Local vets for a dog (plus other questions).

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
Any plans what you want? She's my first, although we had dogs as a kid. I really just wanted a 'dog', no breed as such, but impossible to find nowadays. Or rather you'll find a mongrel crossed with a mongrel for a grand but they're all the toy breeds with health issues :(

It’s very tricky. The dog is for all the family but especially for our one child who is the driving force behind wanting a dog but he has very rigid ideas of what he wants and is non negotiable. He’s drawn to something with a German shepherd look.. although I’m not sure it’s the right breed for us. It looks like he wants something of a protector and he needs a soul mate. Particular looks are important to him, he likes ‘ears that stick up’ a strong looking dog. I want a dog to run and swim with, one that will put up with two cats, one of which I think will be dog savvy but one that is a bit nutty. We’ve been looking for a couple of years. We also have a fence issue. We’d need it replacing with something higher and I imagine that will be a bit of a cost! We did look at a rescue but after filling out some info on a form and talking to a lady she felt that as my son is autistic they wouldn’t be the right rescue for him. So angry as his autism does not impact him in any way where this would affect dog ownership. He receives no additional support in mainstream school, is articulate, calm, kind and would be an incredible dog owner. The stereotypical opinion she had doesn’t fit my son at all. Such an outdated view and the reason my son feels shame around his diagnosis.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
My main concern with a rescue is you don't know its history, a trainer told me that you won't see issues til you've had them a while.

My partner was eyeing up German shepherds, but as a first dog (for me, she has previously) I wanted something smaller. Looks are harder to tell in pups, I guess an older one may be better if looks are very important? I also wanted a running companion, once she's older anyway, but was warned not to get anything with a strong prey drive so ruled out all the greyhound/whippet type things.

Tbh in the end the collie wasn't planned as such, but when she popped up she just seemed right. And 95% of the time she is :D
 

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
My main concern with a rescue is you don't know its history, a trainer told me that you won't see issues til you've had them a while.

My partner was eyeing up German shepherds, but as a first dog (for me, she has previously) I wanted something smaller. Looks are harder to tell in pups, I guess an older one may be better if looks are very important? I also wanted a running companion, once she's older anyway, but was warned not to get anything with a strong prey drive so ruled out all the greyhound/whippet type things.

Tbh in the end the collie wasn't planned as such, but when she popped up she just seemed right. And 95% of the time she is :D
Yes, I think if we went for a shepherd we’d probably look for a registered breeder for that reason. Although I’m not sure a shepherd is the right dog for us. I guess what we’d like is any medium to large mix breed with pointy ears and the right colouring. He’ll look at a dog and in one glance will tell me if it has the right look. I don’t always see what appeals to him. We did pre lockdown life walk some dogs at the local rescue which did him good. He’d very easily become a bit of a recluse so getting out with the dogs was great and we’d see him full on smile which was beautiful
 

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
Yes, I think if we went for a shepherd we’d probably look for a registered breeder for that reason. Although I’m not sure a shepherd is the right dog for us. I guess what we’d like is any medium to large mix breed with pointy ears and the right colouring. He’ll look at a dog and in one glance will tell me if it has the right look. I don’t always see what appeals to him. We did pre lockdown life walk some dogs at the local rescue which did him good. He’d very easily become a bit of a recluse so getting out with the dogs was great and we’d see him full on smile which was beautiful

We're also considering getting a dog in the future and I've been doing extensive research to ensure we get the right breed that fits our lifestyle.

I have always liked German Shepherds however the main concern for me is poor health, especially issues with their rear legs. I started looking at similar breeds and found Belgian Malinois (or Belgian Shepherds) they look very similar however have a much healthier gait and are less over-bred.

They bond for life with their owner and need plenty of attention and stimulation which makes them fantastic companions!

Here's one in action..


Hope that's of some help? X
 

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
We're also considering getting a dog in the future and I've been doing extensive research to ensure we get the right breed that fits our lifestyle.

I have always liked German Shepherds however the main concern for me is poor health, especially issues with their rear legs. I started looking at similar breeds and found Belgian Malinois (or Belgian Shepherds) they look very similar however have a much healthier gait and are less over-bred.

