Right time for a puppy?

[rafiki]

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[Stacy in NJ]

We would seriously like to get a puppy, but would like to take our time, research and plan to "do it right".

 

We have our heart set on a black Pug. We have breeder's sites bookmarked and have been watching them.

 

We bought a book that goes over all the various breeds, choosing and caring for dogs. We looked over all breeds and keep going back to the Pug.

 

Our boys are 8.5, almost 7, and almost 5. My youngest is active, well behaved, but a young for his age. What age kids are "ideal" when introducing a new pet?

 

We are considering doing this in the spring as it snows a lot here, so it's not ideal for housebreaking.

 

What about yard prep for a small dog? We are in a new house and need to decide about fencing, landscaping, etc. anyway.

 

How far in advance did you start working with a breeder?

 

Any tips, suggestions, or advice?

 

 

It is a good idea to get a puppy in the spring. It makes potty training much easier. You may want to think about any vacation plans you have. It's not a good idea to kennel a puppy, so unless you have a friend or family member willing to puppy-sit, don't plan on any vacations for at least 6 months.

 

I'd give some local breeders a call and ask some questions just to make the contact.

 

I think your children at just about right age-wise.

 

We have an invisible fence for our acre of yard. It was cheeper than a fence and, well, invisible. Fencing can be pretty pricey, something else to consider.

 

When thinking about getting a dog, many people get excited about looking into different breeds. I've found the most important aspect to consider is training. Nothing is more enjoyable than having a well trained dog. Nothing is more annoying than a poorly disciplined dog. Spend sometime figuring out how you want to go about training your puppy. Gets some videos and books from the library, look into obedience schools in your area, and figure out your puppy training "philosophy". Training is work and you will need to train your dog, not just potty training, but behavior training: how to walk on a leash, how to behave with people and other dogs, important, important, important.

 

I'm going to put in a plug for mutts now. I've had dogs my entire life, usually breed dogs, namely labs. Two years ago we adopted a mutt puppy from our local shelter. And, wow, what a great dog he is. He's super smart and really healthy. Because of too much interbreeding, some pure breeds tend to have health issue. Mutts don't have these health issues. Also, mutts are just less expensive. Most shelter ask only the cost of covering neutering and initial immunizations. Breed dogs get very expensive if you consider the cost of the animal then the follow-up vet bills. You could easily spend in excess of $1,000 all in for a breed dog and vet bills.

 

So, in summary:

 

1. Dog can get expensive beyond the initial cost of the puppy. Consider the cost of vet bills, neutering and fencing expenses.

 

2. Behavior training is time intensive and hugely important to your future happiness.

 

3. Consider a mutt. :tongue_smilie:

 

HTH, Stacy

[Carrie12345]

My sister has 2 pugs. Very cute, not exactly easy to train, size makes clean up relatively easy, prone to health problems due to their facial structure.

 

I'm not anti-pug, but the health issues give me pause. And the snorting. Oh, the snorting!

 

We adopted 2 mutts with a 7 year old, 3 year old, and 2 year old in the house. BIG dogs (one is mostly German Shephard, the other is mostly Rottweiler). We intended to get one, and stupidly fell in love with a second, lol.

 

The age factor wasn't a big deal to *us*, because our kids were born rolling around with German Shephards. My inlaws breed them. Had they not had that exposure, it would have been a different story. The age factor *was a big deal to many rescue groups, and we had to do a lot of research and explain our experience in order to be approved.

 

Personally, I think it's very important to that young kids start with a puppy rather than an older dog, so a respectable breeder can be a good way to go. For us, we focused on puppy rescue groups. I HATE puppies, but I wanted to know our dogs' histories.

 

Despite my inlaws' breeding, I go for rescue. One, because animals are being put to death every day. Two, mutts are much less prone to breed-specific health issues, and generally live longer.

[Elisabeth in IL]

I have a pug! My husband and I think that they are great family dogs as they are small, sturdy and friendly. Our pug is 7 years old and has had some health issues. He has gotten ear infections when I haven't kept up with cleaning his ears. He also has recently, in the last year or two, developed allergies. Just last week I've switched his food to something without corn, wheat, and beef. Hopefully this will help. He has been losing hair and developed black scaly stuff on his skin. The vet has said that pugs are known for their skin issues. I had never heard this before but you might want to talk to the breeder about it. Our pug came from a backyard breeder so that may make a difference in his overall health. Still, pugs are great and I would get another one!!!

