To get a puppy.

[pongonperdy]

I work two and a half days a week which is what is putting me off the idea.

My daughter and husband are desperate for a puppy. I have grown up with dogs so i know how much is involved in having a puppy. The thing is my mum never worked so was always around to walk the dog etc. I know she thinks i should not have one as i work. However i doubt there will come a tme when i dont work so does that mean we should never have a pet. I think having a pet is a good thing for children and would hate them to miss out.

Am i being unreasonable is contemplating getting a puppy or do otjher people manage to combine pets and work.

You can't have a dog and then be out all the time, it just isn't fair! How on earth is the dog going to be happy and sociable if it's alone all the time? I never understand the "It's OK because they're used to it" argument. It doesn't make it right. Why would you even want a dog if you're going to spend hardly any time with it? Get a hamster, get a fish.

bluec I know about these fences with collars my brother lives in America where they are used alot Victoria Stilwell top dog trainer put an electric collar on the owner on the same setting as she had it on the dog and she screamed swearing never to put it on her dog again...that was the lowest setting! I don't think the only other way is for dog to roam and get run over I think an all round high fence is better than safe electrocution.

Christ, leaving dogs outside? Taking two from the same litter? Having two dogs because you're out a lot???

If you haven't time for a dog, but a pot plant.

Harriet, no it is NOT responsible to leave a dog outdoors. Whjy have a dog if you aren't going to be there for him?

A HELL of a lot of the missing dog cases which are dealt with by DogLost, the main internet networking organisation for this problem, are STOLEN from gardens. It is NOT advisable to EVER leave a dog unattended in a garden for that reason alone.

As for "happy dog" and "electric fence" used in the same sentence... the world's gone mad!

Oh sod it, I meant BUY a pot plant!

Did someone just say "the dog got a mild and perfectly safe electric shock" every time it got near the boundary. I would love such (I hesitate to use the word) people to wear said collars and have a totally safe electrocution for attempting to carry out a perfectly normal act. Imagine if you had an electric shock every time you went near your food. You would avoid it yes, but you would avoid it through fear.

Well done. Excellent dog training tips and thanks for advocating it Bluecollie.

Hell, yes Poncey. We're all Granny Murray's. Either that or we consider a dog's happiness ont he same level we would consider our own. Is it fair to the dog, or is it merely satiating our need to have one.

People think dogs as disposable. A consumerist perk. People should only ever take on dogs if they will be a proper part of the family and will remain so for the rest of their lives.

Virtual 'high fives'to vallhala and MotherJack
now on to a more sensible topic....vall is this pot plant indoor or outdoor? x

Salsmum - I don't know about these things but I assume that cows/horses etc learn to cope with electric fences, I understand that dogs are even more domesticated/easier to train, so an electric type fence should be easy to learn. They are designed not to harm the animal, just deter it.

Salsmum, I'm currently trying to find a home for a dog merely because he walks away from PFB Little Lord Tarquin when Tarquin approaches to stroke him and so the parents consider the dog a potential danger. They've had the dog for going on for 5 years and now they want him out because he doesn't worship their PFB.

I tell ya, some people shouldn't even be permitted to care for a pot plant!

Oh, and in that case, floweryblue, we'll campaign for such fences to be used in school playgrounds. Especially infant schools.

I trust you will be sending your child to a participating school?

Bit harsh lotster your flaming regarding wanting to walk my dog on the beach. Didnt realise it was a crime wantng to enjoy the countryside with ones dog.

I will resign myself to a pet rock i think.

Maybe when i retire i can sit in all day with a dog and be too old to actually take it out or enjoy the children and it growing up together.

-vallhala- maybe the dog knows something the DPs don't... sensible dog! It breaks your heart . I hope it's a breed that has no teeth so there's no risk of it biting! -EVER-.

Vallhala, I seem to have caused some concerns by describing the way we deal with our dog when we are out at work, I really would appreciate advice.

Our dog is about 9 months old and she seems happy in general. For 2-3 days per week she is tied up outside, with access to shelter, food and water for up to 8 hours at a time. DP walks her at least once per day. Could you advise if we should be doing anything different?

Valhalla, you say, "why have a dog if you're not going to be there for him?", but surely you can't be with your dog ALL the time? I'm not having a go, I just wonder why dogs need to have a human's attention for so much of the day. I understand they are sociable animals, but surely they're OK on their own for more than a few hours?

I'm not trying to be controversial, but surely dogs were never bred to be indoor animals? Hence the hair. I don't mean they should be left out in sub-zero temperatures (far from it), but surely a few hours in a garden with shelter can't be neglect.

The electric fence thing is plain weird, though I think there might well be some benefit for it with my ds3 when it comes to keeping in his bed for more than a few minutes at a time .

He's a Shep, Salsmum, looks just like the younger of my two. :(

If I had the room I'd have him in a heartbeat.

