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Buying a puppy

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  • Jints said:
    TeslaGirl said:


    A responsible rescue organisation will want to home check you, ensure you have a garden with appropriate fencing, you're not overly houseproud, check that you have a realistic idea of costs and time involved, and that everyone in the family is committed to the work needed.  They'll be more interested in whether you're right for the dog, not the dog being right for you.  But if you do get a dog, it is 100% worthwhile, they are wonderful to share your house with.
    We got a lovely 4 month old in September from a Romanian rescue service, who did all of the above. I think it's a bit of a lottery what kind of dog you end up with as you don't get a chance to meet them beforehand.
    While rescuing any dog is a noble act, I'm not sure why so many people I meet are getting dogs from Eastern Europe and other places when we have so many of our own that need a good home?

    That's not a dig by the way, in case you think it is.
    If you have seen the dogs and cats on the streets in these countries they really really pull on heartstrings and for all the reservations I have about the RSPCA in terms of how many animals they put down and how difficult they make it to adopt and animal these countries dont have anything like the RSPCA and are left to die horribly. I get where you are coming from but we don't really have stray domestic animals living in squalor like places like Romania, Greece, Spain. 

    We nearly took a couple of dogs home from Cape Verde and spent a chunk of the week sorting out a proper home for them, different cultures have very different views to us on domestic animals and their welfare 
  • Got our dog from https://www.lastchanceanimalrescue.co.uk near Edenbridge

    Young Jack Russell cross, best thing I ever did, she was in a terrible state, but happy and healthy now.
  • 1905 said:
    Try to go rescue as others have said.  The Greyhound Trust have hundreds of beautiful dogs.  A very misunderstood breed that is very low maintenance.  
    If you go down the puppy route you need to walk into your front room and picture a chewed chair leg and a puddle.  If your response would be to work with the dog then brilliant, not all are able to act calmly.
    A mate had 2 ex racers. He lived in the countryside. The dogs absolutely had to have 2 walks a day, 40 minutes, whatever the weather, which involved some running. Other than that, the laziest dogs I have ever seen. Came in, into their beds, that was it. Took kids round a couple of times, no grief at all. Lovely lovely dogs. 
    Exactly this.  Mine is an ex racer from central park.  I have a cat and had another dog; on day 1 the greyhound walked past them picked a bed and snuggled in.  Mine gets 2 walks a day with one of those off lead for a quick sprint.  However, they are trained to chase so many greyhounds are kept to a lead walk and those ones are perfectly happy with that. 
  • No offence taken at all, it's a valid question.  I suppose I just I don't really think of dogs as having a nationality and the problems with abandoned/stray dogs are far more acute in Romania than they are in the UK. Under the communist regime in the 70s and 80s in Romania, houses were demolished and everyone had to move into tower blocks with no dogs allowed. People let their dogs go rather than kill them. They went on to breed giving rise to a huge feral dog problem in Romania which instituted an euthanisation policy. Hundreds of thousands are killed each year. 


  • edited February 2021
    Lots of good advice on here. I would add that the question should always be what you can offer the dog rather than what it can offer you. I know some people are buying puppies to help them through lockdown, but what about after lockdown?

    If you can answer that question with the right answer, it is a good thing to get one. Of course a dog can offer you so much, but all of that should be a bonus. And do your research. Are there inherent health issues with a breed, what is the average lifespan of the dog, what are the dog's needs re-exercise, is the dog good with children (if you have children)? Make sure you get a dog that fits well with you.
  • Carter said:
    Something else to bear in mind that a few people have said is dogs are genuinely a gift. They are marvellous animals however they can be c*nts. They have no concept of ownership at times, for example its hilarious when puppies are delicately chewing at shoelaces and slippers but less funny when your pair of week old Gazelles have been torn to shreds by a bored GSD. Same for furniture, skirting boards, doors, sky boxes, remote controls, mobile phones, kick boards on kitchen units, kitchen units, door mats, carpets, any soft furnishings come to that. And your car, forget that ever smelling nice or being clean again. 

    Dogs truly are amazing, so are cats but now we only have cats I'm not sure I'd have another dog now I have new furniture and less desire to pick up a massive, warm, wet shit at 5am and carry it back home and repeat the process in the evening. 

    Also and this is a serious point, the standard of dog ownership in this country is appalling, I mean truly terrifying. The same people who you see in the shops in pyjamas and dressing gowns will think nothing of buying a Staffordshire bull terrier to get fat indoors or to be left outside to be sad and bark its head off until it gets yelled at. 



