your wife’s going to need better walking shoes than them…….. he’s going to need some long walks.

Do it. I had dogs as a kid, and they were my best friends then. A twenty year gap, and now this one here, and I’m hooked again.

Samuri – this is slightly tongue in cheek but I have to ask – have you got / had kids? 😉

Jonv – LOL! Yeah, we thought we were popping round for a cuppa and a chat but we ended up going for a walk in the pouring rain – I only had a jumper on and had to lend my wife my jacket. She’s cursing ruining her shoes

Dogs are ace. But the op is looking at a 7 month old dog. It could be very hard work indeed training it as the basics are all done before that. Put in a lot of work training it early on it pays off 1000’s of times over the years.

Think long and hard about how much walking you want to do, Vizla need a heck of a lot of exercise and good knowledge of the breed.

I’m currently visiting the vet every three days after my pooch cut her pad open, it’s been over three weeks now and cost (the insurace company)
well over £1200. Every time she needs out we need to cover the bandage in clingfilm, plastic bags and gaffer tape, but I wouldn’t be without her.

Rescue dogs are ace. It usually takes me a year to alter bad habits (all my dogs have been 2 years old or older). Puppy classes will help you out with this. A basic sit takes a month or two to instil recall quite a bit longer. If your children are smaller then jumping up like in the pic is a no. Lovely looking dog too.

Adds £200 to the cost of your holiday.
A litter-picker-stick makes picking up frozen shit from the garden almost a pleasure.
Burglars don’t like dogs.

The breeder said the jumping up needed to be sorted out with this dog but otherwise is a really well behaved dog that needs some attention.

have you got / had kids?

Yep.

🙂

Jumping up is an easy thing to sort.

I think for your situation older dog is the better fit. He is ready to start training which will in itself help forge the bond between you as a ‘pack’, and will still need a fair bit of activity for the next three months, but this can be done in bursts of play and he will learn your routine pretty quickly, and then sleep during your work slots.

Jumping is fixed by turning your back on him and ignoring him when he does it, and then turn back when all four paws back on the ground. Angus now gets so excited but is near religious in his keeping paws on the ground. Dogs have been bred to crave our attention so denying it to them is the best sort of rebuke, telling the dog off/shouting/”NO”, while useful sometimes, is still a form of attention so best used minimally and not for stuff like this. You will need to make sure the kids stick to it as well. We didn’t enforce a strict jumping up ban with last dog (Cos i was a kid thought it fun) and it was a pain – needs to be 100%!

But he looks a fine hound, short glossy coat so not as mucky as a long haired fluffy beast…

Got this little fella

Echo 2 by S1mmy1, on Flickr

Absolute star. I agree with everything else said, the only thing that has changed is not jumping straight out on the bike as soon as I get home and having to take him out, but letting him jump in the car and taking him places outweighs that.

Working for myself, I can nip home and check he’s ok so he never alone for too long.

Dogs change your life for sure and the few negatives (mainly cost and planning things so they are not left alone too long) are hugely outweighed by all the positives they bring. I hadn’t been camping for years until I got these two and as pointed out ^^ they guarantee you will have to get some exercise no matter what the weather 😉 From puppies to age 6 last year in The Lakes
[img]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3789/8888127768_2c593d69ec_z.jpg[/img]

I’ve had dogs as a kid.. and a rescue dog and a puppy as an adult..

The rescue dog was by far the most rewarding..

The dogs as a kid were a bit of a chore, my parents weren’t really doggy people, and were very busy, the dogs being just an extra job rather than a family member..
And this is important, because believe me, you get out what you put in with a dog.. If you treat your dog as another family member and give them as much enthusiasm and affection and time as you would your kids, you will have a lovely attentive dog..
Start to let that slip and your dog will quickly become just another mechanism in your daily routine, and a bit of a burden during a crisis..
Don’t get me wrong, they were nice dogs, but their primary function was lying around farting and causing arguments about who was gonna walk them/feed them/clear up their shit..

The rescue dog that I had was ace.. I had a lot of free time at that point in my life, and I needed a companion.. we went everywhere together, she sat on my lap to watch TV, slept on the end of my bed, we went to the pub together, the beach at least twice every day.. my best friend, and she was intelligent and totally switched on as a result.. I gave her 100% and got 100% back..

Later on when the kids arrived we got a puppy, which I personally found an absolute nightmare..
We had a young baby at the time, and I found it impossible to devote enough time to either, resulting in a lot of guilt and stress and a dog with behavioural problems, as it was inevitably the dog that had to take second place..

At one point quite early on, because she wasn’t receiving nearly enough time, stimulation and attention, the puppy developed a habit of whining and howling all night, which drove us insane as we were just trying to get the baby into a night time routine and he had just started to sleep through the night..
After about six weeks of the family not sleeping the puppy had to go, or I would have been making a Korean style curry..

