New to dogs - advice please

[Itreallytiedtheroomtogether]

Hi, we are thinking of getting our first dog (we don't come from dog families) this year or next. I work in a school so would like to get it from the beginning of the six week holiday so I can devote my time to settling it in.

Before we move forward I want to be happy I can answer all of my questions which is why it might be next year if we aren't comfortable yet.

I have the big general questions:

• breed...we have two boys 7 and 8. I don't want a large dog or a really tiny one. Don't want a dog who moults/dribbles a lot or one who needs hours of walking each day.

• puppy or rescue / boy or girl?

And then specific to us:

• what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park?

• What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year.

• How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers?

• How much will food cost and vets?

• What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night?

• should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home?

If anyone can help with any of this I would be grateful...as a complete novice googling isn't very helpful!

Thanks

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best with a first dog. If there wasn't a pandemic, I would recommend going to Discover Dogs, but, pandemic >_<

Have you had a read here?
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog/are-you-ready/finding-the-right-dog/

You can't do too much research, you can have a dog for 20 years but still be finding out new things as well! Have a read on here:
www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/

Puppies are hard hard HARD work, hence all the threads on here about puppy blues. Read those. No one would want puppies if they weren't so darn cute. That's all they have going for them haha! There's a good reason a lot of dogs get sold or signed over to rescue when they're 6-8 months old as well, that "teenage" phase can be a nightmare. It will be like having a furry hyperactive toddler in your house, one with sharp teeth.

With the walking and exercise, some breeds don't mind less exercise, like Greyhounds, some need a ton of WORK, like Collies or Huskies. Try a walking routine now without a dog - get up every morning and go for at least a half an hour walk regardless of weather. Go out again at lunchtime, and a good 1-2 hour walk in the afternoon. Rain, snow or shine. It can be a shock to the system if you're a couch potato (like me lol!).

Kennels for holidays, dog walkers etc are a must have, call around local ones and find out their fees. Bare in mind your dog has to be well socialised to go to places like doggy daycare. That will be down to you.

Lots more advice will be incoming :)

Very hard to come by a dog right now

Rescues over oversubscribed, puppies selling like hot cakes for £2,000 or more each

Can you wait a bit?

These are my experiences from 25 years of having dogs.

breed...not a Labrador. They shed 365 days a year, like water/mud, and can be slightly slobbery.

• puppy or rescue / boy or girl? I have both. One is 10 who I've had from 8 weeks old, he's a obedient and well socialised. The other is 9 and I rescued her 3 years ago. She has some stranger issues, I have it under control but walking changed for me, as she's on/off the lead a lot and I have to avoid busy places.

And then specific to us:

• what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park? Doggy day care

• What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year. - dog will go to GPs or dog can stay at home for 2/3 hours alone.

• How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers? An hour walk with dog walker is around £10-15. One night stay in kennels etc £20-25. I have a house sitter. Through Trusted House Sitters. It's free for sitter and sittee (just a yearly subscription) it's alternative but has worked very well for me.

• How much will food cost and vets? Monthly lifetime insurance £20-25. Food £40 every 6 weeks.

• What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night? A puppy won't sleep through the night until it's toilet trained. Put the hours in at first and it will pick it up really quickly. Establish a routine. Although I still can't get off the bottom stair as they're so excited for breakfast (greedy Labs)

• should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home? It's a very good idea.

Good luck

breed...we have two boys 7 and 8. I don't want a large dog or a really tiny one. Don't want a dog who moults/dribbles a lot or one who needs hours of walking each day
I would say some of the terriers - borders, cairns, jacks, possibly working cocker or miniature poodle but it depends on what constitutes ‘hours of walking’?
Because in my opinion, no healthy dog would be terribly happy with less than an hour a day at minimum.

In my opinion, 2 hours is a decent walk for any healthy dog but I do a great deal more.

- puppy or rescue / boy or girl?
I’d always go for a puppy.
I’ve got a girl, going for a boy second time round, don’t have any particular leaning, they are both nice though some say boys are more affectionate.

