Advise needed on new dog.

[Hicidycup]

Hi, I have been thinking about getting a dog, a small one, as I have young children. Can anybody tell me what sort of costs would be involved. I want to make sure that I can afford to look after it before making the commitment but to be honest I'm not sure where to start other than food and insurance and I'm not even sure how much these cost.

Thanks

No one's mentioned Border Terriers. Absolutely stunning little dogs! Small but fit and brave, great soh, biddable but not dopey. Perfect for families.
They have to be stripped a couple of times a year, but no major shedding.

'Its not the breed, its the dog'.

There's no such thing as a safe breed or a vicious breed. The dachshund my DH had as a boy bit several people; the one I've got now is a sweetheart.

This is one of the reasons why rescue dogs are often recommended - a good rescue will have assessed each dog.

Lots of really good advice given. I own two dogs, a staffie x and a collie x, both rescue. Have had them for ten years.

Would say, that keeping dogs is as cheap or expensive as you like. I dont personally have insurance for my dogs. However both have been neutered, vital, and chipped, again vital.

I feed mine standard dried dog food from supermarket (£3 a week?) and have never been near a dog agility or obedience class. They do however have woodland walks every day. They are exceptionally well behaved :)

I dont personally have insurance for my dogs

I reckon every dog owner should have 3rd party insurance in case the dog hurts someone (accidentally or otherwise). Not sure if general household insurance ever covers this?

Staffies are a very gentle dog as a rule, but like any dog it can be trained to be aggressive to other dogs and humans.

Next door has a Staffie that flings itself on it's bag for tummy rubs the second she sees a human

Staffies are the best!
Medium sized, low shedding, don't tend to suffer many health problems, hardy, recomended by the KC as family dogs.

Our Staff is the softest baby you could wish to meet, she will rough and tumble with Dh, play ball with the kids, and snuggle on the sofa/bed with Dd (age 7) at any given chance!

Sleeps on her back too

Also, we got her when Ds2 was only 18 months old. They've been fine, ahes still very bouncy, but Ds has just grown up with her, never had any problems with her knocking him down etc.

Did have insurance for years and years but ended up paying out far more than I ever claimed on. Pretty sure that after 10 years my staffie is unlikely to be an issue (i also have two small kids).

They are really lovely dogs with a bad rep.

If you want a puppy the Kennel Club is a good resource.