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Dog advice...

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We are seriously thinking about getting one. Now we will be looking at puppies, we have 9 chickens and 3 elderly cats already in situ and would prefer to bring a youngster into this established group so that it learns it's place in the pecking order quite quickly.

 

We obviously want a dog that is good with chickens, cats and children. We are thinking mid sized as we are not keen on small dogs and we have a large property with a large garden and lots of lovely country walks to take "fido" on. Something nice to train....

 

I've been looking at labrador, golden retriever, dalmation (then I read about how much THEY shed!) and a personal fave the Irish Setter, funny as per usual when Mum and I got to talking it turns out both of us have always had a fancy for the Irish Setter!

 

Does anyone have any good advice about these breeds? Or recommendations for any others??

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I had a lovely laid back Border Collie until he died five years ago. He was very tolerant of other pets and used to wash the kittens regularly whether they wanted him to or not. They used to snuggle up to him and he would give them big slobbery kisses.

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how exciting :)

 

I love labradors, my friend has gold & chocolate ones and they eat almost anything (and I mean anything!), so I think they might need a lot of training. She even sent one dog to boot camp!

 

Setters are beautiful, dont know anyone with one though. :think:

 

Poodles dont shed do they? What about a labradoodle.....has Paola got one of those?

 

I think you should go with a retreiver.....lovely temperament.

 

Choices, choices... :lol:

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we had a Lab X and a Basset who were great with the chooks - we had Sam the Lab from 6 weeks of age but the Basset was about 15 months when he came to us.

 

I think any dog, as long as it's small/young enough to be trained by cats and chooks, will be fine. Depends on your preferences and the breeding of the pup. Both those boys of ours were bred for hunting but by inclination they were couch potatoes so it really does depend on the individual.

 

Are you looking for a pedigree or would a rescue do you? Many dogs in rescue (lots of puppies at the moment) can be rehomed in your situation.

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Lots of thought coming here.

 

I would like to rescue but I am thinking pedigree. Temprament wise you never know what's in a cross breed and our cats are too old to change their ways if we have a problem with a dog. Mum's poppy is about 18 or 19, deaf as a post and with dodgy eyesight. My 2 are a few years younger and in good health (considering the leg problem Honey had last year!)

 

With a younger dog I would want to have seen it with it's mother too so I think this time we would be looking for a puppy from a breeder.

 

Oh Mods - sorry I forgot there was an "other animals" board!

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Hi

Have you ever thought about a Boxer, they are great with children, love to be part of

a family, give great amounts of love , nice, caring, when young can be like an other child and a bit daft, but grow out of it and lovely to train.

Worth their weight in gold for the fun you will get out of owning one. We would not be without our 2 boxer girls Millie is almost 10 and still loves walks, if we leave her in she guards the home, she is a super girl. Missy is almost 2 a loving girl with plenty of fun in her will run and run back to you, nice to train.

The choice of which dog you have is up to you.

Think about grooming the dog, washing it, food , injections, vets bills, insuring the dog ( we are with Pet Plan on both our girls) worth having. Chip the dog so if lost or stolen the police or RSPCA can scan it and see who the owner(s) is/are would say a must do job.

 

Suggest if you hear of a Dog show near to you to go and have a look as you could meet a breeder there and see many different types of dogs. Also go to the local news agents and get show dog news paper it will have breeders in and also local shows.

 

The other thing to do is enter the type of dogs you are thinking about on the net and read about them. Look in local pet shops for adverts of puppies for sale.

You could also look on the net for dogs needing re homing or look in the local RSPCA.

 

Good luck in what ever you end up with please remember to get it some training to help it though life.

 

Best regards and woof , woof.

 

Ian & Valerie

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Golden Retrievers shed lots of hair. My neighbours used to have one, they loved her to bits but not her fur.

 

We were looking at red setters before we got Cookie. I tried the rescue society but they were not interested in us as we had never had a red setter before. Apparently you need to be experienced in setters before they'd let you have one :wall: I'd already had a dog for 12 years by then!! I think they are supposed to be on the go all the time.

 

Cookie is a goldendoodle (yes we did pay a lot for her :roll: ) but gorgeous. But she is a big dog and you have to factor in grooming costs. She goes every 6-8 weeks for a wash and cut which costs £30-35. She also goes in between for a brush which I donate £10 to (they don't charge me - they know that her coat is so, so hard to brush). Thats why I wouldn't recommend one of her!

