Getting a dog advice

[crappyday2018]

I've been desperate to buy a dog for a long time now and hope to get one next year. I'm already trying to do as much research as possible so I'm prepared.
My working hours would mean I would be home by 3.30 (Mon-Wed), home by 6pm on a Thurs and my oldest would be home by 2.30pm on a Friday.
I intend to get a dog walker to come in around lunchtime every day (even on my short days).
Do you think getting a walker to do a 30 minute walk at lunchtime will be enough if I take it out in the morning and then straight after work too?
I'm looking to get a Labradoodle.

And all puppies bite. They’re only cute so you forgive the bastards

Yep! But it doesn't last long luckily (the biting not the cuteness)!

A good breeder does help, and I'll appreciate my DDog's breeder forever, but there are still so many unknowns.

You are mistaken about the alone time, the opposite is true. Puppies need to spend all their time with people to adjust to the loss of their mum and litter mates. Leaving a puppy before it is ready may create separation anxiety issues. You do not teach them to be left by leaving them to sink or swim, you follow their cues and leave them only when they are ready. When that is will vary from puppy to puppy and you won’t know until you get your puppy and see how he reacts.

As for DCs yes, puppies need to be socialized with DCs. Having said that, the odd, shy puppy will find young children overwhelming and a couple of negative interactions can cause issues for life. How old are your DCs? How used to dogs are they?

Doesn’t last long? Lasted months for us.
As did the can’t leave her alone at all. Ever.

If your circumstances change get whatever breed or type of dog you want.

Tell the knob head snobby bastards if you want to spend a fortune on a cross breed it is up to you. Just do your research.

My brother just spent £1850 on a pedigree dachshund and it is completely mental.

My expensive mongrel is as calm and as lovely as you like.

Some pedigree dog are bred with such short noses that they cannot breathe properly. Tell the snobby bastards to F off.

@Sillybilly1234
It isn’t being a knobhead to say avoid popular crosses. They will come from puppy farmers and often aren’t the most sensible crosses at all.
Pedigree dogs can have issues but at least you can go through a breed club and avoid shitty BYB and puppy farmers.
TBH the knobheads are the ones who internet shop for their cute puppy or buy off a mate because they want their pup now.

My kids are currently 11 and 5 but this would be when they are at least a year older. They both love dogs and spend a fair bit of a time with a dog at their grandmas house.

I also had no intentions of leaving a puppy alone within the first few weeks so I have done enough research to know the basics. I just meant that when they are used to their new home, I would gradually leave them for short periods and increase this gradually.

Obviously I'm no expert as I've never had a dog so I have a lot to learn.

^Doesn’t last long? Lasted months for us.
As did the can’t leave her alone at all. Ever^

I got lucky on the biting front then! Not so much on the leaving thing...

@Wolfiefan again I would ensure I did plenty of research about who I buy a puppy from. I'm not completely daft (only sometimes). I don't think they ALL come from puppy farmers but I'd ensure that wasn't the case.

We have cracked the leaving thing now (and the chewing did wear off!) but it took months and months.
The thing is OP that you don’t know what you will get. Some are quite happy to be left. Some are fine with kids. Some aren’t. What happens if you get a dog and after 6 months you still dread leaving it to do the school run in case it eats part of its own foot.
True story.

I did my research and bought from someone I was very happy with and spoke to other owners.

Not all labradoodles are created in horrific puppy farms.

Every time someone mentions a labradoodle on MN you always get the shitty comments.

Not every owner is a callous, lazy duck head but pedigree snobs are happy to wheel out the same old comments.

X post.
By far the majority of pups sold do come from puppy farmers. You won’t see the reality. They will forge papers, draft in a stunt mum and even rent a property and use a family to claim it comes from a family home.
If you had a good example of a pedigree then why would you breed crosses? The only answer is £££.

Snobs? No. Met a gorgeous mongrel pup today. A complete accident and homed very carefully.
Someone who cares about animal welfare and can see how shit the fad for poodle crosses is for that? Yes.

@Wolfiefan I see your point but then what happens if you get a puppy and it hates kids? What would other people do in those circumstances? You can't plan for everything can you.
@Sillybilly1234 I've already been reading about puppy farms and all the things to avoid and things to check for. I don't care if people have issues with that type of dog as its my choice in the end.
A dog would be in a very loving home with me and my children. Yes it might be alone for a few hours each day but I would hope the rest of the time would make up for that.
I've seen neighbours leave their dogs all day, every day. I also know of people who are home all week but hardly walk their dog.

Do you have a partner? How old are your children?

Ive a shih tzu puppy. Ive a dog walker four days a week who takes him out for an hour. Husband takes him out for a morning walk. I take him out when i get home from work. He is piddled at night.

If your children are young, will they be doing the morning walks and evenings walks with you? Are they old enough to do? Will you be extending their day?

@C0untDucku1a No I don't have a partner. My ex hated dogs! Children would be 12 and 6. I would be taking them on the walks with me but they spend time at their dads so it wouldn't be every day. I actually see it as a good way of getting them outside more away from tablets and xboxes.

