DJ140

i need help on what breed i sould get???

scoobyangel

easy answer to this.. the origional poster is letting his daughter post here, to try and pursuade her dad to let her have a dog, while he sits next to her watching it all... he is having a laugh and making her "seem" to try hard to get what she wants... forgone conclusion she has already as good as got the puppy home!

Chip Sengravy

^ very perceptive.

DJ140

ok u r rite im the posters 11 year old daughter and do u think i will get a puppy!!! we r going to have a family convo tonite in da lounge and wat shall i say????

Chip Sengravy

can I have a kitten instead?

DJ140

Wrong, my original post was a request for information and advice on whether we should get a puppy.

Nobody is laughing here, this is a serious post, if you are worried that I am having a laugh at your expense, don't read the post or post false accusations please
Why would I ask for information if we had the puppy already?

GCollier

Tiggs is one of the few people who's actually talking any sense on this thread.

Even if an 11 year old girl can do some of the work involved in looking after a dog, a lot will still fall to the rest of the family - walks in the dark when the days are short immediately springs to mind. I also think leaving a dog alone during school hours is too long. And the likelyhood is that it's the family who'll end up looking after the animal in the medium term too - sure no one can predict the future but going to university or even buying a flat in 7 years time would rule out the girl keeping the dog.

If the rest of the family were dog lovers it would make all the difference, but as it is it's a no brainer and getting a dog is just a recipe for family strife.

Gary.

DJ140

We already have a Pony, which my wife has taken over as a very large and expensive pet!!! IF we were to get a dog the horse has to go.

Spoon

That'd be right.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Does the original post really need answering?

I think not.

DJ140

My wife is at home during the day and loves dogs too, so this wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks to all the bad language I've had to stop my daughter reading this thread

dpb

what about a great dane................that would suit everybody.

DJ140

Not really, the Pony is my wifes, but I have "requested" that she "considers" selling it to a friend, as it is very expensive to run, considering nobody really gets any pleasure out of it. She does not have time to ride it regularly and apparently it can be a bit of a handful at times - She's been thrown off it once and last week it fell over, throwing her off and hurting the horses knees!!!

I really don't know what to do, at least if the wife decides to keep the horse, then the discussion goes no further.

Spoon

Saddle that up and kill 2 pidgeons with three bricks.

dpb

What about a shetland - they cant eat as much surley and you could probably take um for walks as well as ride them.

andy1505

Get the right dog and you will get to like it. Also on the plus side it's additional security for the Scooby.

OllyK

Unless the WHOLE familiy is committed don't get a puppy. They take a lot of time and dedication early on to get them house trained and trained to a basic level to be a sociable pet. If you do want a puppy, look out the local dog training clubs, preferably the Kennel Club associated ones and go, make sure the pup is socialised early and gets all its jabs.

Preferably go to an RSPCA or NCDL centre. Both witll want to check your premises to ensure it is suitable for a dog (i.e. secure garden). I think the NCDL have a "give this dog a holiday" arrangement where you can look after a dog for 2 weeks, it is not yours and they supply the food etc, but it gives you some time to see if you get on with the dog. Many resuce dogs are fine, but some have some serious sociability issues and that can be why they are there.

Ask LOTS of questions of the breeder / animal centre BEFORE you get a dog. Consider a dog will cost you circs £20K over it's life time which may be up to 15 years for some breeds. Consider what you will do about insurance, third party as well as health.

I'd recommend a dog to anybody, but you must go in to it with your eyes wide open.

HTH

scoobyangel

didnt say you already had the puppy did i???

and as for you saying you stopped your daughter reading this due to bad language,... i would say the smilley with the bird signals is just as bad as swearing!

i havnt posted false accusations at all.. just gave my opinion... you asked for information, then let your daughter take over, so insted of getting information you got people deciding for you wether you should buy her a puppy!!! YOU are the only one here that KNOWS your daughter and if she is comitted to looking after a puppy/dog.... and at the end of the day YOU are the parent and if you really dont like dogs then you shouldnt have one because you would be responsible for it at the end of the day because YOU are the adult!

Tiggs

even to a bloke who doesnt like them and wants to make sure it will be quiet, obedient, bald, wont need walking and will be cheap?

maybe people should stop "recommending a dog" to everyone!

Mice_Elf

We've got a Border Terrier at the moment and we've had dogs since we were younger. However, they were always FAMILY dogs, not mine or my brothers'. The whole family wanted this pet and as it would be my mum who would essentially be looking after it all day, every day, it was her final decision. And Border Terriers require a LOT of walking. This one also requires stripping every 4 - 6 months (the last one didn't) and would go absolutely ballistic if kept in a "normal" house. My parents have 6 acres and without 2 - 3 walks per day, Bruno starts chewing stuff and not being able to settle. He is an extremely active Border.

As it happens, this Border Terrier is also allergic to life, it seems. He has a skin allergy that currently requires monthly injections, weekly baths and almost hourly hooverings of the carpet. He needs a special hypo-allergenic bed, cannot wear leather collars and is not currently making it through the month before his next injection without scratching himself raw. We've tried different diets, replacing the carpets in the house, all manner of flea / mite treatments, just in case, bought a new hoover with Hepa filters on just to keep the dust mites down. To date, Bruno has cost just over £6000 in tests, injections, pills and shampoo. Fortunately he's also insured.....

I always wanted cats as a child. Really REALLY wanted a kitten. But was told no, time and again, purely because my dad doesn't like cats and my mum didn't want to look after it.

