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We both work full time so we planned our adoption around labor day weekend so we could spend a full 3 days with the pup. We had her potty trained within that weekend. Crazy, I know! We were very lucky. For probably the first 6 months or so my husband stopped home at lunch every day to take her out and for a walk. There's a way of calculating how long you can realistically expect them to hold. ETA: How many months + 1 = how many hours they can realistically hold their bladder.
Our adoption fee was like $200 I think? She came with all her first set of shots and was spayed already. I think getting your pet spayed/neutered normally cost anywhere from 100-200? For a typical puppy visit we wouldn't leave without spending ~$100-150 at the vet. Our pup had A LOT of skin issues when she was pup. It was demodex mange that was transferred from her mother. For the first 2 years of her life we were in and out of the vets monthly spending ~$200/300 each time, at least. Even now she has allergies so we're probably going to the vet more than normal.Now this is not the norm. But just telling you that there's no telling what you will get in your pup. Be prepared to spend the money.
We are very vigilant about training her but took her to puppy classes the first year or two of her life more for socialization than anything. I think that's really important.We feed her Nutro Max and a bag is about $35? I'm not sure how long it lasts her...maybe 1 or 2 months max? The last crate we bought her was the biggest size available and we got it on sale for $99. An average night at a kennel around us is about $25?
A full sized rawhide (which a breed like a Lab would need!) runs about $7.
We also got our pup during a time when my husband was home all day (he used to be a pro athlete and it was the off season). Hubs was home with the puppy every day for the first 6 weeks we had him. Which was great. And then after that I was able to get home every day at lunch to feed and walk him so he never had to be in the crate for more than 4 hours at a time until he was about 7 month old, at which point we switched him to only two meals a day and he stayed home in his crate for the day. Then over time we gave him more and more freedom (gated in the kitchen instead of in his crate, etc) and now he is almost two and he has the run of the house all day without being destructive or having accidents. I honestly don't know we would have been able to successfully potty train him if my husband wasn't with him all day when he was a tiny pup. And, I think it's just nice for the pup to feel secure and get some human bonding time when he first moves to a new home.
We did a puppy training class at petsmart. We probably could have made it work doing it ourselves but having a set class time really makes you stick with it. And if you pay for it you want to actually do it! So it just helped us stay motivated to stick with it. It also gives the pup socialization time with other dogs which is really important to do early on in their lives. Not to mention we met another couple in puppy training that we are now really close with : ) The four of us and our pups are going on vacation next weekend!
The four of us and our pups are going on vacation next weekend!
I love taking our puppy on vacation with us! It's SO hard finding a great establishment that takes dogs as well!
BTW, OP that's usually like $35-40 extra in my experience with a refundable deposit of around $100.
It sounds like you know what your getting into at least! I think its awesome, while they are a puppy to have someone home full-time or part time. Kenneling or leaving the dog free roam in the house for at-least 8 hours is never good for a puppy due to potty training & destructive behivor based on boredom.
If you are avid hunters, then a working dog is great because it can fufill its needs while you do you hobbies. Buying a working dog and treating it purely as a companion usually results in behaivoral issues. If you do want to get a big dog breed/working, make sure you have time to excercise it daily and also provide mental stimulation. They are a lot of work but also easily trainable as a trade off.
Regardless of your skill, definitely take the dog to a basic obedience class as well as puppy plays if your local pet store shop has them. Socialization early is key! Get them exposed to as much as possible.
Potty training goes quickly if you have the time. You should be offering them bathroom breaks on the hour, especially after feedings. Involve big praise and reward for ever bowel movement done outside. Also study your dogs behavior , they may wine, or hold their legs funny when they need to go.
Getting the dog on a schedule they can rely on is great too. Knowing the dog will get a walk first thing in the morning and at lunch and after dinner, helps him anticipate his bathroom needs and gets thigns moving along , if you know what I mean ;)
Good luck on your choice!
