Bogwoppit

Any thoughts on this sort of food? They bill it as a good alternative for raw feeders who forgot to defrost their meat. http://purepetfood.co.uk I'm not sure if it counts as "raw" or not. I've used some and it is inoffensive to the nose, and looks like instant noodle powder and ingredients. Yet somehow comes out the other end of the dog far far bigger than when it went in.

Just a thought, you could try "hiding" water from her (as long as you don't forget and trip over it). Cats and dogs like to find their own water, and she may think she'd being very clever by finding a bowl tucked around a corner of a bookcase or under the basin in the bathroom. I do this to make sure my little radiator hog doesn't dry out too much.

I'm not against older dogs at all, I just would indeed like a few years with them before saying goodbye. I'm considering anything from 2-8, actually less keen on 18 month old dogs.

Is there any pattern to the spot he uses if he's sneaking one indoors? Wilkos do a spray called 1001 cleaner, that is the best thing ever for wiping out scent spots where pets have done a dirty protest. Something about the scent and type of cleaning ingredients. They did a pet version and having seen the safety data, the only difference was that one was certified for use near animals and cost slightly more. Just a possibility, but the stinky citrus cleaning spray could help reinforce the point that we don't go there?

Thanks for all of your replies, it's been lovely reading them! I'm glad to hear about the name being easily changed - I like to give a name that suits the animal. Our first cat for example was named "Kizzi" which was a ridiculous name for our scared little patchwork feline. She's now named after a small dancer. What my expectations are, rather than the dog's. I'd like a friend who can hang around with me during the day and be interested in what I do. I love the company my cats provide, but they're asleep most of the daylight hours.I'd like to use it as an excuse both to go out at lunch and exercise more, and to start a regular activity like a dog sport. I'd like to try herding for the joy of it, but with many rescue dogs being "failed" farm dogs in my region, we'll see - I'll find something we both like, not just something for me. I'd like a dog that enjoys a good lean on a person/leg, but not necessarily needing or wanting lots of fussing. I hope to learn how to reduce doggy smell, even if it means a few baths early on or visiting a groomer shortly after adoption. I'll also be doing some basic training classes for both our benefit. My long term goal would be to do the morning vitals(breakfasts, toilets and wash), see the OH out the door and my new friend and I sneak back to bed for an hour to read and answer work email. Farther on than that I'd like to go camping in the lake district and walk with my dog in some of the places I grew up in, and hopefully do us both proud meeting my family.

Is there an age you guys wouldn't recommend I exceed? Do you think it's possible to train a new name for an adult dog, or is it never quite the same as their first? I realise the older a dog, the firmer the expectations it has of a home life, and potentially the more it must adjust/cope. I'm patient, but I'd like to feel I can help from the get go. Thank you for all your support. Honestly it's starting to feel really good rather than worrying. I'm a little prone to overthinking things and having a plan of action is very reassuring. I don't mean to be doom and gloom but there likely will not be a "next time" or a puppy in the future. I'm not sad about it, but in ten years, tops, my OH will be retirement age and I will be 37 and having to work full time to support us both. Perhaps another reason to go for an adult. It still haunts me slightly that a few years ago my elderly neighbour died, and he had a cantankerous old "nasty" border collie that wouldn't accept anyone coming in to feed it, walk it or speak to it. That dogs final days were numbered the moment it snarled at an RSPCA officer (female) who thought she could charm him round. In hindsight that dog was grieving for his pillar in this world, and needed to go to a rescue. I was too young to have any say in the outcome. Everyone salves their conscience by saying he was "too far gone".

I think a lot of the appeal (to those who are experienced more than me) is watching progression and attempting to tailor outcome. I'm not convinced that without a lot of external help (classes and trainers) I would be capable. I'm not bothered by "young", I'd take any age of adult that can still wag and is biddable. I can't offer an end of days sort of deal because I'm unprepared mentally and financially, but anything up to. I will be attending classes or 1:1 training for basic manners and control, adult or pup. This is for me more than the dog.

Cass, you have pretty much confirmed how I feel. I don't know if my lean was obvious from my original post, but my worries about a puppy (and how much of my life it would take over) are far outweighing my worries about a rescue adult. At the moment: Puppy concerns: Growing pains (teenager) Responsibility of early socialising / training / exposure House training (poop) Chewing Cost Health as an adult Space for a pen Dog concerns: Seperation anxiety / noise Personality not meshing ultimately Striking a balance on what I can have (cat savvy, crate trained, potty trained) and what I may have to accept (X reactive, fears, dislike of the colour green) And horrible as it sounds, if it didn't work out with an adult, I didn't feel a connection, or they truly couldn't settle, there's a rescue that with enough notice can support us or worst case, have them back. I wouldn't feel a failure to resort to this (though I doubt they'd let me have a dog again). A breeder (or in my case I was looking at farm ups) probably couldn't offer this.

