Ok. Assuming that I agree to increasing family clamour to get a dog- and I am NOT saying I will mind- what us the best option for a household with 2 cats already in situ? Puppy? Older dog?

[Ormirian]

Any advice please.

I'd prefer to take on a rescue dog but would an older dog be set in it's ways re persecuting cats? Would a puppy learn better by being boxed around the ears a few times?

Oh dear

I particularly wanted a terrier or even a collie as those are the breeds I am familiar with. DH really wants a puppy -!I am not worried- which is why I thought this would be a good compromise between a rescue and a breeder.

Not really bothered about having an energetic feisty dog as long as they learn their place re cats.

Will think again

Orm, it's fine if you really know and understand what you are getting into. But if you look regularly on these pages, you'll see that collies in particular are disastrous in the wrong hands, particularly novice owners who underestimate the time and commitment. If you are solidly committed to doing at least two hours exercise every day, and willing to spend lots of extra time training, and doing activities like flyball/agility/Cani X, etc then you 'll be fine, especially if you are willing to do lots of properly structured training in the early days.

One of the beauties of MN is that you get grumpy old mares like me to come along and say lots of gloomy things (which you are then free to ignore) but like any of the rescue volunteers on here, I'm thinking ahead and have seen many, many owners have problems because they didn't understand/do basic research in to the breed they were taking on. A recent thread on collies showed that Wiccaways Rescue (which offers specialised support and advice for collie owners) gets over 2000 requests a year for help advice and rehoming. I strongly suspect that is the tip of avery large iceberg.

LOL scuttle! You are not a grumpy old mare You are a complete love for offering me so much advice. It is much appreciated.

I guess the whole process is going to be a lot slower and more painstaking than I thought. But that's OK.

Some terriers are easier to handle than JRT - we have a border, and they are less 'feisty' or whatever you want to call it - very friendly to everyone, not territorial, love having children and guests around. Mine would definitely chase a cat, though - but then he has never really encountered them close-up, only been taunted by them strolling slowly across his garden or along the street when he can't get to them through the window. It might be different if he had to live with them. Patterdales are also nice and slightly more laid-back, IME.

orm, i love the same breeds as you - terriers and collies but then i am also a mad and grumpy old mare. our collie x is a rescue and although we dont have cats he is absolutely fine with friends cats and wants to befriend them. he is also amazing with our chickens one of whom is elderly and when it is really cold she comes inside and sleeps with our collie x. he was 1 - 2yrs when we adopted him so we could already see his temperament. he is amazing with kids too, a huge factor for us as at that time we were still fostering. however he was hard work to train and still is more 'work' than our other two. he is a gorgeous softie though

we also have two jrts, one elderly and one 4yrs old. jrts are my favourite breed - see above for being mad liking a challenge. we have had both jrts since they were puppies. both are very very different. the youngest one i would never trust with a cat. he has had the same upbringing and training as the others but his prey drive is very strong and i couldnt trust him. even though the chickens lived here before him - unlike our rescue collie x who arrived after the hens - he cannot be trusted with them. he is fine with them unless they run or flap their wings. he is never left alone with them

the reason i am grumpy about jrts is because i love the breed so much! i have lost count of the number of times i have been told that mine are unusual because they are well behaved and do not yap. aarghh they are only like this because of the exercise and training they received. i feel so sorry for energetic, intelligent dogs who do not get the life they need and are then labelled yappy, naughty etc

even though i love the breed i would always advice caution to a novice owner.

i too have a few friends who have greyhounds and cats. all are rescue greyhounds and were cat assessed before adoption. i do firmly believe that a rescue is the way to go for you as a reputable rescue will cat assess. you have no guarantee that a puppy will ever be ok with cats. a friend is looking for a border terrier and we have been looking at breed rescue, there are a quite a few very young dogs on there being rehomed as they didnt get on with resident cat. ok some of this may be down to owner's lack of experience but some may be because of a particular dog having a high prey drive

sorry, lecture over had to restrain myself from praising my dogs, i could go on all day

I am a novice dog owner with a Collie X (whippet possibly). She came from rescue at 5 months (now 11months). I can honestly say that she is completely fab if a little energetic. ...and very fast!
I was wary about getting a collie for all the reasons stated by others but have absolutely no regrets as she is the perfect dog for us.
Interesting comment chicken about other's attitudes to your jrts - I have had similar comments about my dog not being a typical collie though I can't claim she is well trained she is definitely a work in progress.

