I work with a rescue group. We DON'T require people to be home all day and we DON'T require fences. I have my own dog plus one of their fosters all the time and I am at work all day. I have two kids and they started letting me foster when the younger was 6. Below are our adoption policies.
I don't know what dog rescues you guys have worked with but I hope you don't give up. Check out our dogs at worthydog.org.



ADOPTION POLICIES





Must be at least 21
All applicants who live in a rental property must provide contact information for their landlord, and have approval from the landlord to have a pet at the residence listed on the adoption application
Applicants must allow Worthy Dog Rescue to conduct a home visit to confirm that your home will be a good environment for a new dog
All animals in the applicant’s household must be spayed/neutered and up to date on all vaccines before consideration
All adults living in the home must meet the dog and be in agreement about adoption
Applicants must be willing to keep their new dog and current family pets as indoor pets
All adoptive families will provide all medical care and treatment needed for the dog including, but not limited to, yearly medical checkups, vaccines, and preventative heartworm medication
Dogs will be adopted only as a personal companion and not as a gift, working animal, or guard dog
A fenced yard is ideal for dogs, but is NOT a requirement for adoption unless specified
Because young puppies require intensive training and care, we cannot place puppies younger than five months of age in a home where someone is consistently absent from the home for long periods of time
In the event an adoption does not work out, applicants must agree to return the dog to Worthy Dog Rescue rather than rehoming the dog themselves

Unless you are going to be the pet owner equivalent of a helicopter parent, subverting your own needs entirely to your dog's, and invest in dog walkers, trainers, etc - AND be willing to state all of this to the agency with a straight face - quite slim. These agencies are fucking NUTS.

Find a government run county shelter somewhere and they will be thrilled to offer you a dog. One less they won't have to euthanize. And as a bonus, you won't have to promise to have them walked three times a day while you are at work, or that you will leave your apartment for a four bedroom house in the suburbs, or feed the dog only organic meat, and get them monthly massages.

I'd contact a local rescue group like City Dogs or Worthy Dog and let them know you want a puppy, and to contact you when some come in. They tend to come in a litter. You can already be approved and in line to meet and pick your pup.

The PG shelter is terrible at website management. Call before you go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

YOu can eyeroll but the fact is that if someone else had a better situation, that's where the puppy's going. Did you ask what the issue was?

Lastly, if you're really that interested and are put off by the rescues, go to the shelters. You'll leave same day with a puppy. But, you won't necessarily have the same vetting and knowledge of the puppy as a rescue does. They put a lot of time into their animals (for most groups).

Let me guess. You work at a rescue group and get your jollies out of rejecting people. Most of the write ups on the dogs are wrong. We almost got suckered by the main worker at a rescue group but luckily on of the honest people who volunteer to hold the leashes pulled us aside to tell us the dog was aggressive. We were trying to figure out who was living when the dog lunged after another dog. Meanwhile a shelter also came to the adoption day and was brutally honest about what they knew and did not know about our dog.

Prince Georges County has a beautiful shelter and you can adopt cats and dogs from them. while they will ask some questions, I'd be worried if they didn't. But I agree, sometimes the rescue places are just too precious about their rules. On the other hand, all shelters and rescue places exist because lots of people get rid of their pets - and some of the reasons are: got too big, too much work, it's noisy, cat sheds, kids are allergic, kids went to college so I'm tired of the animal... and as a result they have developed questionnaires and rules and....

I see it from both sides. So go to a shelter - we adopted 2 cats from the Montgomery County one, then 2 others from Prince Georges - good experiences at both, although of course I want to adopt ALL THE CATS from there, not just 2. So that's hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

YOu can eyeroll but the fact is that if someone else had a better situation, that's where the puppy's going. Did you ask what the issue was?

Lastly, if you're really that interested and are put off by the rescues, go to the shelters. You'll leave same day with a puppy. But, you won't necessarily have the same vetting and knowledge of the puppy as a rescue does. They put a lot of time into their animals (for most groups).

If you are up for a drive, come down to NC. We have MANY rural kill shelters here. Adopting is a breeze.

I got one of my dogs through the Burlington, NC shelter (Burlington is between Raleigh and Greensboro). I have been told by rescue groups that they are a great shelter to work with, and my own experience confirms that. Although they don't have lots of puppies now, I see them pop up ALL the time.
http://www.ci.burlington.nc.us/1540/Pets-Currently-at-Animal-Services

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

YOu can eyeroll but the fact is that if someone else had a better situation, that's where the puppy's going. Did you ask what the issue was?

