What to think about BEFORE you get a dog...

[D0oinMeCleanin]

I think it might be time for another of these threads. For some reason summer is the time that most people consider getting a new dog, it is sadly also one of the busiest times for rescues. The sun is out, people want to go on holiday, go out for day trips, the kids are home more often, the last thing people want is the cost and time a dog consumes.

1. Can you commit to dog ownership for the next 10 - 15+ years?

-> Consider whether you are planning on starting or extending your family. Can you manage a dog plus very small children? Would you manage a dog while pregnant?

-> Are you hoping to switch jobs or progress in your career? How will that effect your ability to care for your dog properly?

-> What if you suddenly find yourself single/in a new relationship?

-> Are you renting a home or planning on moving within that time?

-> Think about everything and anything that might change in the next 10 - 15 years.

2. Have you researched your chosen breed properly?

-> How much exercise do they need? Include mental stimulation, especially for working breeds like Labs, Collies and Terriers. Do you have time for this? Everyday? Even when the kids are off school for the day?

-> Do they need grooming? Can you afford this? What if you lose your job? Would you be willing to learn how to groom them yourself?

-> Do they shed a lot? Would this bother you?

-> Are they a very active/energetic breed? Could you cope with that?

-> How big do they grow?

-> How long do they live?

-> Are they prone to any health or behavior issues?

3. Can you afford it?

-> Vaccinations
-> Insurance
-> Kenneling
-> Dog walkers
-> Food
-> Worming
-> Fleaing
-> Behavioral help and training classes
-> Accidental illness or injury - can you afford the excess on your insurance?
-> If you became unemployed how would you afford this? What would you/could cut back on?

4. Do you have time to walk and train with your dog daily? Even during school holidays? Or when it's raining? Will the kids come with during a hailstorm?

5. Could anyone in your family be allergic? Have they all spent time around dogs before? Including the breed you have decided on.

6. What if your dog develops any behavior problems? Would have time to dedicate to extra training? Money for trainers and behaviorists? Are you willing to iron out any kinks in behavior? Even resource guarding, snapping or growling?

7. If the dog becomes ill are you willing to pay for and use the time to access any extra support or treatment they might need? If the dog has bowel or bladder issues can you cope with that? What if it's ongoing? Can you really cope with a dog urinating in your house for the foreseeable future while a diagnosis is being made? Even if you become pregnant? Or your baby starts crawling? What if the dog develops an ongoing illness that needs constant medicating and managing? Do you have the time and money for this?

8. Mess. Dogs shed. All dogs do. Even non shedding breeds. Muddy paw prints on your freshly mopped floor? Holes dug all over your garden, actual twigs and pebble-y shit? Fox shit? Are you prepared for all of this to makes it's way into your family home at some point?

I'm sure there's more but the point is when you take on a dog you must be willing to commit fully to caring for and managing that dog for it's entire life, no matter what else is happening in your life (with a few exceptions, terminal illness, death of a spouse or child, homelessness etc these are the people rescues want to help, instead of people who just didn't give it enough thought)

You owe it to the dog to take into account all the what-ifs. Especially the common ones e.g. Oh but I have kids now, we're renting and can't find a new house that allows dogs, I want to go back to work and don't have time anymore, I didn't think he'd grow so big, he's old now and keeps pooing on the carpet. All excuses rescues hear regularly that make us want to sigh and roll our eyes and say "Really? And you didn't think to consider this before you bought the cute puppy dog out of the back of the free ads?"

Just when you said to consider family with allergies in your op. Fine with present family but you just don't know about future family iykwim?

I actually found the rescue centres and dogs trust really sympathetic when I contacted them but I felt so bloody awful, like a piece of crap tbh, even with having a proper reason behind it. If ds started to get worse again I wouldn't hesitate even though it would break my heart. It breaks my heart more to see my wee man hooked up to a mask for four days in hospital.

I'm allergic to cats, there is a good chance my children might have been allergic to cats also. I did not consider this 12 years ago, when I got my cat as a young, carefree 19yo.

I did not want children. Ever.

