Trying to convince housemates not to buy a puppy.

Seaneh

Right, I have 3 housemates, 2 girls and a guy, they have decided they want a dog, that's grand, but it's the type of the dog they want and where they get it I'm not really happy with.

They want to buy a toy poodle/malty mix puppy from donedeal, I've heard nothing but horror stories about people buying pups from that site as a lot of the breeders are puppy farms etc.

The other problem being, two of us work full time, one is a med student and the other is an arts student, we all are out of the house for about 12 hours a day monday - saturday so I just don't feel it's a good idea to get a puppy at all.

I am trying to push them to rehome a rescue dog that is house trained and will be ok being alone at times. I think getting a small-medium sized dog from a shelter is a much better option.


I also have been told in the past that both of those breeds tend to have a lot of health problems so on top of paying €400 for the dog and then paying for vaccinations, chipping, nutering etc, my house mates could end up with large vet bills.

Any advice?

howamidifferent

Yes. Tell them to start saving for the damages they will have to pay to the landlord once the dog starts eating all the woodwork through boredom. And the cleaning of the floor every 10 minutes as the dog does what dogs do...

RosieJoe

Who'll own the dog then? What happens when one of you wants to move out?

Run_to_da_hills

I would be very surprised if they would be allowed anything more than a goldfish if its a rented house on a written lease.

Seaneh

RosieJoe wrote: »

Who'll own the dog then? What happens when one of you wants to move out?

one of the girls will be paying for the dog and will be the owner.

Seaneh

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I would be very surprised if they would be allowed anything more than a goldfish if its a rented house on a written lease.

lease says pets are allowed with a pet deposit etc.

kylith

Get them to watch one of the episodes of It's Me Or The Dog that deals with dogs who are left home alone all day, preferably one with a similar breed. Seeing someone's house getting ripped to shreds and turned into one big toilet would, hopefully, cause them to reconsider.

RosieJoe

Seaneh wrote: »

one of the girls will be paying for the dog and will be the owner.

Then I suppose what type of dog to go with will be her choice.

Puppies are a great idea, oh so cuddly and playful. But, if they cannot eat/chew/wreck it they'll poo and pee on it instead

DjFlin

I read somewhere that poodles are terrible for housebreaking. Apparently when they have to go, they HAVE to go. Training it to hold it in isn't an option.

seamus

If the house is empty for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, most rescues won't rehome a dog to them.

The more key question is about future planning. They're not buying a TV with a 3 year lifespan. They're getting an animal which will likely live for ten years or more. Are they planning on living together for the next ten years? If not, what happens when they go their separate ways?

Give them a few facts about what owning a dog is like:

- A new puppy will **** and piss and the floor more than once a day for a the first few weeks. Then it's once a day, then it's every other day. Then it's once a week, then a couple of times a month, then after about a year, you will only have to deal with the occasional accident for the rest of the dog's life. But for a new pup, they will be up to their elbows in dog waste for about 6 months.

- Puppies eat everything. Literally. If it's within reach, it'll have tiny teeth marks in it. And then later on you will find the remains of it shat onto your carpet.

- An older dog will usually be housetrained, but the dog has to be trained to its house. So you will still have accidents for the first month or so.

- Dogs do not come "pre-trained", and you cannot get another person to train your dog for you. Only the dogs owner(s) can train it effectively and all owners must be involved in training. This takes months of concerted effort and routine. You can't have one person who's the disciplinarian, one who's the messer, etc. The dog will get confused and frustrated.

- An untrained dog will tear up everything and pee on the furniture to mark its territory. A dog which doesn't get sufficient exercise (at least an hour a day for most dogs) will destroy everything in its reach in frustration. It will chew through doors (no, really), chair and table legs, tear furniture apart and rip up flooring.

Toulouse

Their idea is wrong on so many levels. Leaving a dog on it's own in an apartment for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week is madness and cruelty imo. You must have very understanding neighbours!

Buying one of those so called designer breeds is crazy too. No ethical breeder would ever cross two purebred dogs and it's against the IKC code of conduct. Your friends must have more money than sense to be funding some low-life backyard breeder and paying €400 for what is effectively a mongrel (and before anyone has a go, I have a mongrel at home, a purebred Polly but I didn't pay a dodgy breeder €400 for her).

