Good advice - perhaps instead of saying it though you should take your own advice....

The comments offered are all to assist the OP, and are experienced comments / questions / suggestions all of which absolutely would be asked / said if the OP was approaching a reputable rescue organisation to adopt a dog.
If more breeders thought to make the same comments / questions when selling their pups the rescues would be a darned sight emptier too.

All points made could have a bearing on what the OP decides in terms of breed, size, age, gender etc and yes timescale to adopt a new dog, or - as importantly - are considerations which potential first time owners or adopters would benefit from reading.

All that aside, this section is not for you to take pot shots at people nor to be downright insulting to fulfil whatever agenda you seem to have for targeting people.
I suggest instead of continuing your ranting that you take the advice from Azz and read the forum posting guidelines before you type anything further and preferably not on this thread which you have disrupted more than enough already.

now there's an interesting observation the OP has not logged on for several days - I guess I am the hi-jacker in question ? but wait, I only made a comment on this thread today not several days ago? Maybe something else has put her off ?

your thoughts please patch - ?

Firstly would you please point out where I have been rude to you or anyone else on this thread?

Secondly all my advice has been based on the fact that even though the OP may of started this thread, the whole planet is able to read it regardless of whether they are a members of this forum or not.

Thirdly the amount of posts I have on here has no bearing on the situation at all. What really matters is that the OP looks at the bigger picture of owning another dog and fully understands what is involved.

We are not talking about buying another car here, which you can just leave in the garage if something goes wrong or you can’t afford the bills. The additional time and costs involved in owning four dogs can be something the OP may not of anticipated. It is not just the cost of the food, but the extra insurance, non-insured vet bills, possible-training classes and that’s just what I can think of at the moment.

Now as Shona said in her post she doesn’t walk all four of her dogs together, but does them in pairs, so that has doubled the amount of time she has to spend each day walking them. Has the OP looked at this possible scenario, we don’t know, but it is something she needs to think about. Does she have the time to do this if it was required?

I agree the OP hasn’t stated whether or not she is a very experience when it comes to dog training, but that’s not the point. The point is that this forum is for everyone to read. So any advice has to be good advice.

I know you are not going to agree, but has it even crossed your mind that the reason people have agreed with what I’m saying is because my posts are informative and knowledgeable.

Lastly my spelling correction was not sarcastic, but factual.

Can I point out Nickyboy, I do not need to point out my opinion, because you got at Colin, I for one don't know Colin from Adam....I am a woman with my own mind and don't need an army of people behind me either. Firstly I for one do not think...but will be corrected if you feel the nedd, close ranks with others on this forum, neither do I try to patronise or preach to others, whether they be 'old hands' or 'new comers'[.
For instance there are alot on this forum that ask about crate training etc., me I've never used a crate in my whole life and have own more than one dog for over 40 years. Some talk about thier feeding routine....I do my own as I feel benefit my dogs, some talk about choke chains, electric collar, pronged collars etc., me I've never yet felt the need to use or agree with those that do....even if 99% of people on here did agree.
I agree that cost was not the question or who was walking/how they were being walked.
But I do stand by my comment of 'mixed breeds'....and not just because Colin said...I actually thought he had a valid point.
At the end of the day, why anyone feels the need to argue over this is beyond me, the PO hasn't anwered anyway, and to be honest I really feel that regardless to people's opinions they will go ahead and get another dog, I for one wish them all the very best.
We are a multipal animal household, amounting to 13 in total, and I am sure others on here are the same. I don't know you from Adam either, and whilst I appreciate you have an opinion....I would kindly and sincerely ask you to refrain from the comment of...........you ALL love the sound of your OWN voice way beyond your love for the common theme of this website i.e Dogs.
That statement includes ME (as you say ALL)....and I for one do not like being judged by someone I do not know....just as I am sure you would not like me to judge you

thats fair enough i shouldn't generalise and i take that bit back.