If my children had been allergic, requiring frequent hospitalization, of course I would have rehomed my cat. It would have killed me to do so, but I would have had no choice. As it is I was lucky and only myself suffers because of my youthful stupidity.

I cope by keeping the cat well groomed, taking my preventative inhalers without fail and vacuuming often. There's also products you can put on the animal that reduce the amount of dander they shed.

Thank you. I actually think sometimes reading the wanting to rehome dogs threads and them getting such a slating, I feel bad that I thought about it at one stage and rang round and actually found her a place. Doesn't matter the reasons, I still feel shit about it. I feel like a parent that's wanted to give up on an adopted child ffs.

God I vacuum three times a day now just to try and keep on top of the hair. I keep threatening that one of these days I'll shave her [grin[

ballroom - I recently got a Bissell Pet hair eraser to replace my Dyson - and it is amazing. Not too expensive either - you may want to look in to one :)

One consideration I made when taking my dog on - can you afford doggy daycare if you went back to work full time?

At the moment I am at home, DS has ASD and I am his carer. However, at some point in the future I would like to, or may need to return to work full time. I looked into doggy day care costs even though I am a stay at home mum. It's a significant cost that needs to be thought about.

Reading the reviews Martyr they seem good. I've had a dyson and on a hoo raa Henry as I like to call him now. Filters clog something shocking (can't even mention the awful state of the tumble drier through dog hair)

I have to empty it every time I use it

Honestly, I hoover every day and it has to be emptied every day. I try to be positive and think how much it picks up.

I'd also stress that well mannered dogs don't come about by accident. You have to put the work in and you have to realise this before getting a dog.

I've never rated myself as a particularly capable trainer of dogs but when I started providing an occasional holiday home for various friend's dogs I was genuinely astonished at how the things I take for granted from the Senior Terrier were quite unknown concepts to at least two of the adult dogs I looked after. These included walking acceptably on a lead, being 100% reliably house-trained, having good manners in the car and around other dogs/people and not begging at the table. They were both beautiful dogs but I could easily see how this lack of the most basic training could have made them hard work. Especially in a house with young children. But the handful that they could have been was not the fault of the dogs. It was, to be brutally honest, all down to their owners who seemed to think that their dogs would train themselves.

Like I said above, I'm no expert. I also have JRTs who are noted for their independence of thought and deed. But I now realise that the constant and consistent training from puppyhood really has paid off in some areas.

Can I add something?

Don't get a dog when spouse/P has expréssly told you that you have To do 50% of the looking after and then expect everyone else to do everything while you bleat about not having time.

Good thread, definitely a big decision.

Can I also add the sleep aspect? If you get a puppy, it is like a baby in that you will not be sleeping undisturbed. You will have to get up in the night to take itito uthe toilet. It may cry and bark at night because it misses you. It will probably get up early. It will also try and chew or eat anything it can lay its paws on.

Puppies are like toddlers. They are hard work and sometimes embarrassing. They may also enjoy eating Poo at every opportunity.

When my working from home privilege was removed and I had to return to the office, two days a week, I gave up work . So far I am the only person I know who has given up work for the dog and the horse. It was too much for DH walking the dog and running the business.

You never know what s round the corner.

Can I add - you WILL have do do some things that totally and utterly disgust you!

NEVER leave a dog alone in a room with clingfilm in it - every walk for the next week involved gently pulling bits out of his rear end!!

My child would always come first. To say you should treat your dog as you would your child, is a bit odd. Yes I will do my best to train her and care for her.

Animal care comes first in our house. DD has learnt that when you get back from a show and you are wet, cold and tired, the needs of the pony come first. Same with the dog to some extent.

I have to say that with dogs and children I have tried to make it clear to the dog what his place in the pecking order is.
He is below the children - no confusion.

Can I also add that dominance theory has been well and truly debunked too? Domestic dogs are not packs of wolves. There is no pack order and your dog does not dream of world domination based on the fact that he eats before you.

Dogs like to know what is expected of them from their humans. Much like children who need the security of structure in their lives. But it isn't about dominance.

