Considering getting a dog - advice please

[NeedaNewName]

Not been on this section before so be gentle with me, I know how emotive the subjectof pets are!!!!!

I grew up with an English Springer and then later a lab and have always wanted a dog, I have to say I think my parents were quite lazy and didn;t walk the dogs as much as they should have done and they also weren't well trained, i.e I couldn't walk them onthe lead - too strong for me, and I woudln';t have been able to get them back if I let them lose. They were both beautiful dogs though and I missed them loads when they died.

Have not previously been in a position to give a dog a home but we're getting close to it now, so I'm really looking for advice.

We're probably looking at getting one maybe next year but just looking for some advice really as to whether we should or leave it a bit longer.

DH works from home 2-3 days a week, I work part time (3 days a week) so generally there will be someone in the house most days.

We have a garden (will need to be fenced in properly though before we even consider getting a dog) We would be able to walk the dog but not an hour a day! With the exception of at weekends.

I would ideally like a dog that doesn;t shed too much though I accept that dog hair and smells go with the territory and if you don;t like it don't get a dog!

I also am no keen on the smaller dogs (sorry to those who have and love them), they're jsut not me or DH.

So are we unreasonable in thinking of getting a dog? If not are there any books you can recommend that we get in the mean time and what breeds would you suggest?

Have you looked at rescue greyhounds? They like a couple of short bursts of exercise a couple of times a day and are happy to snooze for the rest of it. Quite big, very elegant (IMO) and there are many poor souls in need of a loving non-racing home. You'd need to fence in the garden, and check out the local furries but they do apparently make excellent pets.

Try here
www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk

I think the best source of realistic dog-owning info is probably people in a similar situation who've taken the plunge fairly recently. (Too long ago and they forget the first fortnight of panic; too soon and they'll probably try to persuade you to take their puppy!) In my experience, once you get beyond the initial shock of how much your life does have to revolve around the dog (daily walks, feeding, not leaving it alone too long, extra housework), it settles down into a routine, and really isn't so bad. The rewards of the company, and love, and the sheer pleasure of seeing your dog bouncing back to you through the autumn leaves more than makes up for any hair.

My view would be that if you can't walk a dog for an hour a day then I would think that a dog is not the right pet for you just now.

Most dogs need a two good walks a day my labs have two hour walks a day plus training time and play time. The Collies have more! the spaniel never gets enough even if he has 24 hours a day!!

Even if you got a dog that required less exercise eg a greyhound you would still need to give them an hour a day attention. eg training, playing walking, hoovering up after them etc.

Thansk Wildfig, a couple of people have mentioned greyhounds before but I'm not sure if I like the look of them, but I am willing to look.

Qucik question - whats a furrie?

Please don't flame me for the above comment, I want to ensure we get the right dog for our familyu and that has to include one I like the look of. If in our current circumstances there is no 'right dog' then obviosuly we won't get one.

We have a dog that can get by on less than an hour of walking a day, especially when the weather is bad.

I walk the DC to school, so she has about 45mins there and the rest of the day she can go out and play in the garden.

We do longer walks at weekend, but as often as not it is in town.

It really depends on the dog though. A springer or collie would be miserable with so little walking.

Greyhounds have lovely eyes - they always remind me of deer.

What sort of dog do you like the look of though?

I'm a bit short on suggestions because my own is a standard dachs - big in one direction only but good dor not shedding much, remarkably unsmelly and doesn't need an hours walk a day (though can happily climb mountains at the weekend)

An hour's walking a day is the minimum for most dogs, but a greyhound would be happy to split it into two half hour bursts, unlike a spaniel or a lab - could you fit that in? But, yes, Minimu is right: if you can't commit to an hour, most dogs, especially bigger breeds, would be out. Am assuming that attention when inside goes without saying.

Furries = next door's guinea pigs, cats, hamsters, anything a sight-prey-drive dog would be tempted to chase and possibly despatch!

Well I adored my spaniel and lab but know that they would not be the right dog for our family and would be miserable so would not get one.

I did read one book that said german sheppards make ideal first dogs as they love to be trained and make great pets - not sure though, love the look of them but worry that it would be too big for me (I'm only little!)

So I suppose I tend to like the look of the mid to large sized dogs.

Mum and Dad later had a Rhodisian RIdgeback who was beautiful and needed hardly any exercise but I know they are far too big for me!

We have one of the small dogs that don't need a lot of walking, a Maltese Terrier/Cavalier King Charles. When we started looking we actually wanted something slightly bigger but I am so happy that we got her. She suits us very well.

You say you can't do an hour a day so how long can you do - realistically?

You say someone is in the house most days, how often is there no-one and for how long - be honest!

You need to look long and hard at things, imagine yourself into the worst case scenario and see if that is still condusive to having a dog - ie what happens if dh has to work in the office/you have to go full time?

I fyou are talking about being able to do 20/30 minutes walk in the morning and 30 minutes at night - every day then I second a greyhound, the level of exercise is about perfect for them. An older greyhound will be more likely to cope with being left than any other dog too - they are a bit like cats in that they like a warm pkace to snooze and a bit of time to stretch their legs out every so often. Being short haired they are less messy than other large breed dogs.

Another reason behind the greyhound suggestion... there are not many medium or large breed dogs hwo can cope on small amounts of excercise like this almost all breeds over a year old (of this size) will need a good hour plus another morning or evening walk as a minimum, some considerably more. Of course a lot of small breed dogs are like that too!

Furries, cats, rabbits etc. Some greyhounds don't bat an eyelid, some would kill them as soon as look at them and have no hope of chinging and some can be re-trained succesfully, it is something you need to consider (potentially having to mussle on walks if there are neighbourhood cats) but a greyhound rescue will tell you all about it and will have tested their dogs for this. IME greyhound rescue tend to be the most thorough at checking the small furrie relationships of their dogs - simply because these dogs are trained to be furry thing obsessed in order to race.

