Can I be garden/house proud and have a puppy?

Paparika

In short no i don't think you can.

You maybe able to keep the house tidy, but dog will have other ideas, their fur gets everywhere. And their smell, you can use all the air fresheners in the world but, really some would be more a health problem to pup.

Perry has destroyed my sofa by digging, i cover it now with some throws, still need to repair it, but he still digs, and then gets told off.

I was at work yesterday in training, looked down at my jumper and i was covered in his fur.

Jummy

Our springer Bella is now 16 months old and she has totally wrecked our garden:eek: .
All our lovely plants are all gone and the lawn is now a mudbath.
Hubby is gutted but we may be moving soon so are going to leave it.
If we move we are going to make sure we fence of the garden so Bella only has access to a bit of it.
We have got used to hairs being all over the house but as long as you have a hoover every day its not too bad.
I haven't noticed a doggy smell in the house and wash the throws we have on the sofa once a week so that helps.
Although the house isn't as it was before Bella i dont regret having her one bit...she's FANTASTIC!!

hethmar

I dont think you can either. If you really feel unhappy about mess in and outside the house, imagine how she will feel knowing that you disapprove of her.

minimacka

I have a 7 month springer crossed with a standard poodle (springerdoodle) and although she doesnt moult boy do we know we have got her. :eek: . We have a pond so we covered it up with some old trellis she soon got round that and constantly has wet paws and nose, i had lovely tubs with spring tulips and daffs allready to grown this spring, now i have lots of little piles of compost on my gravel. I had a lovely lawn that the kids played football on now i have a lawn with lots and lots of holes :eek: . I said to my ds that when the hole got big enough she was going in it. :rotfl: , but we wouldnt swop her for the world she is a delight yes she gets a bit smelly and needs a bath and yes she leaves her own food until she might get a titbit from us but she is lovely. She loves walks on the beach and loves the sea, she loves going for walks in the woods and loves muddy puddles. She gets us out and she constantly makes us laugh, we now wish that we had got 2 of the litter because she is so lovely.

So in answer to your question then the answer is NO WAY but you will have a lovely loyal dog who needs a nice garden, you can only spend about 2-3 weeks a year in it anyway .

potsofmoney_(I_wish)

Thankyou for all the advice, I've stopped her going on the lawn with various barriers as I'm trying to sort the bald patches out. She certainly loves her searching and I love the snorting noise she makes when she's in sniffer mode. I do vacuum every day and haven't noticed the hair yet, she does get lots of brushing and next year I'll probably get her clipped.

Smells I've not noticed except after muddy wet walks, she does have two sets of bedding which gets alternated every week. She is lovely and despite my moans I would never swap her. I love walking and it's just not what I'd do on my own, let alone at silly o clock in the morning, but I do find it's a lovely start to the day.

I'm just looking forward to her settling down a little bit, meeting other springer owners with older dogs gives me a lot of hope.

Kimberley

You must have known how much attention a young puppy will need? When you have a pet you have to take the good with the bad.

"How do you react when she paws you for attention when you are on the PC or with your children?

You get off the computer and play with her If your with your children then you have to teach her that she needs to have time out until you are ready to give her attention as obviously your children come first. You need to ignore her when you want time with the kids and then you turn your attention to her.

foreign_correspondent

How do you react when she paws you for attention when you are on the PC or with your children?

Kimberley wrote: »

You get off the computer and play with her .

only if you want to teach her to demand attention like that!!

Personally, I think the owner should decide when it is time for attention, fun, walks, food etc, not the dog! I also think this gives the dog a more settled time, rather than it continuously prompting the owner and being a pain, and probably getting a mixed reaction...

Kimberley

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

only if you want to teach her to demand attention like that!!

Personally, I think the owner should decide when it is time for attention, fun, walks, food etc, not the dog! I also think this gives the dog a more settled time, rather than it continuously prompting the owner and being a pain, and probably getting a mixed reaction...

I guess so I didn't really think of it like that.

remembered_nights

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

only if you want to teach her to demand attention like that!!

Personally, I think the owner should decide when it is time for attention, fun, walks, food etc, not the dog! I also think this gives the dog a more settled time, rather than it continuously prompting the owner and being a pain, and probably getting a mixed reaction...

Exactly! The 'alpha' decides when play, attention, food etc are doled out. That's you, not the dog (presumably.)

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

I have to agree to - it is so important to instil a heirarchy system if you like. You, OH, kids, basically any humans in the house are boss! It's ok if sometimes they are having a play themselves and you join in but the last thing you want is them to have pester power.

My girl(dog, lol) brings her ball over and sticks it at my feet and shuffles back and forth wagging her tail to the point her whole back half is shifting side to side as if to say ''play, play, play - come on mum play'', she is a cheeky little thing and will give it a good few go's with the ball ending up on my lap or next to me on the sofa but after a 'no' and a few minutes of ignoring she'll give up and just lay down (prob worn herself out from the excessive shuffling and wagging, lol). But i am a big softie and give it about 20 mins or finish whatever i'm doing and then play tumble with her.