I can't wait to hear what dog you choose OP. Happy hunting.

Thanks jelly.

Collie x whippet sounds perfect to make speed up my running

We've had a think and realised that as we are away for a week in Aug we can't find a dog before then.

Ooh look at him Isn't he lovely? What sort of dog is he?

And yes I am aware I had decided to stop looking for a while....

If your DH really wants a pup, and you want it late Aug... gestation is 9 weeks, then 8 weeks till ready to leave mum - now isn't too soon to be contacting breeders to see what they've got planned or just started.

Yes I was thinking that grimma. I need to pin him down and get him to say what he wants to do. We keep dithering,

OMG OMG OMG!

We have found a dog

Nothing like the dog we expected to find. We went along to see a JRT that was on the rescue website that looked perfect. He was reserved but opposite him was the most beautiful collie cross. He's 11m old, not too big and the softest thing you have ever seen. We got to talk to him, stroke and cuddle him and take him for a quick walk on the lead. He was rehomed because he has seperation anxiety, barked too much and was destructive) and with small DC they didn't have the time or energy to deal with it. So we have been told (assuming we are allowed to have him) that he will need training, possible a crate, and not to be over-fussed and spoilt (hmm). We d0on't live in a show home and our DC aren't too little, so we are prepared to put the hours in.

Oh he's so beautiful

DC wildly over-excited.

Got to ring first thing tomorow to confirm we want him. They will assess us and him and ring later to say if they think its' a good match. Then another visit to him, he visits us and then we can have him.

on your behalf! hope you get the go-ahead....

orm - so pleased for you, especially after your recent thread.

collie x sounds lovely. very similar to when we got ours. we went to the dogs trust to visit a jrt we sponsor (who cant be rehomed) and saw this adorable collie x who was about 1-2 (vet said nearer 1yr old) with a broken leg and very nervous but affectionate. 5 years later he is here cuddled up to me . he came home with us a few weeks after we first saw him. we needed to do a few visits with our existing dog to check they got on - she is bossy older jrt and he is submissive so visits went well as he knew his place! when i took him to see my vet he told me that he was the most neurotic dog he had ever met . i was outraged on dog's behalf but it does have a lot of truth in it. he is a big scaredy cat but has an absolutely lovely temperament. he is very gentle

do let us know what happens. i am excited and dog broody at the same time

Ooh, very loud unsuppressed squee here too!!! I want pics. We NEED pics. Keeping everything that can be crossed, crossed.

If I link to his page on the website everyone has to promise not to nick him

Isn't he luverly?

I have rung confirming that we want him - and he is definitely still available - just got to wait for them to call me back to arrange meeting etcs.

squeeeee!

Last thing DD said to me when she went off to school this morning was 'mum, don't forget to ring!'

ooo he is lovely. website is already showing he is reserved. sooo excited for you

btw if i had my fingers crossed when i mentally promised not to nick him it doesnt count does it???

he is at a demanding age and he looks clever so he may be very hard work for the first year. the first year with our collie x i did wonder what possessed me to rehome him. it seems as if you have thought it all through and its a breed mix that you like but just dont want you to be hard on yourself if its more work than you envisaged. very pleased for you all

I know collies are hard work.

I am going to be looking for training classes just as soon as we get the call back! And considering a crate - never used one before but it sounds as if it might be a wise move.

i dont use a crate but there are a few threads on here about them if you wanted advice

now to the important stuff - have you decided on a name?

a friend of mine borrowed a crate from the rescue she rehomed from to see if dog liked it first. maybe you could ask the rescue?

I mentioned it and they didn't offer sadly.

I am not too keen on his current name but the others are so I think we will stick with Harley.

i thought Harley suited him with his colouring and stature. not very often they have names that suit them in rescue!

How exciting! He looks gorgeous (and Harley-ish - but I wouldn't worry, names sort of morph anyway IME. He'll probably end up being called Harley-Barley-woozles )