Thinking of getting a puppy......

[BaconAndAvocado]

Possibly a beagle.

We are me, DH and 3 DCs aged 18(away at uni) 8 and 10.

I have no experience whatsoever of having a pet dog and grew up with cats.

What are the best and worst things about having a puppy?

Pee and poo in the house.
Chewing everything.
Broken nights.
Never ending, exhausting enthusiasm
Needs training.
Will go through a 'teenaged' phase.

I'm sure there's' more.
They do melt your heart, but I still went for a young adult dog and have not regretted it.

Oh, and beagles are hounds.
They like to have company.
V intelligent, so apart from lots of exercise they also need mental stimulation otherwise they can be very destructive.

Beagles aren't for first time dog owners, imho, why do you want one?

Do you both work?

Puppies are cute for 10 minutes and hideous for about 18 months (I've had dogs all my 51 years, and 3 pups in the last 6 years, and I still forget how hard it is, every single bloody time)

What is it in particular that's drawn you to beagles? They're generally lovely little things but not necessarily the easiest dogs to own. There's a reason why a lot of the beagles in rescues are between the ages of about 10 months and 2 years. Around half the dogs currently looking for homes with Beagle Welfare are within that age range.

You need to be extremely careful in finding a breeder as well, beagles are very popular with BYBs and puppy farms. I'd always start by contacting the breed club (either the national one or the relevant regional one, there's a list of them here) as they should be able to help put you in touch with good breeders who are planning litters. Even better would be going along to some shows and meeting beagle people in person, get chatting to them, see which dogs you like the look of, that sort of thing.

Beagle Welfare have a pretty good article about owning a beagle and finding a puppy. There's also an excellent Champdogs guide to buying a puppy which is well worth reading.

Our puppy is now 8 months, and I can honestly say she has been totally wonderful. Our dear departed dog of 16 years was a horrific puppy. I remember sobbing after a fortnight wondering what the hell we'd done. This time round we've been blessed with an absolute joy of a dog who has been totally easy (so far, fingers crossed). She is not a beagle however. The only experience I've had of those, is a friends from many years ago. He would root out dirty knickers from a bag. Just the sort of thing any shy teenage girl wants at someone else's house!

I love the look of beagles, other than that I'm not really sure why I'm drawn to them.

I hardly know a thing about dogs.

What would be a good breed for a first time dog owner?

Wouldn't want a huge or tiny dog.

Beagles are gorgeous

I know one lovely, happy family pet beagle boy who clearly was a great addition to his family.

And I have another friend whose family life was severely tested by a pair of beagle brothers - they got two thinking they would be good company for each other, they were on their own for too much of the day, not walked enough and basically chewed their way through their house. It took 2-3 years before my friend finally 'got' her dogs...

I'd go and look at rescues. Plenty of puppies to be had there too if that is what you want.

What do you want your dog to do?
Guard? Walk? Play catch? Sit on your lap? Sleep a lot? Be good at agility/fly ball?

I think you need to research breed characteristics a bit, learn about dogs and then find the right individual for you.

"Borrow my Doggy" may be a good start...

When picking a breed you generally want to think about stuff like how much exercise you're willing (and realistically able) to provide? The same for mental stimulation, how much would you be happy and able to provide? What sort of size do you want/is practical with your house/garden/car/etc.? How much grooming would you be happy dealing with? Do you want to do any activities or sports?

There are plenty of quizzes available online that you can fill in and they'll suggest breeds for you. They're generally not very accurate but if nothing else they can give a shortlist to then research in a bit more depth.

If you're within reach of Birmingham there's a Discover Dogs thing at Crufts (March next year) where you can go along and meet examples of pretty much every breed currently recognised by the KC. There's breed enthusiasts on hand to chat about them and give you a realistic picture of what they're like to own.

Regarding rescue centres. I hVe found that there are very few puppies at rescues. Few up to 3yr old at rescues either. And those there are usually from a neglectful and sbusive background so have additional
Problems. I am not saying puppies are the answer, far from it, but I would love a half decently brought up 1-2yr old. I can't find on though And if you have a kid under teenage years, it is almost impossible to get a rescue rehomed with you.

Do you work?

And if you have a kid under teenage years, it is almost impossible to get a rescue rehomed with you.

That was not my experience.

Plenty of pups born into rescue as pregnant bitches often dumped. And yes, (Once more for the gazillionth time) there are LOTS of rescues who will home to families with children - most rescues sensibly take it on a dog by dog basis.

Most sighthound rescues will - for instance EGLR even have a handy search facility on their website so you can see what dogs are suitable for children and they've had plenty of pups this year. I've just looked on their site now and they have a lovely selection of slightly older pups (3 - 6 months) that are family friendly.

I agree about going to Discover Dogs if you want to find out more - it's amazing and you will meet some amazing dogs and have all your questions answered.

Best idea is to think about what you have to offer a ddog?

Like lack of experience for managing and training how much would you be prepared to dedicate to learning attend classes etc. Who would be involved and so on.

How much exercise you can realistically offer.

If a pup then you'd need to offer company continually for many weeks of settling in and toilet training.

In terms of the best bits. What would you be expecting from a ddog. Do you know any around you that you could borrow for a bit? Or as pp said borrow a doggie.

Beagles are fucking bonkers. Noisy, needy and FUCKING BONKERS. Don't do it.

And if you don't want a sight hound?

There are plenty of all breed/type rescues that will both rehome dogs to families with no blanket rules regarding the ages of children and who get puppies in on a regular basis.

