Puppy Advice (merged)

clairemck12

Hi LoopyLinz, your gonna have so much fun! I got my black lab as a puppy and that was nearly six years ago!

Once you have bought the basics dogs don't really cost that much, to begin with your gonna need: Bed, food, toys, grooming products, insurance and inoculations. Anything else you want could wait until you can afford it.

Could i suggest you get sturdy/hardy things for you pup as they love to chew! e.g hard plastic bed. I got my dog a lovely wicker bed that looked nice in my lounge, it ended up in a million soggy bits all over the floor - lasted about a week :rotfl:

When i got my dog it wasn't the cost i was surprised about it was the amount of time they take up, they can be a tie but so worth it. I couldn't be without my baby now

foreign_correspondent

clairemck12 wrote: »

When i got my dog it wasn't the cost i was surprised about it was the amount of time they take up, they can be a tie but so worth it. I couldn't be without my baby now

Absolutely - especially with that mix - springer loopiness and energy, with corgi stamina and strong will.

I have had two dogs which the vet thinks have been corgi x's - they are little-ish dogs but need plently of walking, and training. They are not couch potatoes - Mine is middle aged and still likes an hour plus walking, every day, in all weathers! Lovely in the summer, not so great last night, pounding the dark streets in the drizzle with her.

A new pup also needs constant company for the first few weeks to embed the training, toiletting etc. and after that still cannot be left for more than a couple of hours really.

Do not get a dog just because you have been offered one - it is a big commitment for the next 10-15 years of your life, so you have to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices for a long time.

Time is the biggest cost in a way, but finanacially you need to connsider -

neutering - £125 ish
Vacs £25-30 a year,
Microchip £20
Food - depends on what you buy/what suits your dog
Insurance - maybe a tenner a month or so? try getting a quote
Excess on insurance policies - many policies have a £50 excess, and you may have to pay more if the treatment goes above the insurance limit, eg. £1000 , £4000 or £6000
Flea/ Worm treatments - up to £10 a month depending on how often you need to de flea
Also,
Boarding Kennels, for holidays (expensive)
You may find you need to employ a dog walker at some point, which costs up to a tenner an hour

clairemck12

I completely agree foreign correspondent, my dog cried for two days for his mum when we first got him, i felt so guilty very nearly took him back so he could be with his mum and brothers and sisters!

They really do take up a lot of time and patience when you take into consideration toilet training etc. They can't be left alone, sometimes harder than having a baby, as least you can take a baby to tesco unfortunately you can't take puppies so you need to hurry home if you do leave them:rolleyes:

proudmum_3

Hey, you won't regret getting a dog, you'll be best friends forever!
I think the good people on here have covered just about everything. I just thought of maybe a 'Baby Gate' to prevent him from getting up the stairs - if you don't want him up there. Also a couple of throws for your furniture. Ours wasn't really allowed on the setee, but one look at those eyes and his little chin on the cushion and we gave in every time!!
You're gonna have loads of fun. x

foreign_correspondent

proudmum wrote: »

Hey, you won't regret getting a dog,

Plenty of people do, apparently, according to the 120 dogs who arrived at my local pound last month (which just serves 2 small towns), and the six a day getting handed in to them at the moment due to the credit crunch.

These guys are further evidence that many people do indeed regret getting a dog
http://www.dogrescuelink.org/?cat=3

I do not feel it is responsible to tell people 'you will never regret getting a dog' - I love dogs but they are a bind, and a responsibility, and the end of spontaneous nights out and weekends away. Do not get one unless you are happy with this.

Puppies especialy are pretty much guaranteed to piddle and poo on your carpet many times, chew valuable and important items, bark, cry and bother the neighbours and can be very hard work. Do not get one unless you are realistically happy with dealing with this either.

My dog is very easy and well behaved, and arrived tilet trained and sensible, but she is still a huge responsibility and a lot of what I decide to do, or not do, is based on the dog - for instance, if I have been out at work during the day I will not accept an invitation out that evening - I have toget back and spend time with her, and exercise her.

