Hi everybody

Me and fiance are thinking about getting a dog, we have just got our own house (terraced) he has been wanting a GSD but i have said it is far too big for the house and too expensive to keep. Ive been looking into other breeds, first off Tibetan Terrier until i found out about separation anxiety. We are both in Uni at the moment and usually someone is in but if we are not and when we start full time work i wouldnt want it too go through too much anxiety. Been looking into Lowchens and they seem like a breed that would suit us.. Just wondering if anyone can help us with how much they initially cost and then how much each month?

Thanks

Any dog of any breed can suffer from separation anxiety.  It's not the food bills that you have to think about when getting a dog it's the other costs involved - vets bills - innoculations - worming - initial outlay for beds, bowls, leads etc.  I think you need to think very carefully about getting a dog of any breed.  It's a commitment for the next 15 years or so.

I am sure it must be a temptation but it is also not the sort of thing I would want if I were doing my degree, I speak as a lifelong dog owner.
Puppyhood is very demanding, very time consuming very often full of worry, there is no mental space for study even if someone is an experienced owner. Being in most of the time is not the criterea on which to make a decision, if things were so simple dog owning would be easy, it is emaotionaly and mentaly demanding, even with experience, maybe wait at least untill uni is finished.
I speak with experience of dogs and uni, what happens if you both suddenly need to be at work all day every day after uni? dogs are not very flexible to sudden and dramatic change such as regular company for one or two years and then suddenly finding themselves alone in the house al day, excercise reduced and  5 days a week and many other etc's.

I forgot, as far as time goes you will need much of it, a pup gets around 6 small meals a day at regular times, I decrease to 2 meals  over a nine month period.
New house = new furniture
New dog = chews new funriture, carpets, anything and a thousand things blocking study space.

Some one forgot to mention puddles and piles and all the sllepless nights,getting up in the middle of the night to let the pup out to do its stuff.Ask yourself the question..........Do you really need all this stress and no sleeping while you are going through studies? Would it be better to wait till the studies are over? You can always do some more research while you wait to find the best dog to suit your life style.Its so much fun looking on the net finding all these breeds of dogs you probably never knew about. :)

Not all dogs would chew on furniture. My puppy is 8 months now and hasn't destroyed one thing in the house! Besides I don't think it's dogs fault as much as it's human's. You always have to make sure that your puppy is in a place where he can't get to anything dangerous (for him to get hurt or for him to destroy).
I found out that you'll never have as much time for a puppy as when you're still studying (I'm a student myself). You come and go, but have flexible time. Once your work starts that means you'll be away quite some time every day...... but if you dedicate enough time and teach him that being alone isn't a bad thing, everything's going to be fine. You'll find out that most dogs spend half of the day sleeping anyway. ;)

I have two GSDs and athough the older one,as a pup,never chewed anything,the younger one,at 14 months ,still chews now.She has a particular liking to the kitchen lino at the moment.!!!!!! :)

lol, my Staffy mix was the same..... she's completely destroyed our kitchen, but my auntie who has her sister said she never ever touched a thing. My Chihuahua never destroyed anything either, so I'd say it depends on a dog individually. It also depends whether you have a working breed that needs a lot of mental and physical stimulation or a breed that was originally bred for companionship.

It is very admirable, my dear, for a young lady to take higher education in such a committed manner as yourself.

I am afraid I must suggest caution as regards your dilemma. It must be very flattering I am sure to have  these fine young men strutting around university in their finery and asking for your hand but I think you would be prudent to wait until you have less pressure before making a commitment until you have graduated.

There are wonderful openings for young ladies these days and after you have graduated then make sure he has a good job before becoming his fiancée, good luck in the future my dear, I hope this advice has been helpfull.

Thank you everyone for replying....

Bit confused about Miss Marthas response as we were talking about getting a dog and not about our engagement but there we go...

Don't worry! It sounds like someone has accidentally fed a troll...

How can you tell if its a troll? Always wondered that as i am really guilable.I thought that was posted by a sweet lil old lady. :)

hehe

We just really want a dog... really hard, wanted a dog since i was young but know that i will just have to wait :(

They have a certain style, gullible! And such wonderfully mannered language is often a giveaway!! :)

Thing is I am 20 in a couple of weeks and planning to get married next year on our 4th year anniversary when we met.... just feel abit like not her place to comment... i dont know, dont want to sound rude.

