thinking of getting a dog, any advice

LISSILEIGH

hi all

the only pets i ever had in my life were a goldfish, hamster and snails. no one in my family has ever really been a big pet fan and this goes for my hubbys side of the family too (he had no pets).

we have 3 children (7,5,3) and my dd (5) really wants a dog, i dont think of it has being a bad thing my husband is not so keen.

i just wondered what the best thing to do, as i would want it to be trained ie know where to pee etc.

does anyone have any advice, good or bad. this is just an idea at the moment and obviously i want to make the right decision, for the animals sake, as i realise what a huge responsibility it is to take on a pet

thanks for any advice

foreign_correspondent

It all depends really - there is a lot to think about - for example...

your littlest one is still quite small, so a bouncy dog would no doubt knock her over a few times, which can be scary for them. Some dogs end up being got rid of for this reason.

Small children and dogs can never be left alone unsupervised, can you manage this?

If you got a pup, you may well still have it when your youngest is 18 - can you commit to a dog for all that time?

Can you find time to walk, train and exercise a dog every day of the year for the duration of it's life? If your work pattern or lifestyle changed, could you afford a dog walker?

Will the dog be left alone much? Bored dogs can become noisy, or destructive and dogs need regular attention and loo breaks. Things like going off to do shopping or going out straight after work become a thing of the past - you have to go home first to let the dog out etc!

Can you cope with the mess? Even clean dogs bring mud in when the weather is wet, most breeds shed hair, some more than others, all puppies will pee and poo on your carpet until trained, and will chew anything they can get hold of... all dogs can occasionally be poorly and vomit or mess on the carpet.

Are you prepared to find someone to have the dog if you want a night out, or a weekend away? What will you do with it when you go on holiday?

Can you afford insurance, jabs, wormers, food, vets bills etc?

Dogs are a lot of fun, but they are also a lot of work... I love having a dog, but then I work flexibly, am not houseproud, and enjoy muddy walks... but it's not for everyone.

Do not get a dog just because your little one wants one - the novelty often wears off fast - a small furry is much more manageable, and a cat is more independant - and by this time next month she may prefer a new toy!

LISSILEIGH

thanks for your comments i am fully aware of the commitment, of a dog its all the extras i need more info on really the jabs etc, and what will need to be regularly checked and costs etc.

my youngest is almost 4 (feb) and would probably want a dog that didnt shed much and also didnt grow too big, i currently work pat time and im fortunate to be around to take m children to and from school, we dont really ever have weekends away or nights out, so this is not really a problem.

thanks so much, i just want all info possible really bbefore i commit to any decision xx

foreign_correspondent

A mature, steady dog may be a lot easier to manage than a pup when you have three small children and work part-time - toilet training can become almost impossible unless you are with the pup all the time, and its not ideal to have the dog messing on the carpet your little ones play on!

You really need insurance, unless you have enough spare cash in the bank to cover any unexpected vets bills, which can be in the hundreds, or thousands even for a fit and healthy dog, if accidents occur, as they can! (someone I know has a young dog that shattered its shoulder, cost £2000 to put right, my dog ate glass last summer, cost £500 - so it can be expensive)

Jabs are about £20-£30 a year, neutering is about £100-£200, depeinding on the size and sex of the dog, wormers and flea stuff can cost a tenner or so a month, food - anything from £5 - £50 a month (or maybe even more), depending on what you feed and how big the dog is!

You may also need to budget in kennelling fees if you want to go on holiday, or look at holidays where you can take the dog (camping etc) - however, even campsites and caravan parks do charge a little extra for dogs.

ETA - training classes would also be a good idea, as you are new to dog ownership - I do not know how much they cost though..? I think about £5 - £10 a week.

