Beagle / Springer Spaniel puppy

Milford_Cubicle

We chose to get a black Lab puppy for very specific reasons. I'd echo what everyone else says and make absolutely sure you want a specific breed, the reasons you want it and that you know everything about that breed.

MrsTinks

Ironically I think one of the best family dogs IF brought up properly is actually a rottie They are fiercely loyal, very family friendly and have immense patience with kids - but... i understand they are not for everyone
Seriously though - you need to look at just how much time you have to dedicate to walkies each day... I have a GSD/BC cross and she needs OODLES of exercise - if given the chance she'd run all day. Thankfully she can be kept entertained by giving her puzzles like a frozen kong or bustercubes which are great for keeping her entertained

adandem

If you look on the Kennel Club website, you can get and idea of what's involved for each breed of dog.

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2102

This is a good starting point. Once you've narrowed it down, you can usually find a breed club and webiste for owners of your chosen breed.

If you go down the rescue route, do your homework. Sadly, not alll rescue centres are completely honest with potential owners about the dogs they are re-homing.

Above all, take your time to find the right dog/puppy for you, it'll be worth it and you can save yourself alot of heartache and please, please don't answer any ads in your local paper or on the net.

If/when you need to find a breeder, expect to be asked lots of questions about your lifestyle etc. and and don't be surprised if you have to wait for the right dog. many good breeders have puppies reserved before they're even born.

Raksha

Are you also aware that puppies come equipped with needle like teeth and they are programmed to chew and test everything they come across with those teeth - most 4 year olds will find it very difficult being around a puppy until the adult teeth come through (normally all done by 8 months, but in some breeds the chewing doesn't stop until around 18 months). Puppies will also pick up and chew almost anything in their way, so unless your child is very very tidy, their toys will be at risk, and so will the puppy (and an unplanned vets visit is not the MSE way of doing things)

1sue23

I own 2 springers and they make great family dogs ,so long as you are willing to walk them mine can easily do 4 hours ,but they are great fun and love my energetic grand daughter so each wear the other out .

jackomdj

I am going to disagree with a lot of the other posters. We have a harrier - a pack animal which is a bit like lanky beagle. He is the most adorable dog & fantastic around my 2 girls (4 yrs & 19 months) we had him when the girls arrived & he has always been fantastic around them.

He did, when younger, need a lot of walking (he is old now with arthritus & happy to go for shorter walks or sometimes miss them altogether). He is the most trust worthy dog, we leave plates on the floor with food & food wrapped under the Xmas tree & he won't touch any of it. In all the years we have had him he has only danaged one item (OK it was my OH's Oakley sunglasses but we had not had him long at that point)

If you get them young & traing them up they can be trained into a great family pet, the only problem we have is recall but he was 18 months when we got him & this bad habit was already installed.

We will definitely get another beagle or harrier when Chester goes (as I said he is getting on so we know we probably only have another couple of years left with our old boy).

HTH Nicky

GracieP

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I agree with the above posters about these breeds being hard work - also, as it looks like your location is London, they arent really dogs well suited to town life - they have both been bred to run and run, which can be difficult to accomodate in an urban setting with a four year old!

Over 30% of London is public park land, so actually London is a great place to own an active dog. I have two springers and we never run out of places to walk them. For example less than a 10 minute walk from my house is a rec ground, with a hidden meadow park on the Wandle behind it. Walking around it twice takes over an hour, and it's springer heavan. You can walk in either direction for miles along the river. There are a couple of places where the dogs need to go back on the lead, to cross a road or market place. But we often head out the door on a weekend morning and don't come back for 6/7 hours and the dogs are off lead for 75% of the time. And that's the less obvious option for walking them in our area.

Where we used to live in the opposite end of London we had 3 large local parks, and miles of riverside marshlands in short walking distance. It's also acceptable to take well behaved dogs on all London transport so you can take them to any park you like. And there are many large forest parks all over London. We've often walked our dogs in Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens (625acres) and they love it there. We've also taken them to Epping Forrest (6000acres sq), Cheshunt National Park (over 10,000acres), Wimbledon Common (1140 acres) and Richmond Park (2360acres). And the beauty of the parks in London is that they are public and dogs are allowed off lead in the majority of them, unlike in the country where dogs may not be allowed.

I'm not saying that everyone in London can have an active dog. But anyone who is willing to put the commitment into having an active dog will have more than enough options to excercise them.

I don't know much about beagles, but ime, springers are a very laid back dog once they have enough exercise. As long as they are well socialised from an early age, they are well able to handle the crowds. But they need a tonne of exercise. You need to have good control over them as they need to have plenty of offlead time, preferably in a more rugged area than a manicured park. It's very difficult to give them enough exercise on-lead. I can't imagine my two coping with lead only exercise and I never want to have to try. If they have enough exercise they're fairly calm in the home, but if they don't they will be constantly hyper and frustrated, which could lead to aggression.

In fact my Toby was given up by his old family as they couldn't handle his "hyperactivity." The poor thing was nearly 8 months old and had never gone on a proper walk. He was very over-weight and the pads of his paws were still pink and soft, so he could barely walk outside.

They are also very social and hate being left alone for any lenght of time. The beagles I have met also seem pretty hyper.

nikki702

Hi everyone thanks for your advice... its appreciated.

I collected my springer spaniel puppy dog today. He is black and white and FANTASTIC!!

I have a huge park next to where i live, so excercise wont be an issue!

thanks again (hes great) :j:j

foreign_correspondent

that was quick

MrsTinks

Yup...

Oh well... best of luck I guess...