@Wolfiefan

Is that the symbol for someone who is insane?

Goodnight.

You can't argue with a snobby pedigree knob head. Enjoy your life. I'm off now. Go and bother someone else.

Well you clearly can’t reason with someone who buys a mongrel from a puppy farmer at more than pedigree prices.
OP that is a high energy and likely a needy type to take on.
Your kids won’t take the dog out though. It’ll be your job. Especially when it’s cold and dark and early or late.
Alone for a few hours? Not all dogs can cope with that. Mine couldn’t.

Sorry but people on here really act like their dog whispers. We have two dogs aged 2 and 5. We both work full time and they get walked in the day by parents. The dogs will not die if they are left for a few hours, as long as they have food water and toys and are walked again in the evening. Literally blows my mind how some people on here think anybody that has a job can’t own a dog! I think Thursday doesn’t sound to long either as you have a walker popping in.

You are wearing rose tinted glasses OP.

The puppy would chew everything and poo all over the place regardless of how much quality time you feel you’d be giving it later on. And people do leave their dogs and don’t even bother walking them...also rescues are overflowing and untold numbers of unwanted dogs are euthanized.

Your 11yo is too young to take responsibility for a dog after school. He may have better things to do, he will quickly become bored, he may find the puppy annoying,

Your 5yo is likely to find the puppy annoying and even scary. Puppies are nothing like adult dogs. They jump up, knock young DCs over, scratch with their nails, bite like little sharks, pull on clothes, chew toys, etc. Young children tend to get very annoyed with this behaviour very quickly. Some find it scary.

The main thing to know about getting a dog is that it is a bit unheaval and a bit adjustment. You don’t know what you will get but it is almost certain that it will be a big change in your life. Do not underestimate that.

OP you will struggle walking a dog with a 6yo in tow. It will be a constant source of friction and unhappiness. Try it out now. Pretend you have a dog and spend a week walking it with your DCs.

Hi OP, I have an 11 month old cross breed (golden doodle). She is our first family dog. And I would say this:

• your plan for walks sounds doable. Would you be happy leaving the children home alone for up to an hour if they don’t want to come? My 10 yr old really only comes on about 40% of walks despite early good intentions.
• poodle crosses are clever. They need brainwork. With mine this means frequent bursts of training activities throughout the day. Without this she gets bored, destructive or anxious. Who will do this when you are at work and how will you ensure consistency? You will need to pick any daycare/walkers extremely carefully. (I haven’t found a single one I’m happy with yet.)
• good daycare is v hard to find and will have waiting lists, possibly of many months
• size in unpredictable in cross breeds. My doodle is big. So are you, and crucially your children, prepared for a full size large dog who will be v bouncy? And to do the training (which will take months/years of daily consistency, not weeks) to develop calm and manageable household behaviours?
• big bouncy large dogs can’t be walked by children. My v sensible strong 10yr old could not manage our dog on even a short walk round the village. Maybe in a few years when the dog is no longer a pup.

Time is on your side here as it will likely take you some months to find a reputable breeder. And then maybe a year to wait to be matched with a pup. It took us two years from deciding we were ready for a dog, to bringing our girl home. So in that time you can figure out the logistics and how you might manage the many many challenges of dog ownership. With plan B’s and c’s.

Wishing you very many happy years of dog ownership, if you decide you can give a great home to a dog, with all things considered.

I think working up to those timings would be fine. I have a poodle x and he's left on average 4 hours per day 3-4 days per week. I work from home one day as does dh. We have a dog walker who takes him out 2-3 tines a week and he comes back exhausted after a 2 hour group walk. He is also in a crate as we had a lot of chewing (open plan house!). Having an extension built soon and dog will have his own room thankfully. Agree with pp regarding your 6 year old- when my dh goes away for work it's a nightmare trying to get my dc of similar age to go out for a morning walk before school! Luckily my job is flexible so on those times I have to do school run and then a walk (and work at home in the evenings to make up time). As much as I love the dog and wouldn't be without him I don't think I could manage him and dc without a partner (in the longer run).

Ps my doodle is affectionate, funny, clever and beautiful. I adore her.

Like children, if I’d really known how much hard work it would be, I’d never have got her.

But I am so so glad I did.

Go in with your eyes wide open. But be prepared for it to be more terrible and more wonderful than you could imagine.

Mummyshark2018 your dog is presumably an adult and can go on a nice two hour walk that will exhaust him. However puppies should only be walked for five minutes for every month of their lives which makes things much more complicated.

I have two younger children (4 and 8) and they are absolutely fine about walking the dog (we have a lab). We take the dog to the beach or the field and throw balls and play games, dog does lots of sprinting and swimming in the sea and the kids just run around and play their own games. It doesn't have to be a formal 'walk' - there's plenty of opportunity for dogs and kids to get exercise without doing a formal 5 mile hike.