advice needed on type of pup to get

jimini0

hi everyone i hope some of ye fine dog loving folk can help me.
i have just moved into new house in the countryside and want to get a dog. we have a big back garden and small front garden so space is not an issue.
here is a few things that are troubleing me.......
1. my girlfriend is slightly scared of dogs but she knows i love them. so i want to get a pup that she will grow fond of and not be scared of.
2. we dont want a big dog or a loud dog that barks all day.
3. ideally we would like to get a rescue dog but it would have to be a pup

so if anyone could suggest a breed that would suit or requirements all advice would be greatful.
thanks in advance.

Cherry Blossom

How much of your time/money would you be willing to spend on grooming, sounds like something small and fluffy would be ideal - toy poodle/ bichon fraise/ lhasa aspo/ Cavalier king charles are ones than spring to mind. In your case i'd avoid terrier breeds as they can be very boisterous and some can be yappy.

Just to add any dog that barks all day has something wrong with it, and any breed will have problems if neglected/left alone all day/ not getting enough attention etc. Won't be the dogs fault. There are some other things you need to take into account also - do you both work?, do you have kids? or are there kids that visit? Are you looking for an indoor or outdoor dog? How much time can you devote to exercising the dog?

jimini0

no kids but hopefully in the near future. yes there will be little nieces and nephews visiting but from what i have seen they are not at all scared of dogs . i work during the days during the week and girlfriend works weekends so the dog would never be in or around the house alone and my parents live a mile up the road so they can always look after him/her for an hour. as for exercising him/her there is a big garden so it has free run of that. and miles of country roads to bring him for a walk plus the sea shore 50 yards from front door.

Cherry Blossom

jimini0 wrote: »

no kids but hopefully in the near future. yes there will be little nieces and nephews visiting but from what i have seen they are not at all scared of dogs . i work during the days during the week and girlfriend works weekends so the dog would never be in or around the house alone and my parents live a mile up the road so they can always look after him/her for an hour. as for exercising him/her there is a big garden so it has free run of that. and miles of country roads to bring him for a walk plus the sea shore 50 yards from front door.

The reason I asked is more because not all breeds are suitable playmates for kids more than whether kids are afraid of them or not. I don't have a huge amount of knowledge of some of these smaller breeds, but they really don't like to be left alone. You might be better with a small/medium breed rather than a toy though as they can be quite fragile and can't really stand up to rough play from kids. Off-hand it sounds like a beagle might be suitable if there will be some-one there at all times as they are big pack dogs - ie it's people are its pack, very affectionate little dogs and able to take a little bit of rough and tumble but they are scent hounds so need to be kept securely or they'll be gone after the first thing they catch a whiff of They also do better living inside with the rest of the pack but will need loads of exercise as they are hunting dogs. You could look for ideas of sent games to play as their nose develops, they love having a job to do.

jimini0

just now i looked up the beagles i know a man that has a couple of the foot beagles so i might ask him
thanks again adrenalinjunkie you have been a great help

Little Miss Lady

Cavalier Kings Charles are placid, Adorable
and very good dogs all round, great with kids and not yappy..
If the foot beagle idea goes belly up
They're the dog to get

mymo

If your other half is nervous around dogs a beagle could be a bit bouncy and lively for her(I know most pups are but the beagles I have met are pretty lively).
There's many small and medium breeds, that might suit you Cavs are pretty great and can win over anyone, but they need to be well bred and health checked.(they can have a some bad health probs)
I have a Lhasa Apso and they are great little dogs, great fun and love to play and just keep you company. While they do need a lot of grooming (I clip mine myself every 6-8 weeks and brush every evening for couple of minutes) they are tough little dogs and love everyone.
The only thing with them is they don't like being alone(I have another dog too so they are happy being left together), but that doesn't sound like it will be a problem for you.
Here's a pic of her a few months ago(about 8 months old)
[URL="[IMG]http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac342/mymo97/Tiffi/Tiffiinolliesbed-2.jpg[/IMG]"][/URL]

And a recent one
[URL="[IMG]http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac342/mymo97/Tiffi/SV202125-1.jpg[/IMG]"][/URL]

How could you resist that face:p

jimini0

thanks for the suggestions ill keep them in mind im goin to see a couple of beagles this eve so fingers crossed my girlfriend will like them but as i have said before i have a big back garden and i think a small dog like a lhasa or king charles might get lost in there. i want to give our new pup free run of the property.

mymo

Best of luck with whatever you chose.