Heres our German Shepherd pup growing up taking a break from training to maul a coconut. A great reminder to always have something for them to chew on! lol He is now 14 months getting ready for his K-9 good ciitzen test (preparing the foundation for a service dog), and is also doing some protection training. Dogs are a blast!
Description
There are two types of Labradors, the English Labrador and the American Labrador. The English bred lab comes from English bred stock. Their general appearance is different. The English bred labs are heavier, thicker and blockier. The American bred Lab comes from American bred stock and is tall and lanky. The double coat is smooth and does not have any waves. Coat colors come in solid black, yellow, or chocolate. There is also said to be a rare silver or gray color that is referred to by the AKC as a shade of chocolate. This color is controversial and some claim it is a Weimaraner cross, while others say it is a true mutation. The head of the labrador is broad with a moderate stop. The nose is thick, black on black and yellow dogs and brown on chocolate dogs. The nose color often fades and is not considered a fault in the show ring. The teeth should meet in a scissors or level bite. The muzzle is fairly wide. The neck is proportionately wide and powerful. The body is slightly longer than tall. The short, hard coat is easy to care for and water-resistant. The medium sized eyes are set well apart. Eye color should be brown in yellow and black dogs and hazel or brown in chocolate dogs. Some labs can also have green or greenish yellow eyes. In silver dogs the eye color is usually gray. The eye rims are black in yellow and black dogs and brown in chocolate dogs. The ears are medium in size, hanging down and pendant in shape. The otter tail is thick at the base, gradually tapering towards the tip. It is completely covered with short hair, with no feathering. The feet are strong and compact with webbed feet which aid the dog in swimming.
Temperament
One of the most popular breeds in the USA, the Labrador Retriever is loyal, loving, affectionate and patient, making great family dogs.Highly intelligent, good-natured, very willing and eager to please, they are among the top choices for service dog work. They love to play, especially in water, never wanting to pass up the opportunity for a good swim. These lively dogs have an excellent, reliable, temperament and are friendly, superb with children and equable with other dogs. They crave human leadership and need to feel as though they are part of the family. Labs are easily trained. Some may be reserved with strangers unless very well socialized, preferably while they are still puppies. Adult Labs are very strong, train them while they are a puppy to heel on the leash, and not to bold out doorways and gateways before the humans. These dogs are watchdogs, not guard dogs, although some have been known to guard. They can become destructive if the humans are not 100% pack leader and/or if they do not receive enough mental and physical exercise, and left too much to their own devices. Show lines are generally heavier and easier going than field lines. Field lines tend to be very energetic and will easily become high strung without enough exercise. Labs bred from English lines (English Labs) are more calm and laid back than Labradors bred from American lines. English Labs mature quicker than the American type.
Height, Weight
Height: Dogs 22-24 inches (56-61cm.) Bitches 21-23 inches (53-58cm.)
Weight: Dogs 60-75 pounds (27-34kg.) Bitches 55-70 pounds (25-32kg.)
Some males can grow to 100 pounds (45kg) or more.
Health Problems
Prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, PRA and eye disorders.
Living Conditions
Labrador Retrievers will do okay in an apartment if sufficiently exercised. They are moderately active indoors and will do best with at least an average-sized yard.
Exercise
Labrador Retrievers are energetic dogs, delighted to work and play hard. They need to be taken on a daily, brisk, long walk, jog or run alongside you when you bicycle. While out on the walk the dog must be made to heel beside or behind the person holding the lead, as in a dog's mind the leader leads the way, and that leader needs to be the human. They will be in their glory if you give them a job to do. Gains weight easily, do not over feed.
About 10-12 years
Grooming
The smooth, short-haired, double coat is easy to groom. Comb and brush regularly with a firm, bristle brush, paying attention to the undercoat. Bathe or dry shampoo only when necessary. These dogs are average shedders.