[samaria]

I have a pug! My husband and I think that they are great family dogs as they are small, sturdy and friendly. Our pug is 7 years old and has had some health issues. He has gotten ear infections when I haven't kept up with cleaning his ears. He also has recently, in the last year or two, developed allergies. Just last week I've switched his food to something without corn, wheat, and beef. Hopefully this will help. He has been losing hair and developed black scaly stuff on his skin. The vet has said that pugs are known for their skin issues. I had never heard this before but you might want to talk to the breeder about it. Our pug came from a backyard breeder so that may make a difference in his overall health. Still, pugs are great and I would get another one!!!

 

I am agree with Elisabeth.....& I also have a pug!:001_smile:

[Michelle T]

We have a Pembroke Welsh corgi named Clever. I admit, he was a somewhat impulsive decision, the breeder is in our homeschool group, and we saw Clever a couple of times at parkdays and fell in love.

 

I'm in an area with little rain, and no snow, so it's not so bad taking him outside every couple hours. If you are in a cold-winter area, I would definitely wait until spring!

 

We are lucky to have a perfect area for a dog run between our house and property wall. It is concrete, with drains, and only 56" wide, so we are having a chain link gate installed and it will be perfect. We will be putting a dog house out there too. Right now, Clever only goes outside while on leash with us. Even into the dog run. I won't leave him outside by himself until I know he is fully trained and a bit bigger.

 

Buy a crate the right size for a grown pug online and ahead of time. I bought our crate at Petco, and later found the same crate online MUCH cheaper! Amazon carries a lot of dog crates, and many other pet sites do too.

 

Make sure you are prepared for early mornings, poop-pick up, and hearing sad crying when you have to walk away from puppy to use the bathroom! Puppies are wonderful, but also a lot of work, and an addition of stress to your life.

 

Decide where in the house your puppy will spend most of his time, and put away any area rugs there. We keep Clever in the living room with us during the day. Wood floors in case of accident, and he is with us. He is never allowed free roam through our house, he is on his leash, which is hooked onto a chair leg. He has 6' of leash room to move around and play, and of course, we take him outside frequently for walks and play. He will not be allowed free range of the house until he is fully potty trained, and old enough not to chew things up. This also lets our cats adjust to him!

 

He sleeps in his crate next to my bed. I get up early and take him out immediately, then feed him breakfast. Eventually, he will sleep in DS's room.

 

Hmmm, that's all I can think of right now. Puppies are fun, but also a lot of work!

Michelle T

[SonshineLearner]

When I was all into getting a Wheaten Terrier or a Lagotto, I discovered that some feel it's best to go to the dog shows and get to know the people who show whatever you're interested in getting. They can either sell you one of their puppies (many have one or two litters) or get you in touch with a good dog. If I was going to pay money, I wanted a puppy who had a good start. I'm still not sure that I won't get my second dog this way, but for our first, I kept checking Petfinder.com and found our dog there.

There are usually rescue places for each type of breed, too. We "tomato staked" our dog for the first two weeks, and I believe it helped with bonding as well as only a couple of accidents. (This is just where you keep them on a leash or in the crate the whole time) If I could only teach him not to eat off my counters! His head is tall enough so he can almost see what's there...and his little nose just smells out everything!

I love our dog...just remember, children may say they're gonna play with the dog, but the dog is really the adult's responsibility. It is alot of work for me...I still love having him, though!

[hornblower]

I would not really worry about the age of the kids, except if you're getting a very small, fragile dog. The only thing to think about is that it is like adding a crawling mischievous baby to the mix. One which will only grow up to toddlerhood (if it's a smart dog, you can hope for preschooler, or if it's a border collie, it will be kindergarten and beyond :D)

 

It's another thing for you to be looking out for. You know how you can't take your eyes off most 2 yo because they'll take scissors and cut a hole in the couch or take a felt pen from their brother and draw on the curtains? That's sometimes what life is like with a young dog.

 

A good dog is a tired dog. So be prepared to walk & exercise. A backyard is no subsititute for 2-3 walks a day.

 

I don't have probs toilet training dogs but it does require that you're watching them constantly. If a puppy comes from a good breeder, the dam will have usually started training them already & you just need to continue. You'll need to get up at night to take the puppy out. I personally do not like the idea of puppy pads etc as I think it really delays the process of learning to potty outside.

 

One of my favourite dog trainers & authors has a sigline which says "If you don't have time to train your dog, get a stuffed animal."

It takes time to train - I spend anywhere from 20-60 min/day plus I drive out to fun classes (we've done tracking & agility for ex.) My dog is well trained & I keep it up, teaching new tricks or refining old bhvrs, because mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise.

 

Consider the rescue route. You can get a dog whose temperament you already know & pick one with activity levels which will suit you.

