SOME OF THESE ARE NOT SOMETHING YOU DO BEFORE getting a dog.

I’m not quite ready to replace our beautiful old retriever Beau yet (and it’s been years) but am thinking that when my teens move out, my youngest son and I will have room in our hearts for a new pet.

I would love another dog,thanks for your article!

Both our dogs are rescue dogs. We didn’t think too much of how they suited us, we just knew they needed saving, so we did. They’re brilliant, loving loyal and gentle with us……look out strangers!

Some good tips, thanks. We’ve been thinking of getting our 4yr a dog soon….

We’ve been doing a lot of research into getting a dog

thought it mite say how you bring your pet into family meaning if you have new born, how to approach that with a dog

a good informative article. there is a good site too with the breeds and what to expect which is really helpful

A good article and I hope it is one that has been taken on board as pets deserve to be in a forever home from the beginning of their lives to the very end. Owning a dog is a big responsibility and should always be considered with a lot of thought and research.

We want to get puppy but I’ve convinced hubby to wait until our children are older because with four kids under six a puppy would be like another toddler.

Great article thanks for sharing

A great article. Bringing a pup into the household is a big decision and should be carefully considered and planned.

oh yeah def’ get those puppies trained up! save yourself so much hassle and frustration down the track.

i currently have 3 Shetland Sheepdogs (shelties) they are very good with the children and all of our other animals. If some one is unwell they wont leave there side. Also great guard dogs as well

Our puppy is now 3 years old and we love him to bits. However, for all the research and planning we had done, he became a rushed decision. We bought a schnoodle instead of a labradoodle. Whilst he has many similar qualities eg. non-shedding, great for our son with asthma, smallish in size… he is the most excitable, crazy, but lovable dog going around. He became available quickly and so we bought him, thinking he would be quiet and tame. OMG, he jumps like a kangaroo, chews everything, and has to live outside – otherwise he would eat my house from inside out. We love him though and he does come inside but we know to expect the initial madness of it before he calms down. We keep thinking that when he’s older he’ll calm down, but it hasn’t happened yet.

I would just like to add to number one, you can get high energy dogs in all breeds, so exercise needs don’t just vary with breed. You can identify their energy (low, med, high) when meeting/observing the puppy/dog in an environment that is secure but off lead.

Christmas is fast approaching and sooo many folks give a kitten or puppy as a gift and sadly a lot of these animals end up at the RSPCA latter on as they just did not suit or the kitten or puppy grew and turned into a cat or dog and the owner just did not think this was appealing…so the answer is do the homework, research and think before you go ahead ..animals are gods creatures and deserve a wonderful life just like we do.

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  • • mom93821 replied
    • 03 Jan 2016 , 6:11 pm

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  I agree with your comments Cherz! A lot of research and thought needs to go into getting a pet. They are not disposable gifts!

I used to have a german shepherd, he was awesome but live on a 1 acre unfenced blocked now and would cost a fortune to fence it.

Research, research and more research. Don’t think what suits another family will suit yours. Most breeders are very happy to provide advice too. The book ‘the Complete Dog Breed’ by D K publishing is also great.