New arrival !!!

We have a 19 month old female choc lab... We are considering getting a setter/collie cross that has been rescued in Greece.. We work full time and manage with our choc lab by having a family member or friends calling in to break the day up ie... Short walk / toilet break etc...

I just wanted to ask any advice / comments regarding this.. Ie whether the breeds would be a good match .. Would the dog be good company for our lab..

The setter/collie has had all treatment/injections and could be brought to the uk in the new year..

Any advice welcome..

Thanks

Hello, and first of all well done for considering a rescue from Greece! I do love people who take on rescues.

As to your questions, only the dogs can answer those! However, what might concern me is that the new dog will need lots of time and attention which if you work full time will not be available, and the two dogs certainly could not be safely left alone together until you are absolutely sure that they get on. I suppose that you could shut them in separate rooms.

I don't mean to be a killjoy, but unless someone can be there more or less full time - and not just for a few days - then perhaps now is not the time to take on another dog, especially a rescue. This is just my opinion, and perhaps someone will come along with a totally different take on things.

Thank you for taking the time to offer your advice.. It is a good point .. And we will consider everything before we make a decision

For what it's worth, I agree completely with Bitkin.

Have to agree with the above.

Collies need a lot of stimulation too and could well be destructive without it. How old is the rescue dog? Presumably it was running the streets, could well be difficult to keep in.

Of course none of the above might apply but you should be considering this.

I had a rescue collie/gsd he was so hyperactive and prone to being noisy at times. He was a lovely dog but didn't calm down until he was about 8 yrs.

It's a difficult one with rescues sometimes as you are never entirely sure if the background is correct.

It would also mean you could potentially be asking neighbours/friends to take on your rescue as you can't be there and both Collies and Setters can be a handful ( I love Setters but have never really met a docile one )

Good luck in your research

Still really thinking about bringing over a collie/setter cross from Zante to live with us.. She is 1 year old and rescued 10 days ago.. Seen pic and videos and she is living with a lady who rescues lots of dogs in Zante and finds homes in Europe for them... Our own dog is 20 months and we think she would love the company .. She is a chocolate labrador and loves life, people, dogs and eating and sleeping!!! Hope we are doing the right thing in getting another dog.

I honestly think the question you should be asking yourself is not whether you are doing the right thing in getting another to join your present dog. But 'what am I going to do if it turns out to be a disaster?'

I think it would be prudent to have a contingency plan in place should it turn out that the two dogs just cannot get on together or waddever!

Would you be prepared to accept that you've gone from happily owning one dog you 'think might be lonely' to owning two that turn out to be a nightmare and require constant monitoring or even separation at times or at least when you can't be there?

Is there someone else who would take the new dog off you if things don't work out? You should really be looking at all possible outcomes - not just worrying that you are doing the 'right thing'. And I do know how these dogs tug at your heart. I live in Cyprus - am surrounded by them.

I feel particularly sorry for dogs who have been 'rescued' and given a little bit of normal pet dog life and then find themselves back in a rescue again.

I'm living next door to one such dog right now. And although I am flying out to the UK early tomorrow I've been bizzing about today trying to find someone who I've been told might be able to help with rehoming. Current owners don't have a car and work long hours so can't really do the running round themselves. (I would like to hang, draw and quarter them for taking on a dog without thinking 'long term' but that's another story) more concerned about this dog. A really lovely dog, so soft and gentle - I don't want to see him on the street or back in a shelter where he will only have a short time before being PTS if not rehomed.

I don't want to go on too much but, for instance, when I got my little minpin Bella I really wished I could have got two. So she'd have a playmate and, being a very active little dog, someone (another dog) to play silly ******s with when humans just don't 'feel like it' lol!

She was DOG MAD until she was about 2 and half years old. Then changed into a PEOPLE MAD dog and now gets very miffed if any other dogs (even her pals) come into our apartment. Starts hiding all her toys, taking stuff off them, glaring at them and eventually goes off into another room sulking and skulking! So, my point is, that even if it had been a good idea when she was very young - it wouldn't be a good idea at all now - and you might find the same with your present dog - that in another year's time she doesn't strike you as a dog who wants the company of another dog.

Mine loves other dogs when out or visiting them on their territory. She is totally non aggressive. Has great fun with them and always excited to see them. But when it comes to them 'invading her space' it's a totally different matter.

And to be quite honest, I'm not sure I could or would want to cope with TWO high energy quite demanding dogs!

And it is and for me has to be a MUTUAL thing. Just as with people on people - something to offer one another. Not one sided.

So, for me it is not 'am I doing the right thing?' it is 'what am I going to do if it turns out I've done the wrong thing?'

Plenty of people work full time and have dogs that are well taken care of and happy, and of course there are many instances where it's the opposite. So it's hard to say what the outcome would be like, including the rescue you wish to adopt. Only you know your dog best and what you can handle in terms of taking care of another dog.