Whatever the theory behind it may or may not be,the dog knows the kids are first in the family order and structure. He is valued, but lower on the scale than the children.
I don't do the whole eating before him stuff or any of that,but he is taught that he obeys their command just as he obeys ours.

I think if you get a dog you need to be clear of his role within your unit.

verysmallsqueak you need to get up to date with your training methods if you want harmony between your dogs and DC.

So you think your dog is dominant and needs a leader read the following links that clearly show most of us now have a more up to date and scientific approach to dog behaviour.

dominance

dominance apbc

packleader

not dominance

caninedominance

<a class="break-all" href="http://dogwilling.weebly.com/articles---alphadominance-theory-and-other-training-myths.htmlvideo.pbs.org/video/1488005229/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">videoas on dominance

more vides on why dominance is rubbish

humping is not dominance

Yes, dominance needs to die a death. It's complete bollocks and relying on outdated theories to base your training on is not a smart move to make, you could end up creating more problems than you solve.

My dog obeys my children. Not because I have taught him he is less important than the children but because he knows that obeying commands from anyone is fun. It means he wins. He wins a click. This is the best prize in the world because it means something good is coming his way, food, affection, games, a chase etc.

The children do clicker training with him sometimes. Not to teach him he is lower than them and needs to respect them but because the children think it is fun. They also win, they win a dog who can do fun tricks and the satisfaction of knowing that they taught him it.

He has a good relationship with them based on a mutual trust and respect. They respect the fact that he has really big teeth and could easily hurt them but he chooses not to and he trusts them to respect his boundaries and listens to their commands because it is fun to do so.

Whatever.

It works for us with no harm to kids or dog.

I don't need to get more up to date.Harmony does exist between dogs,kids and us.

Just different courses for different horses that's all.

It's others that mentioned dominance not me. No one asserts dominance techniques.

The dog is trained to obey commands using the reward system.

The dog will always be less important than the kids.And I will never shift on that one.

"actual twigs and pebble-y shit?"
this made me laugh. Our dog loves to rearrange his stick collection in various places around the house.

madeofstardust our dog has an infection at the moment, I'd advise don't get a dog if the thought of injecting a wash up his sheath every day & giving it good lather makes you vom. Not quite what I envisaged when we got him! But he is lovely. And very good about it, all things considered...

My kids are teens, they can look after themselves (sort of). In our house, I see to the dog first, then the kids, then dh, then myself if I can be bothered.

On beautiful summer days, dog walking is a great pleasure and good for me physically and mentally. In the depths of winter, if you're under the weather yourself, it's nothing but another chore.

Also the worry. I sat last year in a vets waiting room, holding a sick puppy on my lap while I waited for some urgent blood tests to be done. Me and the sick puppy had rather messed up the smooth running of the day with our impromptu crisis and the reception staff had a long queue before them and the phones were going mad. I sat watching and listening to the catalogue of worries, concerns and queries being put forward by one stressed pet owner after another. Not many people think about that aspect of pet ownership until they've been through it.

Don't believe the rest of the family when they say they'll help out with pet care. They will when its still a novelty or when it suits them, but the 3am dog with diarrhoea shift will always be down to you and you alone.

Great thread, shame there are no 'stickies' on this forum.

For anyone who has never had a dog before and wonders what it's like, it's very much like having a baby/toddler/teenager, but the developmental stages are really sped up (less of a window of opportunity to 'get it right' but you get through the rough periods faster), less of an emotional attachment (the cuteness factor of the puppy wears off quite quickly which makes it more difficult to deal with unwanted behaviour) and the training and looking after continues for life (don't count on having trained your puppy and resting on your laurels!).

I agree with verysmallsqueak - but we had this debate not that long ago and I am not sure we really were disagreeing.

I have read in Defence of Dogs and agree that theories of dog behaviour based on unnatural wolf 'packs' in captivity are bonkers.

But both my daughter and my dog know that I mean what I say and in that sense I am 'dominant' - I have to be, I run the household and I make the rules. I reward my dog with positive attention but sometimes she gets a very negative reaction from me for certain behaviours.