Origin
Once known as the "St John's Dogs," the Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular breeds in the United States. The Lab is native to Newfoundland, where it worked side by side with fishermen catching fish that came loose from the lines and trained to jump into the icy waters to help pull in the nets. Specimens were brought to England in the 1800's by English ships coming from Labrador. The breed was crossed with setters, spaniels and other types of retrievers to improve their instincts as a hunter. The Labrador is highly trainable and is not only popular as a family companion but also excels in: hunting, tracking, retrieving, watchdog, police work, narcotics detection, guide for the blind, service dog for the disabled, search and rescue, sledding, carting, agility, field trial competitor and competitive obedience.
Group
Gun Dog, AKC Sporting
**Info from www.dogbreedinfo.com on the Labrador Retriever breed
Hooray! Congrats on considering dog ownership.
The thing I always tell everyone (I was a pre-vet major, but switched to Business Management) is to be sure and research like crazy on the breeds you are considering.
I tend to be a fan of mixed breed dogs. I like the different intricacies they tend to have from having two (or more) breeds to gather traits from. I was, however, initially looking to get a Golden Retriever Pup. I found my Daisy dog on a whim in the newspaper classifieds.
My girl is an American Eskimo Spitz/Australian Shepard mini mix. I adore her so much. When she was a puppy (got her at 8 weeks), she needed basically no training. She only had one accident in the house and was not a biter, chewer, jumper, etc. She's so well behaved that she doesn't need a leash. She's extremely intelligent and understands a variety of commands. She almost seems like a furry tiny human when you talk to her-- it's like she understands what you're saying.
We are extremely blessed that we found Daisy and made her a part of our family. She was a tiny little poofball out of 8 at a farm with a price tag of $75. Money well spent. Here are a couple pics!
SMILE!!! :)
Her Halloween Greeting Card :)
Passed out with Daddy on the couch during football
Dogs are a lot of work and not a commitment to be taken lightly. I wouldn't suggest getting one if you are not able to spend time with it, make sure it gets enough exercise and make sure it gets enough potty breaks during the day. Some breeds are known to be more mellow and easier to train than others. Be sure to research the breed you're interested in to see if it will fit with your lifestyle.
My dog is a small 14 pound dog, but he's a bundle of energy! I walk him twice a day and take him out for potty breaks every 5 hours. I feed him organic, healthy food that costs about $20 for a 5 pound bag. He is on the Pet Smart health plan that costs about $25 a month. I also have to pay $45 to get him groomed monthly. Some breeds require much more grooming than others. Other expenses I have with him are dog treats, dog toys, and heartworm and flea protection. Training him wasn't easy and I would say it took a month or more to fully potty train him. He had separation anxiety that caused him to whine and chew things like the table legs or window sill. That took a few weeks to get over too. He's a great dog and I love him, but he is a lot of work!
@Gerbera: That was great information! Thank you! I never even knew dogs could get allergies until a friends pup had them. That is most certainly one of those things you don't think about. What does the vet do that it costs you $100+ each time? Also, do you apply heart worm medicine at all to your dog? How much is that?
@Moose1209: How quickly did your Hubby have your dog potty trained and what methods did you use to get there? How many hours a day would you say is appropriate for your pup to spend in a crate?
Also, what do you ladies do about sleeping arrangements with your puppy? Do you keep them in their crate at night or let them sleep with you?
@MsBrooklynA: Daisy sleeps with us every night. She is never crated, not even when we are gone to work for the day.
Dogs are expensive,period. If you don't or won't have much disposable income in the immediate future, don't get one right now.
We got a rescue pup (small, mixed breed,full grown at 13 lbs.) and she was $400. Each vet visit was $150.(3,for shots), and to spay her would have been between $375.-500.(estimate given from vet for additional care,infection,etc) Had her spayed at Animal Welfare for $125.
Just took her last week for her annual visit and updates on shots and it was $196. She eats a pretty good food (Anamaet/salcha) and its $16./bag for the smallest size (3 lbs?) and lasts about a month. Just got a huge bag of food, so we'll see how long that lasts.
Grooming appts. are $50. each, and we stretch them to 3 months (they suggest every 6 weeks).
Had an emergency hospital visit with her over Labor Day weekend, and that was $497. for xrays,exam,bloodwork,medications.