- what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park?
If you book far enough in advance and the dog is friendly they can go to a dog walker for the day

- What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year
As above, many dog walking companies offer home boarding.
If the dog isn’t friendly it would have to stay with a friend or go to a boarding kennels.

- How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers?
The company I’ve used charges £25 per dog per day

- How much will food cost and vets?
Food depends on the size of dog and brand.
Mine eats very expensive food!
I spend around £25 a week, sometimes more.
I could feed her for a fraction of that cost on cheap shit food, like the workers wagg the breeders sold her to me with but I like to spend more on a good quality food.
Vets, it’s £40 a consultation at mine, I can’t remember how much her vaccines cost, she hasn’t had any years because she doesn’t respond well.
Ditto flea and worm stuff.
I use a herbal flea tincture called ‘billy no mates’ by CSJ, think it’s £15 a bottle. 250ml and she has 1ml a day.
Worms I use four seasons intestinal health, think it’s about a tenner and lasts her over year.
It has to be used in addition with worm count a few times a day which is about £40 a pack.

- What time do they get up?
Depends on the dog.
Mine won’t get up until we do and if me or DH is I’ll shell sleep in the room with us all day; only leaving to eat or go toilet.

Do they have to go out for walks straight away?
I give mine breakfast, I usually take her for a walk an hour or so later for somewhere between 2 and 4 hours.
Lunch an hour later.
Sometimes she’ll get a short walk an hour after, sometimes not.
I give her dinner about 7.30.
Some people only feed their dogs once a day and some twice.
The above routine is just what I personally do.
I always leave roughly an hour between meals and exercise as I get paranoid about bloat (fatal disease in dogs)

What time do they go to bed?
Whenever we do

Sleep all night?
Yes

- should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home?
You could but they are all different.
It’ll give you a vague idea but different dogs have different energy levels and routines

Wormcount a few times a YEAR not day

breed...we have two boys 7 and 8. I don't want a large dog or a really tiny one. Don't want a dog who moults/dribbles a lot or one who needs hours of walking each day.

Think about what you can give a dog, and then pick a breed that fits your requirements. Don't try and fit an unsuitable dog in to your life.

puppy or rescue / boy or girl?

Rescues probably won't re-home to you with your working hours, to be perfectly honest, so you'll probably need to go for a puppy. I don't think gender is important but do remember bitches go into season and you need to plan accordingly.

what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park?

You'd need to plan this well in advance and book your dog into kennels or daycare. You can't leave a young dog home alone all day. Maybe when older you could leave the dog and arrange a walker, but be aware that many walkers and daycare providers don't work weekends, or if they do, they get booked up weeks in advance. Or, get family to look after the dog for the day.

What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year.

If the dog has been home alone all day, you'll need to plan care for the dog too. Either the dog could go to grandparents too, or a home boarder or kennels. You can't leave a dog all day and all night - they're very restrictive in that respect.

How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers?

Daycare is around £20-30 per day. Walkers are about £10-15 for a group walk. Some are flexible, but licensed boarders have limits on numbers so they may not be able to accommodate lots of changing days. I'm a walker and while I'm as flexible as I can be, it's not always possible to change times/days if I have lots of dogs booked in.

How much will food cost and vets?

That depends entirely on what breed and diet you choose. Bigger breeds are more expensive. Some breeds will cost more in insurance as they're known to have health problems. Don't forget flea treatment, worm treatment, spay/neuter and injections too.

What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night?

Your routine as a puppy will be different to an adult, and a lot of it will depend on your routine. Mine sleeps until I get up - that could be 6am or 10am. Then it's about an hour before he goes for walk. He walks anywhere between 1-3 hours a day. He sleeps on the sofa from about 7pm and comes to bed when we do (around 11pm) and sleeps all night. That's been his routine since he was about one.

should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home?

