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Been reading up on what's involved in getting a new family member  :) Haven't had a dog for over 30 years and would not take ownership lightly. I know a fair few of you have a dog and I'd appreciate some advice on ownership, and where best to acquire pooch.
Insurance is another thing, I see policies could be around £40 a month  :o , that's more than my motor  :D
The cockapoo is favourite.

Rule number 1. Buy directly from the breeder but only after a personal visit to the kennels. Make sure to see the pup’s parents - any undesirable personality traits may well be apparent.

Rule number 2. Get one from a rescue centre. Probably should be number 1.

One of my sister's helps to run a dog rescue (and cats) that operates out of Romania and is part of a UK based team of volunteers. All dogs are chipped, part of a spey and neuter program over there and all dogs that come to the UK have had all of their injections etc. As should be the case with all rescues.

They have two dogs from the rescue themselves. She has also been out to Romania a good few times (pre covid) to help out directly.

Anyway, if you fancy taking a look then head to https://luckyslegacyrescue.com where you'll learn more and get much more info - as well as be able to take the time to absorb it at your own pace.

What he said, we initially went down Rule 2 route but got somewhat fucked over by the rescue place (was told dog had come from happy home and bar the normal traits of needing to settle in would be fine, transpired the poor sod had the most god awful separation anxiety which even with the benefit of home working we really didn't have the skills to deal with so sadly she had to go back at the end of the foster period and was referred to Dogs Trust for specialist help) which put the missus off so we concluded that we would go down route 1 as if we were careful should give us a blank canvas.

Big thumbs up to meeting breeder at their place with mum and dad there, we got lucky and apart from her being a scouser out Frenchie has a lovely temperament and just wants to be everyone friend (albeit in playing the other evening she nipped me on the bollocks (my own fault for winding her up!).

Insurance is a fucking minefield, we are with Bought by Many and I think its £45 odd quid a month.

Loads of people about calling themselves "breeders" charging ridiculous money for puppies. £3k+ for a non-pedigree dog just because it's a popular breed? Fuck off.

Rescue places will be full soon from all the idiots that bought puppies last year and now realise they can't afford to look after them, or just generally can't be bothered.

Dog prices have gone mental, ours full KC registered (albeit her dad is Begbie) was 1500 quid, nhad a litter now (same dad different bitch) 3k plus.

Hence my question on where to buy  :)
Weighing absolutely everything up but we want a puppy so we can train it, and it will have developed into adulthood with us. I know what you mean about the prices  :eek:

Get a rescue dog

This. Go to a dog home.

And as a dog lover it makes me angry that people still get pedigrees when there’s so many dogs that need homes.

Me and the missus want a dog (or two) and we’re thinking about getting the old fuckers no one wants. I’m a soft fucker though so not sure how many deaths my heart will take.

Rescue is the best way I'd say. Best thing me and my family ever did was get ours from the Blue Cross Burford. We loved him so much and vice versa.

The dog I had 30 plus years ago was a rescue dog and he was lovely. This isn't a question of whether I should get a rescue dog or not, I have already decided that. Just after advice on what to look out for and where to go, what insurance to get etc.

100% this.  Rescue is the best breed.

On the insurance side of things, I have a lifetime policy for my mutt with a decent claim limit. The ones with low annual or per condition limits are cheaper, but I know other dog owners who've soon run into those limits when claiming. Ours costs £45 per month for a 7 year old dog.

You'll be able to rescue a puppy. That's what we wanted and got one. Your choice though of course and get why you feel the way you do.

 Regarding insurance we were with petplan. They always paid up without question for all claims made.

I see that insurance can be quite a meaty cost, are they all around £40 a month? Obviously if we could rescue a cockapoo puppy then we'd gladly do that.

Goes up with age. £40 seems high for a young dog. 

I may be barking up the wrong tree  :) but I think you can get an insurance which increases with age or an insurance for the life of the dog, which probably relates to the higher premiums early on.

