We got our dog on Gumtree....we decided we wanted apatterdale and there happened to be some puppies for sale on there at the time we wanted one. Phoned the bloke some weeks ahead of time and arrnaged to go over to West London a week or so later when the pups would be ready. Met all the pups with the mother, who was very friendly. Picked ours, or rather she picked us and that was that. The breeder was very happy for us to contact him if we had any problems but we didn;t cos she settled right in straight away.

I have only a positive experience from Gumtree but whilst looking through the ads I did notice there are plenty of scams and puppy farms advertising but they are really easy to spot.

I haven't been in that situation, but judging by some of the dodgy job adverts on there I'd never consider using it to rehome my animal.

I went to an RSPCA rehoming centre yesterday and was so impressed with the way they cared for the animals. We hope to get a young cat from there. I am sorry but I would never pay for an animal (the RSPCA just asks for an adoption fee which is fair enough). My last two cats were from a friend of a friend but she never asked for a penny. Was just happy they would go to a good home.

Did you not bother to try any of the advice offered in your thread then ?

It boils my piss when people get a dog and because it is " naughty " just toss it aside like worn out slippers.

I hope your dog gets the kind of home she deserves with people who will train her properly.

I've never got a pet from Gumtree or similar, but confess to seriously considering it. It's not all bad, and some of the rescues are getting too picky about rehoming IMO.

i completely agree with this post.

if they are on benifits, they get it for free i was told

Excuse me, who made you moral judge and jury.
Perhaps the poster just can't cope, and perhaps the dog is more than just naughty.

at least they are trying to re-home the dog rather than just drowning him (that would have happened to my dog if we hadn't taken her in)

You shouldn't be so judgemental.

I think it is how the dog is being rehomed that is the problem. I don't agree with using sites like Gumtree to rehome animals, as you can never be sure that they will go to a good home & may well end up going to a breeder.
I think it is much better advice to try get the puppy rehomed through springer rescue centres - which was advised on the other thread.

Oh hello again!
You following me??

so it would seem!

This is the point exactly.

The home doesn't seem suitable and it is the mother/parents that got the dog so I do think we should be encouraging (as I think we are?) Shadow to persuade his/her parents to use a reputable rescue organisation. There are many for ESSs.

The alternative could be the poor thing gets used as a breeding machine - a rescue would spey her before rehoming - or she goes to an unsuitable home where she is passed on again or PTS - remember this is a dog that is barely trained and has snapped/bitten.

A good rescue will assess personality, neuter and only home to a suitablle environment.

You can never be sure about someone replying on Gumtree.

for one pre-registered animal usually
that's what the PDSA scheme is anyway

RSPCA shelters offer a reduced cost vet clinic, where a donation of £15 is asked towards the cost of treatment

but neither cover vaccinations as far as i'm aware (the pdsa might do, however)

I'm with the PDSA. And yes you can only register one animal with them. My dog was too old to start on her vaccination but I was able to get her registered anyway but if she had been younger they would have required it tand paid before they would register. Don't know what the rules are in regard boosters but I think you have to pay for those too.

Hi,

The dog was more than just being "naughty". We've had since Halloween and she's STILL been biting aggresively (she's bit my sister, 8 years old, on the cheek and we all have vicious bite marks on our arms). Not only that, but she still howls the house down and scratches at the doors when left alone in a room for even two minutes (and we have tried to be consistant but there's only so much noise and damage you can take) and as our close family are refusing to visit the house because of her (my aunt has a 3 year old boy and a newborn baby) and the fact the puppy isn't improving at all, we decided it was best for HER to be re-homed. We only have a small house with a small garden anyway, and as springers are very energetic dogs it's probably fairer if she went to a home where there's more room for her to run around and enjoy her life.