They will also never be able to train this pup as there will be nobody home and the pup will be in with a good chance of developing behavioral issues. They can also kiss goodbye to a nice home as it will get wrecked.

You really need to tell them to cop on. I would suggest that they spend some time volunteering at their local dog shelter so they can see all the ex-breeding stock when those dogs are no longer useful and also the amount of dogs handed in with behavioural issues because some moron left them on their own 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

beveragelady

I often think that people who are considering paying a three figure sum for a fancy schmancy breed of dog should be forced to visit the pound first. Just walk past the cages, have a look at the variety of dogs desperate for a secure home, and if you still think that you MUST have a particular breed than you shouldn't get a dog at all. If you aren't willing to find room in your heart and your house for a hound-of-uncertain-parentage with one eye, a crooked tail and an almost pathetic eagerness to please, then you don't actually want a dog, you want a fashion accessory.*
Dogs are messy, expensive, time consuming, energy depleting individuals, not designer handbags. Consider asking your housemates to spend the money on a very impressive fishtank.
Until all the dog pounds are empty, nobody should encourage dog breeding by handing over a wad of cash.


*I'm not suggesting that you HAVE to get the mongrel with a deformity or disability, but if you couldn't imagine yourself loving that dog, then you're not a dog lover.

kylith

Toulouse wrote: »

Buying one of those so called designer breeds is crazy too. No ethical breeder would ever cross two purebred dogs and it's against the IKC code of conduct. Your friends must have more money than sense to be funding some low-life backyard breeder and paying €400 for what is effectively a mongrel (and before anyone has a go, I have a mongrel at home, a purebred Polly but I didn't pay a dodgy breeder €400 for her).

This is a very good point. OP, would you show them googled pictures of Backyard Breeders, and let them know that that is what they'd be funding by buying a pup from a disreputable breeder?

gud4u

I can't say anything good about this, only to add I agree with everyone else. Show them this thread, you are getting advice from people who have had dogs and know all the problems they present. I won't bore you with my donedeal nightmare, but I got an overbred GSD that was so vicious we couldn't keep him.

Also, show them the sticky on puppy farms above. Good Luck, you seem to be the only one with sense.


Just adding I took a rehome rotti a few years back, She's old now and as we speak is being nursed on duvet by fire. Some old dogs will need just as much attention as a puppy. I doubt you'd get a rescue as they are strict on where they allow pets to go. Have a look at the criteria on line. Being out of the house for 12 hours at a time will be a problem for them.

uberalles

Totally selfish to leave dog home alone for so many hours
IMO

Vince32

If you can't give the new dog the attention and care it needs, then don't do it. It's really that simple.

If your house mates insist on getting a dog, then you should insist they do the research first.
Since some of you are students it shouldn't be that hard to source information about the breed you want, it's needs, it's exercise requirements, it's diet, vaccinations, general health, a good veterinary care giver, pet insurance, training and socialisation, feeding bowls, leashes, bedding, toys, treats, neutering, and most importantly of all, A GOOD, REPUTABLE BREEDER.

If after doing all this, and they still insist on the puppy then I wish you luck and happiness with your new dog.
If they are not prepared to do this, then it's in everyone's best interests not to get a puppy of any description.

The average life span of a dog is 8-15 years, sometimes even longer, barring injury or accidental death it is a long term commitment and not something to be entered into lightly.

So it's time to ask the important question, are your house mates going to be responsible dog owners, or not?

Make the right decision.

Cherry Blossom

Both toy poodles and Malteese are lap dogs, what this means is that both breeds have been deliberately bred to crave human attention. They are purposely designed to be with their people all day, every day. There are absoulutly no dogs that won't suffer psychologial trauma if left to their own devices for 6 hours at a time never mind 12. A dog of any size or age cant hold its bowels/bladder for that length of time never mind a breed that is prone to over-heating and drinks a lot more frequently. Between that and anxiety of it being left on its own you will be come home to dog crap and urine plastered up the walls, any idea what urine does to plaster on the walls? Also have they asked all your neighbours how they would feel about a dog barking 12 hours a day? If your housemate goes ahead with this they are on a fast-track to getting evicted tbh. As a matter of interest, what will happen to the dog when all of the above problems happen?