Recommendations please

[Ziggy 0]

He's lovely...

I'd still have to think of rescue or puppy...

We have a mix of cats... some were rescue cats, some were kittens from a friend's cat's litter...

There is a lot to consider when getting an older dog too, I realise that rescue centres would not give me a dog which wouldn't be happy or safe with kids, but there are other things to think about too, about whatever a dog has been used to before, cats, other animals, routines and so on...

To be honest, I also think my girls would probably love a puppy... I don't dismiss the rescue idea yet, but I also like the idea of caring for an animal from its baby time, see it spend a full lifetime with us, and get the girls to see it grow... Both have advantages, as a rescue dog would be past the puppy time with all it 'chewy' and other associated baby things, so in a way easier...

Oh decisions...

[Ziggy 0]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to have a dog... and here we are discussing whether to go for puppy or rescue... next we'll be talking what to name the dog!!! Don't let my husband come onto the forum please!!!!

[bronze 0]

Well it depends ont he dog obviously as different names suit different dogs.

I think Diesels a cool name for a GSD but wouldnt really do a terrier. Whereas Sammy would suit a KCS much better. So let us know whether you decided to go fro puppy or rescue and what breed you're getting then we can start on the names

[smudgley 0]

I wouldn't have a rescue dog with a young family. If your children are young, a puppy would be a much better option IMO & would be able to grow up with the cats too.

 

Do let us know what breeds you are considering, but I think a CKCS is a great family dog. although they are prone to certain health conditions.

[Ziggy 0]

We are thinking in the puppy direction too... with young kids, lots of other pets, I think it'd be better to have a puppy who can grow amongst us, and get used to us all from the start, and whom we can teach the routines that would work best for us all, pup included... Irish Setter seems to be first choice at the moment...

[Rhapsody 0]

I got a Samoyed X Collie from Battersea Dog's Home from a pup. They do have puppies but you have to put your name down and wait, next one was a 5 month old StaffXWhippet and finally (for now ) I got an American Bulldog at 8 months old. All have fitted in with the other animals and children perfectly and the latter 2 were in fact much easier as they were semi house and lead trained.

Can I please please beg of you not to get hung up on one partic breed of dog unless you can think of 3 good reasons why that breed would suit you and your family......in my experience its a fair test.

[Ziggy 0]

I guess it depends on what we decide... at the moment we are thinking of getting a pup from a breeder, and therefore we'd decide on breed first...

if we decided to go for a rescue dog then we'd just look for the right dog, rather than a particular breed...

To be honest though, I don't have good memories of our experience with rescue centres when we got our cats... No one seemed to believe we actually wanted cats cause we love cats and wanted to offer them a good and loving home... the people who talked to us seemed to think (honestly) that we were aliens in disguise and planning to torture the poor animals the moment we got our hands on them... they moaned about everything, we had kids ('groan')... we live in town ('groan')... there are roads nearby ('groan')... did we have cats before ('how did they die, how old were they?')... I fully understand them being cautious when rehoming, as it's for the animals welfare, but the cats protection league, though they approved us, then wouldn't give us any cats because we have kids!! I now have five cats and four kids, and they all get on so well, I can't imagine my girls growing without their feline family, or the feline snuggling on the sofa without one of their humans... even the baby (she's 18 months) and the kittens (who are 8 months) are inseparable friends...

So the experience of trying to get a dog from a rescue is one I'm getting a bit cautious about... the heartbreak for my daughter and myself whenever we called the cats protection league for updates and they messed us up is not something I'm willing to go through again... I'd rather they'd have said from the start 'no we don't want to give you a cat' than home visit us, find nothing wrong with the house, then make endless excuses week after week, then write to ask for donations because they have 'so many cats in foster care waiting for good homes'... well honestly, it's their own fault!!

[Ziggy 0]

As an afterthought to my previous post, was suddenly thinking, if rescues won't let me have kittens (we got the kittens from a friend) because I have kids, I wonder if they'd even consider letting me have a puppy... maybe the policy is the same...

 

Not sure if this will work, but couldn't resist posting this... this is how my 5 year old daughter's kitten looks after her... is that love or what??

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eQOfW6CicbE

[Lesley 0]

We had problems with Dog Rescue centres in our area as well Ziggy.

 

Lauren had a scary incident with two large dogs knocking her down when she was 18 months old and was terrified of dogs. As she is here at least two days a week, it was important for us to choose a dog that would be able to cope with Lauren and one that Lauren could cope with!

