help me to buy a little friend!

ShadowHearth · 01-04-2011 2:41pm #1

hello, this is my first time in this part of boards.ie, lets hope not last one

long story short: while i was at my friends garage, my coworker droped in with his wife. they had with them " little, coolest, moust amazing thing i ever seen in my life" aka yorkshar terrier. ( sorry if i spelled it wrong!

me and misses were thinking of the dog for awile, but we allways scraped the idea, as we bouth work quite alot, we were afraid puppy will be at home alone... now we decided to go for it!

anyway, i had few questions, as i newer owned a dog in ireland and i dont know what to look for in the add etc.

1. when i am buying a puppy, what documents i should get of seller?
2. what kind of injection should be done allready?
3. what age is the best, to get puppy of mum?
4. microchip? whats that all about?
5. what do i look at when i am getting a puppy? do i have to see mother and father etc? is there any way to make sure, that puppy is pure breed too? ( i know what i need to look at when i go to buy a car, but when it comes to a puppy i am really thick...

)
6. i will be looking for yorkshar terrier, it will be a present for misses

( secretly for me, but shhhhh ), so i better found some breeders, or do i just find add on donedeal and take it of the family?

i am so sorry, if there were tons of these threads, i checked faq, and could not find all info i need. thank you for patients and advices!

Peanut2011 · 01-04-2011 2:43pm

OP I'm sure we all have a question for you as well. Why did you decide to go for one now and not before as per your reasons? What has changed?

Toulouse · 01-04-2011 2:57pm

Working alot is a really good reason not to get a puppy. If this hasn't changed then getting a pup is not a good idea. Dogs don't do well by themselves and if there's nobody home to train a pup then you'll run into big problems later on down the line.

Have you considered an older dog? Lots of pb Yorkshire Terriers show up in rescue. But still you'll need to make arrangements during the day for the dog to be brought out by a dog-walker or family member.

Maybe you should talk to your co-worker and wife about how much work one of these dogs is in reality and then make the decision.

falabo · 01-04-2011 3:34pm

Hi Toulouse

I disagree. When I decided to get a puppy, it was planned in advance and I took 3 weeks off in a big chunk but I really wanted to have a dog.

I spent the first few days with the puppy as it was an all new environment for her. I started leaving her on her own for a few minutes and increased the lenght of time over those 3 weeks. She knows stays a full day with her sister who joined the family 2 months I got her.

Actually not even a full day as I have a dog walker who comes every day. you can make it work if you really want to. you have to sacrifice a few weeks of your annual leave this year. I have no regrets they are so worth it. :-)
enjoy your puppy

ShadowHearth · 01-04-2011 3:39pm

Well, I start work from 6:00 In the morning, I finish in a range from 12 to 4 max (rare). Misses works 8-6. Bouth off weekends now.

So a dog would be alone at home for a bit, but I don't see a problem in that. I had a dog before and leaving him alone for awoke while at work was not a trouble.

I am not 16 lads, it's not like I am begging my parents to buy me a dog. When I looked in to our time table at work it did not looked that horrible, I am a chef too, so I might get different shifts so I would be home during the week.

Puppy staying alone for few hours alone might be so bad?

ISDW · 01-04-2011 3:58pm

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Well, I start work from 6:00 In the morning, I finish in a range from 12 to 4 max (rare). Misses works 8-6. Bouth off weekends now.

So a dog would be alone at home for a bit, but I don't see a problem in that. I had a dog before and leaving him alone for awoke while at work was not a trouble.

I am not 16 lads, it's not like I am begging my parents to buy me a dog. When I looked in to our time table at work it did not looked that horrible, I am a chef too, so I might get different shifts so I would be home during the week.

Puppy staying alone for few hours alone might be so bad?