You could, but having a dog for a day is VERY different to having one full-time. It's a big commitment. It won't really give you much idea of the commitment and work involved, I'm afraid to say. Walks everyday regardless of how shit the weather is, feeding the dog, letting them out to the toilet, training, cleaning up accidents, stopping them eating your furniture, dealing with the bitey puppy stage....it's hard work and you have no idea just how hard until you're thrown in the deep end!

Have you considered a staffie? Supposed to be great with children, medium size, low maintenance coat although they do tend to enjoy giving lots of kisses.

A puppy will be very expensive just now, a suitable rescue may be hard to come by. A puppy will be hard work at first, a rescue may come with basic training or it may not. I don't see much difference in getting a boy or girl, it's all down to preference.

• what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park?

You would need to get someone in to let the dog out. A friend or neighbour or employ a dog walker.

• What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year.

Boarding or kennels. I would not leave my dog alone overnight.

• How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers?

I live in Scotland and I paid £12 per day for dog walking. My girl would get at least an hour, often longer, running about off lead with other dogs in a secure area. My previous dog was elderly and just required a 'let out' and this cost 7.50 a time. My friend does day care, so has the dogs 10-4, and charges £20 a day. I have never used kennels but I have used a dog boarder when on holiday at £20 a night. I worked 4 days a weeks so we were paying almost two hundred a month for dog care. I couldn't come home at lunch time and had nobody to help so using a professional was my only option. It's not cheap but it was worth it as I knew she was out having a great time. I have since stopped using the service as we are now working from home.

• How much will food cost and vets?

Vets are expensive. It will depend on how accident prone your dog is but they will at the very least require regular flea/worming, yearly vaccinations and check ups. It's all adds up into the hundreds. Pet insurance is a must as you never know what's around the corner. Most vets require payment upfront then you claim it back via your insurance. So it is wise to have a little nest egg, or even a credit card, put aside for emergencies. Food depends on what you get. Some foods are crazy expensive. I use a mid range brand and it's about 55 a month.

• What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night?

You will develop a routine with your dog that works for you. My dog gets up when I get up. She gets let out into the garden first thing in the morning and last thing at night. She gets a big walk around lunch time. She sleeps through the night but be prepared to be up a lot in the night with a puppy as they can't hold their bladder for long.

• should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home?

If you can do this, I'd say go for it. Good
Luck

Ok, I’ll give you honest answers to your questions. Please don’t be out off or think I’m being mean, I’m just being honest with you as you have said you have no experience of dogs

we are thinking of getting our first dog (we don't come from dog families) this year or next. I work in a school so would like to get it from the beginning of the six week holiday so I can devote my time to settling it in.
it is very unlikely you will get a puppy right at the beginning of the six week holiday, and frankly, if you contact a breeder and they have one right at the time you’re asking, walk away, they’re probably puppy farming and have many bitches pregnant at any one time. These are not the kind of dogs you want to be buying, for your sake or theirs. A good breeder will, probably, have a wait list and won’t have puppies ‘ready to go’. If you want a puppy be prepared to wait a while, sometimes a long while for the right one. It’s possible (likely) that the right puppy won’t be ready for you when you find it most convenient (ie at the start of the summer holiday). If that’s a problem for you, then don’t get a puppy. Also, even if they were ready at the convenient time, if you take an eight week puppy home, there’s no way they will be ready to be left alone, or with daycare or a Walker etc just six weeks later

Before we move forward I want to be happy I can answer all of my questions which is why it might be next year if we aren't comfortable yet.
As above. Good that you’re asking the questions, please consider that you might not like the answers, but they’re genuine answers, not mean answers. Good you’re thinking of delaying but that wouldn’t get over the only having six weeks to be with a puppy even if you got them at the beginning of the summer holiday. General rule of thumb, a puppy can only be left alone for one hour per month of life (so your seventeen week old puppy at the end of the summer holiday should only be left for three and a bit hours at most)