It amazes me why people want to do something like that.Why go on to a forum and try to spoil something that has been put  there to give someone much needed help and advice? After all,if this forum wasnt here there would be far more problems in the dog world than we have now.I think its great that so many people can get together and have a chat and get advice on ALL dog breeds and life in general.People are so friendly on here and sacrifice alot of time to do their best to support others.Its just stupid.
Well done for spotting that one though.I would never have known,but like i say,im too guilable.They would of had me going for ever more.The sweet lil old lady is a nasty cloak to hide behind aswell.Shame on you for being a troll. :$

Im sooooooo confused?!? what is a troll??

It's a mystery to me, gullible! But I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who clearly need to get out more since their main occupation seems to be disrupting internet forums.

Fluffy, Wikipedia's short description of a troll is

>"a person who posts inflammatory messages on the internet, such as on online discussion forums, to disrupt discussion or to upset its participants"

Oh dear, oh dear, I am so very sorry I misunderstood.

Yes, yes of course you should have dogs, but, make sure he marries you first.

Oh come on now,you are really confusing me.Are you a sweet lil old lady or are you a troll?
I  can visualise her to look like the lil old lady in the tweety pie and sylvester cartoons. :)

I'd say it's Dennis and co :-D

hehehe do you know what is making me laugh is that no one has told me around how much it costs to keep a dog....

you guys make me laugh

FluffySlippers take no notice of Dennis :-D He likes upsetting people, you'll get used to him......He got banned as Dennis McCarthy so he keeps posting under new user names.

ahhh right.. didnt really bother me just didnt understand relevance :)

Dont worry, No one understands him :-D

love the reply justlou!

Im in same situation as you fluffy- im 21 been going out with my boyfriend 5 years, probably getting married in a year or two, and just got our first dog. Yes she costs money- vacc-£46, microchip £15, insurance £8 a month, Food £18 for 7.5kg, lots of toys- but that doesnt matter when you realise how much she makes our life more fulfilling- brought us closer as we have a motivation to do things together etc.
Go for it, if you feel your'e in for the long haul, then why not!

ps- we didnt pay for our pup- she was given to us by someone who couldnt cope, why dont you look at recueing maybe- but as youre first time owners dont try to adopt a dog thats had a really hard time- for the dogs and yours sake- if you know what i mean?

Hope ive helped you xx

fluffy-slippers,

A puppy will take the same time and commitment and cause the same no of sleepless nights as a baby, possibly more at first as a baby at least wears nappies and can't run around like a lunatic chewing the electric cables and furniture (that comes later in children ;) ) and doesn't need such intensive training and socialising at first.  Ask yourselves - are you ready for a baby?  If not then you're probably not ready for a puppy either ;) ;)

Oh and the feeding costs will be higher with a puppy ;) 

Hi Chris Jack

What dog have you got?

Hi again- she's lakeland x irish terrier- in the breed profiles you'd expect a terror as the irish can be a bit of a fighter, and the lakie's stubborn. Bu she's neither of these, she does turn deaf frequently though!
If you're looking at terriers- you must treat them as dogs and not babies, "give em an inch and they will take a mile"
I would never have chosen a terrier- it just happened that way- ive always wanted whippets- nice calm, affectionate, but do love company and cuddles.
What are you thinking of? Ive not come across the lowchen really- to be honest going on looks- they're not my cup of tea- what are your deciding factors?

maggy x

If i got a lowchen i wouldnt have the show cut.. as i prefer without, it would either be that or a tibetan terrier, its all dreams really :)

Well its always nice to have something to look forward to, just mind you dont get so obsessed with the idea until you just cant live without one! By the time i get flo- my boyfriend was desperate to get a dog just to shut me up! only kidding...
They're best friends now!

oh- and read my thread "are we too young?" its got some good views on young people owning dogs ;)

Hi Fluffyslippers
We have 2 male Löwchens - aged 9 and 4. We don't show them so they aren't trimmed to look like little lions :)

Both have great temperaments, the older one has always been fine as regards being separated from us (but he's never been left longer than 4 hours at a time). However the younger one absolutely hates being on his own. Fortunately he almost always has company- either his 'brother' and/or us but he pines dreadfully if left on his own in a room for longer than a few minutes.
In a kind of perverse way this can have advantages in that his recall is brilliant, I never have any trouble getting him in from the garden etc. - all you have to say is 'Bye' and he's in like a shot :)

Please feel free to send me a pm if you'd like any more info.

edited to say I haven't worked out precise figures but their 'running costs' are very low :)

everything considered it costs me about £1000 a year to have my dog.