 

We had no help at all, despite telling them as soon as we arrived. They were rude about having to see the 'whole' family within 24 hours of choosing a dog - Lauren and Jake don't live with us and it was impractical - we didn't even get as far as a home visit.

 

We eventually chose a labrador from a breeder, saw both the Mum and the Dad and she has been just the best dog for Lauren (and me )

 

.......... and the Dogs' Trust still ask for donations

[pickled egg 0]

There are literally hundreds of lovely greyhounds looking for a home. If you contact a greyhound rescue centre (loads on the web) they can match you up with one to suit your needs. Some are retired early as they will not chase anything so they might be right up your street. As a rule they make fantastic pets and are by nature laid back and lazy. No one believes you if you tell them that but its so true. Small dogs are, in my opinion much harder work, and can be a bit yappy, but greyhounds are perfect

I am biased as i have 2 very greyhoundy lurchers and a whippet - I adore them and wouldn't swap them for the world, but i agree with Claret about the bad habits and halitosis - our girls breath could strip paint and if we accidentally have the fire on too high and she starts panting we make a dash to open the window....

[Ain't Nobody Here 4]

That is so sweet, Ziggy . I can't believe your daughter slept through it .

[BeckyBoo 0]

Hey Ziggy, have you got any further with your dog hunt? Can I suggest Mastiffs? We've got a mastiff cross, she's 7 months old and is docile, sweet natured and very very soppy. She LOVES our kids (and everyone elses) and puts up with a huge amount from my son who is only 2 1/2.

this was her in September aged 11 weeks...

 

Then in November....

 

And a few days ago....

 

She's a fair size (7 stone) but she's got nothing to prove, she's good with other dogs, hasn't got a mean bone in her body and is easy to excercise. At 7 months she doesn't even chase the chickens. Much!

 

On the down side they are a tie, not that it bothers us as most of our holidays will be camping for the forseeable anyway, they we and poo in your garden (and that's a delightful job - poo collector! If it's not baby or chicken poo it's dog poo - I AM poo collector!) and the wee trashes your grass unles you hose it off straight away. We don't get much shed hair as she's short haired but I'm sure my house must smell of dog altho I have every air freshner, carpet cleaner, incense stick there is as I'd hate to REALLY think my house was "doggy". And of course she thinks she's one of the children so she gets fed up if she can't come with me to everything.

 

Still, let us know how you get on!

 

Mrs Bertie

[The Dogmother 579]

And of course she thinks she's one of the children so she gets fed up if she can't come with me to everything.

 

Mrs Bertie

 

Does she go to the loo with you like children do?

[Helen&Lee 0]

And of course she thinks she's one of the children so she gets fed up if she can't come with me to everything.

 

Mrs Bertie

 

Does she go to the loo with you like children do?

 

 

My two follow me everywhere including the loo

 

Yet my husband they leave alone - maybe if he fed, walked, and let them out a bit more they would be as bad with him

 

Helen

[The Dogmother 579]

My lurcher used to follow me everywhere, sat beside me when I was on the loo and lay on the bathmat when I was in the shower/bath. If I shut her outside the bathroom, then she's lay outside the door patiently waiting....bless

[Ziggy 0]

Well with my youngest DD still following me everywhere, a dog following everywhere too wouldn't be so hard to get used to.... it's been years since I've been able to use a bathroom undisturbed and in private

 

I think the decision to get a dog is pretty made now... it will be lovely, and I'm ready to accept the down sides, like having to plan holidays differently and so on, for the sake of the good sides... As a compromise with hubby, though, I've agreed to wait until youngest DD has started nursery, in a year or so, to get the dog, I'll have more time then to go for long walks in all weather, without having to drag a baby around each time... There's a lovely place not far from here, that I could take the dog to regularly, and have long walks... can't wait...

[Ziggy 0]

Claret, after seeing your posts on little chickadee's thread about little guide dog puppy Quita in the nesting box, and considering you're not far from here, in a year's time or so when we get a dog, if we do get a puppy as we think we most likely will, I'll just have to invite you over for regular cups of tea and puppy cuddling...

[The Dogmother 579]

Claret, after seeing your posts on little chickadee's thread about little guide dog puppy Quita in the nesting box, and considering you're not far from here, in a year's time or so when we get a dog, if we do get a puppy as we think we most likely will, I'll just have to invite you over for regular cups of tea and puppy cuddling...

 

Oohhh, that is such a lovely thought Ziggy - we'd certainly love to come over. I miss puppies, especially their ears! My animals are baby substitutes

 

You have a good heart Ziggy

 

*jiggles with excitement*

cx