I have the big general questions:
breed...we have two boys 7 and 8. I don't want a large dog or a really tiny one. Don't want a dog who moults/dribbles a lot or one who needs hours of walking each day.
You’re going to have to research this one yourself because it’s all a personal preference. However, the vast majority of dogs moult I’m afraid, even the Poo crosses that are popular now (because people think they won’t moult) might moult, because when you cross two dog breeds (like Cocker and Poodle, Lab and Poodle etc) you can’t tell for certain which traits they will inherit, probably until it’s too late. Lots of breeds don’t dribble, but in all honesty, if you’re looking for a breed of dog that won’t, in some way, mess up your pristine home, forget it. I’ve had a lot of dogs, I’ve currently got a Lab and a Greyhound and today, what with the snow too, I’ve hoovered twice (normal) and mopped all the floors (all wood or tiled here) to get rid of footprints the dog mat didn’t get first time round. As for exercise, there are breeds that don’t need hours or walking but they might need a lot of brain games. And the vast majority of dogs need a lot of interaction - which might be cuddles or following you round the house all day. If you want a dog that will just sit on its bed til you’re all ready to do stuff with it, your probably not going to find one.

• puppy or rescue / boy or girl

As you’ve never had a dog before, or even grown up with them, I’d definitely recommend an older rescue over a puppy. That’s because they will be fully formed already and IF they have issues (and that’s definitely an IF), a good rescue will already know what they are, and an older dog is easier as a first dog than a puppy, I promise. You need to find a good rescue, I’d recommend Dog’s Trust, but I’m sure there will be others near to you. You want one that doesn’t just hand the dog you want over, but who looks for the dog that will fit, and that you will be a fit for. And one that offers long term help with behaviour and training if required (again, Dog’s Trust do this).My DDs were 7 and 8 when we got our first family dog from Dog’s Trust. It took a long while of waiting and checking each week til we found the right dog. You’ll get lots of people telling you that rescues don’t rehome to households with children. That’s not true. But they do need to ensure the home is right for the dog and the dog is right for you. Getting the right rescue dog might take as long as waiting for a good puppy. Don’t fall in to the trap of thinking ‘but surely any home is better than kennels’ , it’s not. That’s why lots of dogs are in rescue in the first place, because they had the wrong home to start with. There will be a dog for you, but it might take a long time to find them

And then specific to us:
what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park?
So, once you’ve got your dog, and even an adult rescue will need a few months of proper settling in before you start doing trips and holidays away etc, you’ve got options for this. Either find a friend, relative or someone who does home boarding day care. Always try your dog out with the arrangement for a trial day before you actually do the day trip, so if all goes badly wrong you’re there to collect them and try something different. Or find a good kennel (we have a kennel on a farm where our dogs love going) and even if it’s only a day trip, let your dog go for one day and one overnight - again try it out first - a one day and night trip is good practice before you ever do a holiday of a week or more

• What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Rare but happens 2/3 times a year.

As above. Unless it’s after a few months and you have built up leaving dog home alone time and you know for sure they are happy to be left for the number of hours you might be gone (always make sure someone has keys jic of emergencies like you get stuck overnight)

• How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers?

No idea on daycare, never done it, same walkers - check locally. Our kennel was GBP15 per day per dog, we provide all bedding and food and meds if required. They were on a farm in heated outdoor kennels - excellent miles long walks everyday, great for two young Labradors but wouldn’t suit all dogs. We used them because we knew they were good and had very good personal recommendations from people we trust - check reviews. Home boarding would be considerably more. Now my elderly dogs can only go to a friend who home boards, they couldn’t manage the farm

• How much will food cost and vets?

All depends on size and breed, age and preference of food. You’ll have to check that locally when you’re nearer to getting a dog. EG crap food costs pennies, excellent raw or high quality food costs lots. Please don’t ever have a dog without insuring them, you never know what’s around the corner and you don’t want to be in the position of having to decide on vet treatment based on what you’ve got the cash for

• What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night?

