instead of making a New thread i thought id post this here as its a puppies thread already lol. a friend of mine is wanting to get a puppy in time for Christmas for her one year son. she wanted a border collie, which i really don't think would be suitable for her at all. she doesn't have the time to train and exercise a collie.
she is dead set on getting a pup and not an older dog as she wants it to grow up with her son, she doesn't actually want to spend any money so i am wondering how she plans to actually care for the dog properly. she hasn't read up on any breeds which is worrying to me, as i don't know how she plans to find the right breed of dog for her and her son. what do you guys think of this situation? to be honest if she does get a pup i would be worried for its welfare. i hope she can prove me wrong

I love training wiggins, seeing him develop and learn is great and rewarding and he is adorable. But there is a good reason he needs to be that cute, i couldn't do it again i hope someone reminds me of this! Made me realise i am not ready for kids either! All the responsibility cost and constant watching over them, at least with my pups i know it gets better, humans then learn to talk!!

seeing all that hard work pay off in the end is amazing isn't it. sooo rewarding!!

Oh dear Hannah , some people won't listen to advice no matter how sensible.
Wrong breed/wrong time/ wrong idea about the cost of getting and keeping a dog .

i honestly think its going to be another case of 'he's not a puppy anymore and Christmas is over, lets get rid of him' im not saying she shouldn't have a dog, but i think she needs to put a lot more thought into it and be realistic

i cant comment on the fact shes doing no advance planning or research as i didnt. I had no plan of getting a dog and came home with phoebe one day. very spur of the moment. But the fact she doesnt want to spend money or have very much time is a worry and with a small child she does need to put more thought in to it than i did

I don't think I'll ever take on another puppy, I've done my share for the last 40 years. Our youngest one is only 5, so the situation shouldn't arise for some time yet.
Mind you, - I'm sure I said never again before I fell for her, so who knows

I think reading all these puppy stories I should consider myself blessed with mine.

We got Cora at 13 weeks, and though she was allowed in the breeders house, all the dogs/pups slept in their outdoor heated kennel at night. Technically she wasn't house trained, but was used to doing her business outdoors.
Within 5 days of coming home to us she was fully house trained. After that there was only the odd slip up now and then, as we were getting used to her signs that she needed out, but since teaching her to ring a bell when she needs to go that has all stopped.

She has been easier to train that I ever imagined, and now at 6 months I keep getting compliments from friends and family members about how well behaved she is. We can and have left her overnight several times at each set of my partners and my parents, un-crated. Even when staying with them she sleeps on her own, doesn't need her drinking water taken away, doesn't pee or poop through the night and more incredibly she has never chewed anything that wasn't hers to chew. She is great with our ageing moggie, and copes well with our nieces and nephews.

I think with puppies, at least half the battle is knowing your breed. Cora is our first Ridgeback, but was not a whimsical decision. We knew what we were getting into and were prepared for the possibility of a struggle now and again, as we had not had a pup in our lives in such a long time. We had time and patience to dedicate to her and this has paid back dividends.

aw that's lovely what a good pup! when Maggie was a pup she never chewed anything that wasn't hers. Bryn doesn't either! the only trouble we are having with Bryn is the crate training, he barks for about an hour when he first goes in his crate and its worrying for the neighbours as we live in a terraced house and could do without any complaints lol. he does sometimes have the odd accident but its like you say, we miss the signals so we only have ourselves to blame!

I hear you on the noise and neighbours front! We actually live in a conversion so have neighbours below and to the side.

We were worried before starting crate training, but we tried to make it as fun as possible, with lots of treats and toys, and about a week's worth of sleeping in there before ever closing the gate on it. We got a crate she can grow into (as she's going to get quite big) and at one point my OH even climbed in with her and had a cuddle, a belly rub and a bit of play with her toys! I think it helped that the crate is in our bedroom though, so when getting her used to being confined to the crate by having her sleep in there at night she could see/hear we were still near.