Dog or not to Dog

slumped

Hi

My finacee and I are keen to get a dog, me because I've missed my last dog since he died 10 years ago and my finacee because she loves them.

I know there will be teething issues like training etc. but my real concern is in relation to the space we have.

We have an fully enclosed back garden with 8ft walls either side and a fenced in rear.

The garden is about 32 ft wide and 24 ft deep. We would propose to put in a kennell with a dog run and to allow the dog freedom in the back yard during the day (with shelter in the kennell and run)

I leave at 8.30am and get home for lunch at 1.00pm for an hour, and get back home in the evening around 4.30pm. My fiancee will probably be home a little earlier than that, so the dog will be alone from 8.30am-1pm and 2-4pm each weekeday.

Questions:

1. What dog should we get (if any) based on the info above?
2. What are people's views on Animal Sanctuary dogs (no known behaviour history etc)

We would love a labrador or Golden Retriever or a Beagle but would also take a mutt from the sanctuary near us in Collon.

Comments??

Thanks
Slumped

Downtime

re: 2. Got an animal rescue Doberman Female over a year ago and once she settle in ( had an Elkhound at the time) she was superb and still is. She was pretty nervous and quiet a the start but now she is confident and runs the house. She is an excellent guard dog as well and always lets you know when someone is at the door when I am out the back.

There is someone home with her for most of the day currently but have had no problems in the past leaving the dog around for most of the day apart from when you come home and she is stuck to you for 2 hours.

boroughmal

whatever breed you get, get two of them, our first dog got very lonely when left alone, so we built a shelf where she could sit in the window and see the people walking past & us coming in, we now have two and they are very protective of each other and keep each other company, no need for the shelf now! (spaniels by the way)
regards

crazymonkey

Got a setter\lab from the ispca, bak in march, 2 keep my own dog company, fully vacanited wormed and nuetered for E80, plus E20 for microchipping, a lovely dog i must say, your garden sounds big enough, just give it lots of attention when u get home from work and it will be fine, get two smaller dogs maybe be a good idea tooo

P.s excuse the spelling,,

Sigma Force

Your garden sounds great for a dog, but mabey a slightly older one instead of a pup. For a working household the hours you can come back and forth to the house are great, I'm at home all day but can be gone away for that time because of different things like shops/vets/kids stuff etc I have two dogs and they are grand being left for a few hours at a time.

One dog should be enough, some breeds of dog prefer the company of another one but one can be happy on their own as long as they are included as part of the family and get lots and lots of attention.walks etc.

I would definetly choose to get a dog from an animal sanctuary, the reasons being is that there is just plain no shortage of dogs to choose from.
Any good rescue will allow you to view all the dogs and many have come in straight from another home for what ever reason eg owner died/became ill/had to move etc.
You will have a wide variety to choose from and if you don't spot the one for you, there are always other rescue dogs needing homes in other rescues.
They may not know the history of every dog but some have been there long enough for rescues to give you a good idea of their personality etc.

Any new animal arriving no matter where you get it from will need time to adjust to their new home, some will need longer than others.

Sometimes rescues have dogs that come in together and need a home together so that's another option.

There's just so many out there you will have no trouble finding the one to suit you and vice versa.

What usually happens is you go to a rescue with a certain dog in mind and come out with something you didn't expect you would go for, my dads a big dog man, like alsations and huskys and big strong dogs and ended up with a little terrier

Glowing

Hi there, I would also definately go to a sanctuary. I would highly recommend PAWS (www.paws.ie for a list of the dogs available). I don't think leaving it alone for those times would be a big issue once you kept to a routine and walked them/it in the mornings and perhaps 10 mins at lunch time. Have you considered a retired greyhound? - they would have to sleep indoors however!

peasant

so the dog will be alone from 8.30am-1pm and 2-4pm each weekeday.

While still not ideal ( ) ...in the real world this is probably as good as it gets.
Please consider also, that a dog will live 10 to 15 years. Will circumstances stay the same for that period? Or are they likely to get better ie. somebody only working half days / not at all.
They certainly shouldn't get worse ...think about kids / creche / school /two parents working fulltime ...will there still be enough time to dedicate to the dog?

slumped

Thanks for all the advice, greyhounds not my thing unless running in a race.

A breed has caught our attention and am looking for breeders in Ireland.

The Labradoodle is a cross between a Labrador and a wait for it......a poodle (never have guessed that)

They originated in Australia and are popular in the US.

Rang IKC but no answer. Anyone know of Irish breeders?

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/labradoodle.htm will give you an image and info.

Ta
Slumped

peasant

Don't know of any Labradoodles in Ireland (and wouldn't really be in favour of another breed that gets bred just to suit consumers' fashion whims)

How about a Labradollie ...plenty of them in Ireland, desperate for a new home.

Lotsa Colladors too ...

slumped

They are not bred these days for whims, they are an established breed with the first breed introduced in the early 1980's.

Have seen ads in the Buy and Sell from people looking for them. They are cute little buggers!

peasant

Weeeellll ...
They wanted to breed a dog that wouldn't shed (poodles don't) that would look "cute" but not have curls or the profuse coat that a poodle has ...basically something that would look more "naturally shaggy" without the need for the silly looking trims that poodles get.
So they crossed Poodles with Labradors and hey presto ...shaggy, cuty dog was born ...
People love them and they have become fashionable, so more people breed them.

But they still shed. Worse than that, they also have inherited all the health complaints that their overbred parents had ...only double, one set of illnesses from each.

But who cares ...they're sooo cute. (And they sell like hotcakes )

What else would you call that other than pandering to a fashion whim ?