Flipping Heck! where did all that come from :)

First off, i dont have 3 children (not sure where the 8 year old came from???!!!) i have a 4 year old who starts school early next year and a 2 year old who goes to nursery again next year but also goes to full day nursery 3 days a week now :)

my "disabled" mother is at home having had cancer for the best part of this year and last...... she is in remission (we hope!) BUT still tires easily, however she would be company for the puppy.. and her german shepard dog Taz will love the company too :) shes a puppy lover.

As for the working 3 days a week, with the best of respect, i dont even manage to give my kids 24/7 of my time, i couldn't possibly do that for a puppy/dog...... what i can do is offer the love and family unit to a lucky pup, they may not get taken out for a 3 hour run every day, they might not even have company every hour of every day.. but what they will have is a 4 year old who will groom it till it shines, a "mum" who will spend all her free time playing, training and walking it, a little boy who might be a bit rough at first but who will throw a ball for hours...... and a family.  We wont be perfect, and there will be days where i will :rolleyes: at something chewed.  But that said, i never gave my kids up when they became too much hard work and i certainnly wont give up on a puppy/dog.  If it becomes part of my family its there forver , no question. 

Can't believe all the grief you've had from some people, Mobby :rolleyes:

No home is absolutely perfect - even the ones that seem to be at first look can have things go wrong. You sound as though you've put a lot of thought into all this, and I for one hope that you get a fabulous pup, and that your kids can then grow up knowing a) how to behave with dogs and b) appreciating the love that a dog can give to them. I was an only (and often very lonely) child and I spent every hour of my day, when I wasn't stuck in school, with my dog - he was my only friend. Children can get soooo much benefit from dog ownership and we're talking about a Lab pup here, not a flimsy little toy dog or a badly-bred guard breed with an iffy temperament. In my book it's the ideal match, so just go for it.

Yes children take time dogs take time, husbands take time, Mums take time. 

Very often all these things can be combined (Mums can walk children to school instead of driving, and dog gets one of it's walks and socialisation opportunity etc etc).

From the dogs point of view a less intense relationship with many members of a family has to be more healthy than a very intense relationship with one person, which I see quite often and wonder if it is actually good for the dog.

A lot depends on breed and fortunately a Labrador is not such a one person dog that family life will be difficult.

In the posters circumstances they should go for a show bred pup in my opinion, or get a well matched rescue from Labrador rescue where the history is known and the dog has been in foster care an it's quirks known.

quite right, mobby i think your home sounds like a great set up for a pup

Your exactly right some bad breeders or the retail outlets charge as much or more than good breeders. 

the best start with any breed research is the breed clubs.  Members of breed clubs not only have to abide by breed club codes of ethics and best practise, but also have to care for their reputation among their peers.

Breed club secretaries are also usually aware of the bad breeders too, so can help you stay clear if you have found a litter advertised to tell you if the breeders are cowboys or OK.

I would have to say for a well bred pup from health tested parents £600 is about right.  It costs a lot to rear a litter, I find about £1600 or more if there is no out of the ordinary vet expenses such as a C section or problems after whelping out of hours.  This is without taking into account the breeders time and efforts and extra fuel and other unquantifiable costs like extra phone calls.

Any pups for much less than this will have had corners cut on their rearing (cheap poor quality food) and will almost certainly not be from parents with full health testing, which for Labs would be hip scoring (my last one 3 years ago cost £170) Elbow Scoring (probably same cost as Hips) and annual eye testing (about 25 plus petrol to go to specialist).

Think about it the latest games consoles, mobile phones, TV's etc are pretty expensive.

Good Pups have usually cost in line with about a months salary, so £600 is not excessive.

Just because you are not going to show does not mean you should not expect to have the most typical pup from excellently planned matings.  Show dogs only show at most 50 times a year most not half that, so for some 350 days a year they too are pets.  With a pup from a litter bred to the highest standards of health temperament and matching conformity to breed standard will give you the best chance of having a dog suitable for a pet.

