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Dog Owners

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  • What dog do you have? 2 Newfoundlands - One bronze "Buddy", One black "Poppy"

    Why did you get your dog? Always been brought up with dogs and these two are adorable! Plus they serve a purpose - water rescue dogs!

    Where did you get it? The black one came from a breeder in Liverpool, the bronze came from Birmingham.

    What does it eat? Normal dog food - 1 tin of meat, 2 scoops of biscuits. At weekends my parents treat them to a cooked chicken each from Asda

    How much does it cost you weekly? Approx £10

    Do you leave it alone? They keep each other entertained. My parents have moved over to the Isle of Man and taken the dogs with them,

    Work/holiday arrangements? Work - they're out in the garden all day and Mum takes them for walks in her lunch hour and after work they go to the beach. Holidays - used to be my grandparents feeding them, but one of my parents' friends has dogs and has offered to look after them if/when they go on holiday.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? Walks on the beach, water trials

    Anything else you'd like to say. Buddy is a fruitloop and has double-jointed webbed feet! Poppy is just lazy and laid back. Don't even have to put her on a lead when you go out cos she just toddles along at the side of you!
    ;)I am not a complete idiot - some parts are missing;)


  • Kimberley
    Kimberley Posts: 14,871 Forumite
    I have some questions:

    What dog do you have? All sorts :D

    Why did you get your dog? I foster until they are found homes :D I love doing it.

    Where did you get it? Rescue

    What does it eat? Food

    How much does it cost you weekly? About £3-4

    Do you leave it alone? yes

    Work/holiday arrangements? I don't foster if I go on holiday

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? Yes

    Anything else you'd like to say. No
  • ms.prong
    ms.prong Posts: 54 Forumite
    What dog do you have? A female Boxer Puppy

    Why did you get your dog? Have always loved boxers having been brought up with them. They have such good personalities

    Where did you get it? Breeder

    What does it eat? Dry puppy food, Royal Canin

    How much does it cost you weekly? At the moment about £5 a week

    Do you leave it alone? My partner works out in a van so he is able to pop in and out throughout the day and he is always home for at least an hour at lunch time. I work from home at least once a week so she is never on her own for long.

    Work/holiday arrangements? Kennels when we go on holiday or if it was just for a day then family would probably look after her.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? She is currently going to puppy classes/dog socialisation

    Anything else you'd like to say. no
  • What dog do you have? A heinz 57 (GSD x Collie x Terrier)

    Why did you get your dog? After losing the last one, the house was rather quiet and didnt seem right, having had 3 mongrels previously also good to give another 'street urchin' a nice new home!

    Where did you get it? A rescue centre near Bedford, i trawled the internet for weeks looking for what i wanted

    What does it eat? Chappie complete, with a bit of chappie tinned meat stirred in for interest

    How much does it cost you weekly? never worked it out, but would estimate £3.00

    Do you leave it alone? Yes for 5 hours max

    Work/holiday arrangements? One of the family will always pop round and let her out during the work day and for holidays she goes to kennels or stays around a family members house.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? MAddy loves agility and has weekly lessons!

    Anything else you'd like to say. Dont fund puppy farms, get a rescue, they really are the best!
  • Wolfsbayne
    Wolfsbayne Posts: 514 Forumite
    What dog do you have? Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

    Why did you get your dog? Previous dog had died and we couldnt cope without a little friend in the house, second dog because the first is getting old and we felt he would like a companion.

    Where did you get it? First was on the waiting list to go to the rspca and the rspca gave us the details, second we brought from a breeder.

    What does it eat? Burgess sensitive dry food with pal meat (the older dog is on tablets and will only take them if they are hidden in meat) with bran flakes.

    How much does it cost you weekly? Probably £4-7?

    Do you leave it alone? Used to leave the older one alone and he would just sleep. Now my mother is disabled and cant get out the house often and the pup is really mardy so they arent alone (we keep meaning to leave the house for a few minutes to see what happens).

    Work/holiday arrangements? Used to rent cottages that would accept dogs and take with us.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? No

    Anything else you'd like to say. Need to factor in grooming costs with this breed and the high incidence of heart and joint problems so vet costs later on. They ae really great family dogs though, love lots of cuddles!
  • melvis
    melvis Posts: 6,006 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    What dog do you have? Rude Boy is a Labrador/Staffy Cross

    DSC00558.jpg

    Why did you get your dog? We offered to look after him for a fortnight last July, whilst his owner (a friend of my OH) was staying on his mates sofa whilst looking for a new place to live. We then kept him a bit longer and a bit longer still and sadly, his owner died just before Chritstmas so we have him for good.

    Where did you get it? As above :o

    What does it eat? Super Chunks from Asda mixed with Asda Hero mixer and the odd sausage off the BBQ. He also loves pringles and dry roasted peanuts :rolleyes: and as someone discovered at a party of ours, he will only eat breadsticks if they have garlic dip on! But on a day to day basis he's not allowed naughty human food!

    How much does it cost you weekly? For food, about £3.00, then Frontline works out about 75p a week.

    Do you leave it alone? He used to be left alone (well, with 3 cats) whilst we were at work but OH is out of work atm so he's only alone if we go out somewhere we can't take him, which is rare!

    Work/holiday arrangements? If we're both working he's in the house with the cats til we get back. He doesn't seem to mind it as far as we can tell. If we're on holiday, one of our friends stays at our house on pet duty.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? Aside from daily walks and playing with toys in the garden then no. He's not exactly an agile dog! He does know sit, lie down and high five though!

