Thinking of getting a dog...

[keithmac]

We've had a few neighbours next door to us, two of them owned dogs but were always out during the day..

If you can ensure you always have an eye on your dog and contact then fair enough, if you leave them locked up all day while you're out then thats not the best..

We won't have one because we can't commit to their daily needs, not fair to leave a dog locked in all day and we've heard the consequences of that..

 

[Time Waster]

Don't lump all pedigree breeds with the problematic ones. We have a border terrier with full KC registration right back generations with champions in its ancestry. However the gandparents are genetically free of the very few health issues which means she's free too. Add to that the breed is known as a very healthy breed.

I think the issues with KC is with certain breeds not all. The KC breed standard for many breeds doesn't create a driver for health problems. In fact some breed standards actually emphasises the healthy, working traits of their breeds. Take the parsons Russell terrier. It's the long legged version of Jack Russell terriers. There was a lot of debate and opposition among the breed club for them about becoming a KC recognised breed. They argued it would soften the real world, working traits. So they got written into the breed standard. In fact the parsons is one of only two breeds that are allowed to show with scarring from being worked. The phrase used is "honourable scars".

My dog breed of choice is the border terrier. It's a real terrier with real working dog traits. It's a good mover across terrain, being bred to run with horse and hound. Makes it good for running alongside our bikes on off road routes (incidentally forestry sites with mtb trails and cycling routes don't allow dogs on them with your bike but you can walk with them on those routes).

 

[Lullabelle]

One of my colleagues has 2 cross dogs, cockerpoodle or whatever. The 'breed' are given a fancy name so breeders can charge a fortune despite the fact they are mongrels. Anyway her 2 only leave the house to go out in the garden, they are never walked, stuck in the house all day they are destructive, she almost braggs about how much damage they have done, apparently it's the breed that is how they are. I feel sorry for them, so little attention they are just toys.

 

[furball]

One of my colleagues has 2 cross dogs, cockerpoodle or whatever. The 'breed' are given a fancy name so breeders can charge a fortune despite the fact they are mongrels. Anyway her 2 only leave the house to go out in the garden, they are never walked, stuck in the house all day they are destructive, she almost braggs about how much damage they have done, apparently it's the breed that is how they are. I feel sorry for them, so little attention they are just toys.

Situations like this make my blood boil. The dogs have only been bred because of the stupid combination of names creating a fashion. These are then sold to idiots that have the money to pay the premium price but who are totally ignorant about dogs.

 

[smutchin]

I think the issues with KC is with certain breeds not all. The KC breed standard for many breeds doesn't create a driver for health problems. In fact some breed standards actually emphasises the healthy, working traits of their breeds. Take the parsons Russell terrier. It's the long legged version of Jack Russell terriers. There was a lot of debate and opposition among the breed club for them about becoming a KC recognised breed. They argued it would soften the real world, working traits. So they got written into the breed standard. In fact the parsons is one of only two breeds that are allowed to show with scarring from being worked. The phrase used is "honourable scars".

Ours is a pedigree Parson Russell Terrier, but we couldn't show him even if we wanted to because his coat doesn't conform to the breed standards - they're meant to be short or 'broken', he's more 'wiry' - he gets that from his mum, though his dad is a proper show dog with several awards.

Apart from the coat, I would agree that the breed standard does in his case emphasise the positive aspects, and he's a lively, athletic chap who could run all day. And buying from a KC certified breeder means you have some guarantees about the dog's health - we can trace the ancestry of ours back several generations so we can be confident there are no genetic defects.

On the other hand, I can't help thinking that dogs have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years and therefore should be pretty resilient on the whole. It's only human interference in their breeding that has created a lot of the health problems many breeds suffer, and a lot of that interference is driven by the Kennel Club.

Anyway, he's a lovely dog who brings joy to our lives, and I hope we give him a happy home life.

 

[Time Waster]

What's wrong with getting one of the low shed breeds in the first place if you're allergic to dogs. Say a poodle instead of a cockerpoo? If it wasn't at least partly about the fashion or looks of the dog they'd surely get a poodle. They're an intelligent breed, trainable, low /non- shed and really a good breed to have.

What these cockerpoo dogs have is the looks of a cocker added to the low allergic response the owner gets from the poodle genetics. It's fashion and looks. As much as anyone claim the allergy card it's not really about that. There's pure breeds that have it such as the underrated poodle. It's really one of the most intelligent dogs you can get, even more so than cocker spaniels.

However, my issue isn't with the breeders of these. They're a business afterall. It's the people who buy these mixes at pedigree prices. Especially when they're buying into the look and the allergy card they're waving to excuse it. You're feeding the market for hybrids which as I understand it first generation are usually ok but breed from one then you're increasing the risks of various issues. As I understand it you don't get the best of the breeds with second, third generation you get increased risk of the worst. This can be genetic conditions common in either feeder breeds or just plain behavioural issues.

Why get a cocker mixed with a poodle to get low shed when you can just get a poodle which gives the hybrid the low shed on the first place?

 

[Piemaster]

One of my colleagues has 2 cross dogs, cockerpoodle or whatever. The 'breed' are given a fancy name so breeders can charge a fortune despite the fact they are mongrels. Anyway her 2 only leave the house to go out in the garden, they are never walked, stuck in the house all day they are destructive, she almost braggs about how much damage they have done, apparently it's the breed that is how they are. I feel sorry for them, so little attention they are just toys.

