Would this set up suit a dog?

[waitandwatch]

Hello, we currently have a dog (a Labrador patterdale cross) who is 14 now and sleeps for about 90% of the day! He doesn't need walks anymore, just potters about the garden. When he was younger he used to go to work with farmer DH, so has never really done traditional 'walks'.

Our children are getting a bit older now and we are starting to think about another dog, but I want to be realistic about what we can manage. The children are 7, 6 and 3, so whilst they are out at preschool/school during term time, they are home all holidays.

We live on a farm, have about an acre of garden fully fenced in and then around another 2.5 acres in sight of the house which we are in the process of fencing. In the holidays or when children are ill, realistically they are not going to walk a long walk twice a day with a dog, so I'm wondering if this 3.5 acres would be enough to regularly exercise a dog, where I could go out and do it myself where the kids can still see me/call me but don't necessarily have to trudge around with me. Just not sure if this would get boring for the dog after a while.

I would probably keep the dog on a lead everywhere else around here as there's very busy footpaths, but the dog would be free to be off lead in the 3.5 acres.

Does that sound okay? What sort of breed might suit this? We do have other animals in the acre field, mostly birds and they are all obviously used to dogs.

I also have no idea if I'd be any good at training a puppy, our current dog was past puppy stage when DH and I moved in together! Not sure if rescues would consider us but would definitely consider this if the right dog came up (we're not in a rush).

We also go on shoots a lot during the winter which is normally a nice day out for the dogs, so could potentially do some gun dog training with them or they could just come for the walk.

Personally, I wouldn't have a dog (puppy or rescue) with children that young. And, based on experience as a breeder (i.e. having lots of 'breeder' friends) and as someone involved in rescuing (breed specific - Golden Retrievers) I don't think a responsible breeder or rescue will sell to given your children's ages. That will present bigger problems since bad breeders = more likely to have defective puppies both temperamentally and health wise.

I don't see why a dog couldn't be off lead on busy footpaths though, and I don't think it would necessarily be fair to have a gundog and only ever walk it on the lead (particularly when it's young - there's evidence showing repetitive motion i.e. walking on lead and not being able to run free can damage joint and muscle growth). Even thinking now 'well there will be days the dog cannot be walked' isn't really ideal because people usually start on a positive note and then slide, and I'd worry that if you're already acknowledging you can't walk the dog all the time you might end up in a situation where the dog is rarely walked particularly if you do not have young children willing to come on the walks with you and you aren't comfortable leaving them alone.

3.5 acres sounds like a lot, but realistically it's going to be the same sniffs all the time which will be very boring for an intelligent dog (which gundogs are). It'll also cause socialisation issues - gundogs can be very neurotic in terms of socialisation, so early and good continued socialisation is key to ensure a robust and happy dog.

So if you're going to do it and that is the lifestyle you can provide, I think you'd probably be better off getting a family-friendly breed (poodle) and waiting a few years until you're in a position to really give the dog the mental and physical exercise it might need.

Totally understand what you're saying. I wouldn't be looking for a specific gundog, was just mentioning the shoots as an example of our lifestyle really. We have very relaxed shoots so lots of people give a bit of gundog training a go here and there, I definitely wouldn't be doing proper intense gundog training!

We had a cocker spaniel for a while and I loved doing mental games with her on top of exercise (as our current dog has never been interested in that kind of thing) but yeah it's just being realistic about the time I'd have available.

We had planned to wait until the children were all secondary age but then we had a lovely stray lurcher end up on our farm a few weeks ago and it made us consider it again as he was soo lovely. But yes probably wise to carry on waiting.

Kids that young can live with dogs- just get a fairly laid back breed and train properly. My youngest was 2 when I got my greyhound ( as a puppy,but from a rescue) and I consistently trained her not to resource guard, and trained the children to be gentle with her. I think 3 acres is enough to give variety of sniffs- especially when supplementing with mental games. Your set up sounds great!

Ok, different perspective…

You describe a better lifestyle than most dogs have.

I do think you should be intending to take a dog “out” somewhere most days. But other than that it sounds lovely.