I don't think anyone said you shouldn't get a dog, just possibly not a puppy. A pup needs to be let out often until they are house trained, so lets say one day you finish work at 4, but your OH has left at 8 for work, thats 8 hours the dog would be on its own. An adult dog could cope with that, but a puppy couldn't. They would mess in the house, be very bored and destructive. You could always look into doggy day care, or maybe getting someone to come in during the day while you're out, otherwise I honestly wouldn't recommend that you get a puppy.

andreac · 01-04-2011 4:04pm

For starters do not buy this dog as a surprise for your partner. So many people do this and the other person doesnt actually want the dog so they have to rehome it or get rid of it so do not do it for this reason.

Speak to your partner and make sure she 100% on board for getting this dog/puppy.
Puppies are extremely hard work and not everyone is that keen to get a puppy so do your enquiries into this first before anything.

Regarding the at home alone situation, no, it is not ok to leave a puppy at home for 6 hours or more.

Stay away from donedeal if you are looking for a dog, contact the IKC for good breeders. Do not buy a dog from classified ads in papers or online as there are so many dodgy breeders out there.

A pup should not leave the litter and its mum until at least 8 weeks and i would leave a Yorkshire terrier there until at least 10 weeks.

If a dog is registered with the IKC it must be microchipped, but this is done by the breeder. At 8 or 10 weeks it should have been wormed from birth and have at least one set of vaccinations done.

Make sure you go to the breeders home to see and buy the pup and see the pup with its siblings and mother, if a breeder suggests meeting half way, at a train station etc, run a mile as this is not a responsible breeder.

ShadowHearth · 01-04-2011 4:19pm

I mentioned that "we" decided to go for a puppy. We talked about that and we decided to go for it, that's why I made this thread.

Thabk you for advices. I would not mind taking 3++ months puppy, I don't want it to be too young.

So forget about donedeal?

Now I know a few rules, cheers.

I am not often working till 4, usually I am back by 1 or 2.

andreac · 01-04-2011 4:24pm

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I mentioned that "we" decided to go for a puppy. We talked about that and we decided to go for it, that's why I made this thread.

Thabk you for advices. I would not mind taking 3++ months puppy, I don't want it to be too young.

So forget about donedeal?

Now I know a few rules, cheers.

I am not often working till 4, usually I am back by 1 or 2.[/QUOTE]

That is still too long to leave a pup on its own, its still 7 hours.

Most people buy pups at 2-3 months old so at 3 months its still very very young. Pups dont usually settle into a routine and are house trained etc until at least 6 months or more so i would not be getting a dog under a year old in your situation.

A puppy is a pup until 12 months so if its going to be on its own that long i suggest you get an older dog, not a pup.

Kali_Kalika · 02-04-2011 12:24pm

Why buy a puppy and add to an already ongoing problem? There are hundreds and hundreds of dogs wasting away in shelters and you want to buy a dog? That's sorta sad when you could rescue a life instead. I agree with what another poster said about the "suprise" that you have planned. Make sure everyone in the house is 100% on getting a dog - they aren't fashion accessories you can pop up on the shelf if someone doesn't like them. So many dogs end up in rescues and shelters due to being a "suprise" - if you truely want to carry on with the suprise make sure your household is 100% on getting a dog - then make the suprise the when - what day will it show up. But don't just spring it on the whole house - its not fair on them or the pup. Also I don't feel (from what you said) that a pup would be the best for your situation either. They take alot of work and time and training - if you miss the early formative parts of their training - you wont be happy with the results - as it wont be house trained or socialised or anything - which will lead to problems down the road and again so many of these dogs who weren't trained properly (through no fault of their own) end up in shelters. They pee on the floor because they weren't taught any differently, jump up on guests and children because they weren't taught properly and get shifted off to the shelter because the owners think they have a "bad" dog - there are no "bad dogs" - only busy owners who have no time for their new committment. Think about the comments you made about wanting a dog - would you make the same comments about having a child? Would you suprise your other half with a child? Or would you make sure that they wanted a child aswell. Yes, (before I get slaughtered) dogs and children are different BUT they both still require time, love, attention and teaching/training to become the best addition to the family possible.

