All i can say to your outbust CC is that yes he is 16....and do you really think his parents or a rescue are gonna give him a dog because we at Dogsey are being polite to him and helping him understand a bit about different dog breeds ??

Outburst????????????? Please

could i just say i dont think it is very fair that you are judging him by his age. he has said this dog is going to be part of the family and there are 4 othe members of the family as well as him. also i got my first dog that was my very own at 17, yes i have a boyfriend, i have been with him for two years, and yes i am a busy person but my dog goes everywhere with me. she goes to my boyfriends, my mums, and anywhere where dogs are allowed. i dont agree with the comment that just because he is busy he shouldnt be allowed a dog, or the fact that he is young. i buy everything my dog and am fully responsible for her food and any medical attention she needs, even though i am only 18. at the end of the day he is just asking for help, and i think he is entitled to it.

I got my first dog at 16.. that's MY dog, not including the ones I had growing up... I lived with my Mum and she was dead against it, said the cats would run away... but they didn't lol. My Dad got it for me and he didn't live with us.
I don't think being a teen is a reason to say he shouldn't get a dog, we are all different after all, and that ppup was one of the best trained Jacks I have had as we spent a lot of time together.
BUT, I did move to America when I was 21 and my Mum, who loved the dogs anyway ended up caring for my dogs til I came back home, and caring for them til they had to be pts actually.

So, I don't think he should be assumed to be a troll just yet.... and I think anyone who is actually considering the options and asking for advice BEFORE getting a dog should be welcomed and praised, as we all know, so many people don't think at all.

and here is another post going out of control. why wont some people just lay off!

at least he has come to the right place to get advice! i have my first puppy just now (i have had a dog before but never a puppy) and i have found people on here to be really helpful and nice, giving lot of advice and support. at least on here we can advise him that crating the dog all day is not the best option. and you're a breeder, so at least he is willing to take a dog when you are helping to over populated dogs when they are already too many out there!!

how do you know what kind of 16 year old he is? im 20 and i think i am very responsible when it comes to jake. and when i was 14 i got 2 guinea pigs, i did everything for them, and one of them is still alive at 6 years old (pretty good age!) and she is still going strong. i know a guinea pig isnt as hard as a dog to look after but it still take a lot of responsibility. maybe this boy at 16 is prepared to take care of a dog. jake is mine, i live with my parents but jake is mine. and i do everything for him and i do a good job, i love jake to pieces and would do anything for him and i know that where i go, jake will go. maybe this guy is the same, you cant judge him just coz of his age. would you say an old person shouldnt be allowed a dog coz they could die soon so the dog might end up in a rescue! dont judge by age! young people have enough people against us as it is! also, what say when a family should want or get a dog? he has already said that just now they are waiting til his dad gets a job so they are financially stable, so how do you know what other personal reasons could be why they now want a dog? it took 3 years after sam died for me to get jake coz me and my family were living in a small flat, now we have moved we got jake. people are intitled to there own reasons!

anyway, back to the OP. well done for wanting to give a dog a home, i think you should go the rescue, why not even get a crossbreed? i know you cant really tell what they will be like but they make fantastic pets (well, in my experience they do lol). if you get a puppy, i would definately say crate it but not for as long as you are planning. an older dog should be fine being left that amount of time but you should give them the run of a room. i dont really know much about individual breeds as i have always had a crossbreed, although my uncle always has labs and they have all been crazy lol, good luck anyway and let us know what you get

I agree. Age isn't an issue, but the time and dedication you put into the dog is. If his family were 100% behind the idea and happy to accept that dogs don't come fully trained, I doubt anyone would be having this conversation. But a young dog going into a household where the parents have unrealistic expectations (dog 'won't be hyper, won't be destructive, will be happy to be left alone for hours') and the OP will be at a time in his life when SOLE responsibility for a dog may not be the most practical situation.

Don't even think of slating me as a Breeder. You don't know me and trust me, my pups ONLY go to the very best homes and they go on Contract, so I take responsibility for them for the rest of their lives!!!!!! Comment what you know about, not what you think you know!!!!!!!!!! They don't go to kids and they don't go to people who are gonna crate them for hours either.

I gave an opinion on why I didn't think the OP was suitable for getting a dog at this time. That doesn't give you the right to tell me to lay off. You have a lot to learn

Going off topic slightly, but what does this have to do with anything? responsible breeders are not the ones responsible for dogs in rescue, and are therefore not over populating.

Thanks for putting some sanity into the latter part of this thread, Labradork.

I didn't want to start picking at why I felt that the OP was not suitable for a dog right now but you've just said it all.

i agree with labradork here. responsible breeders are not responsible for the dogs in rescues. and i dont think we should be slating a breeder we dont know, especially as this post is meant to be helping a boy decide what kind of dog he wants, not arguing over who is a good dog owner or not.