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Looking for a bit of advice on adopting a new dog. My girlfriend and I have been thinking about adopting another dog for quite a while, and we're finally ready to start seriously looking. We currently have a 6 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that my girlfriend has had for the last 4+ years, live in a house with a lot of tile space for dogs to chill out on during the day, a small yard (no grass, concrete and rocks - living in the desert woo!), and we live really close to a big grassy greenbelt, and about a 10 minute walk from a big park. I grew up with an Aussie, and have wanted another ever since, so we've been looking mainly at Australian Shepherds and Cattledogs, and yesterday I found a 5 year old male Aussie that is absolutely beautiful. A 5 year old is a good age for us, as we don't have the days and weeks to spend with a new puppy, and would love to have a dog who has already gone through its destroy all furniture stage. I guess I just have a few questions about them, new dogs, and the rescue, so thanks in advance for any help! We live with a roommate, but all work day jobs. Jersey (current dog), is fine by herself in the house during the day, she just sleeps. Will an adult Aussie/Cattle dog be alright during the day as well? I know they're fairly high energy (which is why I've been looking at older dogs) and need a 'job' but we're prepared to take a new dog out on several walks/plays a day. We can fit in a quick walk before work, a long walk/park session after, and another quick walk before bed. I'd prefer not to get a dog-door installed because we have a lot of people walking through the greenbelt we live next to, and a lot of our neighbors already have dogs that bark all day. Just want to avoid the dogs getting into trouble all day, and they're both at the age where accidents shouldn't happen in the house right? Jersey never has an accident on the tile during the day. Chances are the dogs would be home alone from 10-4:30 or so, when my roommate can let them out, and then the long walk would happen around 6pm when I get home from work. I've also read through the training thread, and while Jersey has little to no training, I really want to work with a new dog to learn basic commands, recalls, and all that good stuff. I'd love to be able to take him hiking and camping and not worry about never seeing him again if a squirrel runs into a bush. Is it a good idea to start training both dogs at the same time, or should we try to get Jersey some training beforehand? We've tried training a little bit with her before, but have always gotten distracted by something else. Before I go any further, I also have a question about the rescue we got in touch with. Here is their site: http://www.fedwellfarm.com/ , which states that they have all of their dogs in foster homes. However, when I reached about the Chance (you can find him on the first page of their adoptable dogs!) to ask if he was crate trained (they're not sure), trained (he's good on a leash and knows sit), and what sort of foster home he was in, they responded with "he lives at our house with 40 other dogs." Is that normal for a rescue? It raised some red flags for me, just because thats, well, a lot of dogs! I'm thinking its some sort of big ranch since its pretty far out of the city. Just not sure if I should run far away, or if this is normal for a rescue in AZ. Some of the other Aussie/Cattledog specific places have all of their animals in individual foster homes, so we can always look for a dog there if this is a terrible idea. That turned into a much longer post than I anticipated, guess I have a lot of questions. Its a new experience for both of us, and I just want to make sure it goes as smooth as possible for us, and of course the dogs!
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May 24, 2012 16:14
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 08:03 |
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Thanks for the responses about the rescue guys, still feeling a bit uneasy about it. Think its worth checking out or investigating more to see what type of facility/staff they have or should we just move on? I know if we go see it and the dog is adorable, we'll just want to rescue him from the rescue, and I really want to avoid a super emotional decision. Especially one that might end in a really sick dog due to un-diagnosed issues or behavioral problems.
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May 25, 2012 05:17
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Captain Foxy posted:If you think you'll end up wanting to 'rescue' from the rescue, don't even go visit. Set your heart on another dog and don't even think about going by this rescue. If they advocate positive punishment and dominance-based training, and have forty dogs floating around, the dog you adopt may have a litany of psychological and physical problems from being alpha-rolled and kept with other nippy, bitey cattledogs unsupervised. I think this pretty much perfectly sums up how I feel about the situation, thanks. Feel bad for the dog, because he has about the cutest face ever, but definitely want to make sure we have the right dog for our situation. I think I'll be moving on and reaching out to some of the Aussie/Cattledog specific rescues in AZ that seem a lot more legitimate!
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May 25, 2012 19:12
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Just got an email from that rescue, looks like someone else adopted the dog we were looking at. Hopefully he gets all the treatment he deserves from his new home! Time to apply to some of local rescues. Thanks again all!
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May 26, 2012 00:43
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The dog training thread is pretty slow, so I have a question here about a new rescue pup we have. She's 7months old and not very well potty trained due to her being moved to a bunch of different places with different potty situations. I know she can hold it for at least 7 hours, as she'll sleep through the night without even attempting to go out. We're doing the wake up and instantly take her out + tons of praise method in the morning, and walking her as much as we can. The other thing we've read is to take them out about 5-15 minutes after they eat since it stimulates them to go to the bathroom again. This may seem like a basic question, but what if food time is 20 minutes after walk time? Do we still do that? We're still working out the timing. She's not crate trained, which is something we're probably going to do, but for now we're leaving her gated in the kitchen during the day. We're in an apartment so its hard to do the whole "immediately interrupt them and rush them outside to finish" since we're on the second floor, no balcony, and all have to get bundled up for winter weather. We've had random piddles on the carpet, and are still learning her cues. It's also been literally 3 nights so I'm not to worried. She actually seems pretty smart, and can already learn to sit on command. She's super loving cute and sweet though, we love her a ton already!
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Nov 17, 2017 16:58
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Appreciate the link above, it's pretty helpful! The confusing part is that everywhere you read has conflicting advice. Some say to scold, some say to ignore. I'm frustrated, but honestly just need to change our expectations because we're basically need to treat her like a new puppy at this point when it comes to the house training part, not the holding it part. We went 24 hours without an accident in the house and were super excited, and just now she peed right in front of me an hour after taking a big pee outside during her walk. God drat it, she is absolutely the cutest sweetest pup though. She spent most of the afternoon sleeping on my head yesterday! Love this little terror. She just loves to be bad 😈 and i don't blame her, it's fun. 
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Nov 19, 2017 23:17
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Hey y'all, is there a thread recommended pet insurance company? Looking at FIGO, ASPCA, and Healthy Paws (seems like the best one). Our pup is a 1.5 year old Cavalier who has a pre-existing heart condition (which I know won't be covered). We're mostly interested in preventative care, future cardiology exams and stuff which I think should be covered, and emergency care. Appreciate any recommendations!
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Jan 5, 2019 16:38
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 08:03 |
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Crooked Booty posted:I think Healthy Paws is very good, but I don’t think any insurance company is going to cover future cardiology visits for a cavalier that already has heart disease. Also pet insurance is much better for emergencies/illnesses than preventative care in terms of getting your money’s worth. Cool, thanks for both responses. I emailed Health Paws and got a fairly standard response, but I think we'll go with them anyway. Like you said, we really just want it for emergencies (since she eats literally everything she can find in all cases wow she's bad) and may as well submit claims and see what gets covered anyway! Thanks again!
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Jan 8, 2019 17:23
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