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Maybe getting a dog - am I missing anything?
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11-11-2009 3:01pm#1Right, the missus is enamoured with the idea of getting a dog and an opportunity has come up that there might be a young (2 years I think), three-legged Staffy bitch going grabbing in the near future.
We've both had animals for most of our lives and are mad about them, so we're not concerned on that front that we'll get bored or freaked out or anything.
I'm just trying to make sure we've logically covered all the bases before committing to anything.
We live in a duplex - a terraced house without a garden effectively. The plan is that the dog will live in one of the rooms; I want a crate ideally. It'll otherwise have general free roam of the house though except for sleeping time and so forth.
My work is a regular 8 hours-a-day affair, my wife's changes a lot, but in any case my sister-in-law is going to take the dog to work every day. Then we'll take it for a walk in the evenings - my wife is determined to get out and walk, hail, rain or shine
Apparently it's small and with 3 legs it won't need epic 10-mile jogs to keep it fit.
There's usually someone around at the weekends, and never an occasion where we'd go out drinking and not arrive home for 48 hours, so that's no problem.
We own the house and management company rules are not a problem.
There'll be children around in the near future (nieces and nephews) and some of our own no doubt in the medium-term, so we'll be checking out the dog's temperament very closely. Since it'll have to go to work every day with other dogs around, obviously it'll need to get on with dogs. My parents have two of their own and any dog would be spending christmas in my parents' house with me, so how it gets on with them would be very important.
Primary costs I see at the beginning are:
Crate & Car transport
Leads/bedding etc
Food
Toys
Training
Anything I'm missing?0
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Seamus - I too would say Argyle & Bainbridge -they're great, I'd my little Daisy up there yesterday, Mr Argyle was on his lunch but he saw us.
Up to date Vaccs - flea treatments - worming
Pet insurance is a big one - it'll pay off if anything happens
Dog license - easy to get at the post office
As mentioned the muzzle & lead - http://www.ispca.ie/Restricted-Dog-Breeds.aspx
I would assume if you're walking around the area / in a local park etc, unless you have a closed in private area, you need to be careful if/when you let it off the lead.
Oh and routine
of feeding/sleeping etc. They're good for getting dogs settled if they have the comfort of a regular routine, and some good exercise 0 -
Just on the whole having a dog without a garden bit- we have an apartment and a Cavalier King Charles and it has worked very well. We don't have a garden either and as there are very strict rules in our place surrounding pets in communal areas, nipping out with her for a quick pee isn't an option so we have her trained to go in one place, on an odour-absorbing puppy pad. We're also careful to regulate her meal times so we know exactly what times she's likely to poo and it can be removed immediately, pee pad changed and air freshened. When you have an indoor dog, you learn very quickly to not sneak it titbits from the table
(Edited to add: on the peeing thing, it's easy to train a dog to go on command so you can sand there, instruct the dog to go, clean up immediately if needed and you're sorted for a few hours if you're going out or whatever)
Luckily, I work from home so she's very seldomly on her own and my in-laws are near enough that she can stay with them overnight or for a weekend if needs be.
Having a dog who is primarily indoors is a lot of hardwork and you'll get used to it. For us it has loads of plusses- we never have to worry about her running out the front gate and in front of a car, it's easier to monitor her health as you'll know immediately if she vomits or anything, she's not likely to roam and we don't have to worry about other dogs coming in and upsetting her.0 -
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I just realised I said Rotty in my OP That's cos I really wanted one of them. It's actually a Staffy. A rotty would be like having an entire other adult human in the house :eek:
Maybe when we buy a bigger place...
We had Rotties when I was a small child and they were brilliant with kids but from what I've learned on this board, Staffies are complete nanny dogs. No shortage of Staff owners on here willing to tell you how good they are with kids.0 -
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Just to warn you that the fact she's missing a leg doesn't mean she won't eventually need epic jogs. Our middle dog is a three-legged jack russell cross. We got her when she was 2 from a rescue centre and she must have only recently lost the leg as she was very wobbly and couldn't walk far. After two months she was walking to the park (20 mins away), chasing a ball for an hour with the speed of a miniature greyhound and then walking home. She's 7 now and is still a devoted ball chaser, although the youngest dog (5 years younger and having all four legs) occasionally beats her to them
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OK, we got her last night, she's in good form though a little nervous about the new place and all the strange sounds. She spent the last 4 weeks in the DSPCA though surrounded by loads of noise so it's going to be weird.
She had the rest of her leg removed last week and the wound is still weeping a little bit, so we're trying to keep her away from the carpeted areas. There's no door between the sitting room and kitchen, so at present we have the couch up against the gap to stop her getting through but obviously this isn't an ideal solution.
We really just want to keep her in the kitchen for the moment (except when we're taking her out obviously) and perhaps overnight for a while until she understands that she doesn't sleep on the couch
I've looked at extra-wide baby gates, but they're ridiculously expensive. The gap is about 1.5m. Any other ideas?
I'll take a few pics later.0 -
OK, we got her last night, she's in good form though a little nervous about the new place and all the strange sounds. She spent the last 4 weeks in the DSPCA though surrounded by loads of noise so it's going to be weird.
She had the rest of her leg removed last week and the wound is still weeping a little bit, so we're trying to keep her away from the carpeted areas. There's no door between the sitting room and kitchen, so at present we have the couch up against the gap to stop her getting through but obviously this isn't an ideal solution.
We really just want to keep her in the kitchen for the moment (except when we're taking her out obviously) and perhaps overnight for a while until she understands that she doesn't sleep on the couch
I've looked at extra-wide baby gates, but they're ridiculously expensive. The gap is about 1.5m. Any other ideas?
I'll take a few pics later.
depends on how handy - fussy you are - could make a "gate" out of a piece of hardboard/chipboard? or maybe buy a fence panel from the DIY place - might be a bit cheaper0 -
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hOW ABOUT THIS http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8505239/Trail/searchtext%3ECLOTHES+HORSE.htm
stretched out flat?
i likes ya thinking
how about this one, if you have it flat an lean in across door - or is it too short - would be 1.7m across and 73cm high when flat http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8500368/Trail/searchtext%3ECLOTHES+HORSE.htm
might need some catch's to hold it on place, or something heavy wedged against it - and as with votejohn's example your money isn't wasted as you get a clothes horse to use later0 -
Thought about that, but a bit of a pain to be stepping over or storing long-term.depends on how handy - fussy you are - could make a "gate" out of a piece of hardboard/chipboard? or maybe buy a fence panel from the DIY place - might be a bit cheaper
Oh nice, there's an outdoor one there which looks like it might be just the thing.Argos do puppy gates for €50-60 that are extra wide - not that expensive when you look at what the dog could wreck if it's able to run amok! :pac: Actually have one of them. They're quite flexible though, I'd be afraid she'd hurt herself or get stuck trying to fight her way past it.
I like the idea though....
Thanks for the suggestions.0 -
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