Blimey hold on. I was just trying to come up with a solution where a dog wasn't tied up and for a dog that escaped. My one and only experience of a dog who had one of these wires was of a happy dog that never even went near the edge of the garden and so never got a shock. I'm not saying it is ideal but nor is a dog running about and escaping and potentially causing accidents. I do think people need to understand that a dog is very different to a child. I wouldn't treat my dog like I treat my child and vice versa. They are animals after all. Think you'll find electric wires are used for a lot of places with animals but hey lets get rid of the wires around the lions and animals at Longleat.................

What do responisble owmers do not work? Yup, pretty much. Or hire dog walkers, or takes a job with split shifts and walk the dog(s) inbetween. I have two dogs, because I wanted two dogs, they are not for company for each other because I can't be arsed to look after them properly

Op - it sounds like you have put a lot of thought into it. Go for it, but please rescue. So many dogs are dying in pounds uneccessarily. Emptying a space in rescue will give one more pound dog a fighting chance.

Like you I wok two and half days a week and my dogs are both happy. I didn't get a dog walker, I do a split shift instead and walk them inbetween shifts. I have owned/lived with dogs all my life, I am satisfied that my dogs are happy and cared for, even though I work.

I'd get a dog if I was out 2 days a week, a couple of weeks off to get it settled and someone to walk it on the days I was out would work fine

but not a puppy, a puppy isn't a dog, it's a hyperactive toddler in a fur coat

as for tying it up outside - OMG!!! Can you not at least build something secure if you want to leave it outside?

Sorry Blucollie - you are on the receiving end of a suitable response to suggesting that an appropriate way to keep/train dogs is to electrocute them. Of course dogs are not children. I wouldn't electrocute my child either, funnily enough.

Good analogy over removing the fences at a zoo. Lions, rhinos, chihauhaus. All the same really.

I think it is silly to get a puppy if you won't be there. It's not just the walks, it will destroy the house while you are out.

If you want a PET. Get an adult dog not a puppy!

What's wrong with a rescue dog? There are loads of lovely family pets in rescues, already good with children etc, and unwanted puppies if you really want them.

Blue, I am sorry that you have been flamed for giving me advice. I wish more people had some helpful suggestions if they don't agree with DP's decisions regarding his dog.

I got a dog whilst on maternity leave with first DD. After 10 months I went back to work 3 days a week. The dog was left from 8am until 5.30 everyday, indoors, without being let out. It was not ideal but the dog never had an accident or caused trouble. He was happy dozing in his bed all day. Fortunately I gave up work a few years later and was able to be home. I appreciate it was left for a long time but he was used to it, he was not neglected and got heaps of attention once everyone was home. We have to be realistic here, if we all had to wait to have a dog until we could be home 24/7 then we would be too old to look after it anyway - or sadly lacking in any other form of life!

I am shocked, saddened and appalled by some of the 'advice' given on this thread.

No-one should get two puppies at once, it is NOT 'not much more work than one' it is at least three times the work of one. They must be walked seperately, trained seperately, spend time individually with the owner and if you are out and leavng them home alone otgether, they WILL get more attacjhed to each other than you and be very difficult to train because of that. No breeder in their right mind would home two puppies together, nor would any decent rescue.

It is not OK to leave your puppy (or dog) tied up outside all day for three days per week. It is wrecking the house/going through a 'naughty' phase because you are not looking after it properly. EG. you're buggering of to work and leaving it alone. Puppies need company and they need supervision. I have had countless puppies and they never wreck my house because they are properly supervised. A simple solution to the dog escaping the garden would be to keep it in the house. Radical huh? My advice in this situation? Make sure someone is at home with the dog all day or for at least part of the day even if that means leaving your job. (I am serious btw!) or rehome the dog to someone who is prepared to look after it properly.

Can you have a puppy if you are out of the house for two whole days a week? NO is the simple answer. Owning a dog is not a right and if your circumstances don't suit a dog then it's tough luck, don't get a dog. You may be able to find a suitable older dog from a decent rescue, but you would still need to be able to come home at lunchtime or get someone who could. As a rule, 4 hours is the longest a dog should be left. Puppies shouldn't be left anywhere near that long.

Electric shock collars/fences? What happens if the collar malfunctions and causes serious burn injuries to the dogs neck? (this happens) Or if the dog happens to be looking at yoru child when it gets shocked so starts associating your child with the shock, so starts really disliking your child and then one day bites or mauls them? Plus, some dogs get out of the fence and then can't get back in.

People make me so fucking angry sometimes!

Thing is Flowery, you've said that you worry about her chewing cables when you are in another room. So you tie her outside when you are in as well? That is awful.

You should be taking her in as part of your family - training her to do what you expect by praise and reward. It takes time and patience.

To get your cats to accept your dog you need to train your dog to treat your cats the way they will tolerate being treated. That is often by distraction and treats for ignoring them.

Have you heard of crate training? You can use it as a positive place for your dog to be when you don't have eyes in the back of your head. But you need to concentrate on training your dog not to chew cables.

I think you need to see the dog as part of your family. She is. The segregated won't work. What hours is your DP in? If you work with her, you will start to love her.