We brought a puppy to avoid common behavioural issues with rescue dogs. Our biggest regret.

A lot of things go into weighing up whether to buy or rescue a dog. Cost, ethics, potential issues, whether you will be accepted by rescue centre, breed of dog you want etc.

When deciding what we were going to do, we decided to go for buying our first dog together, we thought it might be easier. We had both grown up with dogs, some of which were rescues. One of the main things that put us off rescuing was the requirements of the shelters and charities - certain size gardens, certain height fences etc. We also knew that rescue pups can come with their own unique problems and issues - things we didn't necessarily feel we were ready for.

Our plan was to get Roo as a puppy and when she was fully trained and ready, we would look to adopt. another dog. Probably another spaniel from Spaniel Aid (Chloe's parent's got their current dog from there). However having had Roo, we might be put off spaniels for life!

For our first go at owning a dog together, we decided that getting a puppy and going through the whole experience together would be best. If we put in the time and effort to train our puppy then most of the issues you often see in dogs in need of adopting could be avoided. Or so we thought - so naive.

Oh how Roo has proved us so wrong. Every issue we wanted to avoid by not rescuing we got, and some. Resource guarding - tick. Lead pulling - tick. Reactivity - tick. Anxiety - tick. Diet issues - tick. Medical issues - tick.

The issues Roo has are also a major factor in why we could never see ourselves rehoming her. These dogs need very special homes, ones that don't come around too often and we couldn't stand the thought of her being passed around or spending months in kennels.

The lesson from this, do not just assume because you are getting a puppy that you are getting a blank slate to work with, that you can pre-train any issues from arising or just because a dog has not been abused or neglected that issues like these won't arise. If behavioural issues are what is stopping you from rescuing a dog, please reconsider.

With a rescue dog, you will know more or less what you are getting and you can decide if you can handle that or not. With a puppy, you have no idea what kind of dog you are going to end up with.

This post was hard to write, being honest about these kinds of topics is never easy. Roo has taught us so much about owning a dog - more than most people ever get to understand.

If you want to read about Roo and her quirks, you can follow along on our behaviourist journey here.