My local (very small) independent rescue will happily rehome suitable dogs into homes with young children. They currently have four puppies of various types looking for homes, all under 16 weeks old.

It is sensible to be realistic about puppies from a rescue. If they're in rescue then it's highly unlikely they've come from decent breeders who have bred with great consideration given to health, temperament and conformation. But then a huge proportion of dogs come from less than ideal breeders and go on to be great, healthy family pets. A puppy from a decent rescue is no more of a risk than one from your average "hobby breeder". In fact a decent rescue will provide far more backup and is likely to have given the puppies a better start in life (at least whilst they've been in their care) than a poor breeder.

OP we're picking up a puppy on Saturday (which is a whole other thread!) I've never had a dog but dh through pil has had rescue dogs all his life. We were originally going for a rescue but despite what pp said here we could not find one rescue shelter that would rehome to a house with a 5 and 2yo. So we looked at different breeds (including the beagle which we loved but gave up on when we heard you can't let them off the lead as they are likely to run off while following a scent) and we are now paying through the nose for a kc registered pup who has bred for health and temperament. The breed we chose is easy to train and good with kids both of which are important to us. The suggestions to do breed quizzes is a good one and also research which breeds are good for first time buyers. Good luck!

First time owners!

Go to a local rescue shelter and ask to have a look at the different breeds they have there. You may fall in love with a dog they have there, if not you'll have more information about breeds and they'll give you good advice on which breed would be best suited to your family.

Research like mad before you commit to anything though.

I second what Trionic has said. Smaller, local rescues will be more flexible about rehoming with younger children if you can show you've thought about the interactions between them and a new dog. Most rescues will be fine with your youngest being 8, it's usually a no under 5 policy for bigger rescues.
Puppies are available in rescues, you just have to be patient. You have to be proactive in looking and contacting rescues, they are too busy to do it for you. Yes, it's a lot easier to buy off the internet, or a local "breeder" but 9 times out of 10 you will be fueling the trade in puppy farms or people just breeding their dogs for money.
Think more carefully about what you can offer as an owner. Think about:
Holidays, half-term, inset days - what activities do you usually do? Are you out of the house morning til night? What activities do you do? Are you out shopping, at museums, cinema and then a meal? As you wouldn't be able to leave a dog alone for more than 4/5 hours, without someone popping in to take them out for a pee/walk etc.
Puppies are very hard work Can't be left alone for hours (like an adult dog), need consistent and constant training, make a mess, chew, jump, nip and generally annoy everyone!
Your children will lose interest in the dog once it becomes a "normal" fixture in your life. So it will be you having to walk/pick up poo/ feed/groom/take to vet.
Walking in all weathers, every day, will your children be willing to do that with you or can you leave them at home if they didn't want to come with you (obvs most days they're at school so you'd be doing it after you drop them off, I presume)
Holidays - do you go abroad? the dog will need a dog sitter or kennels.
Money - food, insurance, vets bills, dog sitters, kennels or doggy day care, training classes, all weather gear for you!

To give yourself more of an idea about rescues, you could look at:
Silver Fox
Black Retriever x Rescue
Hope Rescue
Pozega Dogs
Four Paws
Heathlands
Balkan Underdogs
Zante Strays

Some of these are rescues working abroad, which you may not be interested in, but it will give you an idea of what goes on. If you can, join lots of FB groups set up by rescues, they are more up to date than websites and should give you an idea of how they operate with their adopters/supporters etc.

Apologies, didn't realise post had reached such epic lengths! A few cute pics of rescues....

Do you work op?

Ok, maybe repeating bit here but....I foster for a small independent rescue, and several of my foster dogs, including a four month old pup and a huge GSD x have gone to homes with young children. They went to families with experience of the breed and children who were gentle and well trained around dogs.

There are litters of virtually every breed being born in rescue every day. There are litters of puppy farmed puppies being seized now most weeks at the ports by the SPCAs. All these need proper homes.

And back to the original question... unlimited puppy cuddles are the best, watching your puppy grow up and learn new stuff is amazing, a puppy can take over your life in the best possible way. :)

The downside is that a puppy can also destroy your house by chewing everything in sight, and it will seriously restrict you life for quite some time. It's like having a baby, and then a destructive toddler. You can't leave them for any length of time as they need regular meals and taken to the toilet, you either have to take them with you or find a reliable baby sitter. You will be going back to disturbed nights and sleep deprivation and will start to think walking round the garden in the dark at odd hours of the night is perfectly fine.

FWIW I think beagles are incredibly cute but are a very popular puppy farm dog so I really wouldn't consider it. Their scent drive would also make me nervous, but mainly because I like walking dogs off-lead and I don't know if you could ever reliably do this with a beagle.

As PPs have said, the first thing in getting a dog or puppy is to seriously consider what you want it to do - is an hour round the block the most you will manage or are you likely to go out on a full day's hillwalking or are you a runner?

If you think you can get a puppy and then leave it at home to go to work, just don't.

Sorry, can't resist, this little one is available to adopt via Griffon Adoption Group UK. She has been living in a family home in the UK. This is what they say:

Luli is 2 years old and in the UK. Due to unforeseen circumstances her adopters have decided they can't give her what she needs so she is seeking a forever home. Luli is 21 inches to the shoulder. Her adopters say she is the most wonderful dog. Loves the car. Very affectionate. Good with kids but little boisterous so older kids preferred in case she knocks little ones over. She is strong on the lead. An active person family would suit her. Adoption fee and homecheck applies.