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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:18 pm Post subject: Bone of contention.
My son loves animals and wants a dog.
He's at the right age (11) to be given one but
Where I come from animals live outside (hot country - ticks, fleas, mange etc) so I'm not going to allow dogs in the house. And they wreck the place.
My wife says in England, dogs live in the masters house. So son hasn't got his dog.
I'd love to give my son a dog but can't come to terms with the wrecking of the house and dog hairs on the couch.
Don't get me wrong, I had many pets, the best was a pointer given to me as a young lad (which died of heartworm) so I'm in a quandary as to how to deal with this.
Chill out LS - embrace the dog, the saliva, the hairs, the chewing and the mess - your son will love you for it. What better friend could an adolescent ask for than a dog!
Get a rescued greyhound - they are brilliant _________________ Greet people with four kisses - one for each cheek... Duke Ellington
Chill out LS - embrace the dog, the saliva, the hairs, the chewing and the mess - your son will love you for it. What better friend could an adolescent ask for than a dog!
Get a rescued greyhound - they are brilliant
agree on that
not much walking, no hair as well? _________________ Geordie_R
"A should of known there mum was buying banana's"
fist get a dog that doesnt shed... a cocker-poodle is ideal
second get a smallish but affectionate dog (see above)
third, get adog that is easiy tranable not to chew etc.
in fact, get a cocker spaniel poodle cross
theyre great
Ooh sorry, Geordie but this is one of my pet hates! Crossing everything with a poodle does not mean it doesnt shed. Cockers shed, poodles dont but resulting puppies from such a mating will have different coats. Some may have a poodle coat and not shed, some may have a Cocker coat and will shed and some will be inbetween and shed a bit!
Nothing against any dogs but I detest this trend of crossing anything with a poodle and selling it as hypo allergenic for vast sums of money. You can buy a well bred poodle or a well bred Cocker for about £500-600 but people are crossing them and flogging what are essentially mongrels for £1000+!!
I know everyone has it in for "inbred" pedigree dogs at the moment but at least if you go to a reputable breeder, health tests will have been done on the parents which invariably wont have been done on the parents of the cross breeds. Both poodles and cockers get hip displasia for example. There is as much chance of a crossbred litter having affected puppies as there are pedigrees but at least the pedigree litters will have had the parents tested, if the breeder is reputable
.
Also, as a dog groomer by trade, I deplore people going and buying these cutsie, hairy pups and then not touching the coat for months so there is no alternative but to shave it off and start again. If you want a non shedding dog, get a poodle but be prepared to pay to have it groomed every 6 weeks. There is no guarantee a "doodle" will not shed when it gets its adult coat. I do quite a few Labradoodles and a good number I do resemble neither Lab nor Poodle but look like heavy set lurchers, sometimes with the resulting wiry coat which sheds in bucket loads!
Sorry Geordie, I am sure your dog is lovely I do one "Cockerpoo" who has a lovely temperament and is very attractive but has a difficult coat for a novice owner to cope with.
My advice to new dog owners Lochsong, is to get a Border terrier. They are not big, have fab temperaments (not your typical feisty terrier), will stand decent length walks and dont need much work doing on the coat other than a good strip two or three times a year. They are also a hardy, healthy breed on the whole.
fist get a dog that doesnt shed... a cocker-poodle is ideal
second get a smallish but affectionate dog (see above)
third, get adog that is easiy tranable not to chew etc.
in fact, get a cocker spaniel poodle cross
theyre great
Ooh sorry, Geordie but this is one of my pet hates! Crossing everything with a poodle does not mean it doesnt shed. Cockers shed, poodles dont but resulting puppies from such a mating will have different coats. Some may have a poodle coat and not shed, some may have a Cocker coat and will shed and some will be inbetween and shed a bit!
Nothing against any dogs but I detest this trend of crossing anything with a poodle and selling it as hypo allergenic for vast sums of money. You can buy a well bred poodle or a well bred Cocker for about £500-600 but people are crossing them and flogging what are essentially mongrels for £1000+!!
I know everyone has it in for "inbred" pedigree dogs at the moment but at least if you go to a reputable breeder, health tests will have been done on the parents which invariably wont have been done on the parents of the cross breeds. Both poodles and cockers get hip displasia for example. There is as much chance of a crossbred litter having affected puppies as there are pedigrees but at least the pedigree litters will have had the parents tested, if the breeder is reputable
.
Also, as a dog groomer by trade, I deplore people going and buying these cutsie, hairy pups and then not touching the coat for months so there is no alternative but to shave it off and start again. If you want a non shedding dog, get a poodle but be prepared to pay to have it groomed every 6 weeks. There is no guarantee a "doodle" will not shed when it gets its adult coat. I do quite a few Labradoodles and a good number I do resemble neither Lab nor Poodle but look like heavy set lurchers, sometimes with the resulting wiry coat which sheds in bucket loads!
Sorry Geordie, I am sure your dog is lovely I do one "Cockerpoo" who has a lovely temperament and is very attractive but has a difficult coat for a novice owner to cope with.
My advice to new dog owners Lochsong, is to get a Border terrier. They are not big, have fab temperaments (not your typical feisty terrier), will stand decent length walks and dont need much work doing on the coat other than a good strip two or three times a year. They are also a hardy, healthy breed on the whole.
Sorry will step off my soapbox now
The young cocker-poo (sweep, great l;ittle fella) hasnt shed a hair in 18 months because he is not bred from a cross which I am told is the key. Several of my friends have a problem with dog allergies and are fine with him. he cost £350 and I got the pick of the litter.