They bond for life with their owner and need plenty of attention and stimulation which makes them fantastic companions!

Here's one in action..


Hope that's of some help? X
Aw how fantastic!
 

Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
We occasionally dog sit this little girl
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Due to her excellent camouflage we have been known to forget she's there.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
We're also considering getting a dog in the future and I've been doing extensive research to ensure we get the right breed that fits our lifestyle.

I have always liked German Shepherds however the main concern for me is poor health, especially issues with their rear legs. I started looking at similar breeds and found Belgian Malinois (or Belgian Shepherds) they look very similar however have a much healthier gait and are less over-bred.

They bond for life with their owner and need plenty of attention and stimulation which makes them fantastic companions!

Here's one in action..


Hope that's of some help? X

I was wrong, it was a Mali she was looking at!

Mango just met my mums dogs, an elderly pair of chihuahuas that she had great fun trying to herd :D
Her social skills seem really good, but can't take her out til her second vaccination. My mums dogs don't leave the house so thought we could risk it, unfortunately puppies have a lot more energy and they decided to stop early!
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
I'm going to be a Doggo-nanny! Middle child has adopted this little girl....

IMG_20210207_195151.jpg


She's 5 months old and is a rescue from Romania, no idea of breed... Any ideas? Middle child says she will be cocker spaniel size.... But she looks more like a Lurcher to me!
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
So the weather is not helping with the house training, she hates the cold! She's had good and bad days, sure she'll get there, it just seems like some times she doesn't remember about the toilet and others she does.

Now she's fully vaccinated we've started to take her out, and she's a lot better behaved than I could have hoped for. Very wary of cars, interested in other dogs but much more interested in the owners! Her recall is pretty good, but I've only once had to stop the lead on her trying to leg it. We even gave her a little time off the lead, she hardly moves more than a few feet from you. She's an extremely person oriented animal, especially if the person has some fish based snacks upon their person!

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She also loves the TV, but we had quite a shock the other evening. Some kids were on and she went mad, tail wagging like hell and bouncing about while not letting her eyes off the screen. I guess being hand reared for a few weeks by the children had quite an effect on her. She's an incredible working dog, she herds me to her treats extremely well, but I think she likes her comforts too much to have stayed on the farm!

GbrKmza.jpg
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
What's she doing on the sofa at her age????
She can already climb on it, but uses claws and the sofa is leather! When she behaves she's allowed to lie on us, she likes to watch TV, but when having a tantrum she stays down. We used to lift her, but she's doubled in weight in 3 weeks!

We have the cage set up you lent us, and she sits in it sometimes, but we don't shut her in at all. She seems to have a very hard time regulating temperature, regularly moves between warm bed and a cold floor as far from the radiator as possible. She's a strange little bugger at times!
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
She can already climb on it, but uses claws and the sofa is leather! When she behaves she's allowed to lie on us, she likes to watch TV, but when having a tantrum she stays down. We used to lift her, but she's doubled in weight in 3 weeks!

We have the cage set up you lent us, and she sits in it sometimes, but we don't shut her in at all. She seems to have a very hard time regulating temperature, regularly moves between warm bed and a cold floor as far from the radiator as possible. She's a strange little bugger at times!

Try and make it that she's only allowed on the sofa when invited so she knows it's a treat.

Dogs will move around depending to regulate their temperature particularly hairy ones so that's not unusual (particularly a valleys doggie, boyo).
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Middle child collected his doggo today, apparently she's very smelly but they've been told not to bath her for a few days so she can settle in! They've also been told not to take her out for 2 weeks incase DEFRA want to examine her (she's Romanian) ..... Smelly days ahead!

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Carole

Well-Known Forumite
Had 5k of walkies today, and still didn't want to be carried!

She a gorgeous dog.
Regarding the walking, I don’t want to sound like a know it all here, but do be careful.
The recommended amount of walking for a puppy is five minutes per month of age (up to twice a day).
Now while your dog may be happy to walk for longer, it’s not advisable because over walking a puppy can cause joint and bone problems later on in life, and obviously you wouldn’t want that for your lovely dog.
 
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