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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

we would like another dog... advice please!

69 replies

OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 19:56

we have a 3yo de-knackered JRT/westie dog. he has calmed down a lot, but is still rather excitable. we have just moved to a small village with a larger garden, surrounded by fields. dh and I are talking about getting another pup. not a big one, but maybe a beagle or spaniel. Ive spotted a cocker/lab cross for sale near us and am trying to win dh round to getting one sooner rather than later.

first, should we get a bitch or another dog? my instinct tells me a bitch would be better, but not sure.

secondly, should we take Benji with us to view and until he/she is ready to take home take him a few times to get them used to each other?

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Spamspamspam · 10/07/2011 20:16

lissie, you asked for experts and I am not one, however I would have thought it would be a very good idea to take everyone in the family to meet the dog in question so you can gauge reactions.

How exciting for your family!! Can't wait to hear your news when the time is right!

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 20:25

thanks, I figured that and wouldnt get a dog without ds's input, so the same goes for the dog. its just that he can be pretty boisterous and I dont know if it would be best to introduce them in our home to reassure him iykwim.

also considering a collie, since he comes from a farm and still behaves himself around them

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DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 20:31

Please pm Midori1999, who is an experienced and respected dog breeder, and ask her about the pitfalls and moral inadvisability of buying from a backyard breeder such as the one you're speaking of. Or trawl through earlier posts and see what has been said in the past. Basically it's not a good idea and places you and the dog at various types of risk whilst encouraging idiots to breed for a quick buck when they know nothing, will offer you no lifetime support and when there are already thousands of healthy, unwanted dogs being killed in pounds each month across the UK.

I could go into more detail about the pitfalls of buying from such people but I'm sick to death of people kicking off when I do and am not feeling particularly tolerant this evening so it's best I leave it at that. I'm a rescuer and despite the fact that as a result of that I don't advocate dog breeding at all this is an area where Midori1999 and I agree.

Whilst I will always advocate rescuing a dog or puppy, if you must go for a pup from a breeder please, please buy from a reputable one - Midori will tell you all you need to look out for, all I can tell you is that someone advertising their Lab/Cocker crosses isn't one.

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 20:35

thank you. we were also looking at a collie (we used to have one before she died) and in that case would probably get from a farm, would that be better? and the same questions apply.

tbh, I wouldnt buy from a breeder as such, in the same way that I wouldnt buy a pedigree dog. we bought benj from a farm and I love the fact that he is so ragtag. if we didnt have benji, I would probably get an older dog, but I am aware of the fact that he will want to be the dominant party, so a puppy is the way to go for us.

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Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 20:38

just checked the ad, and its not a breeder. well, she says not. both parents can be seen

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DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 20:48

What you're speaking of is at best a backyard breeder and at worst a puppy farmer.

If you want a ragtag dog then approach a reputable rescue and ask them to suggest a suitable companion. Seek a rescue which homechecks, assesses the dogs, vaccinates, neuters, microchips, insists on meeting all the family, insists on pooch meeting existing pooch successfully before adoption and which guarantees to take the dog back if at any stage in his life you can't keep him. Rescue can certainly offer you a puppy but there's no reason to discount an older dog if that's what you want. A decent rescue will match the right dog to not just you and your family but to your existing dog too.

(I have 3 large breed male dogs, the slightly smaller, elder of them is definitely "the boss" but has happily coped with all manner of foster dogs and visiting dogs as well as two completely new companions when his old friends died, it is possible to introduce a new older dog to an existing dominant one).

I hate to say this too but I've seen where you live on your profile and it's far too close to the puppy farming centre of the UK for my liking. NO WAY would I advocate you buying a "farm dog". Sorry to be a party pooper, as I said, please PM Midori as she will give you the reputable breeders POV too, I always get accused of being terribly biased and I'd rather you heard it from someone on the other side of the fence to me, so to speak.

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 20:53

ok, thank you. can I ask you to pm me the name of the centre you mentioned please, just so I can discount.

luckily, because we are very rural ds comes home from school with tales of so and so's new puppies, so I can keep an ear out in the playground. we had a look at dogs trust, but its quite a way from us and i think we are set on a puppy. i love older dogs and think they have a lot to offer, but i think 18m, maybe 2 is as old as we would consider.

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DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:01

That puppy farming centre of the UK is Wales, lissie!

It has a huge puppy farming problem, as another poster, ScuttleButter, will tell you too. (SB is a rescuer who lives in Wales and who is an active and very knowledgable campaigner against puppy farming).

Dogs Trust may well have puppies and Many Tears, who rehome throughout the Uk although based in Wales, definitely do.

If you're buying from one of the parents in the playground you are buying from a backyard breeder. They won't have carried out any health checks on the dogs, they won't vaccinate and neuter, they won't take the dog back if you lose your home in 5 years time and can't keep your dog as a result. Hence I said please, either rescue or go to a reputable breeder, not some bod down the road who has mated his bitch with his neighbour's dog in the back garden.

DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:03

PS - I love older dogs too, glad to find a fellow oldie-lover! :)

If you ever change your mind on the age of dog you'd consider "The Oldies" rescue website is THE place for finding the perfect senior. :)

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:07

ok, thank you for the advice. I have taken on board what you've said.

