A question about puppies

[gregssausageroll]

Some of you have helped us over the last 4-5 days as we had to send back the rescue dog we got last weekend with the final straw coming when the dog went for me as I tried to retrieve DS toy from him.

Anyway, we have been talking alot. Our previous 2 dogs were puppies and DH would like to try a puppy again. He really doesn't want a rescue dog again and has completely put his foot down on the subject.

So, we are considering buying 2 puppies. Cocker spaniels which we have had before and I know of a good breeder.

The thing is, come September these 2 (if we go for them) would be left on their own 2 days per week although I will get home at lunchtime. Is this totally unacceptable? I know it is far from perfect but I presume lots of dogs get used to this. I used to work from home so previous dogs were not an issue. I don't have that luxury this time round.

[DogsBestFriend]

No need for apologies at all, sounds like you've been in for a rough time recently and are now sad to have your hopes dashed. I'm sad for you too, but honestly wouldn't advise a pup atm. I hope that circumstances change for you (or that you send DH around here for an earbashing on his rescue dog prejudice :o).

:)

[GrimmaTheNome]

Sorry this isn't working out, but I have a suggestion. You want an older, settled dog; your DH won't contemplate a rescue. A possible solution is that breeders sometimes have mature dogs which they want to place in a pet home. Our current dog came to us at 10 months - had been kept for show/potential breeding but he started going bald. Beautifully socialised, housetrained, perfect.

If you look at breed websites you may be able to find a dog which isn't a 'rescue' as such but still needs a home.

[chickchickchicken]

i agree with the posters above re responsible breeder

however, i am concerned after reading your other thread that you have unrealistic expectations for any dog slotting into your lifestyle. despite posting that the new rescue dog was displaying signs of stress at being left you still left him for 4 hrs just 2/3 days after he moved in with you. yes, my dogs can now be left for that amount of time and be perfectly happy but a new dog or a pup cannot be left for that amount of time. you assume the rescue were lying that he was happy to be left but maybe he was with them but change of home made him anxious. do you not possible think that leaving him so much (or adopting him in the first place when you werent around to settle him in) contributed to his anxiety? you said he was good natured but then he snapped after picking up ds soft toy. i would also think you need to think about in the future if you are able to commit the time to help any dog settle in and understand your house rules but also enforce the practical things - for example not leaving kids toys around for dog to pick up until a new dog understands what is his toy and what is kids toys. the very sad thing is not that dog will be tarred with snapping and will make it even harder for him to find a home

[gregssausageroll]

Absolutely see your point chick and yes, some of the fault lies with us. We were keen to get him but rescue also need to take some responsibility. They knew our situation over these current 2 weeks but were happy to let him go even though we were upfront and mentioned immediately the 3 days in question. To them it wasn't an issue but yes, we are to blame and should have said no we'd wait until August which was our original intention.

I do wonder if anyone else would have done it differently from us, especially when you go on the advice of Rescue. Perhaps if I'd asked here this time last week it would have been a diffrerent story.

DS is 3 and has toys and this is another situation that needs to be discussed with DH and another "reason" has has against a rescue dog. DS naturally comes first.

We have a lot to offer a dog. We just need to find him/her.

[chickchickchicken]

glad you understood what i meant. sometimes the time just isnt right no matter how much you want a dog. it is very hard with young dcs and a new dog or pup.

all of my dogs (one in training to be an assistance dog, one hoping to be a PAT dog, one oldie who we had when we were fostering and was amazing with all the different kids we looked after) are absolutely great family pets. it is possible but it is very hard work settling a dog in. dont get me started on having a puppy and young dcs. lets say i have no desire whatsoever to repeat that experience!

[CurlyCasper]

I don't know what rescue charity you used gregs, but unfortunately some are better at matching homes and dogs that others. Local to me, the RSPCA shelter has a shocking reputation for not asking the right questions and making the right checks. But our nearest Dogs Trust was extremely thorough and three years on our rescued bitch is very much a part of the family. I hope you and your DH can be convinced to try again. A nice retired greyhound would be better for your circumstances - not a gundog that is liable to boredom. Hope you find the right dog for your family. Good luck

p.s I chose to rescue even though my parents are breeders. I didn't need a dog to show or work, so I found a good pet in need of a good home.