We also have pet insurance and we pay $350./year that we pay quarterly. Her hospital emergency was submitted and we got $350. back...yes, a plug for insurance!
Heartworm meds and flea & tick treatments are given monthly all year, and those meds are pretty expensive too.
Crate,bedding,toys,treats,collars,harnesses,leashes...it all adds up.
I'm home all day with mine, but training wasn't so easy. Getting up in the middle of the night to take her out when she need to go lasted about 3 months, so it can be tiring. She sleeps in her crate at night, and now sleeps from 7pm to 7am without going out. No matter what toys we got her to chew, she managed to destroy things within minutes. Now she's actually working on the one thing that has actually lasted almost a month, and its an elk antler I got in a new pet shop. Finally something she can't destroy, and she seems to love it.
Our vet visits cost $60 minimum. That's just the consult fee, so usually we end up paying $100+ if he needs medicine or something.
@MsBrooklynA: Any pet can be super expensive..but dogs in particular. Vaccinations, fecals, dewormings, spay/neuter, flea/heartworm control, food, toys, training.....
Vaccines: usually between $15-30 per vaccine..and its a series so expect to have at least DHPP (3-4x for booster), Bordetella (2x for booster), and Rabies (1 year vax) done.
Fecals: many puppies are born with worms that can be transmitted to people and need to be treated. Usually your pet will require 1-2 in its first year (approx $40 each)
Dewormers: Between $20-$40 each time...2-3x each depending on what kind of parasite.
Spay/neuter: Anywhere from $200-$600 depending on where you go, bloodwork, ext
Heartworm Test: required to place on heartworm meds..$45 for test/between $40-60 for 6 month supply of prevention
Flea control: between $60-120 for 6 months, more expensive for the larger breeds.
Food: Large bag at least once a month (because you want a big dog) usually around $40
Toys: $10-30
Training: usually $100-300 per class of about 8-10 sessions.
Plus, I would have money avaiable for emergency visits that your pet will likely take a some point.
We both worked full time when we first got "our" puppy, though this is my 3rd puppy in the past 5 years. The last person to leave the house would take him out, and we crate trained him for while we were gone (max 4 hours at a time). I think rule of thumb is divide the number of weeks old a puppy is in half, and that's the number of hours they can hold it (roughly).
I highly recommend crate training. It helps a LOT with potty training (puppies naturally try not to soil their own area, therefore will attempt to hold it longer), and your pup should learn to treat the crate as a safe zone instead of a punishment zone. Dont ever put your pup in the crate if he's bad! Our puppy would even take his toys inside his crate to play! It also makes for easy cleanup if they do have an accident- buy a pack of puppy pads!
We train our own dogs- and the key is consistency. Find "key" words and make sure you and your SO are on the same page on what they are (don't have 1 person use "sit" and another use "down"). Be consistent with potty training and positive reinforcement works way better than yelling when you find an accident!
I could probably write pages of advice! lol
I have two labs and I think they are the best breed in the world!!! Our baby is a Scottish Terrier- and they're a big dog stuck in a little body, so I love them too!!!!
@MsBrooklynA: Exciting! I LOVE labs. A good all purpose hunting dog. They can be nuts! They are a lot of dog. I think it would be great to do this while your SO has time off. I have a German Shorthair and I raised her myself. We lived in Montana (now in Wisconsin). The most important thing was giving her exercise. She ran free for hours in the mountains every day while we hiked. I would recommend finding a place where you can let your pup run off leash. That brings me to the other most important thing- I read "Game Dog" an excellent book for training hunting breeds- and my advice would be this: "It is a command, not a consideration." That is my favorite advice from that book. If you want a good dog, MAKE it come. Never call it unless you are going to follow through. Dog food and dog emergencies (which WILL happen with a hunting breed) are EXPENSIVE. Only get a good food that has chicken or salmon as the first ingredient. (I can recommend some if you want. Menards just started carrying "NutraMax" and it is the cheapest of the good foods, IMO.) I also recommend looking into Springer Spaniels- a good hunter and a very loving breed. I grew up with labs, German Shorthairs, and Springers. I love them all for different reasons. The lab I had was very "in the moment." My GSP is much more -it remembers everything, more like a person. So, my training with my lab was much more -firm. My GSP was more sensitive.