Showing requires a dog that is friendly confident, happy in all manner of situations from travelling to crowds, hotels railway stations, which requires a rock steady nature, and a dog that is a cripple will not be able to win either.

I haven't mentioned the Working side as many people might find a working bred dog a bit much dog to start with,a s they will have sharpened working drives, and need much more training and exercise to be a happy companion compared to their more laid back show brethren.

I would say that you do sound as if you could cope with a lab puppy very well ;) ........however I too would say that you ought to be looking to pay more in the region of £500-600 for a well-bred puppy, from well-bred parents - I know that there are lab puppies out there for around £350, but it is important, as you are looking for a family dog, that you get a puppy whose parents have hip scoring (and papers proving it!) and up to date eye certificates - otherwise you may well find yourself having to traipse back and forwards to the vets with a puppy that is not up to scratch.   OK - so not all "home-bred" puppies are like this - but you don't know!

Secondly, you need to look for a breeder that has puppies (and dogs) "underfoot" - adolescence in labs can last for 12-18 months - and if you think of stroppy teenagers - then multiply by 3 - you can have an adolescent lab!   So this could kick in when your little one is about 3 and last until s/he is about 5 - so what happens to puppy when toddler has friends around?   You need to know that you have a dog that can accept his/her place in the household and one that will happily retreat to a crate for peace & quiet and not insist on joining in!

And also - I too would advocate show rather than working lines, just because they are - generally speaking - slightly less "hyper" during adolesence!

Margot xc

Thanks for that information :-)

Tbh, in 2 years i will be qualifying as a counsellor (im in year 3 now) so i will be working from home, so that wont be an issue. I have re-read back and actually neglected to mention that my mum doesn't work (shes on disability due to a long standing illness) so she will be caring for the puppy on days i work at my house..... and i will come home lunchtimes to see him and walk him, so he would rarely be alone at all, maybe just for 2-3 hours a day before mum comes and after she leaves :-)

The reason now is probably one of the best times is because everything is quite settled in my family, the kids go to nursery 3 days a week so i will be with the pup for a few hours before and after work before they come home.. uninteruppted training times ;-) also if i wait 3 years like you said, my eldest will be 8, and i really want her to grow up with a puppy so that its truly part of the family :-) another reason is we already have a 7 year old cat, who is adoredby the family, at the moment she is very active and kittenish and generally excepts new things, however i think at aged 10 it would be unfair on her to introduce a new pet whilst shes in her twilight years, i would hate to have her feel excluded and also threatened :-) (btw we have 4 cats but shes the eldest) the twins dont care who comes in as long as they get attention and we have a siamese who adores dogs and actually thinks he is one 8) (well he sits on request and begs for food haha)

I do really really appriciate the advise though so please keep it coming, i am leaning towards getting an older puppy, maybe 6 months or a bit more..... but still not really sure where to look, will try the lab rescues though :-)

ALso forgot to mention, we have a run in the garden which lab will have full access too (we built it for our cats when they were kittens as they were housecats for the first 3 years untill i felt they were old enough to be safe outside :-)) a garden but also not be able to get out or people couldn't get in, which means we can have a large dog flap so that he can have as much outside time as he likes (we also have a kennell (again for the cats, well it was a littertray house but thats not been used for ages) so that if he wants to stay outside (Will have full access to the inside) he will have a little "get away" outside :-)

Sorry, i ramble like you wouldn't believe, i just want you all to realise i honestly dont do anything without consideration for my family and our animsls and am usually very responsible! :-) Hence why im looking into it so much and not just buying the first thing i see for under £300!

Sorry im getting really confused with this site! How do you tell what is the last reply??

If you go to active topics when you click on the topic it takes you to the first unread reply (no tick in the icon by the posters name on the left), then scroll down and you will find any other replies that are not checked as read.

I always use Active topics .

Ahah! thanks :)

did you have any luck with the lab specific rescues mobby? another thing to consider though, many might not want to rehome at this time of year- correct me if i'm wrong all, but do most rescues not do rehomes from december to end of jan? avoids the christmas present senario.

