Doggy advice, please!

I sort of solved the problem by getting a doggie time share - my pilates teacher brings her whippet/ lurcher cross to class with her and I get to give him a good fuss before and after class (such soft ears!) and he sleeps on a mat during it occasionally waking up to waggle those ears at us, give us a look that says ‘what are you doing?’, demonstrate how to do ‘down dog’ properly before turning round before going back to sleep. If I ever need an extra incentive to go to class he is it.

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Very sensible advice @HartAndCraft .

@coatimundi I am very uncomfortable with the idea that you are being pressured time wise- this is neither good for you, or more importantly, the little dog. If you do decide to adopt him , you need to be aware and make allowances for the fact that he will have to adjust to his new home just as much as you’ll have to adjust to having a new member of the family. Even for an experienced dog lover (and dog) this can be a difficult time to say the least.

But having said that -dogs make life worth living in my view :slight_smile:

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So much brilliant advice here, thanks to everyone! I have decided not to adopt the little chap, even though he looks sweet. I was weighing up the pros and cons and the the one pro “I would have a cute little doggy” was completely overbalanced by the list of cons! If I took him and found I couldn’t cope, my Granddaughter would be so upset to see him go. I’m sure he’ll quickly find a good home, so I’m not feeling too guilty…

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@HartAndCraft, it’s not really like that. As I said earlier, I liked the idea of having a dog and asked my daughter to look out for one that might suit me. This one was due to go to The Dogs Trust at the weekend so she thought I might like it. It was my own fault for not considering the pros and cons before I asked her! I have no doubt the little chap will have no problem finding a loving home :slight_smile:

I think you’ve made the right choice. Too many people would just accept that one plus as enough and go for it and live to regret it- let’s face it, that’s why there are so many dogs looking for new homes.
Maybe in a few years or so things might change and you might reconsider- or not. :blush:
And yep- he’ll get a new home soon enough.

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He sounds gorgeous. Staffies are some of the nicest dogs, as are Rotties if they’re raised properly. It’s the tattooed f-wits, as Billy Connolly called them, that spoiled their reputation. My friend had a staffie/spaniel cross, a very odd looking wee dog but the sweetest temperament you can imagine. She was such a lovely wee girl and I still miss her, 5 years after she died. I’m longing for a dog but we’ve got two cats and it wouldn’t be fair to them to bring a dog into their lives (they’re almost 16) now.

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Careful! I might steal him away from you :smiling_imp: I love dogs that “talk.”

Sam x

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We have had two Labradors over the last few years and they have so much love to give when treated properly .
I never liked leaving the dogs we used to plan visiting , sight seeing with the dogs. We now don’t have a dog , but might have another one soon .

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Are grapes OK for dogs? I thought I read somewhere that they were poisonous.

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread, I do love a good doggy story :grin:

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Think I’ve read that somewhere too Stephanie, don’t give to my dogs any more although they used to have them before I read about it and they seem to have done them no harm!

only if you don’t feed them the seeds and storks as it’s the seeds that’s the problem, just has you shouldn’t let them eat apple pips or peach curnals however you spell it. With all of those it’s worse for smaller dogs and also of course how much they eat.

They’re not supposed to eat Allums either ie onion, leeks, chives, garlic and coco beans (chocolate) as it increases their heart rate and can cause a heart attack.

That’s great! My friend’s dog loves grapes but they stopped feeding him then when they heard that they were poisonous. I’ll pass on the good news :grin:

Don’t know about grapes but chocolate can be fatal,they either recover or die there is no treatment,ours loved a choccy biccy but she had one too many and it was almost the end of her.

Dogs shouldn’t eat grapes or raisins as they are toxic and can cause kidney failure. One or two probably won’t cause too much of a problem, depending on the size of the dog, but still best avoided. :slight_smile:

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well there a very small sampal of dogs in the USA that died from Reinal failure after eating grapes but it wasn’t proved it was the grapes that caused the reinal failure. Grapes have been tested in the USA and there’s was no evidence that there are toxic to dogs. If is thought those that died of renial failure problerly had noting to do with eating grapes.

It is thought that some dogs might have an allergic reaction to moulds etc that can grow on the skins of grapes but that’s still not been proven is only a suggestion.

The best that can be said is that a tiny percentage of dogs might have an allergic reaction just likes some people have an allergic reaction to peanuts.

No studies have been undertaken to prove grapes are toxic to dogs.

But there’s no real evidence to say that grapes are toxic to dogs. Dried grapes are harder for dogs to digest as the skin of the grape is thicker than the skin on most fruits.