I want to get a dog but I have to work, how does everyone on broadway market do it ?

I have a re-homed Staffie - a few pictures in this thread - so can try to answer some of your questions:

Reggie is crate trained and will happily spend the entire day in it if absolutely necessary, which is rare. I'm fortunate to have teenage kids and a niece who lives locally, who will feed and let him out, but he's fine to be left all day if I have to. Typically (i.e. not lock down) I will be at home a couple of days a week, so he has three when he is mainly on his own, but will have a visitor.

I spend about £60 a month on food, £25 on insurance (would be cheaper, but I had a claim) and nothing on training or care. Staffies are generally pretty easy to train because they are desperate to please you and mine is treat motivated. It is important to train them to at least have very good recall as they will otherwise be off introducing them to other people. I adopted mine at about 16 weeks, so still young enough for me to train - he did come house trained.

Only you know whether a Staffie is the right dog for you. I've had two (both males) and would characterise them as incredibly people friendly, craving attention insofar as they want to be around you whenever they can, will take as much exercise as you can throw at them (mine gets an hour's walk twice a day, plus lots of chasing, fetching, tugging, etc.), don't shed much fur, few health problems and rarely neurotic. The main difference between my two is that the first was sometimes dog-aggressive, whereas the current one - at two - seems not to be in the slightest, but that might change. Socialising with other dogs early is essential but, I don't care what anyone says, given their fighting/baiting/ratting heritage, they do have a strong prey drive and potential propensity for aggression to other dogs. And it's not a growl and a nip, they can bite, hold and shake with strength. They also have a very high pain threshold.

I'm not sure whether Battersea are re-homing at the moment and they're known to be stringent in their requirements of potential adopters - being at home and having a garden is a huge plus. Look at the Blue Cross too and these people - https://www.staffierescue.co.uk/

Happy to try to answer any other questions you might have, and you're welcome to meet mine and take him out for a test drive once lock down allows. I'm in Brixton.

One final thing I would say is that rescuing a Staffie these days is likely to get you a better and healthier dog than what you'd get from most breeders. The fashion over the last few years for chunky, blue, big headed, low slung, short legged dogs that bear no resemblance to what the breed originally looked like will bring a host of health issues at eye watering prices - £1-1.5K for a pup. Blue is a recessive gene in Staffies and reliably breeding them involves a lot of in-breeding.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Really helpful thanks, definitely up for a stroll around Brixton once it's safe to do so.

In your experience do they prefer large crates they can move around in easily or is smaller better in terms of feeling more like a safe space for them? I take it you lock them in the crate so there needs to be enough space for water etc?

I've started going for walks/jogs in the park in the morning to get into the habit. Sadly I noted missing posters for a Staffie taken from someones home/garden (didn't specify, I guess more likely the latter). Although we're pretty secure where we are I'm hoping this isn't common, knowing me I'll pick the ugliest dog possible so maybe a slight deterrent!

The fashion over the last few years for chunky, blue, big headed, low slung, short legged dogs that bear no resemblance to what the breed originally looked like will bring a host of health issues at eye watering prices

There's a Staffie we've got to know really well that lives near my parent's house in Suffolk. It such a lovely dog, super gentle and fun. It takes part in dogs shows and has been shown at Crufts. It does not look like any of the staffies I see in our local parls. Its taller, has a smaller head, no underbite. As you say, the difference between the breed standard and what you see out and about is huge!

I think the general advice is that the crate needs to be big enough for the dog to stand up without touching the roof and for it to be able to turn around easily. For an adult dog, i'd go with the largest you have space for.

One caveat is that its easier to crate train a puppy with a smaller crate as it's less likely to use one end as a toilet. You can get round this by buying a bigger crate and blocking some of it off with boxes though.

What @Stonehedge said on crates. Mine has the largest size you can get and I leave a water bowl in there, which invariably gets spilled or he drops his bedding in it, so I'm looking into a water bottle that will attach to the outside. Not an issue at the moment as I'm home full time.

