First time dog owner.....please advise

the_cat

Ok, despite being around animals most of my life I've never owned a dog. My lifestyle and work commitments have made it unfair to consider till now.
BUT I'm not working and don't forsee that changing much......(part time locally at a max sometime in the future) so I can finally consider it properly
I have a tiny garden and a medium sized house. Excellent walking facilities close by inc beach,woods and parkland. Me, oh and 2 grown up teenage lads in the house. OH has had a dog in his childhood and I've worked with animals (horses) for years so spent lots of time with dogs and am confident training animals, but never owned. I'm assuming the worst as far as help and any contribution to care from family to be viewed as a bonus, although they are super keen and have begged for years to get this chance (atm)!

I want a reasonably easy to train breed which I can have fun walks and possibly some agility fun with. Not the type to pine too easily as leaving it for a few hours sometimes is essential. Low shedding but rough haired (OH insists, daft IMO but he likes them better apparently), small to medium sized due to limited garden. Good family type dog etc

So, to the questions.
Puppy or older rescue dog?
Best breeds to fit my criteria?
Where to get a puppy WILL NOT consider a puppy from a farm and need to know how to avoid this!
Am I a suitable owner in the making?
any other advice?


sorry, that's a load of questions! I am at the planning stage and want to get it right. Or not do it at all! Which has made me dither for far too long, fearing a mistake
All help very gratefully accepted.

hethmar

Id go for a border terrier then - good at agility, totally focussed and loyal. All puppies are cute, a mature dog you can see its character. http://www.borderterrierwelfare.org.uk/

Or Jack Russell?


A collie may be ok, but they can be very high energy.

But have a look here:

http://www.manytearsrescue.org/dogslookingforhomes.php

http://www.dogsblog.com/
http://www.dogsblog.com/category/border-terrier/

krlyr

I have to say, puppies are hard work for anyone, but especially a first time owner. If you have limited experience with dogs then I'd probably recommend a well-assessed dog from a rescue (this doesn't have to be an elderly dog, rescues have dogs of all ages) that's got the foundations of good behaviour.
I grew up with dogs all my life and was pretty confident yet still made a few mistakes with my first pup and found her very challenging at times!
After her, we went for a 9 month old dog who'd already been quite well-trained by her previous owner and she was much more of a delight, we still had to work on some things but to have the basics down helped a lot more.
I've even taken on an adult rescue dog with fear-based reactivity issues who I've found far less hard work than that one teeny puppy!

I think I might finally be ready for a puppy again but it's taken quite a while for me to feel prepared, so I definately think they're not really the ideal first dog.

krlyr

Oh, and if you do go for something Terrier-esque, just bare in mind that while your surroundings may be suitable for a dog, your dog may not be suitable for your surroundings! Terriers are bred to chase, and may well shoot straight after a rabbit or squirrel, and it's not always safe. I heard on another forum recently of a Terrier who was missing for days after bolting off after something, the owners suspect he went down a badger sett and got stuck. It probably took a few days for him to lose weight and get loose, as he was a fair bit skinnier when he found his way home. He's one of the luckier ones - I've heard several cases of dogs bolting after prey and either being run over as they've darted onto a road, injuring themselves fatally on barbed wire, getting caught in snare traps, or falling through ice and drowining. Then there are many who are just never seen again, with no idea of what happened.
Mine aren't Terriers but with a strong prey drive even I have to be careful where I can let them off. Your idyllic forest and beach walks may not be quite as enjoyable with a dog who has to stay on-lead 90% of the time so take that into consideration with your choice of dog.

coinxoperated

Please do consider a rescue dog

Puppies are extremely cute, but very hard work. The cuteness wears off after the 100th pee puddle mopping.

I would suggest a smaller breed dog - staffies are in massive need of home and are also extremely loyal and dedicated dogs.

Dogs really only need 5 things:

1. Food / Water
2. Love
3. Time
4. Care
5. Dedication

You seem to have all of the above ready to make a perfect home. Well done for being responsible.

Have you also considered an older dog? Sometimes that very rewarding too. You may lose a few years with an older dog, but that dog will probably appreciate the fact you have the years you did to them.

Also - if you do go for a rescue, make sure you meet the dogs first and have as much history on the dog as possible. It's likely that some are in rescues for very basic behavioural issues that you can straighten out (chewing, over excitable etc).

the_cat

Thanks all for the advice so far. Have spent most of the day looking for suitable dogs:o. it might be a long wait for the right one, but I'm swaying towards a dog up to about 3ish years old from a rescue place atm. Pros and cons to all options obviously, but finding a puppy seems like a minefield tbh. At least a rescue dog has already shown their temperament and the rescue place is definately in it for the dog and not the profit
Seen a couple of possibles - one a spaniel cross allegedly suited to a first time owner. OH away on business at present so cant do anything much about it [STRIKE] except hope he is still available in a week[/STRIKE]. Do rescue places only home to those who live near to them though? This one is about 50 miles away but no branches near to me (dogs trust)

krlyr

There's no real regulatory body for rescues so they can all make their own policies. Some may only home within a certain radius but others will rehome nationwide.
I'd suggest joining some dog forums - not only would you get good advice but also you may find rescues or individual dogs that you may not have spotted in the main rescues like Dogs Trust etc.
Try
http://www.dogpages.org.uk
http://www.dogrescueworld.org.uk
http://www.unleashedforum.co.uk

Also http://www.dogsblog.com is a good blog that various rescues use to advertise their dogs

coinxoperated

Oh don't forget there are many dogs homes that are full that don't have massive charity campaigns. Have a look in the yellow pages!

big5

We adopted a young cross-breed dog from a local rescue centre last summer and she is brilliant - I'd say she'd tick all your boxes (but is smooth coated, so your OH wouldn't want her - not that she's not going anywhere!).

She wasn't house trained, but was past the puppy biting/chewing phase and we could walk her right away (no need to wait until she'd had all her vaccinations, etc). Plus house training wasn't too bad as being that bit older she didn't need to be taken outside constantly. She'd had no training at all, but picked things up really quickly. I know little puppies are cute, but I'm glad we went for our dog over a puppy.

Sally_A

A GSD/Spaniel would love to be near a beach, granted, not rough haired and a lot of washing and drying off would be needed.

If hubby can cope with a spaniel, they MAY get less manic at approx. 6 years old.

Katiehound

What about a hound?
Trailhounds need homes after their racing career, or simply because they don't want to race at all!!
They come in assorted sizes from beagle to working fox hound....lovely natures, but mainly smooth coat

http://trailhoundwelfare.org.uk/
My first trailie, Katie (hound) was my most wonderful dog ever:
http://trailhoundwelfare.org.uk/?page_id=276

Good luck in your search