100% this, got our second rescue dog nine months ago.   Why fill the pockets of unscrupulous breeders ??, I know there are good breeders out there but how do you tell ?, You only meet them once.
Insurance is a minefield,  our Goldie was 14 when we had to make the dreaded decision last year,  paid insurance a!l of her life, got a pay out of around £150, total joke,  paid in absolute thousands.  Yes, it's great if you have to claim for a major operation that runs into thousands, but like car insurance, you get what you pay for. Don't bother now, just put £40 a month into a separate bank account and even with a couple of vet visits in the last nine months we're still quids in..
Have a look on the 'Many Tears' website,  got our current dog from there, amazing place, lovely people all done in just a few days and the website is updated every day, not like some of the others we looked at.
Sure they would love to hear from you,  100% recommend them, and you'd be helping to give another dog ' a life'.

Depends what model it is.

We had two rescued Labradors (both about two years old) up to about two years ago, when they died aged 12. They were great, though one had separation anxiety. We paid thousands of pounds of insurance, which increased as they got older. What few claims we made was always reduced because of their excess charge of £99, and a percentage of what's left of the claim.  Also, a maximum of £4000 per claim per year.

Mrs  normy wanted another dog, much smaller and easier to handle, due to our advancing years. My Lab pulled me over and hurt me once, leaping for a cat. Small rescue dogs were hard to find locally, so she got a puppy from a friend she knew locally who bred it from her home, so we had full inspection of the parents and the home. It's been a great  success so far.

We decided to pay vet bills ourselves, because it's never been value for money.  We opened a special account with a lump sum and pay what we can in to it every month, at least £40.  Haven't paid vet fees in the year we've had the puppy. It's a cavasu , ( schitzu/cavalier cross)

Self insurance is well worth considering.  Especially if you are prepared to fork out big if necessary.

I would recommend at least considering starting off with insurance for the first two or three of years.  Premiums are relatively friendly.  That's also when you are least able to anticipate your dog's behaviour and will lack the control you (eventually!) achieve. Behavioural difficulties.  Youthful/wild behaviour leading to accidents or injury in the undergrowth or even on the road.  Dog fights.    Stomach upsets.

My last experiences with young new dogs 0-2 years old:

Premiums reached about £170 per month when our late collie cross, Badger, reached 11 or 12.  Should have self insured earlier.  But with older dogs do be prepared to fork out a few hundred from time to time, almost routinely.  When he was 2, he injured a leg in the woods and could have lost it.  TV vet, Noel Fitzpatrick, saved the leg which gave Badger high performance use for well over a decade later.  We'd have still been paying "millionaire" Fitzpatrick had we not been insured.
  
Our two year old border collie, Misty, is costing £35 pcm (£30 pcm last year).  Self insurance would have worked but we have claimed £600+ due to a bad stomach upset that (inevitably) occurred when the vets were shut and required a visit to the emegency vet, an overnight stay and further treatment by our ordinary vet the next day.

Premiums do go up significantly over time, so self insurance can tend to make sense.  

Also look closely at what is covered and what is not, "pre-existing conditions" and what you are expected to do to ensure your cover will be accepted (eg annual health check, vaccination, teeth etc)

I recommend Rescues.  Put the £3k a cocker poo might cost in a vet account!  But do look into breed types as your rescue will likely have characteristics linked to pedigree dog behaviours.  Usually those characteristics are watered down in a positive manner.  

Think carefully now.  You are about to make a great decision, I'm sure!

2 years ago, we were 64 when we were looking for a puppy, ideally  rescue.  We're in decent health but one rescue place turned us down flat due to age!  Dog selling has an increasingly shabby and callous side to it.  The "friend and pre-inspection" route seems great if the rescue alternative is not for 4D for whatever reason.

I must admit that if I was to get another dog I'd probably gamble on it and not bother with insurance. Saving a tenner a week would do as well I'd think. Can't see is getting another one for a few years (Mrs took ours passing in Jan badly)

Always have had Labrador working dogs.
No better dog in my opinion, loyal, loving, obedient and real characters. (Personal choice of course).
Current one is an absolute beauty. Daftest of the 4 I have had and softest.

Labs are amazing dogs, intelligent, loyal, easy to train and loving.

But fucking hell can they eat!

I have a 10+ year old greyhound. Never had him insured and they are one breed that doesn’t suffer from any kind of inherited medical problem. Can’t beat a hound for an easy to look after dog. They don’t have separation anxiety, never aggressive with people/children and are, generally, thick as shit.