 

If you go with a breeder, pick a reputable one.

 

They should be a member of the national & regional breed clubs.

 

They should be following the breed club's code of ethics.

 

They should have a breeding program & should be able to explain what they're breeding for - how they envision the breed developing.

 

They may or may not have both the dam & the sire. Good breeders will often NOT have both as they are breeding with specific goals, not just producing a litter, and the best match for their dog might belong to someone else.

 

You should be able to see pedigrees. The breeder should be able to explain whether they're outbreeding, line breeding, cross breeding.... You should get a sense the breeder understands what the heck they're doing, not just sticking a female & a male together cause they're cute!

 

I personally am predisposed to breeders whose dogs have either been in the show ring or are working stock with working titles (agility, tracking, herding, rally, obedience etc)

 

Good breeders do genetic testing and other health testing. They should be able to tell you what health problems are common in their breed, and how often those problems crop up in their lines.

 

Good breeders will interview YOU. They will not just sell to you with no questions asked.

 

Good breeders raise pups in the kitchen, and have only a few litters a year. They should be willing to allow you to visit so you can see the facilities.

 

Good breeders often having wait lists and all the pups are spoken for before the litter is born.

 

Good breeders will assist you in picking the best puppy from the litter for your family - not just let you go by looks or which one seems cuter.

 

Good breeders will temperament assess their pups & will provide an appropriately stimulating environment for the puppies. They should be able to discuss proper socialization for pups.

 

Good breeders will offer a health guarantee. Really good breeders don't offer to 'exchange' because most people do not want to give their pup back. They will refund money &/or offer pick of another litter if there's a significant health problem. They will also stop breeding that sire/dam combo if it's apparent that it's a genetic problem.

 

A good breeder will sell pets on a spay/neuter contract and will follow up to ensure you have altered the dog.

 

Good breeders will require a contract which stipulates that if ever you are unable to keep the dog, the dog must return to the breeder. A good breeder's dogs never end up in rescue or in shelters or euthenized prematurely - good breeders take responsibility for the lives they create.

 

And finally, good breeders are involved with & support their breed rescue!!

[hillfarm]

We have a pug also. She will be a year old on December 17. It is much like having a baby and a toddler in the house. She requires lots of attention and training.

 

We have found ours to be very trainable. My 9yo dd took her to a couple of agility shows and did very well. She also started training her for freestyle (kind of a combination of obedience, tricks, and dance moves). They won every Best Trick competition in our area this summer when the pug pup was only 6-8 months old. She is extremely food motivated and will learn anything for a treat.

 

She is great with kids and very durable for a smaller dog. She loves our black lab and can tolerate the cats and chickens as long as they don't run across in front of her. Then, she cannot resist the temptation to chase, but when they stop, so does she.

 

In my area, purebred pugs were selling for around $800-$1200 each. That was too expensive for us (dd wanted to pay for her own dog), so we bought a pet quality dog from a private, non-show home. Pedigrees are no guarantee of health. Particularly in pugs, the show community has bred an animal that has a severely shortened nose and therefore frequently has respiratory problems. Pugs commonly require surgery to open their nasal passages enough to be able to breathe well. That's why we went with a pet quality dog. Her nose is a little long, and her legs also. I think these "flaws" really helped her to do well in agility.

 

Mutts can be great dogs, but they can also have health and temperament issues. You never know what you will get in a dog where you have no idea of its parentage.

 

Beware of fake dog rescue groups who seem to have an abundance of puppies of more than one breed always available. We found several of these who were willing to let us adopt a pug puppy, no questions asked other than which credit card to bill the $700 "adoption fee". One pretty legit group is Pug Rescue of Ohio, if you are anywhere near here.

Edited December 9, 2008 by hillfarm

[Tree House Academy]

Your kids are great ages to introduce a new puppy to the mix. :) My kids are 5 and 9 and Rosco is 3, so they were 2 and 6 when we got him. It worked out well, but I won't say it was easy potty training a 2 year old kid AND a puppy at the same time. LOL

 

I think if you have your heat set on the pug, contact breeders and decide the one you want to go with. Get on her waiting list, fill out her application, and e-mail often about her litters. My breeder became a good friend during the buying process and I wouldn't trade the experience for the world. I still look at her website often and oooh and aaaahhh over her litters. I can never have another cocker spaniel...not after my Rosco because he is just the best dog EVER...but I do enjoy looking.

 

Good luck!

[sunshine]

My 17yr old just brought home a 6 week old white lab. my dds are 6 and 9 (both just had birthday) and they are doing great with the pup. They feed and walk her. The cleaning the poop and tt are the ds's job!!