    I should imagine like a lot of people I laughed at @Carter post but there so much common sense in that post alone. The amount of people that say to me, my puppy destroyed their best shoes/trainers etc and when you ask what they have to entertain themselves they tell you they've given them an old Reebok classic which incidentally are still trending down here ;), they cannot tell the difference between an old pair and your besties so why steer them down that road. Although I did wonder at first what @Carter was doing with a couple of young Antelope in his gaff, but maybe that's one for the "You know you're getting old " thread  ;)  I had a lady come to me with a Shep for training, she was a single mum with a young son, the dog a year adolescent male was horrible bastard, to walk and to talk too, everything about said "wrong'un" She'd came to me a couple of times, the 3rd time he'd put her on her arse in the lane outside my fields she'd hurt herself and was talk about giving him. I asked her to go away get a cup of tea and leave him with me for an hours "boot camp" she still has him to this day, 3 years later, I love my dogs but they get away with feck all.
    The same lady used to cuddle up on the sofa with the dog when her son had gone to bed, she met a fella and invited him home. The son went to bed, the boyfriend got out his chair to sit next to her when she arrived back with drinks the dog bit him, my explanation. You come to my house and sit in my comfy space, I'll fecking bite you.
    We put our dogs in impossible situations and when it goes wrong the dog is at fault, my pet hate children laying all over dogs or worse riding their backs for that "cute photo" mum or dad slip out of the room, the child decides to sit on the dog the dog doesn't particularly feel great that day and tears a lump out of the Childs face, Why? Because we wanted a "cute photo" we now have a disfigured child or worse and a dead dog. Our response "he's never done that before!
    As for picking up dog shite, I always check it first to make sure my dogs are healthy before knotting the bag and with one in each pocket "natures hand warmers" ;) 
     
  • Jints said:
    TeslaGirl said:


    A responsible rescue organisation will want to home check you, ensure you have a garden with appropriate fencing, you're not overly houseproud, check that you have a realistic idea of costs and time involved, and that everyone in the family is committed to the work needed.  They'll be more interested in whether you're right for the dog, not the dog being right for you.  But if you do get a dog, it is 100% worthwhile, they are wonderful to share your house with.
    We got a lovely 4 month old in September from a Romanian rescue service, who did all of the above. I think it's a bit of a lottery what kind of dog you end up with as you don't get a chance to meet them beforehand.
    While rescuing any dog is a noble act, I'm not sure why so many people I meet are getting dogs from Eastern Europe and other places when we have so many of our own that need a good home?

    That's not a dig by the way, in case you think it is.
    I wish I could like this more than once. Although I do know at least one person that told me they failed a home check by a British rescue before going elsewhere and one other who brought over two street dogs and expected them to by great pals with her dog, needless to say both are now elsewhere.

  • We got Kevin at 6 weeks. He was the runt and wasn’t getting fed properly. We are home all the time so we could train him.  I stayed downstairs and slept with him for 6 weeks.  We got him from a home. 
    Your dog supports Burnley?
  • edited February 2021
    T_C_E said:
    T_C_E said:

    All reputable rescues and trust me there some dodgy ones, are not rehoming at this time. 

    Dogs trust and RSPCA are rehoming.
    Before I responded I wanted to find out what I was talking about. 😉
    it appears that they are both still doing virtual applications but these are limited due to staffing levels, due to lockdown restrictions they are permitted to collect/rescue dogs but you cannot drive to collect one and I dare say they don’t do home delivery.
    We've been to RSPCA in Cornwall and also in Exeter by arrangement to meet dogs in the last 3 months - most reenly 2 weeks ago, we arranged to go to Dogs trust in Ilfracombe.  

    You need an appointment, you can't just drop in, but I'm not aware of any rehoming kennels that have let people do that for years (it disturbs the dogs)  - but these are still rehoming.
  • T_C_E said:
    Carter said:
    Something else to bear in mind that a few people have said is dogs are genuinely a gift. They are marvellous animals however they can be c*nts. They have no concept of ownership at times, for example its hilarious when puppies are delicately chewing at shoelaces and slippers but less funny when your pair of week old Gazelles have been torn to shreds by a bored GSD. Same for furniture, skirting boards, doors, sky boxes, remote controls, mobile phones, kick boards on kitchen units, kitchen units, door mats, carpets, any soft furnishings come to that. And your car, forget that ever smelling nice or being clean again. 

    Dogs truly are amazing, so are cats but now we only have cats I'm not sure I'd have another dog now I have new furniture and less desire to pick up a massive, warm, wet shit at 5am and carry it back home and repeat the process in the evening. 

    Also and this is a serious point, the standard of dog ownership in this country is appalling, I mean truly terrifying. The same people who you see in the shops in pyjamas and dressing gowns will think nothing of buying a Staffordshire bull terrier to get fat indoors or to be left outside to be sad and bark its head off until it gets yelled at. 



