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When getting a dog.....
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11-04-2011 9:25am#1What do people need to look out for when getting a new dog? What advice would you give to a friend who has never had a dog before and just told you that they were thinking of getting one.
From choosing a breed, deciding on a rescue or a breeder, what to expect from both. How to know a good breeder and who to avoid. Anything else you think is important too!
Responses to this thread will be complied into the forum FAQ's.2
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I would recommend them to be prepared to put out any notions of a cuddly little puppy who will behave perfectly and be instantly okay with every situation you put them into. They will pull on the lead, they will leave accidents on the floor, things will get chewed, people will have teeth marks left on their hands. When you most want that pup to behave in public, it will probably go bonkers and behave like a general tearaway.
Once you make your peace with that, things usually go very smoothly. You have to keep a sense of humour when training a pup. Keeping a stash of booze and/or chocolate helps too.
And always keep in mind, that the harder it is to get a growing pup to do as you tell him, the more rewarding it is when they finally get it and they will respect you all the more because you stood your ground and insisted they follow through. So don't give up at the first hurdle.0 -
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For first time dog owners a great thing you can do is get a good book on dogs. Look on it as "The instruction manual"
Some of my favourite authors include..
Patricia McConnell
Bruce Fogel
and Stanley Coren
I would especially recommend Coren's book "How Dogs Think : Understanding the Canine Mind".0 -
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Oh please do expand on that one! A very important point. All of the more "pointed" comments will be made into one large informative post (I think) so anything you think is important, please do say.
I just touched on it really.
Okey dokey. I might just address pounds, actually, here, but because I don't live in Ireland I may be off the mark in terms of the law, so I stand to be corrected by the rescues on here.
Pound Versus Rescue
The main difference between pounds versus rescue centres, are pounds are usually local authority funded holding stations for animals that are found by rangers, handed in as strays by members of the public or surrendered by their owners. Pounds hold the animals for a set number of days before euthanising them. Some animals will be euthanised sooner than that, for various reasons including age, illness, injury and breed specific legislation that specifies the dog is a restricted breed.
Some pounds do have temperament testers, some do not. Some pounds will euthanise the gentlest dog in the world because it has bull terrier in it, and on the same day will rehome a lurcher cross with serious behavioural issues. It's sad but it's like any transaction - it's buyer beware.
Do all dogs in the pound have problems?
First, define 'problems'!
Or rather, better to consider why do dogs end up in the pound?
Some dogs end up in the pound because they strayed and could not be reunited with their owners. These dogs come with no history. You really are taking on a journey of discovery if you adopt an adult stray from a pound. You could get the best dog in the world, who strayed because someone left a gate open, or you could get a dog who strayed because he's a fence jumper, or a fenceline digger, or a livestock worrier, or used to belong to someone who neglected him, or whatever. Just be prepared.
Other dogs are surrendered to the pound. A surrender doesn't necessarily mean the dog is a problem dog. For starters, your problem behaviour may not be my problem behaviour. You might send your dog to the pound because he digs your immaculate garden and you can't get him to stop, I might not give a toss about that and see only what a great dog he is.
Not sure how it is in Ireland at the moment because of the economic situation, but I can tell you what I see a lot of in pounds here.
1) Litters of unwanted puppies. Anywhere between 6 weeks and 12 weeks old, they come in through the 'surrender pens' out of hours because the owners are too embarassed to turn them over face to face. There is normally absolutely nothing wrong with these pups other than they became too much trouble and the owner of the mother couldn't find them homes. Sometimes they can be underweight, they usually need a good worming treatment and they may have fleas, and occasionally ringworm if they're underweight and flea-ridden because that does nothing for your immune system, but all of these things are treatable.
Not knowing their parentage can expose you to the potential of health problems, because many of these problems don't manifest until later in life. However you're no better or worse off than you would be buying the pup from a BYB, pet store, off done deal or from a rescue who don't have a history either.
2) Wee terrier-type strays of indeterminate age. There seem to see a lot of wee <20kg terrier type dogs who may or may not be microchipped. It's as though owners of a certain size of dog don't feel it's as important to keep them secure on the property and let them go 'visiting' during the day. Strange, but true.
3) Adolescent dogs. After the puppies, there's another big push in the age range of 8 months to 18 months. At this point, the pup is still a pup but isn't. They've outgrown the cute dependence of small puppy stage, and if the owner didn't do their research and wasn't prepared, they now have a difficult near-adult-sized but puppy-like dog that they can't deal with. (Most of the adolescent dogs I've seen in the pound are often of larger breeds and crossbreeds).
It would be my personal opinion that dogs in this bracket are the biggest wildcard in terms of rehoming straight from the pound. They're adolescent anyway, which means they can be wilful and argumentative.
They may have a firm foundation of unwanted behaviours that their previous owner never addressed - or may even have encouraged. They may or may not be housetrained. They're energetic, clumsy, often poorly socialised, often untrained, not bonded with and can have all the makings of adult behavioural problems around resource guarding, lack of socialisation and separation anxiety - because they may have spent a few months tethered and ignored in the back yard before the family finally gave in and turned them over to the pound.
Can they still be great dogs? Damn sure they can - but be prepared to put the work in.