We have a 4 acre space that my dogs (lurchers) enjoy. But they also like to see the wider world, socialise, get a coffee and cake 🤣

Are you thinking of rescuing this lurcher or did it just prompt a longer term thought?

As someone who has had lurchers for many years: they often come from environments where they have never had walks. They aren’t expecting them, will like them but will be ok with your alternative. Often lamping background and not treated very nicely 😢

Livestock could be an issue - but if you have experience of this particular dog then you would have a clearer idea of whether that would be a problem.

There are very few dogs I would let off lead these days. Enclosed fields are the way forward in my opinion. Safe, secure and no chance of annoying someone or getting into a pickle.

Some rescues will adopt to kids of your age (I know one personally if in South East ish. But the suitable dogs are more limited so there may be a wait). Ultimately there are so many unwanted dogs out there that rescues are looking for loving households - not perfection.

I've just spoken to DH and he's pointed out the second field is actually 2.5 hectares (I obviously don't pay enough attention ) so that's more like 6 acres, 7 acres total.

No we aren't thinking of adopting that specific lurcher - DH did ask to be considered when he handed it over but they said they likely wouldn't as it was too close to where it was originally from. But yes just prompted the idea again. We are very aware our dog is not going to live forever and have discussed for a long time would we have another, when etc. But this lovely lurcher won us over to the idea again.

You describe a better lifestyle than most dogs have.

This. And I think there are many dogs in rehoming centres who jump at the chance of becoming your dog. Need to get a good fit, especially considering the age of the children, but other than that, I'd go for it 🙂

I had puppies with young DC - the youngest was a baby when we got our first dog, and still only 5 when we got the next one. We used to do a short and a long walk in the holidays, the short one usually just me once DH was home (even if it was dark) and the longer one somewhere that I could use a pushchair or have the baby in a backpack, or the older ones could ride bikes or whatever. Those walks tended to be long in terms of time not distance, but the dogs got to sniff and explore. It was bloody hard work having small DC and a puppy, but 100% worth it in the end. Not recommended for the faint-hearted, but we ended up with dogs who were excellent around DC, and DC who have matured into dog-junkie adults.

If you're involved in shooting, perhaps look at getting a gundog cross. I beat on a shoot where one of the beating dogs is a cockapoo. She's not wildly driven or ambitious, but she's useful - and easier to control than the 100% gundogs, who tend to be a lot more, um, determined (mine included...)

There are quite a few FB beating etc pages - you might get good advice there on what non-gundog breeds make good shooting companions.

I think this is what I started to think when that lurcher was dumped here and I thought oh gosh there are dogs in some terrible conditions and we have a nice place here.

But I do want to be realistic. I'm trying to think worst case scenario rather than best in terms of what we can offer - there will of course be lots of days all the children are out, I can go for lovely long walks, but it's being able to manage on the harder days too when a child is ill and laid up on the sofa, or I'm ill and can't drag three kids and a dog out for miles. When our dog was young enough to still want walks, I used to take him out at 5am for a few miles before DH went to work, and then even if we didn't get out again (this was when the older two were toddlers) at least I knew he'd had a good run first thing, and wouldn't mind a very slow potter behind the kids around the village. Although he did used to look at them as if to say 'why aren't we actually moving' 😂

Although having seen the change in dogs and owners since COVID along these footpaths, I think I would still prefer a dog who is happy on a lead when we're out and about.

I think you are taking the right approach, OP.
Also, I've just seen your youngest is 3, I missed that.
I think you'll struggle to adopt to be honest so probably makes sense to wait.
It's a shame though as I think even your worst day, would be better than a best day for some dogs in centres.
Good luck whatever you decide 🙂

I like your set up!
So if you have time & energy I would get a puppy and train it properly to do a job.
Look what type of training is available in your area, you mentioned gun dog training (you could just do for pets only) , but your gun dog / Spaniel could just as well be trained as a search dog or man trailing.... your DC & 3.5 acres would be great for training fun!
Only snag is you would have to commit to regular training class for many years to come. It takes time and commitment to train a dog properly.

We walk our dogs around our farm regularly (40ish acres) but they do enjoy going ‘out’ and off the property. I think they like the different smells of places other than ‘home’ (even if home is big!)