When I am working long days (which is rare, but does happen, generally in four day blocks) I have to arrange for her to stay at my dads, as it is unfair to leave her in all day alone and bored, and that is how dogs become destructive and anxious.

Do not under estimate the changes you have to make to have a happy well adjusted dog!

proudmum_3

Foreign correspondent - I wasn't being irrisponsible. Just expressing my feelings i have with my own dog. I am sure that if Loopylinz hadn't thought things through, then she wouldn't have posted on here in the first place.
My Lab was a rescue dog so i do know that not everyone may have the same feelings as me. I understand how much hard work they are as my dog is now an OAP and poorly.

kink

Ben the dog is fine today, eaten his breakfast and dinner fine, he doesnt look bloated now either. (yes he has been wormed)
thanks for your kind advice
k x

MRSCARNEY

You'll also need a mop and some carpet cleaner

And don't believe everyone who tells you Springers are bonkers, if they're trained and exercised properly they are better behaved than most children Don't know about the corgi bit though.

Be prepared to give up foreign holidays too, we can't bear to be parted from our lot so we always holiday in this country so that we can take them with us (there are some great dog friendly hotels).

Raksha

I have on occasions regretted having a dog (especially when my 16 year old wees on the living room carpet right infront of me, despite having been out 5 mins before) and I've also regretted having kids....... Generally the benefits out weight the disadvantages (with the dogs anyway ) However, I've literally always lived with dogs as part of the family - as a child we had corgis, a cocker spaniel and a rough collie, as a grown up, I've had cross breds and currently have a Springer Spaniel plus two other 'designer breeds' (which were chosen for their personalities and looks more than their designer label).

Springers are prone to eye and hip problems, Corgis can be snappy if not well socialised, and can suffer with back and tendon problems (commonly found in smaller breeds, where the tendon slips off the hock joint), if you are lucky, your puppy won't have any of these problems, but can you provide for a dog with a Springers activity levels who has a back problem? Or a dog with eye problems who snaps first and ask questions later? Both breeds can have a tendency to Queen Anne Legs, which can lead to front leg joint problems.The two dogs coats are also very different, and who knows which parent your pup will take after. Corgis have a VERY thick fluffy under coat which needs grooming daily. A Springer tends to have a longer coat which picks up burrs and goose grasses and twigs very easily. A Springers floppy ears are known for picking up ear infections. Both breeds have lots of hair round their rear ends, which can need a lot of looking after and be quite unhygenic if the dogs not well (least said about that at tea time the better ) Both breeds are also bred for covering large distances - the Corgi has strong herding instincts, and the Springer will often be driven by moving object too - leading to strong chase urges.

On the plus side, both breeds are very intelligent and trainable, the corgi perhaps being a little more independant.

Any puppy will need company, consistency, house training, excericse (mental and physical) and socialisation, and this all takes time - training is best done in small doses of 5 mins or so several times a day. A puppy will also need at least 4 meals a day to start with - it's stomach is too small to take all the nutrients it needs in fewer meals.

HTH, from a dog owner with 48 years experience of living with up to three dogs at a time. - My dogs aren't my whole life, but they make my life whole.......

Raksha

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

Glad to hear it sounds as if things are improving.

For anyone else reading this and going through the same thing - when you react in some way to something a dog does, it perceives it as a 'reward'. When you stop reacting and start ignoring, the dog thinks 'hey! What's happened? Have I got to do more to make you react? It's always worked before, maybe that's what I've got to do.......' So the behaviour appears to get worse. It's very important that at this stage you do go on ignoring, or the dog things 'see, told you it needed that little bit more' and voila! You've taught your dog to really go in there and bite....... If you want the scientific term, it's called an 'extinction burst' and dog trainers will often forget to tell you to watch out for it as a sign that what you are doing IS working, even if it seems that it isn't