All breed and individual dog dependent. You’ll have to get to ‘now your dog as they get to know you. But puppies sleep as much, or less than newborns so prepare yourself if you go that route 😀

• should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home?

Not a bad idea. But maybe try to borrow a ‘good’ dog and one that’s not so compliant too, for balance 😉

Best of luck, don’t hesitate to come back for more q and a

OP join Borrowmydoggy- you sign up to take out another person's dog. As a dog owner I have a couple of lovely people who take out rookiedog if we go out for the day and move in when we go on holiday. We have dog walker as back up who charges £25 per night.

Thank you all for your responses. These are the answers I was looking for that I couldn’t find through google 😊 I will read the links as well so thanks for those and I will definitely search for threads about puppies!

To answer the questions - we are definitely not in a hurry, we could wait a few years if we didn’t feel family life was right at the moment having researched our questions - my kids are only 7 and 8 so we have years with them at home to enjoy a family pet.
We are already good walkers, that is one part we aren’t worried about - we just don’t have the time for a dog that would need say 3 hour walks or walking for an hour a few times a day.
I work four days a week out of the house, but my husband works from home and (post covid) would only be out the house when he has meetings...some weeks this could be a few days a week, a lot it would be none so we would need a flexible solution to this.
I don’t mind general mess (we have two boys 😁), I just wouldn’t want lots of fur/dribble everywhere - prepared for extra hoovering/mopping though we tend to do this daily anyway with the kids.

Good to know re timings and not being able to plan when we could get a dog and that a puppy wouldn’t be ready to go to a walker etc. after 6 weeks. How do people who work ever have a puppy?!
I was thinking of a rescue for the reasons mentioned, but I didn’t realise just how closely they would work with you to find the perfect dog so that’s great to know, thank you.

I will look at borrow my doggy, that sounds great - I think my kids would enjoy that too and it would give them a sense of their responsibility if we were to have a family dog.

Thanks again everyone.

Unfortunately your plan of getting a pup at the start of the holidays is a no go. Bitches don’t have seasons more than a couple of times a year. Exactly when they will have a season can be hard to predict. Good breeders don’t have lots of bitches and don’t breed really frequently. You need to rethink that.
Remember all dogs are different. One of mine spent months waking at 5. The other would sleep in until 8. One can’t bear to be left. The other isn’t bothered.
We don’t do theme parks etc. We don’t leave the dogs that long and don’t have anyone who could watch them.

Good to know re timings and not being able to plan when we could get a dog and that a puppy wouldn’t be ready to go to a walker etc. after 6 weeks. How do people who work ever have a puppy?!

There's a reason many adolescent puppies end up in rescue! People don't realise how much work they're taking on and often can't afford to pay for a dog walker/daycare, so leave their dog home alone.

The dog then gets bored (understandably so) and has accidents, chews the furniture and howls the place down. Family get fed up of cleaning up the mess and so the dog goes!

It's great you're doing so much research - your puppy should be okay to attend daycare from around 16 weeks from age, but do your research. All daycares (whether they're big "commercial style" ones or in someone's home) must be licensed by the council. They should have a section for puppies and a plan to keep puppies away from older dogs, with plenty of rest and time to chill out.

You could always do some research now and speak to owners about what there is available in your area.

How do people who work ever have a puppy?!
Well, you can work and have a puppy but you need to be able to be flexible. You seem to be already thinking that and set up for it if you work part time and DH works from home (if he can be flexible during the day). Lots of people will come on to The Doghouse and complain that (experienced) dog owner contributers are suggesting that anyone who works shouldn’t get a dog. It’s not that, it’s that lots of us have taken on dogs from rescue who are there precisely because their first owners thought getting a dog, even though they worked all day, was their God given ‘human right’. You do sound like you’re willing to listen to potential issues so you won’t get a hard time here. Most of us are here to help and give honest opinions based on experience.
I was thinking of a rescue for the reasons mentioned, but I didn’t realise just how closely they would work with you to find the perfect dog so that’s great to know, thank you.
It’s not all rescues that do that. They don’t all have the time or dedicated staff for it. But some definitely do (which is why I mentioned Dog’s Trust). If you’re honest with them, they should be honest with you though, if they know you’re complete beginners, they should offer ongoing help and advice, and most importantly, the right dog.
Btw if you were to decide a puppy was your choice over a rescue, there are threads to search in The Doghouse to help you identify a good breeder and avoid puppy farms.