Coat not a problem, we have him clipped in the spting and twice more during the summer so he isnt too hot
Loveable and ideal imho. _________________ Geordie_R
"A should of known there mum was buying banana's"
My advice to new dog owners Lochsong, is to get a Border terrier. They are not big, have fab temperaments (not your typical feisty terrier), will stand decent length walks and dont need much work doing on the coat other than a good strip two or three times a year. They are also a hardy, healthy breed on the whole.
I went to my cousin's wedding last weekend - he has a Border Terrier that goes everywhere with him and my nan was disappointed the dog wasn't at the wedding too!
Apparently, and I don't know about this at all, they walk to heel really well which is useful as my cousin is in the army and the dog goes to work too. _________________ Greet people with four kisses - one for each cheek... Duke Ellington
I went to my cousin's wedding last weekend - he has a Border Terrier that goes everywhere with him and my nan was disappointed the dog wasn't at the wedding too!
Apparently, and I don't know about this at all, they walk to heel really well which is useful as my cousin is in the army and the dog goes to work too.
Dont know about that Westmead but I see lots of them at work and without exception they are quiet, well behaved dogs. Very sensible dogs but with a sense of humour too I have never had one so much as growl at me as I pull their hair out by the roots
If I was downsizing breeds, I would seriously contemplate having one...or four!
The young cocker-poo (sweep, great l;ittle fella) hasnt shed a hair in 18 months because he is not bred from a cross which I am told is the key. Several of my friends have a problem with dog allergies and are fine with him. he cost £350 and I got the pick of the litter.
Coat not a problem, we have him clipped in the spting and twice more during the summer so he isnt too hot
Loveable and ideal imho.[/quote]
Do you mean Geordie that both Mother and Father are Cockerpoos rather than one being a Poodle and one being a Cocker? Even so, you still have the Cocker genes there and I would bet in the litter there was a variation in coats types and lengths, with some being non shedding and some not. The Cocker genes are still there and it is luck of the draw what coats come through.
Your dog sounds a little cracker though. As I say, I have nothing against them but I dont like them being bred just for £££s, with people making false claims. You sound like you were lucky and paid a reasonable price. Most of these crosses now are at least £800 with some Labradoodle breeders asking £2000!!
In my breed new blood was introduced through another similar breed after the second World War as the breed were in danger of becoming extinct. Even all these years on we see dogs that have a striking resemblence in both looks and temperament to the breed that was brought in all those years ago.
The only dogs I've had experience with are Rough Collies and Bernese Mountain dogs.
They've all been nutters but absoutely gorgeous - but if you want something that doesn't leave hairs around the house Lochsong then don't go for either of these!
Being very much a cat man I don't really have much interest in dogs(dogs don't like cats so there must be something funny about them for starters ) But there is one exception to my being disinterested in dogs and that's St Bernards(Ok I quite like Huskies and Great Danes as well if truth be told ). I love St Bernards and have always wanted one.
Do any of you doggy types have any experience of them? My flatmate won't let me get one as he says our flat is too small (he's probably right in fairness ) but when I get a place of my own I will seriously consider getting one, _________________ You're born with nothing, and better off that way,
As soon as you got something they send someone to try & take it away!
Jimbob, I can understand about you preferring cats (I do, myself!) But oddly enough, I was asked today if I were to have a dog, what sort? I answered Border terrier (or Norfolk or Norwich terrier, which I think have similar characteristics to the Border; they're all small, brown, terriers and have big personalities).
St Bernards are enormous and take both a lot of exercise and a lot of looking after - and they don't, unfortunately, come with a brandy barrel attached!
Not all dogs hate cats - it depends how they were brought up. Our Border Collie (now passed on) loved my cats, was tremendous friends with them and even, if allowed, cuddled up with them at night. I well remember one winter's day going for a walk with (a) Border collie (b) Cat 1 (c) Cat 2 (d) Cat 3 (e) Cat 4 (f) piglet...I know it sounds like a Disney film!! (The cat's names are/were Hecate, Arwen, Pippin and Merry - Hecate is no longer with us, but the other three are thriving.)
At our vets, one of the vets has a lovely cross terrier/something or other, absolutely tiny, called Fang (!) He is much the best footballer I have seen, dribbles, scores, defends and heads. And boy, is he fit!
I do think that buying a dog is very tricky, and some good advice has been given. LS, have you thought of your local dog rescue charity? OK, some have had such a rough time that they need expert help, but others can be just fine, and the staff should be knowledgeable enough to advise you about suitability. With good training, no dog should rough up the furniture etc. And your son could take the dog to training classes so they would grow up together - there are loads; ask around locally for a good one.
Being very much a cat man I don't really have much interest in dogs(dogs don't like cats so there must be something funny about them for starters ) But there is one exception to my being disinterested in dogs and that's St Bernards(Ok I quite like Huskies and Great Danes as well if truth be told ). I love St Bernards and have always wanted one.
Do any of you doggy types have any experience of them? My flatmate won't let me get one as he says our flat is too small (he's probably right in fairness ) but when I get a place of my own I will seriously consider getting one,
I have four dogs and one cat Jimbob and they all get along just fine.
But I really wouldnt advise your choice of dog in a flat situation. They are BIG dogs! They also are quite hairy, smelly and slobber for Switzerland. Unfortunately they have short life spans too, as do Great Danes. You are very lucky is you get them into double figures - 6-8 years is about the average. I love Irish Wolfhounds but couldnt have one knowing that I would probably only have it for 6-8 years. The giant breeds are generally pretty placid but really need specialist homes.
Huskies are also really unsuitable for novice owners. They are very noisy, need a lot of exercise and stimulation and very few can be let off lead as they just b*gger off and keep going!
I would definintely try an easier breed to start with should you decide to get a dog!
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). I love St Bernards and have always wanted one.
(he's probably right in fairness