• No comment on breed etc, apart from make sure you do a really good check on background if buying a cockapoo or anything like that.

    I would look into whether there are any local dog walking companies, for days when your mum doesn’t want to/can’t walk the dog.

  • greyhound

    really affectionate. don’t need a lot of walking. very low energy generally. don’t need a lot of space. downsides are they can have health issues but.... so do all dogs?

  • All puppies are mental, maybe a slightly older, chilled out rescue, greyhounds are lazy as fuck, so occasional short walks are plenty, maybe somewhere to watch it run once a week. I guess whippets too if you want smaller, they come with a free flat cap.

  • ‘Poos tend to have a lot of energy, so may not be a good fit. You also have to factor in not just what is possible now, but what will be possible in 10-15 years. As everyone is saying, greyhounds are right lazy bastards, so perfect for a couple of walks a day.

  • interesting, I'll have a look at greyhounds as well.

    for a lot of intents and purposes it'll really be my dog that lives at my mums and for the foreseeable i'll be spending most of my time here helping her out as it's less disruptive to me to do so rather than travel back and forth repeatedly but my gf and I are looking at a poss. move down to brighton in the coming year to help facilitate me being able to pop in daily rather than stay full time so the dog being alone with my mum will be the exception rather than the rule and walkers are an option in a pinch if need be and ultimately we'll be able to take it when we have a bigger place if there's any problems.

  • Is your mum's mobility likely to improve? This seems key to the kind of dog she should get. Is she likely to be able to train a lively pup (whatever the breed) and teach it to walk calmly on a lead? Will she be strong enough to control it as it grows and goes through the "adolescent" stages (8-15 months...ish)? Will her health allow her to walk it twice a day every day? Will she be able to let it run off the lead but get to it quickly if she needs to? Does she have a secure garden, where it will be able to work off energy between walks? Sorry for so many questions.

    Don't rule out small dogs as a rule. I've never had one, but my step daughter's Jack Russell cross is not at all snappy. Small might be better depending on her health and mobility. Would she consider an older, calmer rescue dog? A good rehoming centre should be able to advise on how any dog is around children, thinking of your young cousins. And having a recommended dog walker in reserve is a sensible suggestion.

    If she wants to borrow a Staffy for a couple of months...

    Edit: your second post crossed with this and answers a lot of it

  • If she wants to borrow a Staffy for a couple of months...

    Staffy is my first choice of breed but if we were to need to take it later on my gf is slightly nervous around "aggressive looking" dogs and it would be a harder sell as she has the usual misconceptions about the breed. I'm sure by then she'd have come around after spending time around it though.

  • Small doesn't always equate to less exercise. Greyhound is a good shout (runs laps, easy to train, lethargic, etc) but I'd be weary of a greyhound pulling after a squirrel (or similar) when on lead.

    Getting a cross-breed might be a good way of adding some predictable behaviour to a desired breed (retriever x anything = more calm, etc)?

  • Cross bread is a good shout, I have a lab\springer cross, and he is the laziest lump in the world...

  • Small doesn't always equate to less exercise.

    Very true, and quite often the opposite, but not so strong if that's an issue for HatBeard's mum's health

  • Was kidding, but an older rescue staffy could be a good option, and there are plenty of them around. You're welcome to introduce your gf to mine - kill or cure and all that...

  • Perhaps an old dog? Old dogs usually struggle to get re-homed and will have well documented/predictable character traits?

  • Yeah, if you go for a greyhound get an old one.

  • cockapoo

    MIL has one as an assistance dog - so they are smart and very trainable. The cock does mean that there is a hunting/predatory instinct, so sometimes it will disappear on walks. She is active and takes it on a lot of decent walks. Size wise it is an excellent size for older people - (and just generally) - for eg it fits in a car footwell easily, or in a mini-hatch's boot.

    I'm allergic to dogs and despite the "wool" coat, it still triggers me. However, I think the sheading is a bit better. ymmv.