If I were in your position - I'd make a family trip to a shelter and look at all the different dogs available, You may spot one that you think is way better than the Yorkie that you have your mind on at the moment. Crossbreeds are a lovely option to consider aswell. But overall - any pick from a shelter you wont go wrong! In your postition aswell I'd also consider getting an older dog - one who's been housetrained already so that you dont have to try to balance that essential training aswell as your work schedule - the time frames you stated are far too long for a puppy to hold their business - they will have an accident inside and its not fair on either you or the pup that they are alone that long. Older dogs can still be trained and become wonderful additions to the family - pups are usually housetrained before 6 months - so get an older pup who still has the "puppy cuteness" but has been with a family already so is housetrained at least

Dogs in Distress are a wonderful organisation - they have no shelter premises so rely on foster families until the dog has found its forever home - I'd highly recommend them as they really strive to match the best dog/pup with the right family. And because all the dogs/pups have been fostered - they are much quicker to adapt into family life and the fosterers always work on the training basics while the dog is with them. I got my pup from them when she was 9 weeks old and by 11 weeks she was 100% fully house trained - thats incredibly fast and early but all the training the foster family did with her was completely evident!

Consider all of your options and your life before entering into such a big decision - Dogs are for LIFE not for suprises and weekends when you have nothing else to do.

Wizard01 · 03-04-2011 12:45am

Just wanted to say I have always loved yorkies and we own 2 little miniature yorkies, they are the most loveable of dogs, friendly, great with our children loyal and brilliant guard dogs. I have always loved this breed.
Our male is 8 years old and can be a bit grumpy, our female is 6 and the friendliest little girl ever. They are very intelligent and easy to train and house break when the work is put in.
We have had no health problems with them at all, except for our wee mans teeth which have to be cleaned by our vet. They require regular grooming if you choose to keep their hair long as it mats very easily. They don't require much exercise, short walks and playing in the garden but they love curling up on the sofa every night with us and our little Maltese

angry_fox · 03-04-2011 1:04am

ShadowHearth wrote: »

hello, this is my first time in this part of boards.ie, lets hope not last one

long story short: while i was at my friends garage, my coworker droped in with his wife. they had with them " little, coolest, moust amazing thing i ever seen in my life" aka yorkshar terrier. ( sorry if i spelled it wrong!

me and misses were thinking of the dog for awile, but we allways scraped the idea, as we bouth work quite alot, we were afraid puppy will be at home alone... now we decided to go for it!

anyway, i had few questions, as i newer owned a dog in ireland and i dont know what to look for in the add etc.

1. when i am buying a puppy, what documents i should get of seller?
2. what kind of injection should be done allready?
3. what age is the best, to get puppy of mum?
4. microchip? whats that all about?
5. what do i look at when i am getting a puppy? do i have to see mother and father etc? is there any way to make sure, that puppy is pure breed too? ( i know what i need to look at when i go to buy a car, but when it comes to a puppy i am really thick... )
6. i will be looking for yorkshar terrier, it will be a present for misses ( secretly for me, but shhhhh ), so i better found some breeders, or do i just find add on donedeal and take it of the family?

i am so sorry, if there were tons of these threads, i checked faq, and could not find all info i need. thank you for patients and advices!

yorkshire terrier's are get little dogs, friendley and fiercely loyal little animals. All those questions you have I would recommend contacting your local veterinary surgery or even call down yourself. You well get proper professional advice on the dog and where to go to get one.

ISDW · 03-04-2011 11:21am

If you do decide that your circumstances aren't right for a puppy, still contact the IKC and ask for the breed club details, responsible breeders will take dogs that they bred back, in cases where their owners can't keep them anymore. So you could get an adult, IKC registered yorkie that has come from really healthy parents, and been in a loving home.

help me to buy a little friend!

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