4) Beautiful, difficult dogs. In this bracket I put the pure breeds that the folks who bought them just weren't prepared for. Weighing in heavily here in Aus are the sled dogs, huskies and malamutes. Another breed who appear to be oddly over-represented in rescue here are Sharpeis. Basically in this bracket are pure breed dogs whose owners went for the look and couldn't put in the work. So is the pound a good place to get a pure breed dog? As long as you're prepared to undo previously formed bad habits, and put work in with training, involve a behaviourist if required and so on, then the pound is a perfectly good place to get a purebreed dog.
So should I consider a pound dog?
Let me put it to you this way - if you have experience with difficult dogs, you're a perfect fit for any and every pound dog.
If you have no experience with difficult dogs but you've done research and you have a plan to put the work in by using the many resources available to folks these days, you're really a fine fit for almost any pound dog.
If you have no experience with any dog and you haven't done any research, you may not be a good fit for a pound dog - but you're not a good fit for a rescue puppy or a reputable breeder puppy either, because you've every chance of turning that puppy into the sort of dog who gets surrendered to the pound in adolescence because you didn't understand what you were getting into and you didn't do the work.
What should I be prepared to do with my pound dog?
First, big long walk. I know it's very Caesar Milan, but seriously, a big long walk between the pound and your home is an excellent idea. Even if it means you put the dog out of the pound cage into your car, drive home, park outside your house and then go on a walk before you get into the house, do it. It wears the dog out. He helps him walk off some of his tension. Preferably walk him somewhere quiet - not along the edge of the motorway for instance, and don't take him to the dog park. On this walk you can give him some treats - but just take it easy - you're new to each other, this walk is the opportunity for you to see how he is on a walk, and for him to adjust to no longer being in the pound.
You might want to do adoption - vet - long walk - home in that order, and good if you do. Also you don't bring a pup on a long walk, but an adolescent dog will benefit from a gently-paced walk of an hour between pound and home (regardless of the 5-mins-per-month-of-age walking rule), an adult dog you might consider two hours with a couple of sit and rest breaks. You want the dog tuckered out when you get him to your place.
In terms of the vet visit, if you've literally simply paid to take a dog out of the pound, there is no duty of care in the pound for vaccinations etc. Here they have to microchip and register with the council before release - I'm not sure if you have to do that in Ireland. Vet visit - checkup, microchip, vaccinations, worm treatment, flea treatment, book desexing appointment. <---these are the basic 101 things you need to do for your pound dog. Look after his or her health first and foremost.
The next step is training. Get used to having pockets full of treats, because I think you should be training from the moment you get the dog. Reward good behaviour, distract from bad and try and channel into good. As your pound dog relaxes from the stress of incarceration and newness, his real personality will begin to come through over the next few weeks. You need to pay very close attention during this time, because a dog will rarely exhibit his true personality in the setting of a pound. A dog who's really a placid, beautifully natured but somewhat anxious dog can be so stressed in the pound that he turns into a snarling snapping whirling monster in the pound run.
More often I've seen a couple of dogs reappear in the local pounds a few times - because their in-pound behaviour is quite sweet and submissive because they're frightened, but once they're taken home and settle in and stop being scared, they become resource-guarding bossyboots and it's too much for the new owner to take (especially if they're large dogs).
Either way, as the new owner, you can still make or break your pound dog just as you can your breeder puppy - just be prepared that it can be more work.0 -
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Following another (imo) train wreck of a thread, I think it would be a good idea to shove this thread to the top again
Can people please comment on advice they might give a friend if the friend was thinking of breeding their dog. Please ignore other posts, so if someone posts something you disagree with, don't quote it or say "that's the problem with...." etc, if you could just post your own opinion it would make the thread run more smoothly.
I'm sure there are a million things I haven't thought of asking about, so any opinions on the acquiring of a dog, by whatever means, which you think is important to mention, please add it in.
Also pro's and con's of designer breeds would be something that might be of interest to people, and when to walk away from a breeder info please. 0 -
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don't go with guidelines as I did
http://ikc.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=58
They are not correct/little help!
If buying a puppy these are the very least you need to look for.
(quoted from link)1. The puppy must have been bred within a strict code of ethics.
2. The Pedigree will have been validated by the I.K.C. (records go back to the foundation of the State)
3. The puppy will be microchipped and so if it is lost or stolen, it can be traced and returned to you.
4. If your puppy is microchipped it will also have been seen by a Veterinary Surgeon.(Ask yourself, why would a reputable breeder object to that?)
5. Should you wish to show your puppy either here or abroad this will not be a problem. (the I.K.C. run
over a hundred events of different kinds throughout the country all year 'round. Its great fun!)
6. Should you in the fullness of time wish to breed from your by now older dog, the resulting puppies can
be registered with the I.K.C., because the parents are.
7. The I.K.C. is a full member of a world wide organisation and so its registrations are recognised world-wide.
8. Getting a pet passport to bring your dog on holiday with you will be much easier as it will already have a microchip.
9. The Veterinary Association VICAS support the I.K.C. in promoting responsible dog ownership.
10. Any I.K.C. Member found guilty of cruelty to dogs, is banned for life.
I don't understand how this was not helpful as a starting point, or have I picked you up wrong? Your post is very vague can you expand on it a bit. 0 -
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