Don't worry she is getting plenty of help ;)

good stuff. am i right about the chrsitmas thing? can't remember where i heard it

No absolutely not, well not the rescue I work for and another I support :) This is one of the busiest times of the year and more than likely that new dogs are turned away so new homes are very much needed.

All homes are vetted and so there is very little chance that any will get through as 'presents'. I know that there are calls to say they want one for a present but they get a polite refusal ;)

ok, just thought i'd check. can't think where i heard that then...hmm. looking into rescuing a doggy in the summer myself :D

I had 4 children in 5 years and had 2 dogs although i had the dogs first but if you have kids you generally have a routine and dogs love routine so long as puppy has its own bed for peace and quiet and the kids are taught how to behave around a dog and vice versa i think its a great idea they will all have great fun, i agree, although ive never had a lab, that show lines will maybe have less working drive than the show dogs so will probably be less of a handful ,my dogs were  Border collies from working lines. You seem to have thought it out well and lab rescue sounds good,theyll have a really good idea about what would be suitable for you, hope you find something special

Little update:

im waiting for a text from a potential rescue home :) they may have a 7 month old puppy that sound perfect!!!!! (too good to be true in fact!!! :D)

However im refusing to get my hopes up!

thanks to all the girls who have pm'ed me..... ive left a couple of messages in places, but no suitable dogs so far.. im still staying in touch, and have decided that i wont be going the normal "breeder" route..... i have a secure family and would like to give someone a second chance at a loving home...... as long as i know there history :)

Ooooo :D

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you Mobby! :-D I'm looking forward to hearing when you have your new dog no matter what age it is. :)

oh brilliant! i really hope it works out for you. your totally right, if your not looking to breed or show giving some poor thing whos had a rough start a great home is wonderful. is it a dog or a bitch do you know? do you mind (sorry can't remember if you said before or not). a seven month old will be nice and sturdy to, hopefully will be better for the kiddies while they get used to behaving round him/her

Forms are in the post :D :D

Then its a home visit, and then they will discuss what sort of dog we are eligable for. Lady from Labrescues was lovely :D

she thinks 8 months old would be perfect, young enough to be adaptable but old enough to go gentle with the kids!

YAYYYYYYYYYYY :D

Brilliant news :D

I am glad things are moving forward ;) :D

Lucy
xx

Brilliant news!! I bet you're so excited! :D :D :D

congratulations! let us know how its going ok?

Thats fantastic news. If you want to do a bit of reading in preparation two books I would recommend are; 'Understanding the Rescue Dog' can't remember the author and 'The Rescue Dog' by Gwen Bailey (or the other way around) Both can be found on Amazon and are very good in giving you an idea of what to expect.

Thanks :)

The lady i spoke to was really really nice, was on the phone for agessssssssssssss!!! :D explaining exactly what i want in a dog, exactly what i can offer etc.

She said i sounded very prepared lol!!!

I'm so pleased for you! :-D Sounds like things are moving along nicely.

update :D,

Leo has been home with us for just over a week now...... and for a 13 week old pup he has settled in SOOOO well. he is amazing with the children (especially ds aged 2) and has really adjusted amazingly well - We have had issues with chewing haydens cars, but we are starting to figure out what can be left on the floor and what cant (ie anything ).  Toilet training has been a breeze *bangs hand repeatedly on wood in case im jynxing myself!!, he hasn't had an accident in 4 days now in the house, and is using the cat flap to go out and about in the garden..... we have invested in a doggy door as the rate hes growing i have visions of him getting stuck :).

Hes starting puppy classes on the 14th January, and we are going for the KC good citizen awards, as i have heard they are good preparation starting agility which is where we want to go eventually :)

He is sitting and laying on command (most of the time :rolleyes:) and seems to be very much enjoying being with us!, next week dh goes back to work so he will start being left alone for a couple of hours a day, luckily this will coincide with his last jabs being given so we are hoping a long walk in the morning will keep him tired enough for him not to miss us too much!!!