"Puppies: Pedigree or Heinz?" thread in "General Mayhem"
Originally Posted by Weeksy Yes but it's unfair even when it's a 'dog' not a puppy IMO and hers. Yeah that, and you dont want ...

Yeah that, and you dont want to compete for any biscuits that fall on the floor.

I'm confused - are you no longer moving to Oz then or will the dog be moving with you?

Not a dog person but I'd go for mongrel rescue dog if I had to.

You sure you want to have to deal with a dog and two young kids tho?

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LOL what makes you think any REACH the floor

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950 SMR, for men who know the difference

We got ours when Mrs TC was working part-time, but for the last 5 years she's been alone at home during the day, inside in the winter or outside with a kennel in the garden when the weather's OK. She's never showed any distress or destructive behaviour as a result, perhaps because it's what she's always been used to. The more attention you give a dog the more it'll want.

Mrs TC tries to walk the pooch in the morning at this time of year and in the evenings when the days are shorter. Walkies are important.

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Never break more than one law at a time, and never carry more grass than you are willing to eat.

don't be so bloody soft in the head, have you seen a spoilt dog? that's unfair.. a well brought up dog is fine left to their own devices with toys/space/kennel and the odd plane to bark at.

In SA all our dogs lived outside, it's what dogs do.

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If you're gonna leave a dog for more than a couple of hours or so, the best thing is a long walk and then food, before you leave. The dog is then in a natural resting state and will sleep most of the time.

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Formerly known as Mikey

Are we talking about Mrs TC or the dog?

Defintely go for the cat-hamster-fish. Think how much it'd freak people out when they have a closer look at the basket-cage-tank and see what's inside

+1

It has to be said that my dog is positively relieved to show me to the door in the morning when I go to work. She has been walked and fed and is looking forward to a full day of sleep before doing it all again in the evening.

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Arguing with a fool only proves that there are two of you.


www.needhamaccountancy.com

Don't be so bloody horrible.

We live in a small house with very small coutryard garden. It would be unfair on the dog.

Simple as that.

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950 SMR, for men who know the difference

Don't be silly, I rely on Mrs TC to keep me in the style I'd like to become accustomed to

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Never break more than one law at a time, and never carry more grass than you are willing to eat.

I voted mongrel. However I am not of the opinion that mongrols are necessarily the best temperament, it is just that I would always give a home to an unwanted pooch from a dogs home rather than through a breeder. You may get a breed through a dogs home, but it will be less likely. Some breeds do have health problems associated with them, just make sure you do your reading up beforehand and make sure you know how to read all the history of the dog; if you are not sure take somebody who does.

I almost voted for the goldfish option though.

Questions I would be asking are:

How much time can you set aside for the dog having young children?

Are you prepared to take the time to properly introduce the dog to the children?

Are you prepared to have strict boundaries for both the dog and the children?

Would you make sure that your dog was never left unattended, even for a minute with a small child (our dog has never ever shown the slightest aggressive tendencies towards any human, child or adult, I would still never leave her alone for one minute with a child)?

Are you prepared to take the dog for an hour walk morning and night, whatever the weather, especially if the dog is being left all day?

Are you ready for the cost of ownership, vets bills, feeding, fleaing, more vet bills (get insurance) etc.?

Just some of the questions in my totally non-expert opinion that you should be considering, listen to the recognised experts on here and elsewhere though.

having been brought up with dogs all my life, I think if you are able to put the time and effort in though, it is rewarding for you, the dog and your children; just remember that a dog is like a small child that is always dependent on you, it wont grow up into a latch key dog.

One final things on pedigrees, I was brought up with three pedigree airedales at various times when I was living at home, we never had the slightest aggressive or behavioural issue with any of them, we now have a mongrel and she can be a bit snappy with big bouncy dogs, there are no hard and set rules for this stuff.

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TALK TO ME OR THE BUNNY GETS IT!

My apologies whoopsey, I thought you were speaking about dogs being left outside per se, not as it applies to your current situation. I agree completely which is why I said given the right "space"

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I dont agree with leaving a dog locked in a house for 8 hours! What kind of life is that for an animal! Christ, they live off their senses, the last thing they need is to be locked in an indoors environment for 8 hours!

Cant be good for a dogs health doing that as it must put strain on its bladder etc. Spend ages training it to be clean and to use the outside bog only and then lock it in for 8 hours!

If you must have a dog and work then get a proper kennel outside or a (heated?) shed with a dog flap etc. But dont imprison a dog for 8 hours a day, thats just cruelty!

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Wonder about my avatar? CLick this www.freeschapelle.net/

It seems you see it as unfair as its like "locking up" an animal all day

Discharge and Mad Liz are both disagreeing with you and they know a hell of a lot about dogs so that might give you an inkling that perhaps youre not seeing it from a dogs perspective but a very human one.

I know KDR1 will disagree with you to a point on this - he crates his dog all day before going to work. The crate for Boom is his "happy" place where he sleeps all day - KDR1 walks and exercises him before going to work. And this is a very high energy dog we are talking about too. He is fine at home sleeping. In fact, when I am there during the day he still goes into his crate and sleeps during the day.

That said, it does become unfair when the owner keeps the dog at home all day but doesnt exercise them in both morning and evening properly.

Thats the crucial bit in all this as Discharge has said - the dog has to be exercised properly. The amount of effort involved has to reflect the energy level of the dog and when the owner has time (usually evening) they have to put a lot of time and effort in. Thats where it usually goes wrong for most owners - 15 mins in the backyard is not proper exercising. For Boom, KDR1 takes him on a 20 min walk to the dog park then at least half an hour to an hour playing fetch, then a 20 min walk back.