Why destructive? because they are BORED. Mine wanders about, huffing and puffing and giving me the 'get off your arse and take me out' look when she gets like that.
A neighbour has a large black lab, that while walked regularly is never left off the leash. You can see the frustration in him walking around the edge of the local field, watching other dogs run around and do dog stuff.

 

[EltonFrog]

Situations like this make my blood boil. The dogs have only been bred because of the stupid combination of names creating a fashion. These are then sold to idiots that have the money to pay the premium price but who are totally ignorant about dogs.

This.

Really? Or they've been bred, for example, to stop them shedding - which means that people like my brother-out-law, who is allergic to most dogs, can have a dog.

This

You're entitled to your opinion...

...and I'm entitled to treat is as bo11ocks!

And this.

We have a Cockerpoo. Winnie the Cockerpoo, she is 11 months old, and we re-homed her. A nice family bought her paid a disgusting amount of money for her from a breeder, and after four months decided they couldn't cope, two teenagers and busy lives etc., etc. We lost our beloved Nettiethedog on September the 9th last year, she had a stroke and it was time for her to go, she was a 15 years old and we were distraught. Our other dog 6 year old JessiethePup, started behaving oddly, not eating, not wanting to go out. By sheer chance a colleague of mine bought a a dog from the same litter as Winnie and was on a whatsapp group with the other owners from the litter, and he told me about an owner that wanted a new home for their dog. We took JessiethPup to see Winnie ( her name was Amber then) and they got on like a house on fire, and we made a deal and we bought Winnie for a lot less than half of what they paid.

Winnie the Cockerpoo is the loveliest, loving, happy little thing and had brightened up our lives no end, we didn't go looking for her, she sort of found us, she needed us, and my wife, me and Jessie most assuredly needed her. Jessie and Winnie love each other and the gaping NettietheDog shaped hole in our lives is starting to heal, very ...very slowly, we miss her every day, but it is getting better ( I can hardly see the keyboard now) . Winnie is a mongrel, she's a feckin expensive posh mongrel and we love her to bits, we've noticed that since getting her, that there's loads of these designer mongrels around here, its definitely a fashion thing.

NettieTheDog 7th May 2017

JessieThePup

Winnie the day we got her.


@potsy I hope you get a dog, don't be in a rush you'll know when its the right one, and I hope it brings you many years of unreasonable joy.

 

[EltonFrog]

Here’s Daisy our rescue staffie

View attachment 408372

This dog wins the internet today.

 

[Salty seadog]

@CarlP

Hello stranger.

 

[Profpointy]

Situations like this make my blood boil. The dogs have only been bred because of the stupid combination of names creating a fashion. These are then sold to idiots that have the money to pay the premium price but who are totally ignorant about dogs.

What do you think is actually wrong with mixing traits from different types of dogs to get a so-say desirable mix ? I suggest that all existing breeds have been created by doing exactly that. If you think about what you say logically, anything other than a wolf is a "fashion" breed.

Many, "pure-bred" (scientifically close to a nonsense term anyway), have all sorts of problems because of fashion. Mixing things up genetically is likely a good thing, no ?

It is common in horsey circles to do this - eg 3/4 racehorse and 1/4 irish carthorse or whatever to get a more robust and healthy animal than the more in-bred pure this or that. Why is that wrong with dogs.

For what it's worth I don't have a dog, nor a horse.

 

[smutchin]

Likewise the best wines are blends of different grapes rather than single varietals.

 

[potsy]

Well the dog we were going looking at today has been reserved by somebody else, literally minutes before we were about to set off to visit.

The search continues...

 

[Piemaster]

Well the dog we were going looking at today has been reserved by somebody else, literally minutes before we were about to set off to visit.

The search continues...

I wouldn't think you would, but don't feel you have to take a dog because you've gone to meet it. It has to be the right one for you. It's a lifelong thing and increasingly can outlive a marriage.

 

[jamin100]

We have a English Springer Spaniel who's nearly 18 months old and we've had him from 8 weeks old. He's the most loving, dopey and crazy dogs i've ever had.
He's very energetic and gets a 30 minute walk first thing of a morning and an hour to an hour and a half off the lead of an evening - Even more at weekends!. His recall and training is pretty good at the moment. Not perfect by any means but good enough.

He's left alone in the day for 2-3 hours at a time 4 days a week and we're with him the rest of the time and he's never been any trouble and mainly sleeps (I have a cheap wifi camera watching him). He really is one of a family though, even sleeps in our bed under the covers in the winter. We wouldn't be without him.

In terms of ongoing costs, its £25 per month for insurance, works out about £5 per month for flea treatment and about £50 per month in food/treats. So far, thats about it. Vets4Pets do a vac for life program that is a one off cost of £99 and he gets a yearly checkup including his boosters (apart from kennel cough which is £20) for the rest of his life, which i thought was a good deal considering the last invoice was for £64 (which I didn't have to pay )

He is very spoilt and really is one of the family, he sleeps in our bed under the covers in the winter! The one thing I will say though is if you like your garden then i'd think twice. In the winter ours is just a mud bath primarily caused by the dog and the rain!

As to a dog being a burden, i think it depends where you are in your life. For us, we have 3 young ish (7,9,13yo) children so we need dont have the freedom to randomly book holidays, stay out really late etc anyway as we need to be back for them. I think as long as you think of the dog like a (another) child then you'll be fine.

PS. Springers are awesome