can also be really hard to house train (primary reason they end up in rescues). Not sure how old your child is, but IGs are fairly fragile (esp the ones from pet stores...those bred for coursing/AKC tend to be a bit hardier from what I understand), so a small children who may play rough with a pup would not be a good match for an IG.

My daughter is 6 years old (7 in 3 weeks).

I just love how beautiful they are.

I hope this adoption goes through. I will have to search very long if it doesn't work out again.

[rsculady]

+1 to what everyone else has said. I check to make sure that what is written on the app is true(fence, rental agreement if renting, etc) but have had people out and out lie about things and one of the ones that stand out in my mind is a rescue that a friend of mine did a home inspection and the Husky was NOT cat-tolerant(as most huskies are not) and when she visited the home she could smell cat boxes galores but could not see them and then they led her through the garage to the back yard where there were 4 cat boxes and a guinea pig in a cage on a shelf! She asked if they thought she was stupid and their reply was "we will teach the dog not to eat the cats" Ummmm, well how many cats are you willing to condemn to death before you learn that most huskies cannot be "taught" that. LOL

[titaniummd]

So, if what I have said on my application is true and when we meet the dog, we cannot live without it, then get him ? They said there was a 'review process' after the visit.

[lovemygreys]

Adoption groups all have different policies. Some have boards that approve applications, with some it's just one person that approves them. And it may be a completely different person that does the home visit. For example, a group I worked with has a person that approves apps, another peron checks references (calling the vet if person has existing pets) and yet another person does the home visit. The ref check person and home visit person "report" back to the app approver and the app approver gives a final yay/nay considering all the information.

With the groups I've worked with that do home visits (3 IIRC), I don't know of any that do a home visit and actual placement of the dog on the same day.

[titaniummd]

I wasn't looking into a speedy process. I was just looking to see what was a 'deal breaker'.

[TeddieXRuxpin]

With my rescue we want to make sure what your filled out on the application is correct and you haven't lied about anything.

We have had people tell us three different stories about their living situation. Things like children, fence, conditions of your house and other pets.

We do our best to place the right dog with the right family.

Originally Posted by titaniummd

Everything I wrote on the application was truthful. I have a kid under 10, I have no fence, and I now realize that the bonus room is still a dangerous place for a dog with all of my daughter's toys up there. That could remain closed.

They will check out references, also. I don't have a vet but will take it to one in town, when I get a dog - does that matter?

I don't have supplies, yet, since I don't have the dog. Does that matter?

It's a 1 year old Bichon. I called around to about 10 groomers and the cost is anywhere from $34 to $44 / month.

Some rescues state that they don't like crating when the family is away (they like them gated in someplace). I would gate until I figure he is 'safe' to run around. How much time would that take, or do most people crate their pets when they leave for work?

If that doesn't work out, I will try to get a Shih Tzu. I have even read that Italian Greyhounds are very loving, also, but based upon what I have read they would seem prone to separation anxiety.

We do check references and none can be family. More like nieghbors etc who see how you act around your family and little things that could be I guess covered up.

It's nice to have an idea of what vet you'll use. If you just tell them you're waiting to find the right vet when you have the dog that really should be fine. Most people that don't have a dog don't have a vet lined up and a lot of rescues understand that.

Grooming is the same way. I know a ton of people who groom their own dogs so you don't really have have to have a groomer. I groom Teddie myself except when I take him to get cleaned up or for a special even. like birthday, christmas ect.

I've never heard of a rescue being against crating if anything they're usually for it.

I've never owned an Italian Greyhounds, but have a friend who owns a bichon who is very attatched to his owner. Now Teddie is a Shih Tzu and has VERY seperation anxiety! I can't leave the room without a cry so I have to have a doggie sitter to leave the house. He was a stray and I blame a lot of that one his previous life style. He knows he's got it good because I work hard with him.

[lovemygreys]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I wasn't looking into a speedy process. I was just looking to see what was a 'deal breaker'.

That will really vary from group to group...everyone sets their own policies based on their group's experience. Most groups have their minimal "requirements" on their web sites (i.e. fence requirement if any, children's age requirements, etc...). If they aren't posted there you can always ask whoever your contact is with the adoption group.