 

We had a proper heinz 57 before Cookie from Battersea and she was wonderful.

 

Good luck in your choice. :D

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We started looking at having a recue dog but found both our local rescue centres so unhelpful with the problem we had with grand-daughter (very frequent visitor in our house) and her total fear of any dog, so we went down the pedigree route as well.

 

We chose Jazz as she comes from a long line of Field Trial Champion Labs. and has Irish ancestry. These labradors are smaller in stature and have finer features than the larger labradors with American ancestry. She is full size now and is classed as medium - being 23kg. We saw her at 3 weeks old, with her mother and also met the father.

 

She has been just the best dog to help Lauren over her fear and is so good with children, cats and hens.

 

We have been offered two more labradors to re-home recently but we would prefer to go down the puppy route again if we do decide to have more dogs. Jazz does shed :? - not too badly......and I am getting used to it :?:vom: ........... :lol:

 

How would you cope with your holidays? - I assume you already have some help lined up?

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We are seriously thinking about getting one. ... Does anyone have any good advice about these breeds? Or recommendations for any others??

 

Sealyham terrier: coat does not shed, wonderful watchdog, sociable and confident, good with children, energetic out of doors (needs two walks a day) but quiet indoors, comparatively long-lived (up to 16 years), fearless, with a big dog bark (not yappy). Plus the breed needs a bit of help to keep going in this country. Sealyhams were very fashionable in the first half of the 20th century (the Royal Family had several) but not so now.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealyham_Terrier

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/84

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:) What a lovely decision to have to make!

 

We had a golden lab. Honey, who never grew up and she ate everything including pyrex plates (as long as there was food on them) and fluorescent light tubes which were in our stable. I shut her in there when we went shopping to try and save the remains of our furniture! She was also an escape artist, regardless of security measures. Having said that a lovely, loving dog. Not so pleasant when she indulged in her favourite pastime of searching for, finding and rolling in fox poo! Oh and hair! she could moult for England!

 

Now Ellie is my rescue Dalmation from the Dalmation rescue organization. I was only on their waiting list for a few weeks. We got her when she was 5 months old. She HAD to be rehomed because she NIPPED the previous owners 9 year old son! She has been fantastic for us and very easy to train. However, she is not too keen on small children and is extremely possessive of our property and car if she is in it.

 

My daughter has a cross Boxer/Dalmation who has been a lovely girl but again possessive.

Her Mother was the Dalmation bit and she was also very keen to guard 'her' property.

 

The 'best' dog I had was Tango,a rescue Doberman. A perfect gentleman in every way. Easy to train, loving and loyal, got on well with my other dogs, goats and ducks. Couldn't fault him!

 

My German Shepherd and Old English Sheepdog were both superb but with 5 kids as well a lot of extra work and time needed for grooming etc.

 

I now have in addition to Ellie, Sophie, a cross Weimaraner/German Pointer who was 'donated' to us when my son got a wife! Not a good choice for cats and chooks. They can't help their hunting instincts and wants to be very active all the time. She will bring me baby rabbits, mice etc. We have also recently been given a Great Dane pup, Topaze. Only 4 months old but is beginning to train well. Her mother is a very gentle and calm girl. Time will tell!

 

Hope this might have helped but these are only how mine have been!

 

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

Jackiex

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I'm sorry pengy but as a lifelong dog owner I have to disagree with you about the pedigree/crossbreed thing. Pedigree is no guarantee of temperament and it has far more to do with how the dog is trained handled and treated rather than genetics. I've had both pedigrees and crossbreeds and they've all been super dogs, good luck with your search!

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Ok, I'm going to be VERY biased now, but can I please recommend a German Shepherd?

Absolutely amazing dog, the full package in my opinion. Very easy to train, incredibly intelligent, nice to look at, doesn't need a huge amount of exercise (we walk Zara three times daily). This dog will also protect you and lay it's life down for you.

 

When we where dog hunting we thought about all of the dogs you have. Dalmatians are beautiful, but strong minded and have a tendency to stray, plus they shed a lot. The Labrador is a very clever dog, as is the retriever, if you want something easy to train. I was going to get an Irish setter, but they are very bouncy and excitable, and stay puppy-like all their life.

 

Personally, I also wanted a dog that would make me feel a bit safer around the house as I'm on my own for the majority of the day. I know Zara will put her life at risk to protect me, and I would do the same for her.

