should we get a dog

dubgirl

Sorry but dont mean to hijack the thread, but Tine you are absolutely right about greyhounds. Our girl does sleep all day and is very lazy, but I love her to bits. I think your idea about fostering is great.

se999

One thing I don't think people think about enough is how long pets live for. Most people think will it fit in with my life style now, but cats and dogs normally live well over 10 years, rabbits are I think about 7 or 8. So you should look into facts like this before buying any pet.

It is a long term commitment.

P.S. I don't think you'll find any volunteers for pooper scooping. I house and cat sit for friends, although the rest of the family is there, guess who has to do the litter trays and clear up any other accidents.

Seaxwyn

ixwood, just to second what you say about cats. A killer cat has moved into our street and over the summer the gardens have gone from being full of birds to being completely silent. Also gone are the frogs. And the cat also broke into our house one day and killed three of our pet mice. The owner apologised but acted as if there was nothing he could do about it.

I am actually far more angry and upset about the birds than the mice, even though these were much loved pets. I don't understand how it's OK for people to keep pets that have such a negative effect on wildlife.

Sorry about the anti-cat rant but I so agree. I know not all cats are so destructive, and many cat owners are responsible, but people need to fully think through the implications of their choices, and I don't think people in bird-rich areas should keep cats.

earwig

hi morning all
i spent the night talking to dh about a dog and he is adament that we should have a dog the walking part is not a problem oh will walk the dog every day and i know he would he is not the type of person to say he will do it and then dont the clearing up the mess from the garden again i know he will do this as he used to do when we had the cat he cant see what the problem is all i would have to do is let the dog in the garden and the back door is open most of the time so the dog could go in and out when ever the dog wanted to so i havent got a stronge case to argue there i guess my main problem is weather the dog would turn against the kids when i put that to dear hubby he asked me to give one time i had know about any lab attacking kids and to be honest i couldnt name one the money side of the dog is not an issue we can aford one its just i still dont want be stuck at home with a dog i wouldnt risk haveing a dog tempory as dear hubby just wouldnt let it go back my oh is a great dog lover he grew up with dogs and never had any problems with them i still dont know what to do

Seaxwyn

earwig, you clearly have strong reservations about having a dog, I really don't think you should get one. The dog will pick up on your feelings and as pania said in her excellent post above, this will make for a very confused and unhappy dog.

dumpy

Who is going to do the training?

I have a border collie (not for the faint hearted or unfit!)

Everyone loves her and I'm inundated with people wanting to look after her BUT she is incredibly well trained. She doesn't jump up, she has areas in the house she is not allowed and she never goes on the furniture. If she is out on a walk and I shout sit, she does it immediately, even if she is 20 metres away.

This all took LOTS and LOTS of time and effort and we were consistant with her training. I think this is the hardest thing to do with a young family. It's really hard to make sure that everyone trains the dog and nobody lets the dog get away with things. A happy dog knows it's boundries.

The training MUST start when it's a puppy as you can't expect it to be a play thing for 6 months, then suddenly not be allowed places or be told that the rules have changed.

(I'm a bit passionate about dog training! I get fed up with people saying you're so lucky to have such a well trained dog, mine won't do anything. I'm not lucky, I just worked very hard with her for many months)

pania

I completely second the above Dumpy! Used to get the same with my two rotts i used to have. They were the best behaved dogs and walked beside as if on an invisible leash. We did obedience and agility and it was SUCH a rewarding thing to do and great fun! But it took lots and lots of hard work. people used to say "gosh you are so lucky" in such a suprised voice while their little brats chased squirrels, romped and turned a blind eye to unhappy owner! If you're prepared to work hard you will reap the rewards and it is all about establishing the pack and who's in charge, with kindness and consistency.

Earwig there are many many excellent books out there on dog training, If you change your mindset a little and see this as positive
ie 1) the calming effect it will have on your children
2) the amount of fun you can have with the dog, esp if the children get involved in agility or competitions
3) how much it would teach you all as a family

then you may eventually see a dog as a positive thing and be prepared to work with it accordingly so you can all have a happy life.

Dr_Hook

Seaxwyn wrote: »

ixwood, just to second what you say about cats. A killer cat has moved into our street and over the summer the gardens have gone from being full of birds to being completely silent. Also gone are the frogs. And the cat also broke into our house one day and killed three of our pet mice. The owner apologised but acted as if there was nothing he could do about it.

I am actually far more angry and upset about the birds than the mice, even though these were much loved pets. I don't understand how it's OK for people to keep pets that have such a negative effect on wildlife.

Sorry about the anti-cat rant but I so agree. I know not all cats are so destructive, and many cat owners are responsible, but people need to fully think through the implications of their choices, and I don't think people in bird-rich areas should keep cats.

I understand & appreciate what you're saying Sea, but I'm not sure what you expect cat owners to do about it

My 2-year old cat's recently started bringing home dead 'gifts' and leaving them in the garden. It's not pleasant and it does bother me that he does it but I don't know what I can do about it. He eats like a horse & I always make sure he goes out with a full belly, not sure what else to do really.

pania

is he neutered Dr Hook? that can sometimes help, unfortunately some cats are just born hunters and nowt can be done. maybe keeping him home until the baby birds are grown and able to escape perhaps?

I think the issue arises when someones pets are killed and the owner doesn't replace said pet or offer compensation, owner is guilty by default i suppose.

earwig

our old cat fame was the same she would kill all the wildlife and bring it home she was just that kinda cat canny to we used to feed her happy shopper cat meat as we didnt have a lot of money but she used to go into nextdoor house through the cat flap and eat their cats wiskers cat food :rotfl: my mum was forever having to say sorry about it in the end next door just used to feed her as well so that was two dinners she would have and the cat repaid them buy leaving dead birds on their kitchen floor:eek: