Any ideas, please?

10_66

Many, many thanks for all of your posts and helpful suggestions and guidance. Thank you.

moomin5

Some good ideas of testing the water, as you need to be sure that you really want a dog. There's plenty of different types/personalities but dogs are more demanding & life restricting than cats in general, so depending on your issues the work involved, may outweigh the benefit to you. It can also be quite stressful initially as a first-time dog owner with so much to learn and inevitable mistakes until you & dog adjust.

In terms of suitable breeds, I got my adult retired greyhounds while i worked 9-5, i came home for lunch to give them a toilet break but otherwise i'd need a dog walker which can be expensive (about £8-12 here), they like to sleep a lot & do so even if i'm home. Bigger than you'd like although (whippets/ lurchers are a slightly smaller option) they don't seem to take up that much room indoors (mainly flat out) & many have good lead manners so are easy to walk. Greys generally don't need much exercise about 1hrs walking a day's sufficient but will happily to go for longer walks. Some greys can live with cats and even though you don't have one currently expect you may want the option of another in future. Retired Greyhound Trust

Fostering for a rescue might be an option if you decide to take the plunge but are still not 100% sure about long term commitment.

hethmar

You may want to contact Cinammon Trust. The trust's volunteers all over the country help people who have dogs which they are no longer well enough to exercise. Your local vet may know someone who would benefit from having someone take their dog out every day and play/socialise with him?

http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/

dizziblonde

I got my dog and he's done more for my depression than my idiot GP could do (not the reason I got him but a very very very marked sideeffect) - forces me to get out and walk him (which really can help un-mess my head when I'm mentally starting to drown), and you can't come home grumpy when you're getting tail-wagged to death. Having said that - you need to work out the issues about you being out at work, be it finding a daycare, or a dog walker or whatever.

If you're a cat person (I was originally - I'm still owned by a tripod moggie)... have you considered a rescue greyhound (you CAN get cat-friendly ones... we're in the middle of homing one)? They're the laziest creatures going, hobbies include sleeping and sleeping and they've been described to me several times as undercover cats by the people we're getting ours from!

10_66

dizziblonde wrote: »

I got my dog and he's done more for my depression than my idiot GP could do (not the reason I got him but a very very very marked sideeffect) - forces me to get out and walk him (which really can help un-mess my head when I'm mentally starting to drown), and you can't come home grumpy when you're getting tail-wagged to death. Having said that - you need to work out the issues about you being out at work, be it finding a daycare, or a dog walker or whatever.

If you're a cat person (I was originally - I'm still owned by a tripod moggie)... have you considered a rescue greyhound (you CAN get cat-friendly ones... we're in the middle of homing one)? They're the laziest creatures going, hobbies include sleeping and sleeping and they've been described to me several times as undercover cats by the people we're getting ours from!

Many thanks for your reply. I can't honestly see me being able to get a dog, much as I would like to, because of the issues around being out during the day and I can't afford to pay a dog walker. Just in case I do find a solution to that problem, you say that greyhounds like to sleep a lot, do you know if whippets (a breed also mentioned by someone earlier in the thread) have the same sort of personality. I have to say, I've always liked greyhounds, but for my circumstances, would be too large a dog for my house.

hethmar

Have a look at the whippet rescue site and contact them for more info. However, I do note that most of the dogs for adoption are said to need someone around most of the day

http://www.scrupleswhippetrescue.co.uk/default.asp?textpage=home

moomin5

Some grey owners live in flats, we've only a small 2 bed house & have fitted 4 dogs comfortably but think it helps there not very active indoors as can imagine it would be different with a busier dog even if smaller. Greys also have an ability to go into compact mode in order to fit into a small space if it looks comfy

I suppose sighthounds are quite catlike with the snoozing and more independent nature. Here's my girl sunbathing


You could also look for a small lurcher-whippet x type but just see what fits your needs as energy levels can vary. Lurcherlink, greyhound gap, GRWE are just a few rescues.

Darlyd

Hey OP I just want to share my experience.

I was housebound and so depressed many moons ago, I got myself a puppy (staffy), best thing I ever did, she was my rock, Got me out when I could go out, if I couldn't go out, not a problem I had a large garden. When I started work again, my Mother or elderly neighbour would let her out or walk her, (my elderly neighbour always took her to the shops).

Basicly dogs will adapt to your life, they usually have the same attitude as their owner, mine is lazy, snaps at things that p iss her off, but is so loving and affectionate, and when I am having a bad day she stalks me, which I love. she is so loyal, she is 10 now, and the past few years (when DH takes the dogs for morning walk) she just runs back upstairs, she will not go out for a walk unless she is dragged out, (its hilarious) then she is gone!