I miss my lab so much! They are loving, energetic, tireless lovers. The pup might be nuts. My lab was a little nuts even as an adult, so that is why the training is so necessary. A trained dog, that knows what it is suppossed to do listens to you and trusts you, is a happy dog. My GSP pup was so wild, but the turning point for me was when I got serious about "come." Making her come, amking her be quiet if I told her to be quiet, etc. I take dog ownership seriously, but I learned along the way. BEST of luck to you!
As far as money, I have found having dogs to be relativley cheap ( I come from having horses)
Adoption fee was 90 dollars and it included spay and neuter plus shots.
The yearly rabies vaccine and food are the most consistent costs after the intial investments in a crate, leash, bedding etc. I groom my own dog ( a bath every once in a while + brushing) and I wouldn't suspect a lab to be too much grooming work.
Now when they get sick is when things get expensive but that is rare and may never happen for you!
We keep her on heartworm medicine year round and flea meds we start a month before the last frost till a month after the first frost.
A 6pack of heartworm for a large breed is about $50 depending on where you get it from.
As far as the $100, I think our base office visit is like $40 so when they are a pup each time you go in (for a typical visit) it's usually for a shot of some sort.
And god yeah, we ran a allergy test on our pup and she's allergic.....to the world. Seriously. Pollen, dust mites, pores that are on grass, you name it, she's allergic!
We just got our puppy about a week and a half ago. He's about 9 weeks, 22 lbs lab mix with pyrenees, or newfoundland, and probably a bunch of other stuff. We picked him up on a Friday morning to have the entire weekend with him, then it was back to work on Monday as usual. During the weekday he is crated when we are not home, and someone comes by during lunch to let him out and play with him/let him run around the yard for 30-45 minutes.
He hasnt been to any classes yet, but we're trying to train him ourself. In the first week, he's learned to sit on command, and he's almost got 'down' and 'shake' also now. We're bugging him, touching his feet, his food when he eats, holding him, flipping him on his back on us, everything to make him used to it and not fight back. He's slowly learning that he's not getting his food until we say he can. And we're still having trouble with walking him on a leash. He will walk and follow not on a leash, but the second the leash is on he wants to tug away for some reason.
He's eating 3 cups of food a day right now and our 35 lb bag cost $40 (amazon - chicken soup for puppy lovers, or some long name like that). He just had his first vet visit which cost us $45, for just a check up, no shots yet. The extra large crate he'll need is about $100. We have a small one that we borrowed from a friend for now. You should proably just get a big one with a divider.
During the day on the weekend we dont crate him, and he just follows us around the house. If we both have to do something real quick we usually crate him for max 30 minutes. He's usually good about that and wont bark much, but when he does, its so hard to not go scoop him up and hold him, but that is the last thing we CAN do, cause we dnot want him to learn that he can get his way by whining. We make sure to let him out about every hour or 2, but he's had about 5 or 6 accidents so far. The worse is the night time. He doesnt like being in the crate if he's not sleepy so when he wakes up at 5am.... he just howls and whines and barks. Usually the 5am waking is cause he has to go, so one of us gets up to let him out and then puts him back to go back to sleep... he usually whines for another 30 minutes before he gives up. Then at 7am... he starts again, and this morning he didnt give up for over an hour. In only the 10 or so nights we've had him, I'd say there's been 3 that I've been woken up and screaming at my husband to shut the dog up before I throw him out... and that I could get rid of him right now and not care.... I'd been running on about 4-5 hours of sleep and was extremely tired and fustrated. But other than that, how could I not love this face....
I'd be a bit hesitant to get a dog when your SO is out of work. Dogs are EXPENSIVE, especially puppies.