I dunno if any of this will help.. just my experiences

Everyone has different ways of training dogs, and I have no doubt whatsoever that some would have dealt with it all differently, but for me as quite a giving and loving pack leader, viewing my dog as a companion rather than a minion, I experienced these problems..

Yunki – I totally understand what you are saying and can appreciate how much of a burden a puppy and a new born would have been. Must have been a tough decision to get rid of the puppy.

Our kids are slightly older and we feel ready to have a dog join our family – one of the reasons why we want the breed we have chosen is because we want something which has a bit more zest for life and we will enjoy training and they will respond positively.

I’m really looking forward to showing it all the places locally it can walk and enjoy.

I’d go for the re-home. There’s the cute thing with puppies but I don’t miss the house training phase and having to get up in the middle of the night to let him out.

Wouldn’t worry too much about how active they are during the day. As long as they get a good walk and a bit of play time they’ll sleep much of the rest of the day.

Eddie…

good luck.. I hope it goes ok 🙂

I think the point that I was trying to make is that it’s gonna take up a lot of time, effort and energy, and in our case we had no idea how much we were letting ourselves in for, totally underestimated it and ended up emotionally drained..

How does a dog change your life?

Once you have had one you life will seem empty when you don’t have one.

Long list of disadvantages, but they fade into insignificance.

Bit like having kids really, but less faff because the dog will do what it’s told. 🙂

Awesome Cav, mrblobby. Best dogs ever. 😉

Ruby.

Run Ruby run by Jon Wyatt, on Flickr

If i go out all day and need to leave mine
a nice beef bone out in the garden is like heaven

Dogs are awesome, I really miss having ours around the house since he died last year. My mates been looking after a house/dog for someone whilst they’re on holiday which means I’ve got to see this dog loads over the past week!

really want to get another dog (would go rescue) but I can’t see any way of doing it so I can spend enough time with it at the minute. I work 35 miles away from home so can’t get back to it at lunch time, and do long shifts so the dog would be alone for at least 12 hours unless I started getting people in to dog-sit which is extra expense/stress.

Samuri, great photo, they are indeed awesome. Seeing them run always makes me smile 🙂

I have always had a dog / dogs, my OH has kids (now 8 & 10)

I just moved in with my OH, about 2 years ago when my elderly kelpie had to be put down, so I was thrown into a position of wondering if it was wise to get another dog, when I already had the additional tie of children. My OH was also slightly nervous of the idea for the same reason (would children (part time) and dogs be too much). However I think I lasted about 2 weeks before we ended up coming home with a 6 month old Kelpie pup.

Kelpies are another high energy dog which need a lot of attention and exercise. For us the pros and cons were…

Cons… (remebering we took a 6 month old unhousetrained, untrained pup)
– Pup chewing the girls belongings – caused a few tears, they had to learn to clear up after themselves and couldn’t leave favourite toys downstairs (this passed after a few months)
– Time in mornings when we have the girls. You need to work together to get dogs walked/kids ready and adults out to work on time.
– The mess in the house from kids and dogs… seems to more than double.
– Cost of kennels (only used them once).
– Day long visits to friends / relatives are sometimes cut short as we return early to walk the dogs. But we are lucky as a lot of our friends / family are dog friendly.

Pros…
– Walking / riding with the dogs is a great family activity, and what our weekends revolve around.
– Walking the dogs with us both (so they get our full attention) is seen as a real treat by the girls. We live in a lovely area, so dog walks include playing in the river, skimming stones, climbing mountains, trips to the beach etc.
– The company of the dogs when we don’t have the girls – and as they grow up.
– Everything else started above 🙂

Have to say we ended up getting a second a year after the first (dog, not kid) and seeing how the two dogs interact makes me think that a single dog is somehow missing out! Don’t get a dog – get two 😉

When we got our Lurcher, she was underweight, scared of everything and was very unfit.

We’ve had her for 3 years now and she is very stubborn (Bedlington in her). She can be a pain around other dogs due to fear issues still being worked on. I wouldn’t have her any other way though. She is the first thing I see when I come home and is always happy. She’s one of the family and I’m going to be gutted when she is no longer with us. I hope we can offer her the same happiness she has brought us for the rest of her hopefully long life.

Dogs are ace.

They say if you want to know who loves you more – your dog or your wife, lock both of them in the boot of your car for an hour and see which one’s pleased to see you when you let them out.

Go for it. Vizsla’a are wonderful, friendly, exuberant characters. It will need some serious exercise though.

And they will guard your bikes for you…

I probably could reach the pedals you know… by Red Ritchie, on Flickr

They are a big commitment you do need to organise your every day around fitting them in but like others have said they are the best exercise machine/therapy you can get and the only thing better than a dog is another dog..we’ve got two.

this is dog No1 and as @flowerpower says I was a bit anxious but wouldn’t change it for anything.

They are a big commitment you do need to organise your every day around fitting them in

We already do this a lot because of the kids and our jobs to make sure one of us is around for school drop off or pick up.

this is dog No1 and as @flowerpower says I was a bit anxious but wouldn’t change it for anything.