We are happy to neuter, chip and vaccinate ourselves (as we did with Benji) and are responsible owners who have both had dogs all our lives. however, I dont want to buy from just anyone and would never buy from someone who mistreats their puppies. I am aware that we have been very lucky in the past (bought dogs from local farmer and/or gamekeepers) to have had good-tempered, healthy dogs. I will do a quick search for a rescue centre closer than roden and hilbrae though

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Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:11

older dogs are ace! puppies are fun, but Benji has definately got better (and cuter) with age. and the best dog we ever had was Bess who was a 4yo border collie when we got her. she died when ds was a baby, aged 10 and at the time we said we would never get another dog.

but we are dog people and our family needs dogs iykwim.

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Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:14

these are the ones who have stolen my heart Blush

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DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:19

Oh yes, I know what you mean. And it's not YOU that's the problem, it's these damn backyard breeders, bringing into this world yet more dogs without health or temperement checks when the strays in the pounds have just 7 days in which to be reuinted with their owners, failing which they are so often put to sleep on day 8.

I've just seen your photos - your children are beautiful and Benji looks scrummy. :)

As I said, give Many Tears Rescue a shout - they have hundreds of dogs AND puppies in foster homes across the UK... and I dare you to click on the link I gave you, see all their dogs and not want to take them all home! ;o

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:24

ah thank you! just the boy is mine. he picked Benji out for us. he decided the name, farmer came out with an armful of JRT's... 2 pure bred (apparently) and Benji. ds picked the scruffy ball of energy that is currently lying on the back of the sofa staring at sheep Grin

I will definately look at manytears though Grin i just wish I could take them all home.

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DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:30

jeez, PreLoved is full of dodgy "breeders" and puppy farmers! The bloody thing ought to be banned from advertising animals, it's a disgrace.

The problem you're facing, apart from having no idea about these dogs other than what the "breeder" wants to tell you - bearing in mind that they will not be professionals in the dog world and will not assess as a decent breeder or rescue will and may well not be truthful with you either - is that you could well be purchasing a pup which has the worst of both breeds rather than the best of them. Unlike a reputable breeder the owners of the parents haven't bred their dogs for good temperement and health, they've bred to make money and/or because their dogs are "cute". As a result they're doubling the chances of congenital health conditions in the pups and you can bet your bottom dollar that they won't be there to support you when your pup is dying or in need of expensive veterinary treatment.

Happymm · 10/07/2011 21:34

Popped over as requested Lissie. They do look cute-WTF is this constant messing about, puppy farming and making new shitty designer breeds?

Never heard if a cockerdor-would die rather than admit that one, would be truthful and just say a mutt!

Completely agree with dogsbestfriend, for finding a new pup. Either that or go to a reputable breeder you find through the Kennel Club if that's the route you want to follow. We specifically wanted a yellow lab, so that's the route we went down, but maybe when confidence grows with this dog ownership malarky we'd rescue a mutt to go with her :o

DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:36

I hate to say this but KC registered does not necessarily mean a dog of good breeding. The reputable breeders will tell you please to source a pup through the breed clun rather than Kennel Club.

DogsBestFriend · 10/07/2011 21:36

Pah! Breed CLUB not clun, of course!

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:38

dogsbestfriend, totally agree. there seem to be a lot of staffies in our area for sale, some of the ads just make me sad.

happymm, agree re the "naming" I love mutts. I love the fact that Benji looks like a westie but is coloured like a jack. Ive never really wanted a pedigree dog, which is why I suppose I am at more risk than someone like you.

on the happytears site, found a gorgeous 4yo bassett... how to persuade dh that we definitely need an older dog? Grin

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Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 21:39

I could say that she will put Benj in his place...

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Happymm · 10/07/2011 22:04

Ours was from someone who was an accredited breeder, and the pack of information we had, with history and health checks (hips, eyes, elbows) of both parents was amazing-even our vet was impressed with it. (dogs had been tested for stuff he hadn't even known you would/could test for)

We did spend many many months researching and on waiting lists though as wanted to be really sure we were going down the right route, and not the puppy farm one :(

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 22:09

there is a lot to consider isnt there? sil and bil have just bought a black lab from a gamekeeper friend of his brother, and he's cost them a fortune!

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Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 22:16

ok, have fallen in love with a 4yo bassett bitch and a 2yo beagle dog....

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Scuttlebutter · 10/07/2011 22:17

Lissie, just found this thread. Please, please, please, if you care a scrap about dog welfare, do not take a pup from a farm. Plenty of farm dogs end up in rescue, and many farmers are puppy farmers - it is a highly lucrative sideline. Farm dogs are just as prone to "accidental" matings, where you can be vulnerable to the health problems of both parents. I would steer well clear for many reasons.

Seeing where you are, take a look at Evesham Lurcher and Greyhound Rescue - they have some adorable small lurcher puppies http://www.lurcher.org.uk/dogs-to-adopt here who are 3 - 6 months old. I defy anyone not to succumb to their charms. Grin

With a reputable rescue, you will be getting back up, and a dog who is properly vet checked, chipped, wormed etc. and the confidence to know that if anything happens in the future the dog will be able to be rehomed. Please do have a look.

Original poster
OracleInaCoracle · 10/07/2011 22:28

i think we must have been very lucky in the past tbh.

I would love a greyhound or lurcher, but they will be too big really I think... shame, because they have a lovely temperament. I think I may vet dh's spaniel idea though (gorgeous though they are) in favour of a beagle or bassett... have utterly fallen in love.

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