    As for staffys, my hesitation would be the genes and temperament of any rescue ones. You don't say how old your cousins are, but again a rescue dog would cause me concern.

    Personally I think the idea of a new dog with known lineage from a proper breeder is best. Both of you can train it. It will give her something to do, in particular if you find local training group.

  • Yeah, definitely don't get a toy poodle puppy.

  • Haha, still having fun?!

  • As for staffys, my hesitation would be the genes and temperament of any rescue ones. You don't say how old your cousins are, but again a rescue dog would cause me concern.

    Go on...

  • One of the first things another dog owner said to me in the park about her dog was, I loved it when he was a puppy but I'm so glad he's not a puppy anymore...

  • As in?

    The risk of owning a dog with a high likelyhood of;
    a) being misbreed/farmed, and
    b) having some sort of behavioral issues that resulted in it ending up in a rescue center.

    and then having that dog be looked after by someone who is more susceptible to injury, has limited strength, and will take longer to heal, all whilest potentially being around young children who may act like sucks and/or may poor decisions.

    Nothing in that causes you concern? If you're going to run that risk, better to run it with a smaller dog with less strength.

    Plus add a judgemental;
    c) the sort of people who buy potentially farmed dogs and then give them up are also (imo) the sort of people likely to create or exacerbate behavioral issues in a dog.

  • Whilst there's a correlation of anxious/difficult dogs to rescue dogs, that doesn't mean that's the dog you're going to get.

    Re-homing centres are generally excellent and wouldn't put a difficult/anxious dog with an inexperienced (or frail) owner.

    The most difficult/anxious dogs will only be re-homed with an existing (calm/trained) dog already in the home, etc.

    Generally speaking you know EXACTLY what you're signing up for with a rescue dog. The same can't be said for a puppy, or a dog purchase (where the biggest incentive is a financial one).

  • All good points.

  • Gotcha, I was assuming you were suggesting something specific regarding Staffy genetics and temperament, rather than rescue dogs in general.

    On puppy farming, I'm not aware of Staffies being puppy farmed in the way other breeds are, mainly because they don't attract the same price tag. The problem with unscrupulous Staffy breeding is pursuing fat, chunky, blue Staffords, which have physical health problems because blue is a recessive gene.

    In my experience, many Staffy's in rescue centres are there, not because of behavioral issues, but because they didn't live up to their owners' hopes of being aggressive. Like most breeds bred for fighting, they can be dog/animal aggressive (a potential problem in itself), but rarely human aggressive - not a desirable for dog fighters, apparently. I'd echo JM's comments about the amount of vetting that happens before centres will rehome a dog and how you tend to know what you're getting.

    I was actually suggesting a smaller dog for Hatbeard's mum in previous posts but, dependent on her health, an older Staffy could be an excellent option. Once they have calmed, they are incredibly loyal and affectionate, good house dogs and crave attention as much as they do exercise.

  • I know the feeling!

  • Yeah, sorry the point on rescue staffs is just the risk of poor treatment and physical strength of the animal. An Alsatian would probably be worse.

    Ultimately you never know.

    Someone I know who was a part time trainer and had previously owned and rehabilitated a husky-alsatian cross. Their next dog was another rescue dog, also a husky mix I think. One of their kids was playing with it, and possibly because food was involved the dog bit his face, narrowly missing losing an eye. The kid, although young, also had a lot of experience from the previous dog in how to behave.

  • I’m definitely pro-older greyhound

    another good thing about them is they typically don’t shed too much

    only fair to mention that (I think due to genetics) the breed can be susceptible to bone cancers. I’m sure this is the case w many breeds but I only have experience w greys... and from bitter bitter experience losing one to cancer was one of the worst things to happen to me ever.

    sounds corny but they are descended from angels - truly are the sweetest dopey dogs

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

Posted by Avatar for jv @jv

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