    I should imagine like a lot of people I laughed at @Carter post but there so much common sense in that post alone. The amount of people that say to me, my puppy destroyed their best shoes/trainers etc and when you ask what they have to entertain themselves they tell you they've given them an old Reebok classic which incidentally are still trending down here ;), they cannot tell the difference between an old pair and your besties so why steer them down that road. Although I did wonder at first what @Carter was doing with a couple of young Antelope in his gaff, but maybe that's one for the "You know you're getting old " thread  ;)  I had a lady come to me with a Shep for training, she was a single mum with a young son, the dog a year adolescent male was horrible bastard, to walk and to talk too, everything about said "wrong'un" She'd came to me a couple of times, the 3rd time he'd put her on her arse in the lane outside my fields she'd hurt herself and was talk about giving him. I asked her to go away get a cup of tea and leave him with me for an hours "boot camp" she still has him to this day, 3 years later, I love my dogs but they get away with feck all.
    The same lady used to cuddle up on the sofa with the dog when her son had gone to bed, she met a fella and invited him home. The son went to bed, the boyfriend got out his chair to sit next to her when she arrived back with drinks the dog bit him, my explanation. You come to my house and sit in my comfy space, I'll fecking bite you.
    We put our dogs in impossible situations and when it goes wrong the dog is at fault, my pet hate children laying all over dogs or worse riding their backs for that "cute photo" mum or dad slip out of the room, the child decides to sit on the dog the dog doesn't particularly feel great that day and tears a lump out of the Childs face, Why? Because we wanted a "cute photo" we now have a disfigured child or worse and a dead dog. Our response "he's never done that before!
    As for picking up dog shite, I always check it first to make sure my dogs are healthy before knotting the bag and with one in each pocket "natures hand warmers" ;) 
     
    Totally, its a bit different talking dogs with you as you are well and truly an excellent dog owner who has done dog ownership the right way, put a huge amount of effort and time in. I reckon you would agree with me though if you and your wife were both working full time and living in London having a dog like Bailey would have resulted in your home receiving a makeover no human would want. GSD and Collies are my guys but they are working dogs really and need a lot of time, boundaries sometimes involving showing them who is the alpha and staying on top of that. 

    My mate always brought his dog, an enormous English bulldog called tank to work and whilst it was good as gold with us and would be in the van happily with him it was probe to boredom and the devil makes work for bored dogs. It ate the entire seat belt including buckle as well as the steering wheel setting off the airbag and subsequently eating that too. All because my mate left him while we got a breakfast 

    None of this is to put people off but having a dog is as exhaustive as having children as far as I'm concerned 
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  • edited February 2021
    We got Kevin at 6 weeks. He was the runt and wasn’t getting fed properly. We are home all the time so we could train him.  I stayed downstairs and slept with him for 6 weeks.  We got him from a home. 
    Your dog supports Burnley?
    It is very important not to get a dog which supports a different team to you! Our dog is an Addick and is even named JJ. I wanted to call him SuperClive but my wife wouldn't have it.
  • Carter said:
    T_C_E said:
    Carter said:
    Something else to bear in mind that a few people have said is dogs are genuinely a gift. They are marvellous animals however they can be c*nts. They have no concept of ownership at times, for example its hilarious when puppies are delicately chewing at shoelaces and slippers but less funny when your pair of week old Gazelles have been torn to shreds by a bored GSD. Same for furniture, skirting boards, doors, sky boxes, remote controls, mobile phones, kick boards on kitchen units, kitchen units, door mats, carpets, any soft furnishings come to that. And your car, forget that ever smelling nice or being clean again. 

    Dogs truly are amazing, so are cats but now we only have cats I'm not sure I'd have another dog now I have new furniture and less desire to pick up a massive, warm, wet shit at 5am and carry it back home and repeat the process in the evening. 

    Also and this is a serious point, the standard of dog ownership in this country is appalling, I mean truly terrifying. The same people who you see in the shops in pyjamas and dressing gowns will think nothing of buying a Staffordshire bull terrier to get fat indoors or to be left outside to be sad and bark its head off until it gets yelled at. 



