We have got a dog!!!! SO excited

[chocolatemummy]

we are bringing him home sat, any advice would be greatly received.
what do you do when you go to work
how to introduce him to the cat!!!(he is fine with cats but not sure how she'll take it)

come on there must be some experienced famly dog owners here

What are you getting?

Congratulations!!!
Best piece of advice I can give you,is when you bring your puppy home take him straight to the room that you want him or her to sleep in.Then spend your time with him in there for a while. It teaches them where their bed is and it is the place they will go when they get scared too or tired,then hopefully when you put them there at bedtime they will remeber it's their space and you shouldn't get any whining through the night. It worked on both of our puppies. Oh and don't worry your cat will make it quite clear how is boss and put puppy in it's place very quickly!!!

aw congratulations, what sort of dog? how old?

my cats boss our dog around quite cruelly, he is desperate to make friends and play with them but they are too mean - make a big fuss of your cat and don't be surprised if she starts living and moving around several feet higher than before, mine have worked out routes around most rooms that don't involve going anywhere near the floor! I'm either working from home or I take him with me, can you take a few days to settle him in or get home at lunch or ask a friend or neighbour to let him out for a wee? It depends how long your working day is, if he's going to be alone for several hours you might want a dog walker/sitter to visit him in the middle of the day.

well its not a puppy, he is about 2 years old, it is a Saluki Cross, he hs been tested wioth cats and is not bothered at all and very soft and child friendly.
was thinking of putting a dog flap in garage door and putting bed in garage with his blankets and leaving him i the garden when we go to work?

then he can go in and out as he pleases,

Salukis are soooo beautiful, that sounds like a good idea if garden is secure - not just from him escaping but also from dog thieves . What do you think he is crossed with? I think we need pictures

You could try leaving him with some boredom busters like a frozen kong and or those treat dispensers and maybe some toys if he likes them.

Message withdrawn

Yes had a laborador years ago,
spent time with hime over last couple of week and looked into the breed. The garage is brick built, pitched roof 2 windows etc and at bottom of good sized clear garden, just thought he might be happy to have roam of garden and choice to be inside dry, warnm garage when he wants and weh we are at home he can come inside obviously.
I work flexible hours and from home fairly ofetn so he wont be home alone 9-5 5 days per week.

and booked monday off and tuesday half day so have sat, sun, mon and h
alf of tues with him

it sounds ok to me, if you do run into problems you can address them at the time - all dogs vary and some are happier to be left than others so you'll just have to play it by ear until you get to know one another. I think about 3 - 4 hours is probably the most you could reasonably expect - lots of people swear by leaving R3 on for their dogs!

I guess I think it would be better than being in a perspex box everyday in a dog resue centre and before that he was stray! bless him

We had a collie cross saluki who'd also been a stray. Our biggest problem with him was house training as he hadn't been trained and it took a while but he did get there eventually. He was a lovely dog, although pretty neurotic at times, but that was probably the collie in him. he did have quite a fine coat and used to feel the cold so wouldn't have liked being in a garage and garden, but yours might be fine. Its probably a good idea to gradually build up the time he's in the garage for so he has time to get used to it. It can take several months for a dog to properly settle into a new home so give him plenty of time. I expect he'll also need lots of training and careful handling too as you don't know what he's been through in the past. Ours was very queit in the rescue centre but came on loads once he settled in and gained confidence to become a boistrous happy dog.
Don't know about getting the cat used to your dog though. Have fun with him and let us know how he settles in.

yes he is very sweet, he hasn't barked once yet while we have been with him, he is very bouncy and excitable and I am not against having him in then house at all, I just thought he might like to have space and fresh air. Was also thinking about the summer period, not in the winter.
We are going to take him to training lessons at the dogs trust where we got him from,
when I get a photo online I will send it

Glad he's settling in, traing sounds like a good idea, can be quite fun too. I think it all depends on the dog with it being outside, I guess you'll just need to get to know him. My old collie loved being outside, would go out at every oportunity, rain or shine, cold or warm (but not hot!) She'd have loved to have access to garage and garden all year round(we've never had a garage though) but my saluki cross would've only done it in the summer, he used to shiver after a wet winter walk, I had a coat just to put on him in the car after a walk (he wouldn't have worn it walking it wouldn't stay on)! They were both rescue dogs. You'll have great fun getting to know your new dog and what he likes. He sounds lovely, do you have any idea what hes crossed with?

don't know what he is crossed with , I have looked at saluki websites and he just looks like that-the same, tall, skinny, short haired body fluffy ears and tail just looks like that?