We have a lab mix and here's our breakdown:
$250 per year on vaccinations and heartworm/flea/tick meds (we buy these meds a year at a time)
$45 every 3-4 weeks on her food (so about $675 a year - we buy Blue Buffalo food though so there are certainly less expensive food options out there)
$20 every 2 months on her acid reflux meds (so about $120 a year and obviously most dogs don't need this).
$125 at the kennel every time we go out of town for the weekend (~$40/day - This total cost will vary depending on how much you travel)
~$100-$150 in toys and treats each year (but she destroys toys so we go through them more quickly than most)
$11 for each nail trim/grind (about once a month so about $132 a year - we could do this at home but she HATES it so we'd rather not fight with her - we'll let the pros handle it)
We adopted our dog from a shelter when she was about 1.5 so she already had all of her initial puppy shots, spay/neuter, microchip, etc. Since she is a lab she doesn't need lots of grooming (we just bath her at home in the bath tub when needed) but some breeds would require trims and such with some frequency.
So in total, we spend a little over $1300 + kenneling (which is a variable cost) a year probably on our dog. Obviously if you have an emergency or major health issue come up, that will increase.
Dogs are SUPER expensive. We actually dont have kids because we have dogs instead lol.
The bigger the dog the more money they can be. We have a lab and they eat ALOT. When she was a puppy she chewed on everything and took forever to potty train and would bark for HOURS when locked in the kennel outside. It was quite a hassle to be honest. If i had to do it over again I would probably get a rescue dog that was NOT a puppy. Maybe a juvenile if your set on a younger dog. Labs are very active and need to be walked EVERYDAY for at LEAST an hour preferrably longer. Labs can be territorial with family but arent really good guard dogs in the long run. Neither are retrievers.They are extremely affectionate lol.
We didnt do puppy classes because I train my own dogs.
I would def recommend crain training but since mine are potty trained they hardly ever go in their crates.
Labs shed like CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and retrievers have to be brushed daily!
PM if you want. :D
@pinkshoes: hehe I remember those nights! Amp up his excercise, and start practicing the SHHHHhhh command. Everytime he sits, go Shhh as in stop and don't move. When he does somethign naughty , go Shhh, too hyper slow him down with SHHHHHH. If you do it enough, he begins to see the correlation with STOP and shh. Now if he wines in the morning ( and clearly doesn't need the potty) we just go SHHHHHHHH and he goes back to bed or quiets down. Perhaps you could buy a rawhide or bone to busy himself until you guys are ready to get up?
We failed miserably on the first night. We ended up moving her crate outside of our bedroom door so she can see us. But she was still whining. It was so sad and pathetic. My husband and I ended up sleeping on the floor with her the first night. Us on the floor and her in her crate. It was pathetic.
The second night she came in bed with us and she's been sleeping with us ever since.
@MsBrooklynA: The first day we had him was the one and only time he ever pooped inside. Training him to not pee inside took a little longer. Maybe three weeks until he fully understood it, and even after that he would still have an accident every now and then if he got really excited. I would say he was probably 6months old before he was 100% accident free.
As far as crating according to one dog training book we used.. you take their current age in month, add 1, and that's the number of hours they could be crated at a time. So a two month old puppy shouldn't be crated for more than 3 hours.
Our pup used to sleep in the bed with us for the first year and a half or so. Then I got sick of having doggie drool and hair on my sheets so we moved him to a blanket next to our bed. It took about three nights for him to learn he's not allowed in the bed any more.
The previous bees have given you lots of good information, but I wanted to put in a note-- please don't think flea and heartworm prevention is optional. Your dog is going to be outside a lot, especially since you're training a hunting dog, and prevention is by far, the cheapest way to deal with fleas or heartworms. I've worked at shelters and a vet's office and it's so much better to just prevent heartworms than to have to treat a pup for them.
If your dog is going to be around other dogs eventually, be sure to socialize early. Have different people come over to meet the dog for people socialization! Once he/she's had all their shots, take them to PetSmart, the dog park, out with friends! You want your puppy to meet lots of people and have lots of positive experiences with other dogs and strangers while they're young.