Would you consider a cross breed? If so then you could approach several rescues and explain you are looking for a low energy medium dog, they will probably find you something just right - but it may take time!

Would rehoming an older dog work for you maybe? I'm sure there must be lots who need a nice quiet life.

GSDs are a specialist breed, they need careful training to come out right, once they are trained they are fantastic dogs in general but getting that early bit right is so important - they need a lot of excercise and even short haired ones make a lot of mess.

Ridgebacks need a lot of excercise like any other large breed dog, at least an hour a day plus another walk. Even my elderly ridgeback neeeded that, younger ones more, I would say a 3yr old should be having 30 mins in the morning, 30 mins at lunch and an hour off lead in the evening, or thereabouts. They are kind and forgiving dogs though so people can take advantage of that good nature - which is a shame really as this is often how they end up going wrong and getting a bad name.

I've got a greyhound. They're happy with 2x 20 min walks a day. I do walk mine for an hour+ a day but thats my choice. If the weather is bad and she doesn't get a walk she's not fussed.

Can I have some advice too? (sorry if this is too blatant a hijack, needsanewname)

We're looking for a small dog - we don't mind lots of walks and we live in the country, and there's almost always someone home. But we don't have the space for a big dog. The dog would be nominally 8 year old ds's, but I know that it would really have to be mine. We want something short haired, cheerful, up for a romp and ready to be in ds's gang. Probably about Border terrier sized. Any ideas?

german shepherds are not great pets imo as they have the guarding instinct and need a bloody firm hand from the minute you bring it home. the biggerthe dog the less exercise to some degree, talking the giant breeds here not the average size like your rottie.boxer.border collie.
some terriers would be good and as mentioned greyhounds are surprisingly lazy happy to just lie on the sofa all day and not really a puller as a walker.
long haired are a no no for you.

seeker border terrier sounds ideal! or a jack russell as keep mice at bay too!

My concern is that by you saying you can not give them an hours walk a day are you really able to fit a dog in to your life. Whatever size dog you get whether it requires a lot of exercise or not it is not fair to expect it to have less than an hours attention a day.

They need more than a brief walk - what do you expect the dog to do for the remaining 23 hours a day?

I do not want to sound lecturing or bossy but I do have to sort out so many problems with dogs that have just been expected to amuse themselves for large periods of time. The consequence is a very bored, depressed dog and stressed owners.

Could you try fostering? Maybe that would give you the experience of having a dog in the household. You may find that you love the dog ownership so much that getting up a hour earlier to walk with the dog or a couple of evenings at dog training is just what you want to be doing!

Thanks guys - of course I forgot to mention that we have a cat! Which is another consideration for not getting a dog yet. love her to bits and I am far more a dog person that cat, however the cat is here and part of the family and I will do nothing to put her out.

To be honest, I could probably do a 20 min walk am and 30/40 in the evening, as I said longer at weekends.

Re the work change thing you are right, that could happen, though I am hoping to change my hours when DD2 goes to full time school in Sept 11 to 5 days 9.30 - 2pm, so 3 days work spread but of course there is no guarantee that will happen.

BIL recently got a cockerpoo which is a smaller breed than I would like, hoever she is gorgeous* and I am coming round to the idea of a smaller breeed.

Also I'm not bothered by have a certain breed, will happily have a mutt!

*Don;t worry I'm not getting a dog for an accessory - as I have said we are looking long and hard into this, we will also look into training classes and if need be a dog walker - though where to go for someone reputable I have no idea - thats the trouble with this I suppose. We are just starting to look at the idea of getting a dog and looking for advice on where to go.

Thanks for all your comments, keeep em coming but its looking like we'll hold on for a while, I don;t want to get one cos the girls want one,I know who'll be looking after it!

I thought about a Jack Russell - but can you train them not to yap? I don't think I've ever met a non-yappy one!

You can foster a dog???? Wouldn;t that be really stressful for the dog.

Don;t worry minmu you don;t sound lecturing, I came on here looking for advice. I know that taking on a dog is a huge responsibilty (as much as having a child!) If (and thats a big if) we did get a dog, it wouldn;t be ognored, it would beplayed with, groomed, out in the garden etc, we just don;t have the time to do long walks, though saying that having a dog may make me find the time!

Actuall y DH loves JR, my only fear is that they can be yappy, though saying that my grandparents had one who was not at all yappy, I suppose like peole they're all different

Maltalier

We know two other puppies from our dog's litter and they are just as couthy and lovely as she is.

Extremely good with DC, probably partly because we got her from a family so they were used to lots of DC right from birth.

Very loyal, happiest curled up beside me. Or on the DCs' beds at night.

Oh I have met lots of non-yappy ones Seeker, they are out there. In general (IME) the yappier ones tend to be more house/lap dogs (or at least treated that way) the non-yappies tend to be the ones who are treated as a working dog - plenty of excercise, proper training etc - also from working lines.

The mistake people make with JRTs is to see a little dog, they forget this is a big dog breed to be small, it has the mind and energy of a much bigger dog and is happiest occupied, they make great dogs for mini agility and things like that. People also tend to treat them like a Pom when training them, they are a working dog and need proper training just like a herding or gundog.

If you are up for the challenge then they could be a fantastic dog for you, they are certainly great with kids - if handled properly!

The vet would probably give you advice on a reputable local dog walker. Or if you attend training classes they would recommend someone.

Seeker, If you want a small dog that doesn't yap, get a dachshund - they do a proper hound bark