Thinking of buying a dog....advice needed please

SnowyOwl_2

niceday999 wrote: »

I am not going to drag myself down to the level of name calling....
I can only testify that our dog adds to our family in so many ways. we just adore our dog...... Our dog is not specifically one persons pet in our family as we all care for him..... as I'm sure the OP's family would regardless of who owned the pet.......
As for vets fee's - I'm sure most people dont care they either take out Pet Insurance or foot the bill for whatever.......

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

You are the one who swore at me....what do you think !!!!!! stands for, if not For F*** Sake?

Congratulations, you have made yourself look like a bit of a t!t!!!

Joy - don't worry, I'm enjoying this pu$$yfight, it's really funny.

Lobell

joylikes2shop wrote: »

OH NO !!!

I'M SO sorry that my post has caused some agro between fellow members of the forum.

I LOVE this forum and nearly run here first with my 'problems' before looking for advice from people I actually know personally. I know that there's always a possibility that I'll be told something I don't like, but as a rule I have mainly found that people contributing to this forum have some great ideas and suggestions.

I REALLY am grateful for all the advice,and am just sorry that I hadn't put some more 'background information' into my original post.

I can tell that everyone who has responded so far is an animal lover, and I'm guessing that SnowyOwl was just worried that I was not fully aware of the time, cost and commitment owning a dog involves....believe me I've been reminding my husband and daughter about it for YEARS...BUT...my daughter is now sensible and old enough to care for a dog,and my husband knows EXACTLY what his duties will be if and when we become owners of a dog.

Please don't be falling out with each other,especially when everyone clearly shares the same love of their pets.

Thanks again...I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Joy

I'm pleased to see you are committed to the idea as, in just a couple of years, your daughter may toddle off to University and you will be left with the dog for the next 15 years or so (small breeds tend to be long-lived) so you need to go into this with that thought firmly in the forefront of your mind.

When looking for a pedigree puppy, the best place to start is with the breed club. I can't find details of one in NI but there is an Irish club:
Shih Tzu Club of Ireland
Mr. Marshall Craig
Hazelville, Casement Road, Bandon, Co. Cork.
(023-8842210)

The UK club also has some good info on finding a breeder: http://www.theshihtzuclub.co.uk/breeders.htm

A breed club has the best interests of the breed at heart and members have to abide by a code of ethics that ensures the best health and welfare possible. Shih-Tzu puppies are a mainstay of the puppy farmers because there is a huge market from them so please only go with a breeder who abides by the breed club code of ethics. Puppy farmed pups can be a little chaper (though often not) but it is worth paying the extra for a well-bred, healthy puppy that will hopefully be a member of your family for very many years to come.

Please bear in mind that ethical, caring breeders do not breed just to supply the pet market so you may have to wait a little while for the right puppy but it really is worth the wait. That said, Shih-tzus are very popular and if you're just looking for a nice pet (i.e. not too worried about colour/blood lines etc) then I wouldn't have thought you should have too much difficulty in finding a decent puppy from a good breeder.

Good luck with your search

ali-t

I don't think you will find a reputable breeder who will sell you a pup for a surprise present. The breeders I have bought my dogs from have wanted to know that everyone in the family wants the dog, everyone in the family has to meet the breeder and be involved in the planning and preparation for the dog, none of them would sell a dog for a present.

Could you tell your daughter that you will get her a pup as a present and she can pick which pup she wants? This would allow you to get the right pup rather than having to rush in and find one that will let you take a pup. It will give you time to find out about health testing, prepare properly and your daughter will feel part of the process.

blue_monkey_2

My neighbour has a shitzu, it barks at everything. Horrible, nasty dog it is - and we have a dog. Lots of shitzu owners say theirs bark too. So you might want to reconsider the breed you get unless you want to put up with the constant yapping most of them seem to make. It drives us absolutely insane yapping morning through to night.

It has a really funny mouth too, the bottom jaw juts out - not sure how it can eat properly- and our neighbour says he thinks it has problems with it's brain too.

A pedigree is not everything, a good loving family dog is more important.

Don;t forget to get pet insurance - our puppy had to have an op within a few weeks and would have cost us £500 had we not had insurance.

Lobell

A pedigree is not everything, a good loving family dog is more important.

No, a pedigree is not everything. A well cared for pup, from healthy parents with excellent temperaments is though. And you're unlikely to find this anywhere other than going to a reputable and ethical breeder. Open the free ads paper or look on Gumtree and you'll find hundreds of pups like your neighbours one (dodgy conformation, questionable temperament) because they've been bred by people who either don't know enough to breed good puppies (back yard breeders) or who don't care enough (puppy farmers).