Cherry Blossom

jimini0 wrote: »

thanks for the suggestions ill keep them in mind im goin to see a couple of beagles this eve so fingers crossed my girlfriend will like them but as i have said before i have a big back garden and i think a small dog like a lhasa or king charles might get lost in there. i want to give our new pup free run of the property.

And of course if the dog is mainly going to be yours, ur mates won't laugh you out of the pub for owning a beagle as they're a 'proper' dog suitable for a man

andreac

If you are going for a beagle make sure you are prepared for plenty of exercise as they are a hunting breed so need a lot more than the average dog.
They are also very good at escaping especially to go after a scent so make sure your garden is very secure.

jimini0

well i have seen the beagles, lovely dog but unfortunately the man has no pups for sale so now i have to search for one. i dont suppose any of ye know any for sale in the mayo/connaught area?

jimini0

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

And of course if the dog is mainly going to be yours, ur mates won't laugh you out of the pub for owning a beagle as they're a 'proper' dog suitable for a man

that is very true i would never live it down in the local :cool:

sligopark

jimini0 wrote: »

well i have seen the beagles, lovely dog but unfortunately the man has no pups for sale so now i have to search for one. i dont suppose any of ye know any for sale in the mayo/connaught area?

http://www.mayospca.com/index.php/homes-needed-for-animals

Knit wit

A friend of mine got a beagle recently ... it's a horror ... smelly and whiney. Steer well clear. She had done lots of research and thought it would be the perfect dog but sadly not.
If you have a good sized garden I would suggest getting a collie - they are very smart gentle dogs ... easy to train, gentle and very loyal.
We have a border collie mixture who we got as a pup from our local rescue - she's a dote - she didn't get very big ... about the size of a king charles - has bundles of energy (loves walking, swimming and retrieving) and is great fun.
Good luck whatever you decide ... like your gf my husband was nervous of dogs at first but now adores our dog as much as the kids!

Cherry Blossom

jimini0 wrote: »

well i have seen the beagles, lovely dog but unfortunately the man has no pups for sale so now i have to search for one. i dont suppose any of ye know any for sale in the mayo/connaught area?

Spent months looking for one myself within reasonable travelling distance before I gave up and got a Westie instead :rolleyes:. There did seem to be a few around Connacht at the time I was looking though, big horsey part of the country, keep an eye out here or you might get one from a hunting lodge if you know of any locally.

http://www.donedeal.ie/find/dogs/for-sale/Connacht/Beagle?source=all

sligopark

one here for rehoming 10 wks old

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67188207&postcount=466

jimini0

well folks just to let ye know we have got our pup.
its a rescue dog. a lovely black labrador. he is in good health but very skinny. im delighted we could take a dog and rehome him so thanks everyone who helped us with our quest...:):):)

boomerang

Is your garden fenced in all around? If not, you're going to run into trouble. Even if the dog doesn't wander off, there's the postman to chase, cars passing to chase, cattle in the fields to be investigated, neighbouring dogs to entice your dog off on a wander, etc. etc.

The cheapest fencing I've found to be effective is post and rail with fencing wire stapled on.

You can't put an electric shock collar on a pup and you can't isolate it in a run.


Edited to add: Just saw your updated, congrats on the new doggy. Don't mean to rain on your parade, just wanted to let you know the risks involved if your place isn't secure. It's the first question our rescue asks potential adopters.

sligopark

well done Jimini!

jimini0

just finished fencing the garden. i have it mad smaller now cos he was starting to destroy my veg plants but he still has plenty of space to cause trouble and run free:) until he has to come back in and i have to wash the mud off his paws:(

mymo

Get him some toys to distract his from destroying the garden, he should settle down once he's got a routine and something to do. He may not be used to the space and just excited.
Kongs are great, there's a treat ball you fill up and the dog has to roll it around to get the food out(I use dog nuts from the daily allowance to fill mine), or the ones you stuff with food(mashed veg and dog nuts are great but theres lots of things you can fill them with) they can also be frozen so they take longer to empty. There's an egg shaped toy on one of the online stores, dogs go nuts trying to knock it down(it keeps righting itself) and there's loads more.
Best of luck with your new pal.