[chickchickchicken]

i totally agree with curly about some rescues being better at matching homes and dogs than others. some with 'rescue' in the name are not actually even rescues

its always best to go to a reputable rescue, preferably one that has been recommended to you either in rl or on here

curly - a retired greyhound is on my wish list for the future. i love my jrts and collie x but dont plan on having any more clever, working dogs

[CurlyCasper]

Don't blame you chick! Just don't end up with a collie lurcher like us - speed of a greyhound, stamina of a collie, all thrown behind frequent rabbit, hare or squirrel chases. It's hard to train a dog motivated by the chase much more than food or praise. Thankfully we are surrounded by fields and our garden is a third of an acre, and I have a lifetime of dog experience.

Note, OP, that the above does not apply most rescue greyhounds (don't want to scare you off) - I just got a boisterous cross. I cannot advocate the loving greyhound character enough, and a retired greyhound is a fab pet. One or two walks a day and they are otherwise happy to curl up in a cosy place.

[teta]

Gregssausage roll i have a cocker puppy and he bites and goes for my dc's toys and has growled at me!.Not all the time -with just me he is lovely but gets wound-up by the kids from time to time [usually at really stressful times] like getting them off to school.Also Cockers are not good at being left alone for long periods of time.I have had a cavalier before, who was 2 when we got her and she was ok at being left and used to go in and out via a cat flap when i was working [and she was lovely with children!].I have also had a rescue Jack Russell who loved me but hated everyone else .He attacked my neighbours and i had to take him back with tears in my eyes because i didn't want him to cause hurt to neighbouring children [he had already bit them once].So i do have sympathy for you.But puppies are not all rosy and easy.

[Scuttlebutter]

Greggs, sorry things didn't work out. I'm particularly sorry to hear your DH's views on rescue dogs. I'd endorse what others have said about rescue greyhounds. They really are couch potatoes who need a shortish walk or two each day, and then a comfy sofa or duvet where they can put their feet up and snooze the day away. They are generally very gentle souls who are used to being handled, and I know quite a few families who have ASD/SN kids who have them and found them to be brilliant with their children.

It just doesn't sound like the time is right for you at the moment - give yourself a bit of time - when the time is right, things will fall into place for you.

[chickchickchicken]

gregs - walk away from the thread unless you want a greyhound living with you soon . scuttle has special tinternet powers of persuasion. i used to be a terrier person and couldnt imagine having another breed (except the collie x we rescued when we went to look for another jrt!) but am now planning a greyhound in the future

fwiw the greyhound we met on holiday was incredibly gentle and loving with ds (who has asd) within a few minutes of meeting him. within an hour greyhound was leaning into ds for a cuddle. i have never met another dog (and most of my friends have dogs) who has been so loving towards ds so quickly. i have pics of the greyhound and am still in touch with the owner. this greyhound was a rescue. she had been rescued from the pound, has permanent scars on her side from previous abuse but is a lovely, gentle, playful dog

[Scuttlebutter]

"These are not the droids you are looking for....."

"Use the force, chick......"

[mdoodledoo]

I'm going to offer an alternative view - last year we had two puppies 6 weeks apart in age and it's worked out just brilliantly. We are experienced dog owners and had a certain level of confidence that we could work with two successfully, but we did read up a little bit too and there were plenty of horror stories out there about the dogs needing/wanting our input less and being more difficult. That has not been the case with our two.

It's worth noting that our two were not from the same litter, and I can imagine that with siblings there may be a bigger challenge. We've also got different breeds and genders so there's an added element of different characteristics that may also work in our favour.

The dogs love one another and have a strong bond, but both recognise all the humans as their leader, including our young children. They are not kept isolated and spend time almost every day with lots of other dogs on walks or at the stables (where most of the horse owners also have a dog or two) - so they're v well socialised which may also help.

Also - as for leaving them all day. We were lucky that my Mum was coming in at lunchtimes every single day we were not at home, and during the first 16 months of their life I think she only missed two days of her lunchtime visit and play session.

However, she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and so the routine has had to be thrown out of the window - they had to get used to staying home alone very suddenly and have been just fine. Things are getting back to 'normal' now so they're getting more of their daily visits but it's not going to be uncommon for them to stay home alone 2 days/week. I think it'll be fine if we continue to give them a good walk before we leave for work - they tend to snooze about half the day away then. Ours are 18 months old now and that's a feasible option - for v little puppies it's not going to be so easy.

I would say don't be automatically put off having two of a similar age - I wouldn't change my two furry friends or our choice to have them at the same time - it was the right choice for us.