I have a toy/mini poodle and we were new to dog ownership last year.

I don't work so daycare isn't a problem. I leave her for 3 hours, haven't tried longer than that.
My parents would take her if they were babysitting anyway and looked after her when we did a day trip last year.
She doesn't shed or dribble, she needs to be brushed daily though to stop matting. And ideally groomed every 6 weeks which costs £37.
She eats kibble mixed with 2 pouches of Cesar, one at breakfast one at 5pmish. The wet food costs £32 for 4 boxes of 12 so lasts for 3 weeks.
She gets up some time between 7 and 8. Usually she comes on the morning school run, then we carry on for a 45 minute walk. At the moment we do an hour in the afternoon instead to fit in with home school.
She sleeps for a couple of hours morning and afternoon, tends to rouse if there's food about or a knock on the door! She sleeps all night, I'd be confident her being fine 9pm-8am without needing a wee.
She loves playing fetch and is really cuddly and affectionate.

We were desperate for a dog and now have a 12 week old puppy and here are a few points from me.

1. Slowly it gets easier. He now sleeps through the night.
2. Housetraining is hard - not like a cat!
3. Our vet told us to get a puppy not a rescue with children
4. Borrowing a dog didn’t work for us. I just felt like an impostor as there’s no bonding

We got a cavalier which have lower exercise needs but can have health issues.

Finally and this is a big one for me and didn’t think about but I feel like I’m back on mat leave - no nice clothes being worn. Luckily we are in lockdown but fed up of hoodies and old jeans . The only thing I don’t have to contend with is getting my boobs out!!!

Just wanted to add that if your husband is planning to work from home and help with the puppy, he needs his WFH situation to be flexible. Pups LOVE to pick just that moment when you're about to go on an important phone call or video call to need a wee/poop on the rug/decide the sideboard looks tasty/play with the squeakiest of squeaky toys. Understanding work colleagues will be required.

Thank you for the further responses - it is really helpful.
I am feeling more like we aren't ready at the moment - I don't think we would have the time through the working day, definitely for a puppy. I'm struggling to see how it could work if we needed to use kennels/sitters straight away...naively I thought I could spend the 6 week holiday settling them in and then we'd be ok to fit the dog around us!

Older rescue?

@Itreallytiedtheroomtogether

Thank you for the further responses - it is really helpful. I am feeling more like we aren't ready at the moment - I don't think we would have the time through the working day, definitely for a puppy. I'm struggling to see how it could work if we needed to use kennels/sitters straight away...naively I thought I could spend the 6 week holiday settling them in and then we'd be ok to fit the dog around us!

After six weeks you won't be able to leave them for much longer than an hour or two - mainly because of toilet training/accidents, but also because young dogs need company and you can't just leave them to their own devices without coming back to howling, mess or destruction (or a combination of all three!).

Dogs are unfortunately really restrictive, especially when it comes to things like holidays and days out. Ours is three and there's still no way I could leave him all day with a dog walker in at lunchtime, he'd just get too lonely. Our days out are now dog-friendly, but if he can't come, he goes and stays with family (my in-laws are just around the corner). They also have him in the evenings if we want to go for a meal or something.

Lots of daycares/kennels won't take puppies under 16 weeks of age as they need to be fully vaccinated etc. beforehand.

@Wolfiefan

Older rescue?

Would an older rescue work for us do you think?

We don't have family the dog could go to, neither of us come from dog households so it's too big an ask. Non-dog friendly day trips/joint nights out are rare but they do happen...we wouldn't have anything planned for when we got the dog, but we would need this option eventually as well as needing day cover when e are working.

