Thinking of getting a dog...

judas101

Hi.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a dog for years now.
Seriously thinking of getting one at the start of summer.

I have a big house and garden with a park and a beach nearby so no problems there.

Just was wondring about what breed would suit best. I know some need more attention/walking than others.

A medium size dog is what i want. A friend of mine used to have a beagle which i loved. Think I'll go for one of those. Is there anything I should consider with a Beagle? In my experience theyve a nice temprement. Would they be easy to train/housebreak?

Any other breeds I should consider?

Also, where is best to go to get the dog. rescue kennels, breeders or buy and sell?

thanks very much

Glowing

Beagles are very high maintenance - used to have one years ago. They need a good bit of exercise.

Why not consider a rescue lurcher or greyhound? They don't need too much exercise, and are happy to sleep during the day if you're out. They don't tend to bark either, so they won't annoy your neighbours! Lovely temprements, very placid and affectionate and are very easy to house train since they're used to living out of kennels and being let out regularly to pee etc!

michelleans

Hi,

Nice to see you doing research before getting a dog!

The breed you choose really depends on you, your lifestyle, what you want from the dog etc.. For example, I chose a german shepherd because I love large dogs, I wanted a loyal, outgoing, confident, easy trainable and intelligent dog. I got what I wanted and a whole lot more

As for where to get a dog from, I would say either a rescue or a breeder, never from the buy and sell as reputable breeders would not have to post up buy and sell ads to sell their dogs.

There are many great dogs in rescues looking for homes, that would be a great first port of call As they are already grown up, house trained, vaccinated etc! Also you can see their personalities before taking them home, which is really useful too!

The Artist

how about a labrador?

judas101

was looking for a medium dog really. reckon a lab would be too big.

looking for a dog that'd happily spend a couple of hours by itself. i know some dogs are fine like that and not do others.

terriers make good house-dogs i've heard. i want to do my homework before hand as it is a big decision.

any advice would be much appreciated.

The Artist

judas101 wrote: »

was looking for a medium dog really. reckon a lab would be too big.

looking for a dog that'd happily spend a couple of hours by itself. i know some dogs are fine like that and not do others.

terriers make good house-dogs i've heard. i want to do my homework before hand as it is a big decision.

any advice would be much appreciated.

what about jack russels?

kraggy

Try a rescue centre if you can.

Practically all centres around the country are full and desparately looking for homes.

You could find just as nice a dog as anywhere in your local rescue centre. And as stated previously, they will be vaccinated and you will get a good idea from the staff there as to each dogs personality and needs.

Even just for the selfish, personal satisfaction of having saved a dog, I would strongly suggest a rescue centre.

Glowing

Just because a dog is small in stature doesn't necessarily mean it will be easier to handle or take up less 'space' as a bigger, quieter dog.

I would prefer 10 greyhounds than 1 terrier or collie for example. A greyhound will be happy to sleep after his or her walk and won't be pacing the house bursting with energy like a collie - they're not yappy so won't be barking at the neighbours or the tv - they'll curl up on a sofa for hours until it's time for their walk or dinner etc. Just please don't be biased because they're not the traditional sort of 'house' dog. I've got two of them in a a regular sized house, and wouldn't swap them for the world!

Please just have a read about them on www.paws.ie before disregarding them. They make really wonderful family pets.

Edit: I second Kraggy's suggestion too - even if you don't get a greyhound, you will be spoilt for choice in a shelter (unfortunately )

kerrysgold

Definetly the best place to find a dog, is a rescue kennels, unless you want some expensive rare breed dog! there are A LOT of dogs looking for homes on http://petsireland.invisionzone.com there are also dogs in the Urgent Matters section on there which need foster homes if you'd be interested in doing that?
If you decided to foster, you could try out living with different sorts of dogs and see which you think you would like to have as a permanent pet, as well as helping the dogs out of course!

there is also www.irishanimals.com
www.paws.ie
www.egar.org
www.cottagerescue.ie
www.inistiogepuppyrescue.com

you could also try your local SPCA or pound(s)

stevoman

parks, wildlfe, beach, loads of water. a springer spaniel "springs" to mind.

cowzerp

www.dogsindistress.org

check it out please, lots of beautifull dogs needing rescue as they will be put to sleep if not homed-:(

staffs are medium to small sized and so gentle you would not believe, and are in abundance in the rescue.

get a mild mannered dog as they will not be going through the roof when your missing for a couple of hours, or get 2 dogs so they can keep eqach other company, thats what i did.

Killme00

cowzerp wrote: »

www.dogsindistress.org

+1 I got a 3/4 months old shepherd/collie cross from DID.

On the Beagle front:
I have a nine month old Beagle and i dont think she is high maintenance at all. She has very good recall and is excellent on the lead too. Its all about the training at the end of the day.

One thing to be wary of though is how much excercise Beagles require, Bailey needs a run/walk for a good hour every day at least.

LovelyTom

Beagles are great dogs, only minor difficulties are the excersize and their bark is atrocious... YouTube it to see what i mean.

You should have a look at Border Terriers, they're great dogs and by the sounds of things would be very well suited to you.

carwash_2006

Border terriers are very high energy and quite barky, although they don't tend to bark for nothing. But they are wonderful little dogs. As long as you have time for plenty of walks and don't mind them letting you know of everything that is going on around I would highly recommend them.

arybvtcw0eolkf

cowzerp wrote: »

www.dogsindistress.org

check it out please, lots of beautifull dogs needing rescue as they will be put to sleep if not homed-:(

staffs are medium to small sized and so gentle you would not believe, and are in abundance in the rescue.

get a mild mannered dog as they will not be going through the roof when your missing for a couple of hours, or get 2 dogs so they can keep eqach other company, thats what i did.

Did.org for sure.

Staffie's make fantastic pets, Pitbulls too.

Oh, and Rotties too - I want one

The Artist

Mairt wrote: »

Did.org for sure.

Staffie's make fantastic pets, Pitbulls too.

Oh, and Rotties too - I want one

only pups is a good start not acouple of year olds.They may have children,geting an older one may require adult supervised.I have a 8 year old male rescued from cork when he was about 2 years old and never at the start let him near my kids for at least 6 months and now he gets on great with them but im still wary.im not trying to put anyone off getting staffs,they are lovely dogs and i have a male bulldog as well lovely dog to have.

cowzerp

staffs are naturally very human friendly, even the fighting ones, they are not known as nanny dogs for nothing! any age reccomended

cowzerp

Mairt wrote: »

Did.org for sure.

Staffie's make fantastic pets, Pitbulls too.

Oh, and Rotties too - I want one

mairt
here's a side pic of tyson, i have better 1's but have to look for them!!

The Artist

cowzerp wrote: »

mairt
here's a side pic of tyson, i have better 1's but have to look for them!!

hi lovely rottie ye have.I also have a bulldog with the same name!Tyson very popular name i say and my staff is Lewis!!

Killme00

davey180 wrote: »

hi lovely rottie ye have.I also have a bulldog with the same name!Tyson very popular name i say and my staff is Lewis!!

The bulldog is lovely and huge. How do they both get along?

The Artist

Killme00 wrote: »

The bulldog is lovely and huge. How do they both get along?

i got tyson about 4 months now and at the start i coulndt put them together straight away as they need to find their terriotrys.What i did i mixed them for half an hour every day,small scraps they had which i managed break off,did this until last week now they get on great now as they lick each others face now without a nip!