Having cold feet about taking on a new puppy, poo & seasons (miniature schauzer, if it makes a difference)

[nobutreally]

Me & the dcs (9 & 11) are working on dh to persuade him of the good sense of taking on a miniature schnauzer puppy.

For context: I work at home (SE), so will be around in the day, and we are close to parks & river walks, although only have a little back garden (fully paved). Miniature schnauzer is the dog we all agree on, and everything I know (I have two friends with them) suggest they would be a good fit for us.

But I'm getting cold feet about the commitment, and in particular picking up poo! I know it ought to be a little thing, but I keep coming back to it. Seasoned dog owners - is it like baby poo - where other baby's poos are repulsive, but your own baby's are completely fine (or is that just me...?).

I've got a breeder recommendation, and am prepared to wait/not rush into things - anything else anyone would recommend we think about before we start thinking seriously about making the leap? And any recommendations on the best time of year, if there's a choice? I'm thinking summer (probably next summer now) to make training and getting outside easier, but am open to other suggestions.

TIA

Can thoroughly recommend schnauzies. We co-own Reg with my daughter and son in law. He is theirs, but we have him when they are busy or away. He is the most loving, entertaining, feisty, cuddly pup. He only barks when someone comes to the door and he wants to be made a fuss of. He will walk for miles if that is what you want, but he loves nothing more than to snuggle on the sofa with us and his veritable army of cuddlies. He is very good with children and other dogs.

Would also recommend that you find a good dog walker/doggy daycare - there are loads in Surrey (I live there too!) for the days when you want a full day out.

Not for the first few weeks obviously but when pup's a bit older and you want to go out for longer than 3-4 hours with DH and DCs, or if you're just at home and feel like a day off!

Ann - she is really stunning. In fact, it totally cemented my desire for a black, until I saw ladylinda's salt & pepper Reg - how cute are those puppy photos?!

In less positive news, I was browsing puppies last night & dh noticed and is still very unconviced . Any suggestions on persuading him?!?

Bagel - that's a good point. Are walkers happy to take on 'occasional only' walkings? I know one of dh's many concerns is having to cut short days out to get back to the dog...

Hi again,

We wouldn't be in a position to get a mini until after the summer as we are away for a good chunk of it. For me, it's getting the right breeder etc, so happy to wait. I have done so much research and am so aware of the commitment that I am slightly paralysed by indecision sometimes.

On the dh front, my dh loves dogs but if it were left to him he said he wouldn't have one as, similarly, he fears the tying aspect of them and the lack of spontaneity. However, I have pointed out that with 3 children aged 11, 7 and 5 we hardly have a spontaneous life where we suddenly drive off into London for the whole day. Our weekends are mainly dropping the kids off at various parties or activities. Just as we have to plan things around the kids, we would have to do similar around a dog.

My dh knows that it is me who really wants a dog ( and the kids, but I am the driving force) and he can totally see why. However, he also knows that it would be me doing most of the training,walking, trips to vets etc and I accept that ( and hope that the dog will love me more ). I have told him that there will inevitably be moments in those mad puppy months where I might say 'what have we done', but we will work through that. It's just about having no illusions I think.

Many of our friends have recently acquired dogs now their families are complete and these families all have busy social lives, but they seem to make it work and have not agonised about it as much as I have. You are obviously doing the right thing by choosing a breed to suit your set up. In my heart of hearts I love labs ( all that hair though) and would love a viszla or weimeraner, but that wouldn't work for our family.

One of my neighbours now has 3 dogs and she said it was the best thing she ever did. Not only for the exercise for her etc but she said they had been brilliant for her sons in terms of huge stress relief when they were doing exams etc.

I have asked myself the question, later in life when I look back, would I regret not ever getting a dog and my gut answer is an emphatic yes. There will be a lot of work and there will be tough times, but hopefully a lot of love and joy. Let's see how we ( esp dh) get on with dog sitting next week.

I'm with you though. It is all very tricky, but you sound incredibly responsible. Keep me posted.

PS sorry about the long rambling post. It's a subject v close to my heart at the mo!

Re. occasional dogwalkers, I don't know for sure, but I would imagine they're set up for that kind of arrangement.

Google for Surrey and you'll come up with loads. They do vary so it's worth trying to get recommendations from people. The only one I've met is Kyle and he seemed a nice guy, usually walking 4 dogs together.

Going rate in Surrey seems to be around £12 for an hour long walk (including pickup and return from your house.

Re. puppies, they are bloody hard work. You need to factor in cost of spay/neuter. Imagine a Schnauzer puppy will cost many £££s. You may want to think about a dog of about 1-2 years old, many rescues foster their dogs so you can get a good assessment of how they are with other dogs/cats/children etc. The puppy stage is very cute but doesn't last long. A slightly older dog will have basic house-training in place, some basic training (esp if they're in foster care) so it's worth thinking about.

Girolle - what you say makes a lot of sense (a weimeraner or a retriever are my 'dream' dogs too) and my kids are similar ages at 10 & 8. And you're right, lots of friends have taken on puppies recently and coped, with much less flexible situations in terms of work/home time than I have. As I don't have the younger third one, our lives are getting to a place where - whilst not totally spontaneous, days in London do happen (We also made an active decision to keep weekends free of activities a few years ago). SO dh does have a point ... we'll keep talking - I don't want to take a puppy on if he isn't happy with the decision, obviously.

Bagel - I did initially assume I'd go the rescue dog route - we had both rescue and from puppy dogs when I was a a child, and our guinea pugs are rescue pigs . But, I'm nervous of getting a dog that has been badly socialised/trained. All our rescue dogs were (understandably) neurotic in different ways - where I feel a pup is a blank slate. I do keep looking at the rescue lists though, and certainly haven't ruled it out - we had huskies as a kid and there are lots of those in rescues ( I wouldn't take one on - way too hard a breed for us - but it makes me sad...)

Be prepared to lose a lot of work time. When we got our eight week old puppy last August I didn't realise just how much of my time would be taken up doing puppy stuff and not being able to concentrate on work due to constant interruption was a cause of major stress. Couple that with the sleep deprivation and it wasn't much chop. It didn't help that DPup was a reluctant car traveller and I started to feel trapped at home. The day DPup started puppy play was a red letter day for me.

I would say also if DH is unconvinced do not get a puppy/dog. Everyone in the house has to be on board and esp if you get a puppy you're setting the household up for upset and stress.

Don't worry, KiwiJude - as per my last post - dh would be on board in order for me to make such a big decision - as I said " I don't want to take a puppy on if he isn't happy with the decision"

But yes, I was thinking I'll need to factor in the impact on my available work time - another reason to aim for next summer, as I try and work less over the school holidays.