Would you say your anxieties were unfounded? I think we’re concerned as we want the dog to have as good a life as possible.

They say if you want to know who loves you more – your dog or your wife, lock both of them in the boot of your car for an hour and see which one’s pleased to see you when you let them out.

I’m trying this on the wife tonight 🙂

Latest rescue is a bit of a laugh when there’s wildlife on the TV. Here he is watching ‘roo rescue earlier in the year. There’s barking and waiting for the animal to come out from behind the TV!

Huxley watching TV by Hamster, on Flickr

He does a good line in gormless too

Dumb Dog Look by Hamster, on Flickr

Just a gratuitous opportunity to post a picture of Oscar the worlds friendliest dog.

Dogs are ace!
Not cheap.. demanding of your time.. but it’s all worth it.

My little girl is 14 months and makes me smile every day.

@ Bushwacked -I would say my worries were unfounded really, I miss the dogs if my partner is away for work as she often takes them with her, and when she doesn’t I get them all to myself! They make me laugh out loud sometimes with their nonsense but you will have to make some concessions e.g. the 2 smashed flowerpots last night were the latest casualties, the holes in the lawn (like it was ever really a lawn!), that all our garden fences are now 3ft taller – the air biscuits left in my shed. Having two dogs brings another dimension to the whole thing, it doesn’t seem to be any more work, if anything I was more comfortable after Whisky (dog#2) arrived as they seem to enjoy each others company so much and the interaction between them can be quite comical at times. I would say go for it, the best thing sometimes after a day at work is taking the dog out as it clears your head and gets you in good mental state for the evening, but choose your breed carefully and if I had one peice of advice it would be to ensure you socialise the dog well with other dogs. It saddens me when you see people with the dogs and the dog goes berserk everytime it sees another K9, they are social animals after all.

The “My Dog : the paradox” thing made me both happy and sad. Our dog is only 3 but it already makes me sad to think that he’ll only be with us for maybe a dozen more years. Right, off to give him a damn good walk… 🙂

Yeah, with you there Mr Blobby – the bit about never knowing my name made me fill up and I’ve not even got a dog (yet)!!

Yes, just got to make sure they have the best life possible in the time they have with us (… though I’m not sure Eddie is totally loving the diet he’s currently on!)

We decided a long time ago that our dog names us as…

Me “The big one”
My wife “mum”
My Son “The monkey”
Everyone else “intruders”

You inconsiderate bunch of bastards!
Grew up with dogs and desperately want another.
MrsCat is asthmatic and dogs set her off so it’s a no go for us.
Seeing the pics and reading the posts makes me wonder though, would the police see it as pre meditated? Hmmmmmm…

I’m allergic to dogs + asthmatic… Angus sleeps in my room, and often starts the night next to me on the bed while I geek on the laptop. Good outweighs the snotiness and occasional itching for me. Find a good antihystermine and keep up with inhalers and its all fine. 😀

Grew up with a dog & went a year without before getting another – can’t imagine a home without one. Every photo of us kids is with the dog covered in mud or a steam etc – used to walk the dog instead of watching shite tv.

Got Barney the Norfolk terrier (i think) bought from gypsies : ) mad as a box of frogs! Fortunately, he doesn’t like getting up early, sometimes he’ll slump his way into the garden for a piss & run straight back in his bed. Only comes alive around lunch but that’s routine & when people have time for him. Only negative I’ve got is during the winter there’s not enough daylight for a proper ride & dog walk then rinsing him off afterwards.

I’ve got a few families & an elderly couple down the road who love to walk him but don’t want all the hassle of owning a dog so I’ve never had to worry about kennels/board for when I go away.

Has a few bizarre habits of going completely feral after a shower & becomes hell bent on shredding every towel with reach.

Awesome down the pub – usually ends up with a plate of meat!

I couldn’t have one without so many people wanting to walk him though.

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Untitled by rickbanks89, on Flickr[/img]

Picture taken on kinder – spent the whole walk chasing him, along then down to Williams clough on me bike.

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Untitled by rickbanks89, on Flickr[/img]

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We adopted Benny from the Dogs Trust a year and a half ago. Despite being found as an emaciated stray, he has the loveliest nature of any dog I’ve ever met. He’s a furry clown, extremely loving and occasionally as mad as a box of frogs.

Pros

He gets us out walking
He gets us biking more on a daily basis (as we go back home at lunch to see him)
He’s ace beyond words

Cons

He sometimes rolls in fox poo
He has to go to the vets every 6 – 8 weeks to have his anal sacs manually expressed
He emotionally blackmails us into giving him cheese

We’re still able to go biking together and go away to non-dog friendly places, as there’s a really nice boarding home in my old home village – Benny loves it there because he gets to socialise and play with lots of other dogs.

He also compels us to get our garden turfed quickly, because a freshly rotorvatored garden, combined with rain and a hairy dog is a less than ideal combination (see photo)…

This stuff works wonders…