But Patch made a good point ( though it was meant to be at me ) this person has not been back since BUT it isnt down to my comments, so can i ask Patch what point she was making then? - since I pointed out her error she hasnt been back on since to justify her assumption.
Can I suggest that there are some undertones of pompisity ( go on Colin - i dont think thats right either ) shown by the regulars to the not so regulars - has Patch perhaps shown some to me in suggesting im the reason Kayleigh hasnt been back for several days, despite this being an impossibility, because she feels she doesnt have to take my observations on board?

Can I suggest also that as many of you are quick to tell me how to behave there has been no attempt of any of you to address the point that I made to Colin in this thread that he had given ( without request ) advice on dog walking to someone who might not need it, yet in another thread said and i cant be bothered to cut and paste it again, that he takes a pack of large dogs out on the south downs without leads ( not off leash - without leads ). I put it to you that had a new comer come on and made this reckless statement , there would have been comments aplenty flying left right and centre - Please tell me Im wrong.

My other point is that this wasnt a Q&A thread, discussion, there are a vast number of them on this site, this was a girl who reached out to the dog community, very responsibly IMO ( and by that I mean chose to bother to ask a lot of enthusiasts who may have known of someone rehoming - a good shelter to recommend etc ) to look for an addition she may well have been in a position to accomodate. These are people you want to encourage not lecture.

There are plenty of people asking for advice on this forums and plenty of good advice to be given when asked, but this is a homes offered notice board - ive been waiting on the choke chain thread for advice all day and hadnt had a whisper ( havent checked this evening ).

Im only being honest when i say that there are a few people who come across as condescending ( I CANT REMEMBER ) and i think it is a shame when it could discourage that one person who has an important question to ask and doesnt want to ask it.

Ill give you an example, theres a thread that says how inane some of the questions new members and new dog owners ask - a few people chipped in agreeing to scoff at them in but i made the comment that surely the only crap question is the one that people are too afraid to ask. Belittling new comers or being patronise can have the same effect on new comers and the consequence will be maybe that some dog may suffer as its owner has been discouraged to pursue dialogue with members on this site.
Maybe that is a little drastic in some of your eyes, but I cannot believe I am the only person who can get taken aback by members' demeanours.

This is a fantastic forum, but it should be used as an opportunity to talk WITH not AT people. The fact that people join this site is that they have something in common, a love of dogs and most want to approach you to learn in their own time or merely share their pleasures. Sure you dont know eachother from adam beyond your flat screens, but a lot of you are almost in constant dialogue with eachother daily and I would urge you all to appear approachable to newcomers and open to them.

Hands up im the most argumentative git there is, but I think Patch made a point, allbeit a totally misguided one that you guys giving your unsolicited opinions could have put off someone who could have added yet more constructive input into this site.

Does this site become more of a closed shop the longer it goes on and the bigger the divide between new comers and the established users becomes - perhaps - ive been a on off member for a few years and as someone who flits in and out of the site work and time permitting during my days, I have noticed a frostiness to the more junior members.

You may think I am wrong as much as I think I am only telling you how I perceive things to be.

Colin I apologise for my rudeness directed at you, reading through more of your threads earlier, hands up you seem a nice fella and here hoping my apology duly comes from Patch for so wrongly suggesting I discouraged someone from using this site several days after her abstainance had already begun.

I thank you for yours too. And at the risk of getting shot down, I think you have made some valid points too.
However I see alot of what you are saying as 'being of old hands' and agree that it is different for me as I am a older person and so do my own thing, but appreciate that newbie's may feel 'Oh my god' but after-all it is only meant as advice
However the PO's post did sound....and please bare with me when I say this...IMO....alittle flippant.
For when I read it I said tried the rescue centre's, but thought it sounded more like 'I want another dog because.....but I didn'tsay anything about that. Not everyone is the same, maybe they thought the same as me and didn't keep stum.
I agree too that you do come over a an argumentative git....sorry but you do.
I also feel that you started an attack and other jumped out of the wood work because they felt you were rude.
Now I hope everyone can say Sorry....I will go first (someone has too) and lets all be mates again

Nickyboy consider your apology duly excepted.

Let me just try to answer a couple of your points.

