Dog owners, come and tell me how often you walk your dogs, and help me decide if we should get a dog

[MmeLindt]

and how to persuade DH that we should get a dog

I am thinking of getting a dog but don't know how to organise the walks etc.

The only thing that is stopping me is the fact that DH is away quite a bit and our DCs are only 4yo and 6yo. If the last walk is about 7pm, will the dog be ok?

Also, what kind of dog do you suggest? Must be smallish and obviously child-friendly.

I asked our Vet for advice before we chose the breed.

Her advice, because we have young children (4 and 6 year olds at the time) was to go for a puppy rather than a rescue, only because you don't always know what you're getting with a rescue and a puppy would 'grow up' with the children.

She gave us a list of good breeds which would suit us, one of which was Border Terriers.

Our BT will go for as long a walk as we can give him but he's equally happy with shorter walks and a play in the garden on those days where we cannot do a long walk.

A BT will also stop when you stop. Not a breed which will mither for loads of attention even when you've flopped down in a chair!

BT look good, I think a friend has one. What about Westies? My uncle had a westie, she was a lovely dog.

I have a small terrier who needs and gets 3 walks a day and plenty of ball-chasing games in the garden. We have a reasonable sized garden. He never does a poo in the our garden, which is good because the lawn is always poo-free, but then again not good if we have an emergency which means I can't walk him. His last walk is around 10.30pm, which means he can then wait for his morning walk until after I have done the school run. A dog trainer I know recommends Cavalier King Charles puppies for families with young children. Unless you have kept dogs before, I would definitely recommend getting a puppy. My last 2 dogs have been rescues - and they are always an unknown quantity to a greater or lesser extent.

I think I would be more inclined to go for a puppy that we can train ourselves.

What does a dog cost?

Depends on breed and breeder!

We paid £350 and he came with Kennel Club papers etc. Some breeds go for a lot lot more.

Our pup was also Vet Checked, wormed and a few other things I can't remember now!

I was also careful to look around the breeder's premises, I got to meet both the father and the mother and play with them for a bit.

what do they cost to keep or initial purchase?

so much variation

Forgot to say - I grew up with a Westie who was, on the whole, a great dog but he was a snappy little git when he was riled! That said, in them days, dog training wasn't something my parents spent a whole lot of time worrying about.

We had another dog called Jolly (mixed breed) and I'm sure he was the sole cause of all the new dog legislation that has come in over the years. He was NUTS!

Intitial costs, just a general idea, I know that certain pedigrees will cost loads

"running costs" dog food, vets, what else?

I want to have all the info before I speak to DH

2 dogs
1 greyhound (got her as a pup). She is lovely with the kids. She poos alot though. Seriously. I think its just her though. She doesn't need much excercise - a short walk, then she sleeps the rest of the time. She doesn't play that much though.

We also have a mixed breed - westie sized, and he is wonderful - very good with kids, playful, affectionate. We got him as a pup, and I think his personality could have gone either way - I'm glad we trained him from a pup - he is soo lovely. He poos 1x a day, so it depends on the dog really.
Both dogs just go on the school run with us, and they are fine. They need an offlead run every so often though.

We have a cocker spaniel. He gets three walks a day - during the week mostly street walks on the lead (last one about 7/8pm) and off lead country park walks at weekend. He goes out for pee/poo in the garden just before we go to be - about 10pm/11pm. I dont think you could expect any dog not to need to relieve himself after 7pm, if that was what you meant , OP.

He doesnt really shed hair that much, but we got him as a puppy and they do like to chew anything and everything when they are young. He destroyed several pairs of shoes, and the legs of wooden kichen chairs amongst other things.

He is slightly mad and not the easiest to train (eg he is still rubbish at walking on the lead) but is so good natured, and loves people/ other dogs.

I wouldnt be without him, but he does take up more time than I envisged (he is my first dog, and didnt have one as a child.) Also, food, flea and worming treatments, grooming, pet insurance etc, means they dont come cheap.

initial cost anything from free-to-good-home to £1,000 + for, dunno, french bulldogs

running costs: insurance, flea/tick prevention, jabs to protect against various nasties, holiday care when away, excess on insurance or vet fees for minor complaints/injury, food, toys, bedding, leads/collar, micro-chipping, spay/neuter

and TRAINING and socialisation classes

Macdog, don't want to hijack, but how did the living outside with a kennel/run work, please?

Unavailable
The 7pm thing is really that I would not always be able to take the dog for a walk after then, as the DC go to bed around 8pm. We do have a big garden though, so the dog could go out for a last wee/poo last thing at night.

cannot imagine why any dog would need to be walked late at night, your plans sound fine

unless he was so naughty on the lead you had to join the midnight walkers of shame!

feel a bit excited for you and your family! what sort of dogs are you most drawn to?

We have a BT, too, by the way. Would deffo recommend - doesn't mind being pulled about by dd and her friends. Mind you, he's out with a dogwalker atm! Puppies are much, much, much more time-consuming than you think. But cuddly. BTs don't shed.

I could remember my Dad going out at 11pm to walk the dog last thing, but we had a mad springer spaniel so maybe she needed a walk then. Or Dad wanted a sneaky cigarette before bed (much more likely, now that I come to think about i)

I like Westies and Spaniels as they are dogs that I grew up with. Spaniels are out though as they are too energetic for DH.

DH is not a dog person so will take some persuading. It would have to be a dog that

• doesn't shed too much hair as DH is a bit fussy about mess

• is not absolutely loopy

• is good with kids

• is affectionate

We have two dogs, both Staffie crosses. The youngest one (he is 18months) gets 30mins walk each day during the week and and hour on sats and suns. The older one (nearly 10) is happy with 20mins a day and sometimes comes for a longer one with us at the weekend.
I love my doggies, even though they are both a bit crazy!

labradoodle?

any dog will be loopy if mental/physical needs are not met, especially if coupled with poor nutrition altho some people really land on their feet and have v easy dogs with minimal effort

do think vast majority of dog problems down to lifestyle/owners and preventable

training goes a long way and is such a nice way to bond

you're putting so much thought into this it is bound to go swimmingly

Labradoodle! I soo want one

Brilliant temperment, and they don't shed!

my collie cross get 3/4 of an hour in the mornings.. probably more like an hour in the summer months, I get up and walk her at 6:15am. she goes out with the dog walker.. probably an hour in the afternoon, and has a last wee at 9:30pm...
my dog never poos in our garden either

A French bulldog.

Tiny, stout, like a baby hippo or tapir, gloriously ugly, wonderful optimistic, comic and friendly temperament, can actually make jokes, loves all people, no bad temper even with ear-pullers, can be walked but they don't need it, very healthy except for slight susceptibility to v. hot weather 9not a big risk in England), no asthma or feet probs like the English bulldog.

My Dd and I love dogs, but we were both bitten by a labradoodle. Nasty and snappish. I'd avoid them.

French bulldog sounds lovely, but I think we are going to have hot weather. We live near Geneva and it does get up to about 30° here in summer, I believe.

I assume a labradoodle is a cross between a labrador and a poodle?

Just googled labradoodle

These ones are so cute