 

If you want more info on the GSD then feel free to PM me, I also have some GSD books you could borrow if you want?

 

Oh, forgot to mention Zara is also very good around the chooks and our two cats, she doesn't have a chasing instinct in her so that is helpful. We taught her the phrase "be careful" when she's around them, so she knows she has to be gentle with them. She was initially very interested in the cats, but after a few sharp tugs on her lead if she gets to boisterous she has learnt to be good. Also the cats will swing for her if she gets too close, but it doesn't usually come to that.

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May I recommend the book - Choosing the Right Dog for you by Gwen Bailey?

 

I found this invaluable when looking for a dog and spent about six weeks reading through it and changing my mind every five mins :roll: The book helsp you narrow down the choices so that you can get further info from elsewhere (Internet!) to suppplement the info given in the book. When I came to my decision I knew I had the information I needed to ensure it was the right one and am overjoyed with the dog we ended up with, he is a perfect match for us :D

 

The book covers breeds that aren't common and so you may find something ideal that you didn't even know existed like I did!

 

Have fun deciding!

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Irish setters are lovely, but total nutters! :lol:

 

It's worth borrowing a puppy before making up your mind - they are a LOT of hard work and you will need to spend lots of time on the training. It's like babies - you soon forget how much work they are ......I've had numerous pups over the years and love them to bits, Ruby, our 20 week old lurcher is cute as pie, but I wouldn't have considered getting one if I didn't work 5 mins away from home and have the time to spend with her. You will also need a room that is indestructible, or that you don't mind getting trashed, that you can keep her crate in and leave her in if you have to go out.

 

You're most welcome to borrow my hellacious mud-magnet for the weekend! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

My family have always had dogs of one sort or another and they are very rewarding family members who enhance your life and increase the amount of exercise that you take.. If you aren't prepared to put up with all that puppyhood brings, then perhaps think of rescuing a more adult dog - I know if a site that looks to re-home lurchers, but be aware that you will have to pass a strict home check.

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Ooh, have fun choosing Pengy! Lots of good advice above :D Can't give any advice, just to say I've had three golden retrievers and would have another in a shot. I love them - you are their world, so they are very biddable and easy to train, such happy happy dogs, without the nut factor of irish setters! (although they do take a long time to mature! :lol: ) My last dog, Charlie, was a complete love. We had him from a pup and got him while I was pregnant so he almost grew up with my oldest who would crawl all over him :D When we went for a walk, he knew what to do, he would take the lead out of your hand and carry it himself, sit at the side of every road and walk to heel with no prompting. The shedding problem was resolved by regular sessions with the dog groomers, otherwise it was a bit of a nightmare. Can't recommend them highly enough! 8)

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I'm sorry pengy but as a lifelong dog owner I have to disagree with you about the pedigree/crossbreed thing. Pedigree is no guarantee of temperament and it has far more to do with how the dog is trained handled and treated rather than genetics. I've had both pedigrees and crossbreeds and they've all been super dogs, good luck with your search!

 

I couldn't agree more. I;ve had dogs all my life, some rescued some not :)

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Even more to think about! Some interesting recommendations there too. My experience of cross breeds hasn't been good, some very highly strung ones have been in our family.

 

Mum always had dogs when she was growing up and is home most of the time so will be doing the main looking after. As for holidays, something will work out - we were going to get a house sitter before until we found someone who would come round twice a day so we may just go back to the house sitter idea. TBH we have a few friends who actually rather fancy living in our house for a couple of weeks and they would be great at looking after the animals.

 

I think we will see if we can get that recommended book out of the library (see signature!) and see where we go from there.

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We're currently fostering a staffie/lurcher cross about a year old called Gina. Not a great combination for introducing to chooks TBH (Sight hound in her wants to chase and the terrier in her wants to catch) She's very bouncy and into everything but LOVES everyone. But i just wondered if you'd consider the fostering route (Not sure how attached to each pooch you would get though) They get life outside of kennels until their forever home and you get to experience many different types of dog. Or maybe volunteer to be a dog walker at your local kennel to see what takes your fancy?

 

*Shameless link to Gina's charity coming up...*

 

Pro Dogs Direct

 

Failing that, I've always like springer spaniels, a little loopy but so friendly, soft and happy.

 

How exciting for you though

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