@Eva Peron: We still have not tried rawhide yet. We tried a Kong with PB and treats, but he was not interested at all. We'll need to get rawhide and see if he likes that more, but I thought a lot of people said he should not be left alone with it incase he gets a big chuck off and tries to swallow it.
@Gerbera: aww. We're adamant that he not be let up on the bed or furniture. My mom is not a dog person at all, so if we plan to be able to have her baby sit for us at our home when the time comes, we absolutely cannot have the dog jumping on the couch with her or anything like that.
@Jd64848704: Thank you for that information. It is very helpful. Even when she was a puppy you didn't crate her in the beginning?
@smyley: What kind of dog do you have? That's crazy how fast those fee's add up. I'm surprised they wanted between 300-500 to spay her. Wow! Do you live in a more urban area or is that fairly standard?
@StephyD216: Your pups are soo cute! Thanks for advice. I'm certainly learning a lot.
Ours is a Beagle/Shih Tzu mix. Only in good old New Jersey/suburbs, but yes, the fees are pretty common here.
I don't have a lot to add on the costs of pups--they definitely aren't cheap. But I did want to say that make sure you really do your homework before you pick up a dog. We have two hunting dogs (springer spaniels). We lucked out with the first and got a great dog at the pound. But for the second, after trying unsuccessfully to adopt the right dog through a rescue organization, we did a lot of research in order to find a responsible breeder and dogs with the right personality. If you do decide to get a dog through a breeder, make sure you really do some research on the breeder, and meet the parent dogs! I can't stress this enough! They are your best indication of the personality of the dog you'll be getting. Labs in particular are pretty popular in my area, and I know from experience that they really run the gammut as far as personality. You will seriously go crazy if you end up with a really high energy dog who is difficult to train, especially if you haven't had dogs before. Unfortunately, that breed has been plagued by backyard breeders, and a lot of dogs really ended up with some bad bloodlines.
And as far as training, if you truly want your dogs to be able to hunt, I would highly recommend taking classes and not trying to do it yourself. Training hunting dogs can be a little different than training dogs for companions only. I also think that our dogs really benefited from the socialization from classes, and learning to obey even with a lot of distractions.
Just my two cents!
I raised my puppy as a single mom before I had to give her up due to job change (she lives with my parents now, so it's not so horrible). I'll be honest it was WAY more responsibility and money than I thought it was going to be. It was also very stressful because she had separation anxiety even though I raised her staying home all day while I was at work.
One thing I didn't think about enough was the fact that I could never go out after work because I had to go home - even if I could have paid for a dog walker (which I couldn't at the time), taht's still a LONG time to be home alone. So it's definitely good that your SO will be home during the day.
And the vet bills were crazy. I had to take her for her shots and after all of the fees, etc. it was about $2K. Then I had to have her spayed. And the grooming was so expensive, close th $90 per visit (NYC prices). Luckily she never needed any surgery, but I've heard horror stories from my friends.
Another thing I'm reminded of whenever we dogsit for our friends is how awful it is to have to walk the dog several times a day regardless of how you're feeling or the weather. So if you have too much to drink the night before and want to sleep until noon that is no longer an option. And if there's a blizzard or if it's pouring sideways rain too bad.
I love my dog, but if I could do it all over again I would have waited until I was married with at least my first child before adopting a dog. Because then at least you are already taking on the responsbility of having a baby so it isn't such a huge lifestyle shift.
We just adopted our sweet female pit bull mix from the shelter about 2 weeks ago. She's approx. 1 yr. Her adoption fee was $30 + $16 for a city dog license and she was already spayed plus had all her shots.
Her first vet appointment was $220 which included her flea/tick and heartworm medication for the year.
We decided to go with a higher quality grain-free food for her which was around $50 for a 25-lb bag. This is just the decision we made for us and our dog, but you can save some money on the food with a more average type of food.
We are finding we're going through a lot of treats in the beginning working with training and commands so there's a cost involved there too. Her crate was around $70. I think I am covering everything in terms of cost.