My old staffy had a dog flap to the back garden at my old house, but it was totally secure and he could come and go as he pleased, whether I was home or not. He had an outdoor kennel, which he loved. Where I am now, I would never leave Reggie in the garden without being at home. Dogs are stolen primarily for breeding or to be sold on, occasionally for ransom, Staffies unfortunately are often stolen to be used as bait dogs. Really sad.

so I'm looking into a water bottle that will attach to the outside.

We have one of these and it's fantastic https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Stainless-Steel-Coop-Bolt/dp/B004FGF57S/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=crate%2Bwater%2Bbowl&qid=1593605526&sr=8-16&th=1

Staffs should look like this

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People are breeding this

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I might give it a try

That's what the Staff I'm talking about looks like.

To the untrained eye such as mine I didn't immediately recognise it as a Staffie! Stunning dogs.

Tried to get the pup to have an afternoon nap:
Put him in his bed, gets up - bites my slippers.
Put him in his bed, gets up - bites spare slippers.
Put him in his bed, gets up - bites my slippers.
Get some chicken out and start to do a lit sit training, he goes to his bed ad falls asleep.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCLbpICnOjL/?igshid=1wnrnt9pc6wt4
My little puppy (Murphy) meeting my mother-in-laws dog (Marvin)

Sadly the old one has gone for his big sleep now, he was 15 and a very good boy.
I am heartbroken.

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@DethBeard condolences.

Anyone have any recommendations for how to trim/blunt razor sharp puppy claws?

Human toenail clippers are very fiddly and leave them even sharper.

Dog nail clippers are pretty good at cutting dog nails...

The sooner you start the better in terms of training.

Can the puppy go out into the wide world?
If so, chasing about with a ball on hard surfaces like a deserted car park will take the edge off the claws. Obviously getting a puppy used to nail clipping is good but once it is walking on mixed surfaces they should stay short enough.

That’s what we hoped - I don’t remember her mother ever needing trimming - but she’s been an outdoor pup for several weeks now and she’s still a liability.

Hey

I've one I'm going to get rid of. Send me a message if you are interested.

Am tempted by a springer spaniel.

Is this bad? I know I've not had the greatest mental health recently and that this is a super long term commitment.

I'm looking for a companion, one that will sit beside me on the sofa, go for 30-60 minute walks twice per day... and I work from home always so it won't be left alone for 8 hours every day.

Once in a while it will be alone for 4-5 hours in an evening, when I visit the theatre or opera.

The life I want has a dog in it. I live in a flat so that's not great, but I can afford a dog, have time and love for a dog.

Do you need a good local network to care for the animal when you're away? I guess this is like having a child right? Getting a dog means walking it and discovering others with dogs and this means I'd meet others.

And yes... ring warning bells over a spaniel... a high energy breed that may be easy to train but will get bored without a lot of engagement.

Your lifestyle sounds totally amenable to having a dog, although if you’ve recently had quite a bit of upheaval, maybe waiting until you have more complete stability would help.

It’s pretty important to have people who you can rely on to walk/dogsit when needed, and you need to socialise the dog and get it prepared for that.

Are you tied to a breed or prepared to rescue? We’re meeting so many COVID puppies in the park and so few rescues. It’s quite depressing when you know how many dogs are in need.

I'm not tied to a breed at all, but a large dog would be inappropriate for the size of the flat and my current weekend habit of driving out of the city and going for an 5-8 mile walk in the country is better suited to a medium dog that isn't excessively docile.

Just as a suggestion, people have a lot of success keeping sighthounds happy in flats. They are super docile at home and resting but live for chasing rabbits and squirrels on walks in the country...

That's the kind of lifestyle our rescue loves (tbh - the kind most dogs love):

Also, in about 10 years on here, that's the first time I've successfully posted a photo - constantly learning...

Have you thought about a Staffordshire Bull Terrier? There‘s a lot in rescues and they are lovely.

Whippets are great dogs. They just need 45-min to an hour of free running a day and then they just sleep on the sofa all day.

Lot's of rescue homes looking to re-home them also.

+1 for sighthounds.