Giving in to an 11 year old's temper tantrum about how she wants a puppy is a disaster waiting to happen. Instead of being grateful for what she DID receive on her birthday, she's in a snit fit over not receiving a puppy. Giving into her now would be to fuel that spoilt behaviour.

It's not just her that has to prove she can look after this puppy / dog. She can walk it no problem, but she can't pay for vet's bills and she can't look after it during the day.

If you don't want a dog, then don't get one. There's no point in bringing a puppy / dog into a home where it's not 100% wanted by all members of the family. If your daughter really wants a puppy, she can really want it in a few years' time when she can look after it in her own home.

With her current pets I think she has enough to look after right now, as well as walking neighbour's dogs.....homework, school...etc....

Diablo

Given this some thought, as an owner of 2 dogs of a more "demanding" type, and I'm actually kind of with Tiggs on this.

Its just a shame he's put his point across in such an arsehole manner, but hey, thats just Tiggs for you .

The real irony is that from what we read on here by his own hand, Tiggs shouldn't be allowed to keep dogs himself, but thats not the point in question.

If in doubt, don't do it. Like having kids. Except as kids grow older they become less reliant upon you - with dogs its the opposite.

It's not fair on the dog.

The whole family should be committed to it, not just one or two members. Its a 10 plus year committment.

I'm not saying that an 11 year old cannot be a responsible dog owner, indeed many kids are better and more responsible than their parents at this sort of thing, but there will be occasions when yur daughter will simply not be able to look after it. School trips, illness, holidays, etc, when the rest of the family are going to have to be involved.

So they have to want it, and be committed to it as well.

OllyK

Yup - a bit of doggy exposure may change his mind


Obedience comes with time, effort and training. A Mexican hairless doesn't need much walking and as it is small doesn't incur big dog food bills. The downside is they look like a rat on chemo.

Somebody has asked for advice on having a dog, nobody has suggested it is "easy", but the investment of time and effort pays back in spades IMO, so yes, I'd recommend a dog to anybody, but they do need to go in to it with their eyes open and need to be aware of what they have to put in to get the pay back.

Tiggs

Arseholes are people that buy dogs for kids when they dont want them themselves...and end up feeding the rescue homes (or river) with their unwanted "toy".

Quite frankly, anyone contributing to that with "ohhh, dogs are a joy" nonsense is a fool. What next? babies are cool...every 14 year old should have one?

I have 3 dogs and (despite them being a pain in the ****) they are all looked after fine....which means lots of money and time and effort and hassle.


This thread is like the ones on have kids/dont have kids where the folks with kids rant about what a joy they are to the non/kids people.........why???? are they trying to justify their own dubious choice? Just because someone has a herd of German Shepards should someone in a council flat go get 4 of them?

T
ps- i have dogs and kids and wouldnt recommend either.....on the grounds that if you need either of those things to come "recommended" then you dont really need them.

Luan Pra bang

So wife wants dog girl wants dog only husband does not want dog its not a child its an animal if it really is that much hassle then just put the thing down or give it away. Its just an animal in lots of places dogs are food. You don't have to consider its emotional needs you don't have to pay its school fees you feed it you play with it then you lock it in its kennel and go to bed.

PS if thatwas my border terrier I would have put it down and saved 6K

Adrian F

If the WHOLE family isnt commited to the idea dont do it. get some thing like a cat if later in life she still wants a dog then she can get one when she is mature enough to understand the work involved and wont just get bored with it in a years time and want another new pet.

As to the idea that you can just kill the dog when it gets boring as suggested by Luan Pra Bang that is the sort of attitiude of people who buy animals and then dump them at rescue centres or in rivers when they realise that actual effort is involved. Shame on you.

DJ140

We went to the RSPCA yesterday, to have a look around and walk the dogs. It's sad to see all the unwanted dogs and if we were to get one I think it would be one of these, 5 years+ old, house trained etc.

The one I liked was a huge Rotty, I'll maybe be brave enough to take him for a walk next time! It's been in there for 18 months

These was a 7 year old Golden Retriver that was okay to walk, but quite strong for an 11 year old to hold onto.

My daughters birthday has passed and we will keep discussing and walking the homeless dogs, prior to making a decision.

Is there anywhere else that has unwanted dogs for adoption? as the people at the RSPCA were a bit strange and not all that helpful, like they didn't trust anyone and the dogs were kept in poor conditions IMO.

OllyK

Any medium to large dog is going to be a handful for a child unless it is very well trained and walks to heel. Our rough collie can pull the missus over if he sees somebody he thinks may make a fuss of him soppy mutt!

OllyK

Try your local NCDL and look for Animal Shelters / Dog Kennels in the yellow pages. Also many breeds have a rescue organisation for them, I know Rough Collies have The Rough Collie Resuce, try looking for the breed you are interested in on the web.

Think on about WHY a dog may be at a shelter, ask about its history, if it is there becuase the owner had a change in circumstances (familly split etc) then you should be OK, if it got "dumped" there becuase it barks all the time then you may want to avoid it!

David Lock

Or if it started eating 12 year olds.......

dpb

we had a jack russel stray, was as nervous as F$ck and consequently bit of a handful to start with but she got better and very affationate...........plus a handy size and wouldnt bite anything that didnt pose a threat, youd survive a bite anyways.. - ........( she 'loved' alsations.............).................... .....god knows how people with children can keep rottweillers

Tiggs

oh well...theres comedy value in this thread still!

6 pages to go from.....i dont like dogs...i want a cheap, hairless dog that wont want a walk for my 11 year old to..............i like the devil dog thats been 2 years in pound!