Thanks for the sympathy guys. I feel bad whining about it but gaaah...The search is getting tiring.
I'm sorry it's been so frustratin :-( My friends went through this a couple years ago and it was very frustrating. They ended up taking a dog that totally did not fit their requirements, but it ended up working out in the end. I hope you can find what you're looking for!
You're in the north east right? I think that can make things harder. I see a lot of pitties in the local shelters, or they are bringing up hounds from the sound, but I don't see the herding the sporting mixes that I prefer.
Have you tried breed specific rescues?
I have actually tried breed specific rescues, and there is some hope there. It's probably not as dire as I'm making it sound, I'm in a low place at the moment because I'm waiting anxiously to find out if a dog I really like is actually available or not.
Actually now I'm in Virginia, I recently moved. There are so so many hounds here, and I love me some hounds, but a lot of them are Loud with a capital L, and unfixed and used to marking everything (one otherwise lovable hound I met walked in and immediately lifted his leg on the walls, a purse, and a table). I don't mind doing training but there's a limit to how much I can work with when I'm renting.
Aww, I'm sorry
I wish you lived closer. We have SO many dogs at our shelter who are young and active with no behavior issues other than having a ton of energy and being, well, annoying to most people
Thank you. I do admittedly see a lot of reasonably nice dogs.
I think part of my issue is that I'm soooo picky. Astro has issues, oh man does he, but he's perfect for me. He doesn't bark. He goes into his crate and stays quiet for 6 hours. He would rather die than pee indoors and he squats to pee/doesn't know how to mark. He settles indoors. He meets strangers well.
What I'm finding is that a fair number of rescues sort of...not lie, but they want to get the dogs into homes. I'll say something like "I don't want any xyz" and they'll talk for awhile about how all dogs have xyz to a certain extent - except that's not true. Astro doesn't do xyz. Or they'll couch "he bit the vet three times" as "he has a hard time at the vet." They're long on flattering details but I want to focus on the problematic ones so I can weed dogs out. I know it's cold but I'm not invested in all the dogs, I want to get the right one for me.