Is lockdown the right time to get a puppy?

[Annaotherginplease]

So, I think I have just agreed to take my very first puppy (currently only 3wks old) and am so excited I can hardly contain myself. She is a border collie. However, already people are p*ing on my bonfire and telling me how much work it will be and how much I will regret it and don't get a collie. I am prepared for hard work but I also think it will be so great. We're a camping family (under normal circumstances) and I have visions of sharing our adventures with our 4 legged friend, I don't have all of the answers about training and don't know how the introduction with a fairly shy cat will go, but I am sure these things can be worked through... although I can't help but worry a little.
OH is going along with it and onboard, although wouldn't choose to get a dog himself. He is a pessimist (he says realist) and given the current Covid situation doesn't think this is a great time to get a dog. I however feel it could be something wonderful to distract us from the reality of what's going on in the world. My two boys (8 and 5) are struggling without school and friends around. My youngest is finding it the hardest... he is missing his reception year. It's a big change for him. They are spending more and more time addicted to computer games and losing the ability to play. I can see the puppy being great for them.
I see my OH's point a little...puppy socialisation will be harder, as will getting injections which may ultimately delay being able to take her outside. I don't know whether I will need to cancel my summer cottage holiday in Cornwall 2 months after getting her? Will that be cancelled anyway? There are uncertainties, but I am confident that I will adore this puppy and will be able to offer a happy, active and loving home... but I do wonder whether I am a bit puppy blind.
This is a subject that we have revisited as a family many times in the past, so it's not come out of the blue. When life returns to normal, my husband and I work from home on alternate days so there will be no need to leave her at home all day (hoping we still have jobs at the end of all of this). We (usually) live very busy active lives, but I see no reason why a dog cannot be part of that. Do I need a reality check do you think?

@Annaotherginplease We also spent a long, long, time coming to the decision. I'd ruled out border collies quite early on in my research, to be honest, and we were struggling to agree on a breed between us. But then we bumped into a teacher from my DS's school in the park with her lovely and beautifully behaved border collie. I chatted to her and my son played with her dog and he just fell in love with the dog and hasn't stopped asking for a border collie since. So since then, I've pretty much been chatting to every collie owner we've seen whilst out and about, asking their opinion and picking their brains, and reading everything I can. I'm not without my concerns, but I've spoken to plenty of people now who had a border collie as a first dog and their thoughts have generally been positive.

My 7 year old DS is very high energy and needs taking out to run around every day as much as a dog does, so the physical side is ok. And I think the fact they are so intelligent is great for DS too. He's keen to train the puppy to do all sorts of things...so I think getting him involved in the training early on and maybe something like agility when they're both a bit older could be good for both of them.

I don't know if I'm being incredibly naive, I imagine a lot of people on here will think so! I'm now going to be at home until October 2021 because I'm deferring university, so we've plenty of time for training, etc. I'm feeling really good about our choice whilst being under no illusion how difficult the puppy/teen stage are going to be!

It sounds like you've also given it a lot of thought.

@OwlInAnOakTree thanks for your reply. We seem to be on the same page as you. Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet and go for it? We also know people with lovely collies, they all seem to have very different personalities, some livelier than others, some more well trained than others. The herding behaviour scares me a little, but I'm prepared to do my research and put in lots of hard work. We have been offered a puppy through a friend of a friend and they are experienced sheep dog handlers, and are able to provide support with training where necessary. I can't help but think whether we'd be put off having kids if we listened to people tell us how hard it is? I know that it will be hard, but I also believe that there will be so many benefits. Good luck, I hope things work out brilliantly for you!

@OwlInAnOakTree I don't think you are naive. On the forum you'll find a lot of proper saying children and dogs should be separated at all times but my dc have been amazing. Dd10 has watched so many training videos and has been teaching name recognition, recall and harness and lead training. Dd7 is the early riser and takes dpup out to the toilet each morning and many other times throughout the day. They also want to do agility type stuff when she's older. Ours is a Jack Russell terrier so much smaller but can be equally challenging but rewarding when you get it right. A lot of potential with intelligent dogs.

Don’t let people on here put you off getting a puppy. We’d never have got one if I’d listened to some people here. We’re first time dog owners and doing fine.

I have backed out from getting a puppy when people in RL put some doubts in my mind about the timing. 6 months later we got BiteyDog as the timing was better.

Getting a puppy though has been hard and I still stick with what I said about WFH and trying to manage a puppy. Just being at home is very very different to trying to juggle work when toilet training and keeping an eye on a biting, chewing demanding puppy. Work still needs to happen despite the constant demands.

Thanks @Annaotherginplease, I hope things go well for you too. And, for what it's worth, yes, I think you should just bite the bullet. It sounds like a great place to get a puppy from if they offer you support with training, etc. I'd love to hear what you decide to do, and, if you do decide to go ahead, updates on how it goes.

And thanks midnight and perfidy. Good to hear your points of view.