Being stupid makes for a happy hound!

And roughly the size and weight of a peak Arnold Schwarzenegger from what I can gather :)

Agreed. One of my labradors was relatively slimly built and very trainable. We did agility training and competing for a few years, and had quite a few clear rounds and rosettes. Never a win, because collies were always too fast and clever.  Our new little dog seems untrainable, I believe he thinks he's training us, more like a cat!

I hate dogs.

They say the same about you.

True

Another meal when civilisation breaks down.

Totally agree.
Easy to train and they would never stop eating thus you have to watch their weight and plenty of exercise. They also love the water.

I've never liked dogs but haven't ever publicly broadcast it, as I clearly am in the minority.

Bravo for your honesty :)

To both...I'm wondering if it is due to an incident/event that happened, a generational trait passed on or just a dislike?

My mum has always said she hates cats but I quite like them (I tend to like most animals having helped reared several). Be interesting to know the reason(s) why? :)

For me, as a young kid I was bitten twice (two different dogs) so always have been wary of them.
It's funny, my 2 1/2 year old daughter is scared of dogs but for no obvious reason, I wonder if subconsciously my fear/dislike has rubbed off on her.

I fucking love dags.

I'd love to have a big one but I wouldn't be able to give it the exercise it needs.

I quite like cats but I'm allergic to them. That, and they'd be a threat to some of my other pets.

They are generally one of two things, or a mix of both - needy little fuckers or aggressive.  I admit to being a Cat person, I want an animal to not be needing constant reassurance or a chunk of your flesh.

I fucking hate cats. Vermin

A few years ago we had a jack Russel cross which was fine in doors but as soon as you let him off the lead he would run off chasing a scent and it could take over an hour tomget him back

Agree with Tans,  not necessarily vermin but don't like cats at all, dirty bastards from next door shit on my lawn and wreck the flower beds, love to wring the fuckers necks.  (Sorry cat lovers).

You need a rubber snake  ;)

Do they work? There are a couple of cats that I've noticed around our garden and I've had to clean up shit on more than one occasion so I'd like to try and avoid them as well if possible.

Cucumbers work! Try not to laugh 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7vML9C3PZk

http://thetownend.com/index.php?topic=58219.msg1548896#msg1548896

I've got 3 cats and dogs are shit.

Fight me.

I like cats but they are nowhere near as good as a dog. A cat will use you to fill it's belly and keep it warm, where as a dog properly loves you.
Also a pisser that cat owners just let them out without a thought and they go and kill birds and shit all over people's garden's.

Very much this!

I saw someone walking a cat in London last year. The cat definitely wasn't comfortable!!

If you want to deter cats, then finely ground black pepper (the really dusty stuff) will work quite well.

We used to do it more on areas we didn't want there to be shit. So the obvious, flower beds, a shallow grave, and some areas of lawn  :D

An AK47 sounds like a better idea.

Right John,

im going to offer you out like that bloke on facebook did that time :D

Conversely dogs are little whores who do anything for attention, whereas if a cat shows you affection you’ve earned it

I don’t dislike dogs, but I prefer cats

Cats are too antisocial

cats is nature

Cats are vermin

This.

I'll set my cats on you

Can anyone recommend a pipe/cable protector against puppy chewing? She likes the copper radiator pipes  ::)

I'd recommend you train your dog as it will continue this behaviour on other items otherwise.

She is being trained but in the meantime she is into everything. I bought some strong plastic pipe clip ons that will protect the copper.

An adult dog from your local rescue centre would have saved you from such measures, effort and expenditure. 

soapy tit wank. Good luck. If she does it when your not there it's separation anxiety more than likely which can be resolved. If she does it when you're there then it's definitely something you'll need to train out of her.

She's only 9 weeks so to be expected. Had her a week and she hasn't been left alone, apart from when we crate her to train out any separation issues. She is already doing well and bonding with us.

I'm sure she'll be fine. Just being a puppy by the sounds of it.

My friend has a 12 week old Doberman and it still craps on the kitchen floor even though he's not left alone

What about the doberman?  :)

He's trained and goes outside :clap:

 :D

It cost him £2500 so Posh crap :eek:

At that price box 'em and put them on eBay.

 :pint: