Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)
  • Getting a dog today!
  • aphex_2k
    Free Member

    Can’t wait!!!

    Me and the missus have always wanted a pup but never been settled enough, always moving house. Well, after 13 years, a move to Australia and the arrival of our son a couple of years ago, we went to the pound yesterday and found a gorgeous dog. She’s a rescue dog, 5 months old. A mongrel – they pound reckon GSD cross with possibly a greyhound – which is spot on as my folks have a GSD and her’s had a greyhound. Very playful little thing, medium sized (but she may grow a bit) and our 2 year old loved her. We all sat down in this field and they brought the dog out and she just sat on my lap and let me fuss her, licked my son’s face and you could tell she liked us – very relaxed. The pound reckon she’s intelligent and very agile so I’m looking forward to having a running/cycling companion, pet, guard dog.

    I’ll get some pics as soon as I’ve collected her and got her back.

    Now – bit of advice. Best way to transport her? We have a Nissan X-Trail but no “dog bar” at the back so if I put a blanket down in the back is it generally acceptable to clip her in so she doesn’t jump around? I have a lot to learn!!! Booked into puppy school (mandatory instructions from the pound – we have to do at least 6 weeks of puppy classes).

    mikewsmith
    Free Member


    You need a flat bed….

    You can get dog harness’s that will clip into seat belts, in case of an accident it can be a big pile of dog coming past your shoulder.

    Make sure you socialise the dog well (half the point of the classes) take a look at insurance (http://www.petplan.com.au/ seem good and Medibank do it here too – not that common but becoming more so) 1 shot of snake anti venom is nearly $1000 some dogs get 2….

    Stay on top of the Flea/worm & tick stuff – paralysis ticks (you got them over in WA?) are another expensive problem.

    Apart from that enjoy!!

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    Oh I’d love a ute but that’s not a viable solution at the moment. My Dad has a cage bit at the back of his Picasso to stop his GSD jumping through and clips her onto one of the child seat mounting clips. I just don’t know how well she’ll travel and it’s a good 30 mins back from the pound.

    Yeah I’ll look into insurance. The biggest gripe is they want her to go to one of their “recommended” puppy trainers but they’re all an hours round trip and so we’re trying to find somewhere a bit closer to home.

    Yeah ticks are here. I woke up one morning with one attached to my knee! Little buggers!

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    JoeG
    Free Member

    Glad to hear that you got a rescue. Lots of dogs and cats that can use good homes. Enjoy yours.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    In the small car (Micra) the seats are down and Huxley (Dalmatian) wears a chest harness clipped to the seatbelt by a short strap. I can confirm 25kg of dog hurts if it hits you at speed (I got the strap length wrong once and got a hit under hard braking).
    I had to make a shaped OSB floor for the Micra as there was just a piece of carpet over the spare.
    In the bigger car he stands behind the rear seats un-restrained, he’s shorter than the seats are tall.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    In the bigger car he stands behind the rear seats un-restrained, he’s shorter than the seats are tall.

    I’d even go careful with that, if you stop suddenly like in a front end impact, the fact he doesn’t have a run up before hitting the seat in front won’t lessen his kinetic energy

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    I like the sound of your new family member Aphex2k!

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    When we had a dog you could get a harness designed to restrain your dog using a seatbelt. That worked well.

    jekkyl
    Full Member

    Wherever you put him to sleep will be where he expects to sleep from then on. If you put him in your bedroom and then later decide he should in the kitchen you might have problems. My advice is: dogs sleep in the kitchen.

    zippykona
    Full Member

    Don’t forget pictures.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    Where are you going to clip the dog – on the flatbed or inside the car ?

    EDIT: just re-read OP’s post – X-Trail – best solution is to get a dog travel cage / screen – you can put the dog in the back with a lead but the dog needs to be settled otherwise she could hurt herself. As its a rescue the dog isn’t going to be used to going in the car.

    Dogs sleep in the kitchen. Our dogs never come upstairs, they know it’s out of bounds.

    Dogs vs babies – complicated – puppy school can advise. The dog needs to know it’s at the bottom of the pecking order, our kids where older so we had the youngest feed the dog and the dog always eats after the family, never fed from table etc.

    Whathaveisaidnow
    Free Member

    A mongrel – the pound reckon GSD cross with possibly a greyhound

    Dingo!! Sounds perfect…. 😀

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    You’ll know if its got any Greyhound in it because if it has it WILL sleep on the sofa.
    Not sure feeding it first or last or getting you first born to feed it makes any difference. Socialisation and training are what dogs need not some pseudo wolf pack bullshit.

    petrieboy
    Full Member

    Nobody is sure what Monty is, but he runs like a greyhound and the vet thinks his paws are pure GSD. Does yours look like this?

    [IMG]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i164/petrieboy/animals/montaguehercules3.jpg[/IMG]

    mrmonkfinger
    Free Member

    Car transport – get a screen or dog guard or cage. We got one from these guys http://www.travall.co.uk/ which is really good, plus a boot divider – ending up with half the boot for the dog and half for luggage – works a treat.

    GSD X greyhound sounds ace, btw.

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    Petrieboy. Monty looks fantastic!

    petrieboy
    Full Member

    jamj1974 – Member
    Petrieboy. Monty looks fantastic!

    Perfect family dog really, can run him ragged in 15 minutes of ball chasing but he can still keep up with me for 2 hours. he’s very gentle with children but (to the casual bike theif) looks like he’d tear your face off if you tried to break into my house.

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    All sorted! Picked her up on Friday. Sat in the back in her bed and didn’t fuss at the journey. Got to keep her in the house / garden for a week just to get her used to the smells and sounds of home. Slept in the lounge in her bed and settled really well. Just trying to get a pic sorted but I’m at work now and can’t access the usual photo / media sites.

    So yeah.. 5 months old. Booked in to get her “done”. Puppy lessons booked. She’s an amazing dog, learning very quickly. My little lad gets a bit flustered by her but they’re both young and will learn how to react to each other. Had to come to work and gutted to be leaving them both! Sorry about the small pic – best I could do.

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    So we have me and the missus, our 2.5 year old son, a new dog, and the missus advised me yesterday she’s pregnant! One happy little Aphex over here! *waives* 🙂

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    Excellent stuff Aphex!

    Congratulations on all counts 🙂

    Not going to go into details on the happy thread, but insurance is a must – we are currently somewhere between £2k & £4k – and rising, for our 8yr old’s current bill.

    JCL
    Free Member

    Pretty dog, love her white chest. Looks like she’d rip up the trails too.

    rogerthecat
    Free Member

    Congratulations on your rapidly expanding family

Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)

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