First time owner: I want a happy dog.

Hello everyone, I'm a new member, and I've never had a dog before. I've wanted once since I was a child, but my parents were always at work, and I have always been at school, so we felt it would be unfair to the dog to leave it at home alone from seven in the morning to five in the evening. Plus I figured the stinky streets of london aren't what a dog wants.
Well, now my circumstances have changed; I'm a 19 year old guy, going to college next year, and I'm going to be spending much more time working from home. Only three days a week, and I'm never going to be out for more than a few hours at a time (it's a an art course, so very few actual lectures). I'll have time to play with it and walk it for an hour or so every day somewhere grassy.

Here's the deal: since I've never had a dog, or even realistically entertained the idea, I don't know much about how to look after an animal. I want a dog, but I don't want to make it an unhappy one. What I'm asking is; what is a good first time dog? Where do I get one? How much do they cost (to buy in the first place and to support over time)? I really don't want to get a dog, and find out I can't look after it and have to part ways after forming a bond. I also don't want to accidentally neglect a dog that needs hours of exercise and attention every day.
I'm going to be living in a relatively small place; it's outside london, so I'll get more space for my money, but it'll still be a student flat, so you know, I probably can't provide the room for a huge dog.

Does that seem like a reasonable environment for any dog you can think of? I really just want a chilled out breed that is friendly and I guess easy to train, since I've never trained one before. I knew a guy who had a totally untrained Jack Russell, and I don't think the dog was very happy. I don't want to do that to a dog; I want to start out with as much knowledge as possible.

EDIT:

PS: I understand that the healthiest dogs are usually mongrels, and that purebreeds are expensive anyway, so Just so you know, I'm totally fine with that.

Welcome to Dogsey.

You have a plan for the next year or so That a dog will fit into, (and remember you have to find accomm. that allows pets) but what about the ten years or more after that?

You don't know yet where you will be working or who will take care of a dog if you are out at work for 8+ hours a day.

Have you considered adopting an older dog from one of the rescues?

Already house trained and whose temperament isn't unknown?

I know quite a few older married couples whose dogs started out as their children's dog! Then got left with mum and dad when they married, had babies, got divorced or left the country with their job.

Just be sure you've taken the long term into consideration and what will happen to the dog if you end up not being able to care for it.

I mention older dogs because obviously the commitment time will be shorter. But then vet costs can be higher.

The long term costs are something else to consider and whether you can afford to insure or have sufficient funds put by to cover any unexpected medical costs.

Hello, and I can totally understand the fact that you want a dog!! Lovely creatures aren't they.

Still, I have to agree with Tang - the well used slogan "a dog is for life" is so very true, and although you know pretty well what you will be doing for a year or two, after that absolutely anything could happen to change your life and circumstances.

Giving an older dog a home does answer some issues, although not all, and they do come sometimes with a whole raft of expensive problems.

I hope that I don't come across as a party pooper, but I really think that it would be better to wait until you are settled in a job, and perhaps a relationship, and know exactly whether a dog will fit into your life or not. They are a massive tie if you want to look after them properly (no going out at night on a regular basis, etc. etc.) and can be a huge drain on the finances.

If you truly want what is best for a dog, then perhaps leaving it on the back burner is the way to go.

Sorry. Maybe someone else will have a different slant on this

I totally agree with what Bitkin has said. Wanting a dog is one thing, but you have to look way beyond just wanting, to what your life will be like in the future. And to realise that a dog will be a part of that life.

Hi and welcome.

I remember being 17 and at college, living on my own and having a rescue pup dropped into my life out of the blue, from a friend who had been given her by the owner who didn't want her any more. I had grown up around dogs though, so was used to the routine, and having issues with depression and anxiety, and trouble adjusting to life in the city, Sharkie honestly helped me through my late teens better than any doctor or medication did. She lived to be 17 years old, and was one of the most amazing dogs I have ever been blessed with meeting, let alone sharing some of my life with. So, while it's good that people are reminding you to think beyond your next year or 4 at college, if you are truly looking to take on a dog for the right reasons, then it might be the best thing you ever do, and could well be your best friend, and closest family, for the next 15+ years of your life.
My Sharkie outlasted a number of boyfriends, moved house with me 3 times, learned to accept cats in the home (even if she maintained they were fair game if she saw them outside), and met and approved of my partner of now 10 years (which I am so glad about, as she was so important in my life).

However, even with all that rosie picture of how it can be done, and it can be the best thing you ever do, I would be cautious of not having had a dog before and thinking that researching online and books will prepare you enough to bring a little 'un home.

I would recommend that since you will have some free time, you might think about volunteering at your local dog rescue. Everything from cleaning kennels, to feeding, walking, training, and even taking them to vets if they don't have one who visits the premises - these activities will set you up with hands on knowledge and understanding, and give you exposure to different breeds, traits, sizes, ages, personalities, medical problems, costs, etc, so that should you stick with your decision to become a dog owner, you are better informed and experienced to make a good decision, which will make adjusting to the change of lifestyle a dog brings that much easier. If on the other hand after volunteering you think a dog is not for you, then you will have learned without putting a dog at risk of being another number in a rehoming centre.

Excellent advice and encouragement there pep_sounds.

Glad things worked well for you and yours. However noting that you say the dog was a great help to you with your depression and other problems, I am really just asking that the OP give just as much thought to the needs (and future needs) of a dog as to the needs and wants of themself.

At 19 years old you have the whole world to investigate, dogs can be very tying, you can't stay out all night unexpectedly partying, your dog has to be your first consideration and that can be hard at times. You said you don't have any experience of dogs so why not use the time at uni learning about dogs.

Approach a local rescue and ask if you can help, most always need dog walkers or fosterers.

Ask a local positive trainer if you can go along and watch the classes then help out, you will learn how to train your dog them.

By helping out at a rescue and helping a trainer you will get to know the different breeds, those that need a lot of exercise, how to exercise them, the dogs that prefer to sleep on the sofa etc.

The more you learn now the better owner you will become when you eventually get your perfect dog.

Enjoy your time at uni, it is a time of freedom with no ties so you can do what you want when you want without any worries. Don't forget to study though, it is why you are going. My eldest grandson is in his second year at uni, he is having a wonderful time doing things that his parents would have a fit if they knew

Totally agree with you about considering the dog's lifelong needs and wants. In my situation, I was used to dogs and all sorts of animals, and was feeling like a fish out of water without animals and open space around me. I kept the dog not for my own wants, but because I knew I could give her a great life; I came from a background of understanding that pets, like children, are always first consideration, first priority, and that it doesn't matter how rubbish I felt, a dog still needs fed, walked, trained, played with, visit to vets, etc, and really, that care for another living thing is probably what shook the gloom of depression, by forcing me to get up and get out and be active, because the dog needed it...of course I needed it too, which is why I say she helped me. Call it Karma - you do good for another living soul and that comes back and rewards you with love and health and happiness.

However, there is a lot to take in as a first time dog owner that is out with my own example of being a student and having a dog, but as much as I respect, understand and even somewhat agree that it may not be the best time for everyone to take on the responsibility of another living creature, for some it is that very responsibility that becomes the best thing in their life. Much like becoming a parent I imagine.

This is why I can't say "don't do it until you are older," as each person is different, and not all students fill their nights with parties. But it does still need very careful consideration of real life scenarios though, particularly for a first time owner, and I think volunteering with rescues, or trainers as another poster suggested, would be this chap's best move in the interim, to prepare him with experience and understanding before even contemplating taking on a dog.