If the OP and her husband are set on a Shih-Tzu (and after all, it will be their dog, as their daughter is unlikely to live at home for very much longer) then that's up to them. I'm sure they'll have done their research into the breed and by being choosy about where they get their pup from, the will be able to avoid ending up with a 'horrible, nasty' dog like the one you know. As a breed, they're not my cup of tea either but I do know plenty of them and, in the main, they are nice enough little dogs.

Tallullah

Could I suggest you seriously think about getting a 'rescue' dog? You say you are concerned about behavioural problems with a rescue dog, but almost any dog will develop problems if the owner doesn't approach its training correctly. Non pedigree dogs are usually more intelligent and therefore easier to train than pedigree animals.

Plus, there are so many lovely dogs in need of a new home. You don't have to take the first dog the rescue centre offers you and anyway, most animal shelters are very responsible and try to match the new owner to the right dog. I got my pooch from a local rescue centre and I am so very happy that I did.

Please also think long and hard about the responsibilities of dog ownership too - from your posts you seem like a lovely person, but having a dog takes a lot more time, commitment and energy than you may realise. Of course, those of us who do have dogs will tell you that you get back the effort many times over but if you don't think you will have the time to walk the dog every day (even little ones need walks - it's lack of exercise that causes most behavioural probelms!), if you will want to go away all day and not take the dog with you (dogs like company and get stressed without it) or if you are away from home a great deal, then think about a cat instead. Dogs also cast loads of hair, bark and leave mud all over your car, so if you are a really house proud person you may not cope as well as you think.

I am not trying to put anyone off getting a dog - I wish everyone could, but only once they are aware of the care and attention dogs need.

ali-t

Tallullah wrote: »

Non pedigree dogs are usually more intelligent and therefore easier to train than pedigree animals.

What nonsense, where is the research to back that up? I have got an intelligent staffy and a fairly thick rottie, so are you saying that if I bred them together I would have a very intelligent notweiller that was very easy to train?

dazb75

You may have a bit of trouble finding a reputable breeder. A good breeder:

• may insist on meeting you before the pups are born (or at the very least before they are ready to go to their new homes);
• may want to visit your home to ensure that it is suitable for a dog;
• may unsure that the dog will not be left alone for more than 4 hours;
• will not want their any of their litter to be given as presents.

Other things to consider:

• no more daytrips
• no more lie-ins
• attending puppy classes
• vet bills (even with insurance the excess will be £75+ each time)
• a crate (better than just a bed)
• if the dog is liable to chewing - the house being torn apart
• picking poo out of your dogs rear hair (I never considered that one!)
• grooming costs

Remember a puppy is cute, but it won't be long before they become a dog. If you do get a "dog", then this blog may help:

http://jaxthespanishwaterdog.blogspot.com/

Yes, we have a Spanish Water Dog too. Cassie is almost nine months and she is a handful, but we love her to bits.

Here's her photo gallery:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dazb75/sets/72157623100886776/

Good luck.

D

PS. This book is great:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Puppy-Britains-Number-Care/dp/060061722X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Tallullah

There is loads of research on this point. One study reported here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4283328/Pedigree-dogs-are-becoming-stupid-as-we-breed-them-for-looks-not-brains.html

and another here http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Our-pedigree-chums-are-.3715840.jp

Or read any dog training manual - they all agree that because of the inbreeding that goes on to produce pedigree animals there is a tendency for mutts to be brighter than pure-breds. Pedigree animals are also more prone to genetic disorders and quite a few breeds have problems as a result of the inbreeding. That was one of the main reasons for the recent controversy over Crufts.

Plus anyone who trains animals will tell you - the smartest animal in the pack is always going to be a cross bred collie. Doesn't mean your dogs aren't intelligent, it just means that usually, on average, pedigree dogs aren't as smart as mongrels.

arkonite_babe

It really doesn't matter what type of dog you have (we've got a dogs trust mutt) just make sure you have insurance!

Bruno has had several visits to the vet in this past week due to a torn cruciate ligament

He has also been found to have arthritis and he's only 5! So all this means that he's going to be a long term vet visitor. No matter, he got his own back this morning by pooing on the mat at the vets front door


So there he is in his camouflage bandages just after the op. He's now more like santa claus in a spiffy red bandage. Lord knows what colour we'll have after our visit on Thursday