Advice needed.
It seems that we are gradually talking ourselves into getting a dog for the family, potentially around end-March/early April time to make any housetraining a bit easier on everyone with the opportunity for lots of spring/summer walks outside and time in the garden.
Reasons for doing this:
1) we think it might be good for son with his sensory issues.
2) daughter has been leaving drawings of puppies in gift boxes around the house as subtle Christmas hints for months. She's not getting one for Christmas but we are thinking about it seriously long term.
3) good fitness and mental health boosts for me and husband taking the dog for walks.
4) we'd really like a furry pet and we can't have a cat because husband is allergic.
5) we're actually in our own house now so this is possible. Previously we were in rented accommodation that didn't allow pets.
Our situation / the complications:
1) we're in a three bedroom, semi-detached house with garden / land around three sides of the house. The back garden is pretty self-contained with high fences. The previous owners had a labrador that seemed relatively happy out there. There's even a dog flap in the kitchen door which is currently just letting heat escape. The front garden is not a bad size either though it has lower fences that a bigger dog could probably jump. The downstairs of the house is all tiled/wooden flooring so if we can keep a dog downstairs clean-up shouldn't be too horrendous.
2) we have a lovely big park at the bottom of the hill so plenty of access to space for walks. It's popular with dog walkers, has trees to explore and a big open grassy space where you can let a well-trained dog off a lead to run about.
3) given mine and my husband's work schedules we can often, but not always, arrange for there to be one adult at home during the day. There's an adult in the house for 60+% of the time during weekdays 9-5pm, 100% of the time in the evenings and the majority of the time at weekends.
4) we do, however, go away on holidays, sometimes at quite short notice, which could be difficult for arranging kennels or dog sitters.
5) none of us have ever owned a dog so we are wary about what we don't know about looking after one.
Requirements:
1) must be a dog that is extremely good with children. Son is quite cautious round dogs so we need one that is very gentle and has no chance of biting him. He in turn, is very gentle with animals (much less gentle with his sister).
2) a smaller dog is preferable. While the previous owners kept a labrador, I don't think the house is actually really big enough for one. The previous owner was South African and seemed to think that dogs mostly live outside, whereas we'd want the dog to be part of the family, allowed to have a bed inside the house downstairs.
3) preferably a dog that is going to live for at least 10-15 years or so. I want this to be a source of stability for my son, not something that's going to lead to immense and overwhelming grief in the near future.
Husband has been doing some research and suggests a dachshund. Does anyone have experience with these? We haven't decided yet whether to get a rescue or a new dog. I'd favour a rescue but I'm wary of the possibility of a dog that has been poorly treated in the past lashing out at the children.
Any advice or suggestions gratefully received.
It seems that we are gradually talking ourselves into getting a dog for the family, potentially around end-March/early April time to make any housetraining a bit easier on everyone with the opportunity for lots of spring/summer walks outside and time in the garden.
Reasons for doing this:
1) we think it might be good for son with his sensory issues.
2) daughter has been leaving drawings of puppies in gift boxes around the house as subtle Christmas hints for months. She's not getting one for Christmas but we are thinking about it seriously long term.
3) good fitness and mental health boosts for me and husband taking the dog for walks.
4) we'd really like a furry pet and we can't have a cat because husband is allergic.
5) we're actually in our own house now so this is possible. Previously we were in rented accommodation that didn't allow pets.
Our situation / the complications:
1) we're in a three bedroom, semi-detached house with garden / land around three sides of the house. The back garden is pretty self-contained with high fences. The previous owners had a labrador that seemed relatively happy out there. There's even a dog flap in the kitchen door which is currently just letting heat escape. The front garden is not a bad size either though it has lower fences that a bigger dog could probably jump. The downstairs of the house is all tiled/wooden flooring so if we can keep a dog downstairs clean-up shouldn't be too horrendous.
2) we have a lovely big park at the bottom of the hill so plenty of access to space for walks. It's popular with dog walkers, has trees to explore and a big open grassy space where you can let a well-trained dog off a lead to run about.
3) given mine and my husband's work schedules we can often, but not always, arrange for there to be one adult at home during the day. There's an adult in the house for 60+% of the time during weekdays 9-5pm, 100% of the time in the evenings and the majority of the time at weekends.
4) we do, however, go away on holidays, sometimes at quite short notice, which could be difficult for arranging kennels or dog sitters.
5) none of us have ever owned a dog so we are wary about what we don't know about looking after one.
Requirements:
1) must be a dog that is extremely good with children. Son is quite cautious round dogs so we need one that is very gentle and has no chance of biting him. He in turn, is very gentle with animals (much less gentle with his sister).
2) a smaller dog is preferable. While the previous owners kept a labrador, I don't think the house is actually really big enough for one. The previous owner was South African and seemed to think that dogs mostly live outside, whereas we'd want the dog to be part of the family, allowed to have a bed inside the house downstairs.
3) preferably a dog that is going to live for at least 10-15 years or so. I want this to be a source of stability for my son, not something that's going to lead to immense and overwhelming grief in the near future.
Husband has been doing some research and suggests a dachshund. Does anyone have experience with these? We haven't decided yet whether to get a rescue or a new dog. I'd favour a rescue but I'm wary of the possibility of a dog that has been poorly treated in the past lashing out at the children.
Any advice or suggestions gratefully received.
Comment