[chickchickchicken]

scuttle - strong in the force you are

[midori1999]

mdoodledoo, it's great that things worked out for you, but the fact is, in the majority of cases it just doesn't. Good breeders know this and good rescues know this and for that reason won't home together two puppies or dogs of the same age, possibly excepting two adult and already very well trained/behaved dogs. The fact is, no decent breeder would either home two puppies together or home a puppy to someone with a dog that wasn't already 'established', no decent rescue would either, so where does that leave to get these dogs from?

OP, I agree that currently your circumstances don't seem right for a puppy, but may suit an older rescue dog used to being left alone for periods of time. One thing I will say is that as far as a dog is concerned, what is in it's mouth is it's property and it's not entirely suprising that a dog would bite if someone tried to take something from it's mouth, even if the dog is good natured and especially if the dog has been told off for say, growling, in the past. It's good practice to teach a dog to 'swap' whatever it has in it's mouth for something else the dog percieves of higher value. This has two purposes, a) it makes sure the owner doesn't get bitten and b) it makes sure the dog sees giving up what is in it's mouth as a good thing and it will be more likely to happily do so in future. (obviously assuming the 'swapping' becomes a repeated behaviour).

[chickchickchicken]

curly - "Just don't end up with a collie lurcher like us - speed of a greyhound, stamina of a collie"

it is likely our collie x is mixed with a lurcher. i know exactly what you mean about stamina + speed but ours doesnt chase, he just likes running for no apparent reason. his recall isnt 100%. same training as my jrts, who are very obedient with 100% recall, but sometimes when he is running he is in a parallel universe . he is great with cats, small furries and my chickens. i have never seen him chase anything unlike my jrts he is 6yrs old now and we have had him for 5yrs. he is hard work. lovely but more work than the other two put together

midori - totally agree with your post

[HereBefore]

My 8 month old puppy would 'kill' any cuddly toy that came her way, I love her but she's a teenager and I would not want her x 2 at the moment. I'm not against multiple dogs, I have three now but IMO there should be an age gap and a good breeder will not sell two pups from the same litter or sell a puppy to someone who already has a puppy at home.

[mymumdom]

Curly and Chickchick. We have a Greyhound /Saluki cross and I had assumed a collie X would be easier as at least they'd have a brain cell.
It seems not!

[Al0uiseG]

Why wouldn't a decent breeder sell 2 pups from the same litter?

[HereBefore]

Two puppies from the same litter very often bond with each other, rather than the humans in the family, making them more difficult to train etc. A good breeder would also be aware of the challenges and time demands two puppies would make, few people would have the time and commitment to give each dog the separate training, walking etc that they would need. IMO puppies are more work at around 8 - 18 months than when they are tiny and even if you go that far with two pups chances are this is the time it would start to go wrong, one of these teenage puppies in your life is sometimes one too many!

Also a good breeder will sell you a pup on a contract to return the pup to them if things don't work out, a breeder who offers this is understandably cautious and only places their puppies in the best homes, those that they feel have the circumstances to care for the puppy. IMO no breeder would want to jeopardise the good home that they have found by overburdening them with two puppies.

I'm sure there are more reasons but these are the ones that come to my mind.

[CurlyCasper]

mymum and chick - those brain cells are sometimes more bother than they are worth!

[chickchickchicken]

too true curly. mymum a greyhound/saluki cross must look gorgeous. i have always thought salukis look stunning. i do remember seeing a dog show years ago (cant remember if it was one with slebs or general public) on tv and one of the judges awarded extra points to the saluki's owner for being brave enough to try to train a saluki despite the dog only completing some of the course and then deciding to go on a wander

[Scuttlebutter]

Agree completely about salukis being gorgeous. Do I go gooey whenever I meet one? Yes. Would I choose to own one? Probably not unless I was ready to triple my gin intake. Every one I know who has one says their recall is even worse than greyhounds..... sigh. And there's the famous saluki aloofness, and just general bonkers-ness to factor in. They're a bit like Alexander Vinokourov the cyclist - you just can't factor in the sheer X factor of "It seemed like a good idea at the time" which to everyone else looks, well, bonkers.

[emptyshell]

We've got a couple of grey/saluki crosses walk around here (my dog loves them... because their owner gives him treats- mercenary lil bugger!). They're actually much more of the grey than saluki - you wouldn't know they weren't pure-greyhound if you didn't talk to their owner. I'd take 'em home with me - one's really shy (but has just decided I'm worthy of leaning on - I'm honoured) and the other isn't backwards in coming forwards and prods you with his nose and a Paddington Bear Hard Stare until you hand a treat over to him!

[Al0uiseG]

Thanks HereBefore I still want two next time though. :o