This is actually making me a little unhappy at the moment, trying to work out the "right" answer so I can start building things ready. As soon as I settle on a conclusion so I can start building on it, my brain goes, "But..!" and I start chewing it over again. Up until recently, I'd resigned myself to getting a puppy this year. I was not 100% thrilled with this idea, after reading up on how hard some time periods are, decisions like neutering early, and the joys of various bratty moments. I thought it was the only way for my partner to feel happy (he openly does not like dogs but doesn't mind young animals), and to allow the cats to process an interloper. Earlier this month I had an adventure fostering an adult dog (see the latter half of this topic) that changed my reservations. On one hand that dog's care and training was beyond my capabilities. On the other, the cats had behaved excellently, were not scared after about a day, and the OH admitted had she not "smelled like dead animal" and whined / barked every time I was more than 6 feet away, he could have stuck it out*. I'm now greatly tempted once I pass my driving test, to go to a dedicated breed rescue - http://www.bordercollietrustgb.org.uk (an hour away) - who know their animals in and out, and adopt a cat-savvy adult dog. Which would you recommend for someone who is a little shy of getting hands-on (touching mouths, lifting paws, shoving butts out the way) of adult dogs? I don't want my shyness to endanger my pet. I do appreciate as I get to know the animal, I may become more confident. This is my main worry about adopting an adult, that I don't have a lot of physical confidence yet. I'm not afraid of being scratched or nipped, I'm scared of upsetting my new friend. A puppy could be lifted out of the way of cats, situations and such, but I feel unsure (at the moment) how to quickly move an adult dog. In general, is crate training with adult dogs any more or less difficult than puppies, assuming the dog has no specific fear of being contained? 12am-7am the dog will be crated, even if it means a week or two sleeping downstairs to settle them. My recent experiences with the blind dog (extreme reaction to being contained) dropped all of my confidence in this working. I know whichever choice I make (and I think I'm leaning towards an adult again), there will be a lot of work from the start. In either scenario I'm scared of not bonding with the dog, most of all. *This is high praise, I'll take it.

Cats can be excellent liars. One of ours learned as a kitten that if she squealed, the oldest cat would get squirted with water for trying to bite her. Unfortunately she started doing it when she was bored to get him punished, and I had no idea until I heard a squeal, turned with water in hand and my mother called to me not to "shoot", that it was a total frame-up and the adult cat had merely been sitting nearby.

Well done, Kolt! I'm not sure I know many kids who'd behave that well.

Well today is the first time I've come to bed feeling upbeat about moving forward. I was physically and mentally fatigued after 4-5 days of her, so felt very defeated. However my parents have been over, helped me rearrange the ground floor (it's completely open plan) and throw out tables, cupboards etc. It feels like a new home and I'm even picking out crate and pen layouts in my head. The important part is not to press the idea with my OH right now as he is also fatigued and the recent pup is raw in his mind. We're also having a terrible time getting our oldest cat to take her meds. It all adds up to needing a rest.

It's a point of great amusement at the moment that we're not in fact married. His 80 yr old father accidentally played a long running practical joke on us by buying a huge "to a special Son & Daughter in law" Christmas card, which has caused everyone visiting the house to say, "Oh! Congratulations!" - At one point in rapid succession when we had the Monday night gaming group come over. He'd be mortified if he knew, the lovely old gentleman. Anyway, I'm giving it a resting period before trying again. I said before bed, "if I had a dog that didn't smell heinous, and didn't whine constantly, had a playpen and was crate trained, would you give it another go?" His eyes looked worried, and I continued, "-and I wouldn't expect you to get hands on. It took you a year to even like being near [male cat]." "I think so. I wouldn't walk it and I wouldn't want to eat if it was a few feet away." So there's a thing. So far as bouncing, biting and jerky puppy activity, he's a lot more forgiving of youth than untrained adult digs. We had a batch of feral kittens to raise indoors, and the things they got up to make a hyper puppy sound sedate. One of them had to be forcibly removed from a bare buttock it had clamped onto in the shower, and repeatedly fished out if the toilet (sometimes mid-use). We'll see how things go. I expect to be done learning to drive soon, which means I can get some hands on experience with pups.

It was a bit of trial by fire. The entire time I was tense, and I think even by the 4th day we hadn't bonded. On my first walk with her - the first walk in about ten years for me, a small terrier dog jumped a broken fence and started following us. Every time we took a pace, he'd match us. I kept telling him to go away, blocking him with my legs, and (probably stupidly) putting my foot on his butt and pushing him away from her. She was very calm but he was incredibly rude. Can you imagine trying to say "No! Go away!" loudly and firmly to a dog whilst the one who can't see who you're talking to assumes you mean her? I felt awful. Add to this that I was in combat pants, a studded old leather jacket, and work boots, coupled with walking a dog seen as a "fighting breed", the fear of someone coming up the path and finding me with my foot up this dogs rear end was somewhat horrifying. I chased him back into his garden eventually. It raises the point that I'm not experienced with meeting dogs out and about. Every owner I met this week waited patiently whilst I brought her to one side of a path and let them pass, after I waved at them, but that was probably lucky considering not everyone is so careful.

Your comments are entirely fair, Chene, no worries in the slightest. What I will say before it looks like I'm painting the rescue negativity is that they had a back up plan from the beginning, and were able to pull her out within 12hrs of me saying I was done. She is now with an exceptionally patient foster lady and her family. However I was originally asked if I could look after a sedated, calm dog who would need 24hr bed rest straight after surgery. I had not anticipated 2 weeks of getting to know her first. It made sense but by the time I found out, she was on the way to my home. My mistake and perhaps an assumption on the rescuers part that I was used to the system. I will not be volunteering again, but I would rescue of my own accord and help with transport in future. My OH (long term partner but not husband, again no worries!) is himself a bit of an odd animal. He doesn't like sudden changes. He doesn't like strong smells or loud noises... And he is a creature of repetition, habit and unbending views. If he were a child these days, perhaps there would be a term for it. Those aspects also make him very reliable, and passionate. Gradual acclimatising is the key. He is fearful of adult dogs but not puppies. Watching one gradually grow up would be acceptable he says. Personally having seen the cats reaction, I would go out tomorrow and get an adult collie from a specialised breed rescue who knew their stuff. But that would make things unliveable here. His stress was causing a change you could feel when he came home each day.