I was more thinking avoiding the puppy stage. TBH if you’re using daycare then going out in the evening and having a dog free day out at the weekend then no.

Puppy blues definitely a thing! And the 6 week holiday may be too short, as 8 week old puppy + 6 still only takes you to 14 weeks.

If you go down the puppy route, note that the opinion of experts is "toilet training can take up to 5 months" - and it's taken nearly that with our pup. (You will of course meet annoying owners who say breezily "oh yes, mine was trained within 3 days of getting back from the breeders" - they are the dog owner equivalent of the parents you remember from your children's toddler days who said "yes, Tarquin's been dry at night since 18 months and actually prefers organic rice cakes to chocolate.") I went through a phase of nearly losing the plot when no matter how often I took the puppy outside, and how long for (armed with treats, watching like a hawk), she would come inside and piss on the carpet.

On the whole, were we to repeat the process, I'd go for a rescue (we went for a puppy because of dcat). Not all rescues have "issues", especially these days - a lot will have been given up on by humans who got them in a fit of lockdown enthusiasm and were simply not up to being dog owners (and I have a lot more understanding of that situation now than I did have - I think we're through the worst, but by god it's been tough going. Low point was probably showering diarrhea off her at 3.00am when she caught various gut parasites.)

Breed - friends with rescue greyhounds do report they are brilliant because they are couch potatoes. Working/retriever type breeds tend to be very bright (which is fun, and makes them easy to train, but also means they need shit loads of stimulation and exercise, and also tend to be very needy dogs - love mine to bits, but she is hard work).

Factor in vets fees and insure up to the hilt.

mirandamarple please tell me more about trusted house sitters? Sorry for thread derail OP! What has been your experience of them?

• what would we do when we go on a day trip i.e. theme park? Doggy day care

• What would we do when we go out at night together and kids go to GPs? Dog sitter? Any local trustworthy teenagers?

• How much is flexible day care while at work? Kennels for holidays? Walkers? Walks about £20 a walk here. Not used other services so csnt comment but I'd look in your local area.

• How much will food cost and vets? I pay £22 for a couple of months purina beta supply. I dont do insurance but I do have savings. Flea and worm treatment is essential but varies between vets and area. Crate, collar, lead,microchipping,bed, toys other things to cost-consider.

• What time do they get up? Do they have to go out for walks straight away? What time do they go to bed? Sleep all night? Puppies wont sleep through the night and cant hold their bladers/bowels long. Mine doesnt need walks immediately but within half an hour of waking definitely unless you want them to develop bad toilet habits. Adults will sleep thru the night providing no mental or physical health issues.

• should we borrow a friends dog for a day to see how we all get on with having a dog at home? It's a very good idea.

breed...we have two boys 7 and 8.
Most dogs want walks as much as humanely possible. Any terrier seems like a decent idea.

• puppy or rescue / boy or girl?

I’d always go for a rescue. You're doing soemthing wonderful and know who the dog is/health issues etc already. If you can't traditionally rescue have a look on gumtree/preloved etc for those who need a home. I think boys tend to be easier IME, but no big difference.

@Wolfiefan

I was more thinking avoiding the puppy stage. TBH if you’re using daycare then going out in the evening and having a dog free day out at the weekend then no.

These things only happen a few times a year, it's not like that's every weekend... but we can't go ahead if we don't find an answer to them.

Thank you for the further responses. I'm really torn as a lot of it seems positive and doable for us - it's just the settling in and being able to leave them with someone while we work which can't be delayed until they are happy. I'm disappointed but I think it has to be a no for now, we can think again if one of us changes job.

I really appreciate all the good advice, thanks

You’d find solutions to those days out further down the line, if it’s only the odd day here and there. Chances are you’ll find the dog becomes part of the family and you tend to organise family days out that they can go on too. In the meantime try and find local dog walkers/daycare or rescues that you can talk to and get advice.