In my experience (this is with greyhound-only groups), deal breakers are: finding out not everyone in the family is "on board" with the adoption, lying on the application, existing pets that are not UTD on vaccinations or living outside, some have had age minimums of around 3-4 for kids...um...I think those are the major ones. I know of a couple home visits where the family's kids hit/shrieked at/tail pulled or otherwise behaved an an inappropriate manner to the visiting dogs...and the parents laughed or did nothing to teach the child how to appropriately interact with a dog...those families were denied for good reason. No sense in putting a dog in a situation where it may be abused by a child and parents who aren't willing to do anything about it.

It sounds like you've done a lot of homework and can/will provide a good home for a dog. I'm sure you won't have any problems Good luck!

[titaniummd]

I pass by the Dog kennel every time I go to work (Greyhound races). I would love to adopt a greyhound but they are so large for my house. They are beautiful dogs.

[lovemygreys]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I pass by the Dog kennel every time I go to work (Greyhound races). I would love to adopt a greyhound but they are so large for my house. They are beautiful dogs.

Unfortunately, we're about 4 hours from nearest track where we live...but I love to go and visit the racing kennels (usually don't have time to see any races though). Greyhounds make excellent pets...you'd be surprised how little room they take up. I tell people they are the smallest big dog you'll ever own. LOL We've had up to 14 in our tiny little 1400 sq foot house. People would come to visit and after about 5 minutes they'd ask where all the dogs were! After saying hi, they all prefer to go to their favorite spots and chill out.

But I understand wanting a small dog too...which is why we have the podengos. There's something about being able to pick up and hold a dog in your arms. Ironically, the breeder we adopted the podengos from considers them big dogs - compared to her other breed (border terriers). To us, they are tiny! LOL (in actuality our smallest girl is about 35 lbs. The greys range from 50lbs to 70.

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by lovemygreys

But I understand wanting a small dog too...which is why we have the podengos. There's something about being able to pick up and hold a dog in your arms. Ironically, the breeder we adopted the podengos from considers them big dogs - compared to her other breed (border terriers). To us, they are tiny! LOL (in actuality our smallest girl is about 35 lbs. The greys range from 50lbs to 70.

I like cuddling up with a small dog. I don't know how big they get, but I wouldn't mind it being carried by me just walking around town.

[fredalina]

We don't want to make sure your house is squeaky clean (after all it probably won't be once you take the dog home), we just want to make sure it's safe for the pet, that it's the best environment for that particular pet (maybe it needs a quiet lifestyle but you have people coming over constantly, which isn't bad but isn't best for that particular dog), that you were truthful on the application, and that you're ready for the dog.

Circumstances where i've turned down adopters based on the home visit:

• Potential adopter was clearly uncomfortable with having the dog brought into the house
• P.A. had an unsecure fence that was half-torn-down several weeks after a tornado
• P.A. had several dog houses and an automatic feeder in a very small yard leading me to believe she would keep the dog outside 24/7
• P.A. admitted she travels a lot and just leaves food in the feeder for her dogs
• P.A. had a very untidy lawn with car parts, old buckets, empty bottles of cleaner, etc strewn about
• P.A. lived in a bad neighborhood and i believed she wanted the dog almost entirely for protection, by the way all of the above were the same person
• P.A. had a small fenced area divided into three sections and had a lot of dogs and goats in these areas 15 minutes after a rainstorm, and had one small dog inside and told me he was inside for "punishment"
• On interview, P.A. told me she travels 5 days out of the week and that a former dane had torn the paw pad that's up higher OFF by climbing over the fence repeatedly to get to a neighbor's dog in heat
• P.A.s current dog was very rowdy and unruly and they did almost nothing to curb negative behaviors.

Good luck, and be prepared with research about the breed, where you will have the dog eat and sleep, what you will do if you have to travel, etc .

[titaniummd]

The visit went well and we got the little boy. It was more of an 'introduction' and 'indoctrination' at the same time. I was amazed. That must be a very fulfilling role in society to save a dog knowing that you are putting one in a good home.

He is about as good as they get. An accident a day but today's pee pee accident was my fault. Yesterday, no one was watching him closely so he went then. he is training me as much as I am trying to train him.