Fire_Fox

Have you considered a rescue cat? As long as you have a cat flap they are much less of a bind if you want to go on holiday and need a lot less care if you have a busy lifestyle. You may not go away overnight now, but this may change over the twenty years you could own a pet! Dogs are wonderful, but I would think they would be a real shock to the system if you have never had a 'proper' pet. Most dogs need to be be walked twice a day regardless of the weather, with three young children I would imagine that would be a marathon task!! :eek:

It would be worth having a thorough read around all the kitten/ puppy behaviour problem threads, not to put you off a pet just so you are 'forewarned'. There is loads of great advice on training on those threads from people like sarabe (a professional in that field), FC, Raksha, Lostinrates and many other experienced dog owners. My personal opinion is that a puppy is NOT for a newbie dog owner tho others may not agree.

fav77

Hiya,

I have just taken on a rescue lab aged 12-18 months so can help a bit with the costs! Insurance has cost me £156 for the year (£12 something a month) with animalfriends.co.uk - this is for a fairly high amount of cover.
I have also signed up for a course of 6 training sessions which will cost £55 in total.
I think foreign correspondent has covered all the vet costs far more knowledgably than I can yet!
I would definately recommend taking on a more mature housetrained dog - my parents have had half a dozen lovely dogs over the years and have never had to housetrain - they even had a fully trained gundog at one point!
Oh and I have three children too, though a little older (12, 10 and 6) - I think that as long as everybody knows their place (I am most definatley alpha!) kids and dogs can be a great combo!
Hope this helps a bit, all the best xx

foreign_correspondent

I agree firefox - a cat is far less needy and demanding of your time and attention. A puppy is hard work, and definitely not something I would advise an inexperienced owner with three small kids to take on. I am not saying it does not work for anyone, but sadly lots of people do find they have bitten off more than they can chew.

It is worth considering that in five years time your kids may all be wanting to go to friends houses and after school activities most nights, you could be back in work full time, and finding time to exercise and see to the dog could become difficult. In ten years time your kids will all be teenagers, and again their demands will be different - and it is likely that all the care of the dog, walking etc will be left to you...

None of us can predict the future of course, but it is important to think about caring for the dog for the next fifteen or so years - my last terrier made it to 17!

Fire_Fox

"Oldest living cat
The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is between 9 to 15 years. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest living cat is a Burmese called Kataleena Lady who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Kataleena Lady was born on March 11th, 1977.

Oldest cat
The oldest cat is Creme Puff of Austin Texas. Born on August 3rd 1967, Creme Puff celebrated her 38th birthday in August 2005.
Also deserving a mention are Puss, who was born in 1903. Puss was owned by Mrs T. Holway of Devon. Puss passed away on 29th November, 1939, one day after his 36th birthday.
The second is Granpa who lived to the ripe old age of 34. Granpa Rexs Allen (Granpa for short) was a Sphyx adopted from the Humane Society in Texas ."
http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-world-records

Can a dog top that? :eek:

foreign_correspondent

Fire_Fox wrote: »

"Oldest living cat
The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is between 9 to 15 years. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest living cat is a Burmese called Kataleena Lady who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Kataleena Lady was born on March 11th, 1977.

Oldest cat
The oldest cat is Creme Puff of Austin Texas. Born on August 3rd 1967, Creme Puff celebrated her 38th birthday in August 2005.
Also deserving a mention are Puss, who was born in 1903. Puss was owned by Mrs T. Holway of Devon. Puss passed away on 29th November, 1939, one day after his 36th birthday.
The second is Granpa who lived to the ripe old age of 34. Granpa Rexs Allen (Granpa for short) was a Sphyx adopted from the Humane Society in Texas ."
http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-world-records

Can a dog top that? :eek:

Nope - Otto who was the oldest dog in the world died very recently aged 20:http:
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/petshealth/6990330/Worlds-oldest-dog-dies-aged-20.html

A vegetarian dog apparently made it to 27
http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0209/articles/020918a.htm

And Bella was at least 26, and possibly 29:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1053471/The-worlds-oldest-dog-dies-age-203-canine-years.html

The oldest verified dog was 29 year old Bluey:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluey_(Australian_cattle_dog)
Howe

Fire_Fox

Still pretty impressive, the difference between average life expectancy and maximum for both dogs and cats is enormous! :cool:

foreign_correspondent

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Still pretty impressive, the difference between average life expectancy and maximum for both dogs and cats is enormous! :cool:

the average life expectancy in dogs depends a lot on breed - eg. dogue de bordeaux(8-10 years), irish wolfhounds (only tend to live to about 6 sadly), bulldogs (about 7) tend to have short lives, whereas some other breeds such as jack russells and minature poodles tend to live far longer (about 15 years).