We did advertise her on Gumtree and she is being picked up tomorrow at 10:30am. She is being sold to a man from Glasgow, who claims to have experience with dogs. He lives with his wife, who works from home, and they apparently have a big house and garden. He visited us yesterday and the puppy loved him, she was wagging her tail and even lay on his lap while he spoke to us. He seemed like a very nice man and promised to send pictures of her progress to us by email when he takes her home. Of course we're all absolutely crushed we have to sell her, but we felt we didn't have a choice. She was much more demanding than we thought and the risk of her biting one of the younger kids in the family wasn't a risk worth taking. We all sat with her earlier on the living room floor, in tears hugging her and taking pictures with her. Of course she doesn't have a clue what is going on and kept trying to play with us and lick us and jump on us, but we're all crushed. My sister is in bed right now crying her eyes out and keeps begging my Mum and stepdad to keep her. Her and my brother will both be at school when the puppy is taken away so they know that their last chance of seeing her is tomorrow morning before they leave. I will be home, however, and know i'll be crying my eyes out. I'll be worried sick that she'll be treated horribly or that she won't settle in, or she'll be re-homed again, but that's life. We couldn't cope anymore. She wasn't always horrible, about 70% of the time she lay about on the floor chewing her toys and looking up at us with her sad face and whenever we returned home from being out she'd run up to us and jump up and down on our two legs and lick our face off with her tail wagging like mad, but we COULDN'T keep her with the biting she did.

Anyway here's a video I took of her a few weeks ago This is her when she was only two months old, i'm so glad I took it, and know i'll be watching it when she's gone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN-LlDVoqx8

Yeah, that's life.

Say it often enough and you will believe it. I sincerely hope your home stays dog free from now on. They are not toys or the latest must have fashion accessory to be tossed aside when the novelty wears off, but living sentient beings who need guidance and training and love.

Did you try puppy training classes or was that other valuable advice that was ignored ?

Which is why we have re-homed her. She'll have a much better life with her new owner (who she already adores).

Some really interesting posts and opinions.

It goes without saying that re-homing an unwanted pet is better than just dumping them but using sites like Gumtree isn't the only option (and shouldn't be an option at all) You cannot possibly guarantee that your pet is going to a good home, no matter how nice the new owner(s) seem. Sites like Gumtree help make animals very disposable and this makes me uneasy.

Shadow, instead of re homing your dog have you considered seeing a behavioural expert or going to puppy training classes? Also, where did you get your dog from? The reason I ask is that aggression in puppies can stem from them being removed from their mother too early.

There is a very good chance that your dog could continue to behave like this and end up being shipped to another new home or, even worse, euthanised. At this stage I feel it is your responsibility to make sure this doesn't happen.

Also, I am sorry to pry (and you don't have to answer this) but can I just ask why you are selling your dog? Wouldn't her finding a good home be enough?

We got our puppy from a local breeder. My mum's friend. We got her when she was four weeks old, i've no idea if that's "too soon" to be removed from her mother, though.

As I said in my other thread ("out of control springer spaniel puppy!"), we wanted to return the puppy to the breeder but unfortunately the breeder had already taken two puppies back, and since she has three other dogs plus kids and a job, we didn't feel it was fair to give her back. Plus, she'd just get attached to her mother again and then would need to be seperated again.

Of course a good home would be "enough", but surely there's more chance of her going to a good home that are willing to pay money for her instead of just advertising her for free.

Shadow, you do realise that this poor pup could now be turned into a puppy making machine , never seeing the light of day again? they may 'claim' to have a big garden and so on, but nothing can protect your pup from getting into the wrong hands apart from your good self. Please reconsider this and give the pup to a rescue, they will spay her when old enough and she wilk go to a vetted home. This poor pup has already gone through too much, taking a baby awy from its mother at 4 weeks is almost criminal and cruel beyond belief, no wonder she has problems as she hasnt been taught by her mother or siblings how to behave.

Please put this on hold and take the pup to a rescue, its the least you can do for her.

I have just watched the video and I am now in tears for the poor mite

I'm sorry.

4 weeks!!!!

8 weeks is the earliest a pup should leave its mother.

If your mother didn't know that was WAY too young she has no business ever owning a dog!!

And the 'breeder' isn't a breeders - she is a money grabbing back yard breeder.

Every ounce of sympathy I may have had has now evaporated.

Then she/you sell the pup to someone you don't know from Adam who could very well be a middle man for a puppy farm or a BYB himself, condeming the pup to a life of churning out puppies when you/your mum could have handed her over to one of a number of reputable rescues.

Did you even raise the subject of rescues with your mum & step dad? Did they ring round any? Did they make any attempt to ensure the poor pup's welfare? Or did they just want some money back?

Sorry, no it wasn't four weeks. I thought she was born October 2nd but it was September 4th. I've just checked. And we got her on Halloween.

Omg I am now seriously disturbed. Puppy training? It's not hard. Jesus wept, poor little mite. Let us hope the man from Glasgow was genuine and will take proper care of this wee soul. I despair, I really do.