No one goes out of there way to be frosty or anything else to new members, in fact we welcome them with open arms, hence the introduction thread because new members are what makes this forum work.

That said this forum like alot of others does get it fair percentage of trolls which have to be weeded out for the benefit of the forum.

The only reason a new member would ever have a question shot down is if it was put on just to provoke an argument amongst members for arguments sake rather than to gain knowledge about the required subject in question.

and i see when youre coming from too, just rather give her the benefit of the doubt on the first thread of hers i read - enjoy the rest of the evening and have pleasant dreams as soon as Patchs admits she was a wrongly harsh about my hijacking im off to bed myself

I am not making an assumption, I said I hope it has`nt put her off. There could be any number of reasons she has`nt logged in for a while but when she reads the thread either logged in or as a guest, I`ll bet she won`t feel comfortable reading the caustic and downright rude comments you have made to abuse her thread for your own ends whatever they may be.

You can suggest it but that would`nt make it true.

Colin made a very valid point and is one which any reputable rescue org would ask, I really don`t understand why you have such an issue about it when its not you looking at adopting a new dog.

You are wrong to bring it up on this thread. If you feel it should be addressed then the thread you refer to is the one to do so on. That said, Colin does know his dogs well enough to know how they behave rather more than you do, don`t you think ?


She did`nt get a lecture, valid important points were raised, not only beneficial to other readers but also - and this may not have occurred to you - to anyone, including rescue organisations, who feels they may have a suitable dog for the OP, by which the OPs responses to those points may assist them in considering which of their charges may be a suitable dog or not for the OPs family.


I`m sorry but there are a lot of threads, and people are not at your beck and call to answer any individuals post if they have`nt got to it yet or just plain don`t have a response to offer.


The fact the members post suggestions or questions invites people to join in and often helps them ask a question they may not have mentioned initially. You see it as condescending, I see it as encouragement.


Again a good reason for people to put questions / suggestions. Sometimes comments are made which could well answer something a new member would like to ask but is a bit shy of posting it so they can get answers without feeling their question may not be seen the right way so to speak.

Yet you are the one who piled in ranting away

As long as its done in a way you find acceptable regardless of everyone else ? It would be a very quiet forum that way I`m afraid, no one would dare type at all

My point was your rudeness toward other members and for some crusade which I fail to understand the point of as its simply not warranted.

Your perception could`nt be further off the mark.
I don`t know why you seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder but if you sit back and really look at your posts as though you did not write them, perhaps you can see how you yourself are perceived - argumentative for the sake of it, rude, patronising, and wanting to stir trouble at near enough every turn - that is how you come across anyway.

I think not. When the OP does read the thread, look at what a mess she will be coming back to, and for what ? Certainly not for any valid reason.

I tried previously to guide you toward leaving the thread alone for the OPs sake but it was clearly too subtle so I`ll say it more bluntly - please stop wrecking the OPs thread, it`s not your personal battleground.

Not wanting to get into another fight so soon
actually this thread made me realise why some nebies on forums get so worked up when they get advice they didnt exactly ask for
But as I had explained to me when I didnt include all the details in my post about Bens agility exploits at one year old!!
The problem is that on a public forum anyone can be reading
I know the I have seen threads about things I wanted to ask and so I just read that to get the advice
So its not just the OP but other people thinking about adding another dog who might be reading - and it is a good thing for some of them to hear some different advice - and mibby take a bit longer to think about it

I know from reading many threads it will be quite a while before I consider my 2nd dog cos at the moment I just dont have the time and Ben is too young

Mibby there should be a disclamer at the top of advice saying something like ' this is a public forum and so advice is given for all who might be reading - just ignore the bits that dont apply to you'

I have to say I have found this site fairly friendly, yup I have been involved in my own share of heated discussions but many people I disagree with on one thread I agree with on the other
and unlike a certain other dog forum that shall remain nameless this site dosent get 1/2 as nasty or personal (of course there are always exceptions) and people are free to have differing oppinions


and if anyone wants to try and sort out my spelling then that would be a full time job - im dyslexic - so sorry if it bugs but I just cant help it