Lastly, if you're really that interested and are put off by the rescues, go to the shelters. You'll leave same day with a puppy. But, you won't necessarily have the same vetting and knowledge of the puppy as a rescue does. They put a lot of time into their animals (for most groups).

We've gotten several dogs from reputable breeders over the years. They interview us, want to meet our children and want to know if we have a fenced yard and if we plan to crate train. Last time we wanted a dog, we had a yard, not fenced, 2 children who atunder 7 years old. Breeders would let us buy a dog but rescues wouldn't. For the rescue/shelter dogs, our kids were too young, we didn't have a fence and both of us worked.
It's too hard for some of us to get a rescue so we go to a breeder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

YOu can eyeroll but the fact is that if someone else had a better situation, that's where the puppy's going. Did you ask what the issue was?

Lastly, if you're really that interested and are put off by the rescues, go to the shelters. You'll leave same day with a puppy. But, you won't necessarily have the same vetting and knowledge of the puppy as a rescue does. They put a lot of time into their animals (for most groups).

That is not true, at least not the Montgomery County Shelter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

YOu can eyeroll but the fact is that if someone else had a better situation, that's where the puppy's going. Did you ask what the issue was?

Lastly, if you're really that interested and are put off by the rescues, go to the shelters. You'll leave same day with a puppy. But, you won't necessarily have the same vetting and knowledge of the puppy as a rescue does. They put a lot of time into their animals (for most groups).

Anonymous wrote:You don't walk out of an adoption fair with a dog. You can meet the animal to determine if it's a match, then the group will compare your application against other ones it receives. Many groups don't adopt puppies to families who don't have someone at home during the day. When my just-adopted dog turned out to be pregnant the group stopped taking applications for the puppies because they received so many. Groups are able to be choosy. You might not get picked. Check out Potcake Place if you are able to wait for a dog and don't have breed specifications. We couriered for them. It's a good organization. High season in the Caribbean starts in December (so more chances to bring a dog here).

Not necessarily true at all. But, puppies does make it a bit harder as lots of people want one. Doesn't mean you won't get one same day, though.

Anonymous wrote: The Montgomery County Humane Society location in Rockville Maryland often has puppies less than one year old and I have seen a large variety of breeds. Not pitbull mixes. It appears most of the pitbulll mixes go to the location off of Muncaster Mill Road

adopt dogs from shelters. You don't need to go through a rescue site

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard.

I wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue.

None would agree to it. I was disqualified, again and again.

I worked, but out of the house. (I work 15 mins away and could come back at least 1-2 times during the day).
I wanted to crate train/crate during the day. (sorry, but not knowing the dog and their behaviors, I didn't want to just let it roam free...)
I have kids (9 and 12, but they were slightly younger 2 years ago).
I don't have a fenced yard.

Unless you stay home all day, have a fenced yard and don't have any kids, forget about it.

I ended up with a puppy from a reputable breeder.

OP here, you sound like me! I have two kids (tweens) and although I have a fenced yard and could come home at lunchtime to take the dog out, have been rejected twice.

Yes, same problem here.

Rejected twice. We live in a nice home with a big yard. It's fenced on 3 sides but the fence doesn't connect to the house. Two kids, 11 and 13. Dh works full time, I work part time.

The fence is not good enough, we work, and we have kids- thus we aren't suitable adopters of a rescue.

We adopted a puppy through Homeward Trails. Great experience. We had a 5 year old at the time and our previous dog had passed a few years earlier. I felt their process was reasonable.

My sister was rejected by a particular breed dog rescue and ended up finding the exact dogs she wanted at a kill shelter by watching the nearby shelter websites.

We adopted a dog same day from Lucky Dog rescue. He was 2 though so not a puppy. We have two kids--7 and 9. I filled out an application and took it to an adoption event where the dog we were interested in was scheduled to be. We ended up doing our interview there with an adoption coordinator. They were able to get a volunteer to agree to come to our home later that day for the home check. She brought the dog with her, and left him with us after the home visit was complete--10 mins including filling out some paperwork. We have a fenced yard but both work FT. We said we planned to hire a dog walker during the day (and we did). It was very easy.