Thread: Retired working dog

I am thinking about getting something like the title says, to keep my GWP company and also because I just like dogs, I always used to have 4 to 6 pig dogs but bad knees and old age have put paid to that,
Does anyone have any experiences with these dogs, or any tips or advice please?

https://retiredworkingdogs.org.nz/about-us/
Check this site out mate. My wife helps them out. Actually have a couple of their dogs here at the moment. PM me if you like.
Ps also have this girl to rehome too.

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Originally Posted by Hunter595

I am thinking about getting something like the title says, to keep my GWP company and also because I just like dogs, I always used to have 4 to 6 pig dogs but bad knees and old age have put paid to that,
Does anyone have any experiences with these dogs, or any tips or advice please?

I had a look at the site and what dogs they had and well I would be very carefull all I can say- now I am an ex shepherd and had working dogs but the dogs they had most are definitely not what I would say are genuinely ex farm dogs - many are cross breeds and well my impression is just mutts someone wants a home for-- so if you think you are getting a well trained dog be carefull many of the ones they have are young and possibly an ill trained handfull someone has given up on

Both great advice, i. Am definitely leaning towards an older dog,nice laidback lifestyle , dog here even have their own couch.

yes a genuine retired working farm dog is the way to go most of the ones on that web site are cross breeds and never been near stock

They do come up on that FB page but you just need to wait. Yes they seem to rehoming anything on there at the moment.
I bet if you asked your local rural vet it wouldn't be hard to find suitable dog

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

yes a genuine retired working farm dog is the way to go most of the ones on that web site are cross breeds and never been near stock

You are right, Barry. Unfortunately, due to demand, they have started taking on a wider variety of dogs. Not just the older working dog. The old dogs still come up, you just have keep an eye out for them. Or, try emailing them as not all dogs are on the web site.

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I thought they were having a problem homing dogs no.? All the empty couches taken up..

Originally Posted by tiroahunta

I thought they were having a problem homing dogs no.? All the empty couches taken up..

Yes, they are finding it harder to rehome dogs. Not sure if it's a "cost of living " thing, or a change in lifestyle thing. We have had a few dogs adopted out, only to come back a couple months later. Some people like the idea of having a dog, but not the reality of it. As others have mentioned ,the organization had started taking on a wider variety of dogs. Which has possibly made it harder to find suitable homes.

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this one always gets me by the way I am a farmer but why do retired working dogs need a home because as I see it if you take on a dog and it works for you for most of its life how bout looking after it for the rest of its life

Things might be different now but when l was a young shepherd back when Adam was a cowboy the high country cockies would pass on an old retainer for us flatlanders to use when they couldn't handle the hills anymore, dogs were happy because they could keep working and shepherds ended up with dogs that knew a helluva lot more than they did, specially good if it was an eye dog.

[QUOTE=carlhurley;1701917]this one always gets me by the way I am a farmer but why do retired working dogs need a home because as I see it if you take on a dog and it works for you for most of its life how bout looking after it for the rest of its life[/QUOTE @sharps no 1 . Yep, that is the ideal situation. Unfortunately I think a lot of those small blocks have gone into dairy farms or been brought up and added onto bigger operations. Or chopped up into lifestyle blocks. The old semi retired farmer with 100 odd sheep and a few fat steers seems to be a dying breed. @carlhurley No offense, but comments like this are why I am reluctant to participate in this type of discussion. There is always someone says" Dogs are for life" etc. It is never an easy decision to give up one of your best mates. We have had big staunch shepherds drive away with tears in their eyes after dropping of a dog. The unfortunate reality is that at the end of the day, they are tools of the trade and if they don't do the job anymore they have to be replaced. A lot of these guys work on big stations with several shepherds running a dozen dogs each. Imagine if they all had another half dozen old/ injured/ retired dogs floating around aswell. The Retired working dog org was started to try and find home's for those dogs because if they can't rehome them, a lot of guys only have one other option. And it's a pretty shitty one.

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I get it when people say they are a tool of the trade, and I understand everyone circumstances are different. I was always a pig hunter, and not many pig dogs survive to retirement but the few of mine that did enjoyed a bean bag on the deck in the sun, but I could do that.
We want another dog and I think offering a great home to a retired working dog is a win win,

Because some farmers look at dogs as a tool and if the "tool" stops working you might as well bin it. There is more pressure now that shooting a dog because it's no longer making you money or can't run up and down the hills all day, is a "bad look" and so the retired working dog rehoming thing has taken off a bit. Where I work, we regard a dog that has provided a service and helped to train vet students and done palatability trials has earned it's retirement and so rehome them. The Palmy pound is full to the brim at the moment, and they have had a real mission to try and rehome dogs from there since people either can't be arsed getting their dogs out ( if there is a fine to pay), so they just get a new puppy instead.
I'm afraid that people who just think of a dog as a tool, go to the top of my shit list.

Originally Posted by carlhurley

this one always gets me by the way I am a farmer but why do retired working dogs need a home because as I see it if you take on a dog and it works for you for most of its life how bout looking after it for the rest of its life

when I was dairy farming I had several older hill country dogs.

They were under good command - or they wouldnt have made it to that age , and they were great companions. Sitting on a four wheeler on a flat dairy farm had to be better than being a heading dog on a hill run in Taihape ...

The last 4 dogs we have had have been re-homes , young dogs who didnt have great owners. I guess the next ones will be as well.

I would rather surround myself with dogs than most of the people I meet , truth be told