Is it as bad as you all make out? Tell me the fun bits!

[AbouttoCrack]

We are thinking of getting a dog in the summer. My work pattern will change allowing me to be at home more. I have never had a dog before, although I am an 'animal' person. I had DHorse for 18 years, so I do understand all about the importance to animals of the of the right exercise ( even when the weather is shit) , feeding , vets bills, vaccinations, training etc. However, with a horse, all the mess, poo, mud, etc is in a field/stable and they don't come in your house...or howl at night.

I was so looking forward to being a dog owner for the fist time ever, The kids are 10 and 8 and are looking forward to it too. We have a big secure garden and are very rural so I plan on long walks every day.

However. As part of my 'is it for us?' research, I have been looking at the Doghouse thread titles and now I am thinking owning a dog will be a frigging nightmare.

Please reassure me that I will not regret it.

I love the look of lurchers. But almost all of them I have seen on rescue sites say experienced home only. Sight hound? Does this it chases everything it sees then?

I know some that do and some that don't.

Saluki cross lurchers often have high prey drive, for example.

Mine....don't know yet! Time will tell.

I walk her on a lead so far, but she can run freely in garden and fenced field behind our house.

Dog's can be both a delight and little buggers. The "bad habits" end up being some of the little quirks that you love about them, trust me.
Whenever I happen to be in a rush, Rescue Beagle just happens to want to saunter as slowly and sniff at every single bush on his walk and insist he needs to pee every ten seconds.
He throws up on the carpets kind of regularly? (yeah, not too fond of that one..)
Taken to waking me up by head butting me. Usually only so he can get under my duvet to go to sleep himself..
Will sit staring at some food/ your dinner/ packet of ham you're using as a treat for ages without touching it...until you get up to answer the phone and then the food in question has disappeared and a beagle's sat looking guilty as.

The good times far out weigh the bad. Even when he's having a bad day and trying to launch himself at his most hated breed of dog - akita. His hated, not mine. As soon as he jumps on the sofa with you for a cuddle, you forgive all his bad deeds of the day.

I am very mean to my dog , compared to allroadsleadtohomd, as she is not even allowed in our bedrooms ( or beds) or in the kitchen if we eat.

But you can set your own rules!

Oh man. I've seen some gorgeous dogs on a site called action aid for animals. However I'm not sure whether the site is a scam. They claim to be rescuing dogs off the street in eastern europe. They're all desperate, all "on death row" all friendly, and all gorgeous. Too good to be true?

In a way they're like small children when puppies. They need good food, consistent boundaries, enforced naps and exercise.
Mine isn't allowed upstairs and has a crate in the kitchen where he takes himself off to now when he's tired. That has also helped with chewing as he's mainly supervised when free range.
He is a joy to have although he hasn't reached the teenaged stage yet so we will see but I've coped with three human teenagers so I'm sure it will be fine.

Ncis, we can do the teenage stage together! I guess we will be challenged on a few rules!

Being challenged on a few rules brings back memories Fiscal At least dogs can't talk and argue black is white for hours like teenaged children can.

Maybe people post problems on here so it's maybe not representative.
If you read the teen thread you'd never have kids ....

Abouttocrack I can definitely say that Action Aid for Animals is NOT a scam! I took in my first foster dog from them in October and fostered for 8 weeks.

They're redoing the website at the moment so it's a bit unreliable. They do have some lovely dogs, the process of adoption is very easy. Homecheck and about £200 which covers all transport, vaccinations, dog will usually be neutered/spayed before, unless it's too young. Request to join the FB group www.facebook.com/groups/actionaidforanimalscroatia/ - up to date info on there and easier to get replies imho.

They have a behaviourist "on tap" who has apparently been very successful with owners and dogs that needed some help and they have a very active group on FB for the charity and their supporters and also a "Happy Ever After" group for owners.

They only have 2 main people running it, so communication is sometimes a bit slow as they're rushing around doing 20 things at once most of the time.

I'm a bit wary of organisations bringing dogs from abroad...I've heard too many stories of dogs bit at all being as described and little to no support if it goes wrong.

I'm sure some are fantastic, but, I'd rather rescue a dog where I can meet the dog first and they have support in this country if there are any issues.

Crossposted with actual experience, lol.

Take LadyTurnoil's word over mine as she knows the organisation.

Tab I know this organisation but I agree that it's a huge leap of faith to adopt a dog without ever having met it.

I felt happy taking on the foster dog as I'd made it clear to them that I wasn't an experienced owner so needed an "easy" dog, talked via FB to the Croatian rescuer and asked loads of questions, the dog I took was in a fairly decent shelter and was taken out for walks every Sat by volunteers so wasn't straight off the streets. Loads of the photos showed her lying down, completely chilled even when loads of other dogs around! She was socialised, good with people/kids (saw loads of pics from the weekly walks), and I was only fostering so knew there was support there when I needed.

So I felt I wasn't taking on an unknown quantity, I felt I'd done my homework (as far as possible) which gave me confidence. I had a positive experience but I know that it's not always so.

You've got Stokenchurch Dog Rescue not too far from you, I presume and look here www.rescuedirectory.co.uk/animals/oxfordshire/page1.html

It is not as bad as it looks on a message board where people seek advice for problem situations. You were looking for positive stories, so: I've never had the slightest bit of trouble with my dog, who was my first as well.

The only drawback is the fur all over my house and belongings. That's it. Easily solved by a hoover.

On the plus side, she is beautiful, loving, cuddly, intelligent, gentle, well-behaved, easy to train, obedient, playful,.... Thanks to her, I have started running, which has done wonders for my fitness, and helped me meet loads of lovely new people in the racing world. And the daily walks - especially after a stultifying day at work - help me clear my head and feel human again, and have also allowed me to meet plenty of lovely other dog-owners. I found it so much fun, and very rewarding, to train a puppy that I am constantly tempted to get another.

Most dogs are a joy, if given proper boundaries, exercise, and attention. Even the owners of "problem" dogs in my dog park love them to bits and find ways to work with their dogs' specific needs. You'll do fine.

I started one of the threads that you are worried about yesterday. Have just had a resuce dog that wees / poos / chews/ refuses to walk, etc. However, I previously had a dog for 8 years and did not post once as I had no need to.

In spite of sleepless nights, etc at the moment still when my dog tilts his head and looks at me I totally melt, have even forgiven him for eatling my arm chair.