    Anything else you'd like to say? I'm so glad we accidently got him, he's awesome! He loves everything, from people to other dogs to cats. He and Jager (our youngest cat) are best friends and always being cute together even though they do have different tail and paw languages and confuse each other regularly!
    Small business owner 🧵 Ex MSE comper 🏆 Student loan repayer 💴 Romanian dog rescuer 🐕 Hopefully a cost of living survivor 🤞🏻
  • melvis
    melvis Posts: 6,006 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Oops the photo is a bit bigger than I thought it would be!
    Small business owner 🧵 Ex MSE comper 🏆 Student loan repayer 💴 Romanian dog rescuer 🐕 Hopefully a cost of living survivor 🤞🏻
  • Jummy
    Jummy Posts: 692 Forumite
    LizD wrote: »
    I have some questions:

    What dog do you have? Bella - English Springer spaniel

    Why did you get your dog? Family wanted one for ages
    Where did you get it? She was advertised online

    What does it eat? James Well Beloved Dry food and Nature Diet Wet Food

    How much does it cost you weekly? £2.50 insurance/£7 food and treats

    Do you leave it alone? Yes for no more than an hour approx

    Work/holiday arrangements? Bella is coming on our hols.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? Long walks

    Anything else you'd like to say.
    Having Bella has been a joy!!
  • Natty68
    Natty68 Posts: 3,465 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    melvis wrote: »
    What dog do you have? Scruffybear is a foxhound/jack russell cross and Jet is a Border collie crossed with Alsation (I think!)

    Why did you get your dog? Scruffybear we got when our 17yr old dog died, and Jet was going to be put down as his owner didn't want him anymore. And as we already knew Jet, and Scruffybear grew up with him, we agreed to take him on.

    Where did you get it? Scruffybear came from a RSPCA rescue kennels at 6 months, a very badly abused and neglected dog. And Jet as above.. :o

    What does it eat? Asda chunks, preferably the pasta napolitan one. They are both very fond of pasta :) They also have Asda's Smart Price dog mixer in with this. Also they have doggy choc drops when every they have been out for a wee in the garden, a dentastick every night after their walk. Pasta or rice if I have cooked too much. And occasionally they will get a pigs ear or a paddywack.

    How much does it cost you weekly? £5.00 for food and about £3.00 for treats. £5.00 a week for insurance for both of them.

    Do you leave it alone? The only time they are left alone, with the three cats, is if I have to go out shopping or visiting a friend. The rest of the time they are with me at home, as I don't work. But they prefer being with DH when he is on holidays from work.. :D

    Work/holiday arrangements? They both come on holidays with us. We always book cottages for the week and those that take two dogs.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)? They both go out for their walks twice a day, a good hour/two hours at the weekend with DH. They puppyfight, as I call it, when they have excess energy. Jet will play fetch over the park, but he gets overheated too quickly so we don't do it too often. The rest of the time is playing with their toys together. They do know how to sit down., give paws, beg, and sleep on the comfiest seats in the house!!

    Anything else you'd like to say? I wouldn't be without both of them, and I know the cats are happy with them around. And if DH was asked he would say that he "likes" them, that is his way of saying he loves them, especially his boy Scruffybear!! :D. :D

    These boys have been my life saver on many a time..
    Mortgage Free as of 20.9.17
    Declutter challenge 2023, 2024 🏅 🏅⭐️⭐️
    Declutter Challenge 2025
    DH declutter challenge award 🏅⭐️
  • JELLYBABY_2
    JELLYBABY_2 Posts: 598 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Photogenic Combo Breaker
    I have some questions:

    What dog do you have?
    We have a black and white English Springer spaniel. He is now 2 years old.

    Why did you get your dog?
    We decided on the breed as a family and chose the name (Tigger) due to how bouncy they are!


    Where did you get it?
    A private breeder nearby having checked out the !!!!!/breeding arrangements etc.

    What does it eat?
    Naturediet with occasional handful of mixer. Also cheese/hotdogs/cooked liver for treats.

    How much does it cost you weekly?
    Prob between £10-£15 I think

    Do you leave it alone?
    As little as possible. Not the best breed of dogs to be left alone, can be a bit anxious.

    Work/holiday arrangements?
    Shift work ensures most of the time someone is at home. We are currently deciding on where to take Tigger on holiday with us.

    Do you do anything with it (agility/flyball etc)?
    Not currently but I took him to positive behaviour based training for over 18 months. We drive for 15 mins to the country so we can let Tigger run free. Being a springer means he adores being able to swim in the river, smell the pheasants (!) and generally jump about like a mad thing. These walks last anything from 3/4 hour to 3 hours. He also gets road walked locally sometimes.

    Anything else you'd like to say.
    I would just echo some of the other comments regarding choosing your breed well. Springers can be difficult dogs to own so I certainly wouldn't recommend one for someone who had no choice but to leave it for over 4 hours a day. (Although personally I wouldn't be happy leaving any dog alone for longer than that) If you've owned dogs before and therefore have some experience maybe an older rescue dog would be a good choice?
    As mentioned before don't forget to factor in insurance costs or if you plan to opt out of the insurance route, the cost of setting up a bank account with regular payments in the event of emergency vet fees. I got so sick of charges being just under the amount you could claim I opted to do the latter and now Tigger has his own debit account. LOL
    Also, the better quality food you put in one end results in less nasties at the other LOL
    Training is a must. Don't want to teach grandma to suck eggs but don't know whether you've owned dogs before so would say please teach bite inhibition - I meet so many people who simply don't know what it is!
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