    I should imagine like a lot of people I laughed at @Carter post but there so much common sense in that post alone. The amount of people that say to me, my puppy destroyed their best shoes/trainers etc and when you ask what they have to entertain themselves they tell you they've given them an old Reebok classic which incidentally are still trending down here ;), they cannot tell the difference between an old pair and your besties so why steer them down that road. Although I did wonder at first what @Carter was doing with a couple of young Antelope in his gaff, but maybe that's one for the "You know you're getting old " thread  ;)  I had a lady come to me with a Shep for training, she was a single mum with a young son, the dog a year adolescent male was horrible bastard, to walk and to talk too, everything about said "wrong'un" She'd came to me a couple of times, the 3rd time he'd put her on her arse in the lane outside my fields she'd hurt herself and was talk about giving him. I asked her to go away get a cup of tea and leave him with me for an hours "boot camp" she still has him to this day, 3 years later, I love my dogs but they get away with feck all.
    The same lady used to cuddle up on the sofa with the dog when her son had gone to bed, she met a fella and invited him home. The son went to bed, the boyfriend got out his chair to sit next to her when she arrived back with drinks the dog bit him, my explanation. You come to my house and sit in my comfy space, I'll fecking bite you.
    We put our dogs in impossible situations and when it goes wrong the dog is at fault, my pet hate children laying all over dogs or worse riding their backs for that "cute photo" mum or dad slip out of the room, the child decides to sit on the dog the dog doesn't particularly feel great that day and tears a lump out of the Childs face, Why? Because we wanted a "cute photo" we now have a disfigured child or worse and a dead dog. Our response "he's never done that before!
    As for picking up dog shite, I always check it first to make sure my dogs are healthy before knotting the bag and with one in each pocket "natures hand warmers" ;) 
     
    Totally, its a bit different talking dogs with you as you are well and truly an excellent dog owner who has done dog ownership the right way, put a huge amount of effort and time in. I reckon you would agree with me though if you and your wife were both working full time and living in London having a dog like Bailey would have resulted in your home receiving a makeover no human would want. GSD and Collies are my guys but they are working dogs really and need a lot of time, boundaries sometimes involving showing them who is the alpha and staying on top of that. 

    My mate always brought his dog, an enormous English bulldog called tank to work and whilst it was good as gold with us and would be in the van happily with him it was probe to boredom and the devil makes work for bored dogs. It ate the entire seat belt including buckle as well as the steering wheel setting off the airbag and subsequently eating that too. All because my mate left him while we got a breakfast 

    None of this is to put people off but having a dog is as exhaustive as having children as far as I'm concerned 
    Thank you, but I still get things wrong and am still very much learning about all of them, only the other day I posted something and took a b*ll*cking because I was holding a lead incorrectly. Having a senior dog in Bailey is very new to me, watching for signs of Dementia and things like that. He was at the vet Friday for his Thyroid level checks then the nurse said they were a little concerned that a dog of seven was starting to show his age, they had his age wrong and he's almost eleven. With which he said "oh, wow, he's looking fantastic" Nine foot long from tip to tail and 48kgs what could possible go wrong if he got bored? We'd come home and he's rearranged the furniture! Lol Our three eldest dogs all sleep loose upstairs at night while the youngest two are still crated although Valli is only crated because she doesnt like Xena. 
    We were working when we got him, although my wife wasn't full time what I find is the amount of people who believe a 5/6 mile walk is all they need, dogs in particular working breeds need mental stimulation as well. Even something like a handful of treats thrown into the garden for them to use their nose keeps them busy. We lost an internet filter after a visiting engineer left a dodgy one on the coffee table and Bow rolled over while asleep and whacked his arse on a sharp corner of the skirting board and went full into attack mode because it hurt him, other than that no damage to the house or contents. Ive 11 people on Twitter, 14 on FB requesting tips and tricks with their dogs Ive never sad no to any of them, there's no such thing as a silly question people still answer my questions, people still offer me advice. As is known my JJ went away for some desensitisation training last February and got caught in the first lockdown I didn't get him back until June, the bill to my estimate should have been around 10k, I paid nothing. I was told they did for him and the money wasn't important. 
  • 1905 said:
    1905 said:
    Try to go rescue as others have said.  The Greyhound Trust have hundreds of beautiful dogs.  A very misunderstood breed that is very low maintenance.  
    If you go down the puppy route you need to walk into your front room and picture a chewed chair leg and a puddle.  If your response would be to work with the dog then brilliant, not all are able to act calmly.
    A mate had 2 ex racers. He lived in the countryside. The dogs absolutely had to have 2 walks a day, 40 minutes, whatever the weather, which involved some running. Other than that, the laziest dogs I have ever seen. Came in, into their beds, that was it. Took kids round a couple of times, no grief at all. Lovely lovely dogs. 
    Exactly this.  Mine is an ex racer from central park.  I have a cat and had another dog; on day 1 the greyhound walked past them picked a bed and snuggled in.  Mine gets 2 walks a day with one of those off lead for a quick sprint.  However, they are trained to chase so many greyhounds are kept to a lead walk and those ones are perfectly happy with that. 
    Theres a lady round here, that foster's ex racers until they are ready to be rehomed. I often join her to help the dog with one of mine, we have a signal between us to say if the dog is sociable she will wear a red top/coat if its not so I stay away. 
  • Have you thought about asking Lee Bowyer ? He was sold a few pups last summer ! 
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