Our girl came from a home already and was surrendered by her owner to the shelter, so she knows a thing or two about living in a home already. She was more or less house trained from day 1. She went twice in the house the first two days, and hasn't since then. We provide lots of praise when she goes outside to reinforce this. We both work full time outside the home. She is not shut in the crate during the day but enjoys hanging out in there when we're not home. She chewed some of our shoes one day, but no other chewing issues since then (we now put the shoes away). If she were to start chewing furniture or elements of the house we'd probably have to start crating her when we're out. She sleeps on a pad on the floor in our room. She already knows a bunch of commands but we're working on heeling on the leash better, "stay," "release," etc. We're signed up for a 7-week course starting in Nov.
It's been so enjoyable for us but not all easy. It's challenging getting her enough exercise to where she is not running around the house full of energy at the end of the day. Since we both work, I take her for a 30-40 min walk in the morning before work. Then my husband gets home around 5:30 and spends 30-40 min or so playing fetch with her in a fenced empty lot by our house. We usually do another 30 min walk after dinner with her. This seems to be enough but every dog's energy level is different. I think we can expect her to need less with age as well.
Anyway that's been our experience so far! Hope it helps!
We adopted both our dogs from shelters, $75 adoption fee for each (one pit bull and one boxer mix). That included their spay and all their shot to be current. We spend abourt $50.00 for Blue Buffalo food every 3 or 4 weeks. Yearly shot we have done at a discount. There are several traveling groups that do this every year at your local pet supply stores (like Petco). So we get most of their shots and their heartworm and flea protection from them at a large discount. It is about $100.00 per dog for everything I think. They are actually great places with real vets. Then we just update their records with our vet and the county. They do go to the vet occasionaly for other incidents, which end up costing anywhere from $75.00 to cut off a broken nail (was down past the quick) to $400 for a couple nights stay for a possible bowel obstruction after eating too many bones. So there always things that end up popping up, but they dont happen too often. We buy treats when we get their food and it is usally another $6- $15 for a huge bag of milk bones and a huge bag of rawhides. One dog was a year old when we got her so she was potty trained. The other was 10 weeks I think so we had to train her. For us it was easier cause the other dog kind of showed her what to do. But the night my DH peed in the backyard and she saw him was that last time we had any accidents in the house..lol. We did not crate train at all, the first week is always tough cause they whine at night but once they get use to your smell, if you provide a blanket or shirt or somehting with your scent for them to sleep with it usually helps them. We get toys often but they just tear them up with in minutes so I only buy ones on clearance or at the dollar store. Their Kongs are the only thing they have not detroyed so we fill those often with treats for something to do.
When we go out of town we are lucky that my parents watch our dogs so we dont have to pay for boarding. I know that can get expensive.
We had Goldens and Labs (golden was pure bread and registered) while I was younger (teen years) and they were great dogs. They were chewers as puppies big time and absolute hellions as pups but theyturn into really great dogs! Ours did have skin allergies, hip problems, and ear issues. And our Golded ended up with cancer at a early age and we had to be put down. That is just my experience with the breeds, dont mean to be a downer, I just tend to shy away from those breeds to avoid the heartache we experinced before. But to each their own ....they make wonderful companions.
Good luck with getting a dog. They are great, sometimes it's just tough getting thru the puppy stage, but even then they are so cute :)
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SO and I are discussing getting a dog within the next month or two. He will most likely be laid off (seasonal job) and we've always said that if we were to get a pet we would do it during this time of year so we had the most amount of time for the animal. I've had pets before, we currently have a cat, and were both familiar with dogs but I want to be as realistic as possible.
We are looking at getting a larger breed (Lab or Retriever) to be trained as a hunting dog. Tell me about your experiance with your dog as a puppy. How much time did you spend with your pup at the begining? How bad was the chewing, potty training and training in general? Did you take your dog to a puppy class or were you vigilent enough to train them on your own? How much does it cost for care for your dog (food, kennel, crate, shots, etc...)?
Also, please share any other information you think would be helpful in deciding on a breed, when to get the dog, why you waited or anything else.
P.S. I wouldn't say no to pet pictures!