I'm finally getting a dog!

Dominic

Axe_meister said:

They may have bad recall but at least you can keep up with them. Unlike my Beagle, although she has become very lazy these days. I love scent hounds, despite being "hunting dogs" they don't seem to have a bad bone in them. (Which is why Beagles are used in animal experiments).
Have fun. 
We recently inherited my daughter's cockerpoos, so now have 4 dogs.

strangely hunting hounds are always gentle and sweet natured ,often a bit aloof ....especially sighthounds .
They become a different creature in persuit of their quarry ;
The ancient Irish/Celtic poet Oisin said of Wolfhounds " A Lamb by the Hearth ,a Lion in the Chase "
People are always surprised by how docile Greyhounds are .Bassetts were originally bred for Hares and tracking like Beagles but both are very docile.

Ozzie744

Congrats! Have fun with your new puppy. We just brought two rescures into our home last weekend and I'm happy to report they are adjusting to their new home quite nicely. Pets are family. Would love some pix of your new addition.

Penn

Set of chainmail gloves for when they are teething. Had a couple of puppies and the chewing you with their little needle teeth is a joy. 

CavemanGrogg

An air tag, or similar device, that you can  put on their collar.  Considering the cost of these devices, it's a no brainier, the peace of mind that they provide, makes them more than worth the money.

duotone

Congratulations! 

I would definitely recommend puppy classes, you will learn a lot of useful tips & I definitely found it money well spent.  And it helps with socialising with other similar aged dogs. 

The lady who ran our local class I took my Labrador to, recommended buying a harness (instead of a traditional collar) from https://cosydogs.com/collections/dog-harnesses & told us to avoid Extendable/Retractable Leads as they “teach puppy’s to pull”.

Good Luck!

Dominic

^  A Halti is even better for a dog like a Bassett

Creed_Clicks

Adopt!!

Offset

CavemanGrogg said:

An air tag, or similar device, that you can  put on their collar.  Considering the cost of these devices, it's a no brainier, the peace of mind that they provide, makes them more than worth the money.

That's actually a bloody good idea Grogg. The Apple thingy must be a good shout.

Kittyfrisk

Offset said:

CavemanGrogg said:

An air tag, or similar device, that you can  put on their collar.  Considering the cost of these devices, it's a no brainier, the peace of mind that they provide, makes them more than worth the money.

That's actually a bloody good idea Grogg. The Apple thingy must be a good shout.

Only if you are in an area where there are other Apple devices that can be used for responding.

"If your AirTag isn’t lost inside your home and is somewhere further away that’s no problem as you can then instead rely on Apple’s Find My network to locate it.

Using your iPhone you can set the AirTag to Lost Mode which will in turn have every iPhone that is part of the Find My network be privately on the lookout for your lost item. When one of these devices passes within range of your AirTag you’ll get an anonymous update on its location – though importantly the person that passed by won’t be alerted that they’re near the tracker.

Last but not least, if someone finds the Apple AirTag the old-fashioned way they can use any NFC-enabled device (whether it’s an Apple product or not) to find out basic contact information for you (if you choose to opt-in to this feature) so that they can return it to you."

As an iPhone user, I looked into them when I wanted a tracker for my wayward lurcher, but Airtags just aren't good in rural areas, so I bought a Tractive GPS tracker instead. There are no cheap options & homework must be done on running costs, replacement value etc.

Dominic

My wife got something like that for Ken ,our Tom Cat ......he disappears for days when he goes courting
works 80% of the time
Was about £30 Amazon

joeW

Congrats - I have 2 rescue French Bassets and they are utterly awesome.  Puppy classes are great fun and good for socialising, but with Bassets, I find it’s worth managing your expectations regarding training - they do as they please - so you can save some £’s on training!   

I’d  go for full cover, if you are faced with a bad situation, the last thing you need to worry about is the cost.   

Dogs for the win!!! 

matt_sefton

As @Kittyfrisk says, airtags are next to useless for dog tracking unless you’re walking your dog in heavily populated areas. Tractive trackers are excellent and have got me out of a tight spot several times with our dog Fred who used to disappear for 20 minutes chasing the wild deer around the woods and fields where we live. 

RedRabbit

I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Last week I arranged to go and see the pup with parents this Thursday.  I offered to pay a deposit through Pets4Homes but they've never sent the payment request or asked me to initiate the process (I don't know how much the deposit is).  It was just left that I'd message them tomorrow to confirm I'm still going and they'd send me the address.

I've messaged them a couple of times today to try and find out what's going on as they've updated the advert to show the one girl pup as the only one available and ready to go.  So far I've had no response either through text or the site's messages.  I'm hopefully worrying about nothing, but I am starting to get the feeling that they are ignoring me.

joneve

digitalscream said:

PetPlan are great - we've never had an issue claiming. On top of that, every vet we've ever used has dealt directly with PetPlan, which removes a big headache; they don't do that with all insurers.

EDIT: Your vet can't make recommendations on insurance, but there's a way round that - you can ask them who they insure their own pets with.

HUGELY important point - do not get annual cover, make sure it's lifetime cover. The difference is that if your dog has any health issue that requires long-term medication or treatment, annual cover will just cover it for the rest of the year and then you're on your own. Lifetime cover will, obviously, cover it for the rest of your dog's life.

Absolutely this. 

Our 10 month old springer has had double elbow surgery which has cost us over £7k...we stupidly took out the "middle" level of cover (£4k per year) which is nowhere near what we've paid out per year for our 9 year old, so thought that would be plenty....but even though it's cost us nearly £3k out of our own pocket - if she develops any issues with her elbows down the line, we'll still have cover for it as a pre-existing condition with our lifetime policy. With an annual policy, we'd likely be fucked (I'm also going to see if we can increase to the top level once we renew haha) 

Best of luck with the dog...they really are the best (even though they're dickheads at times)

paulnb57

Socialise, socialise, socialise! With our English Bull pup we went to two different classes a week purely for the socialisation, anything else was a bonus, reward good behaviour, short, often, training sessions. Finish on a high if possible, if its not working stop and try again later.
Our two have to earn everything, treats need a sit, a stay, a down, a recall etc, you dont need training treats, we use normal kibble, keep it fun, make huge fuss when they get it right, you might look and feel stupid, but have a good voice for good and a bad voice for bad behaviours. 

We used to get up a couple of times in the night and kick the pup out for a pee, they soon get to hold on until morning, never had either dog pee or poo in the house, they bark to go out as necessary now.

Good luck! Its hard work for the first few weeks ( actually its hard work with an English until they expire)

Short trips in the car with something good when they get out at a park or similar, if car sick half a Ginger Nut biscuit works a treat before setting off

Dogs are an absolute joy, our make us laugh every day, people who hate dogs should be euthenised….

digitalscream

RedRabbit said:

I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Last week I arranged to go and see the pup with parents this Thursday.  I offered to pay a deposit through Pets4Homes but they've never sent the payment request or asked me to initiate the process (I don't know how much the deposit is).  It was just left that I'd message them tomorrow to confirm I'm still going and they'd send me the address.

I've messaged them a couple of times today to try and find out what's going on as they've updated the advert to show the one girl pup as the only one available and ready to go.  So far I've had no response either through text or the site's messages.  I'm hopefully worrying about nothing, but I am starting to get the feeling that they are ignoring me.

Very rare that a reputable breeder would do that; in fact, it's often the case that backyard breeders suddenly become very hard to contact when you make requests like seeing the pup with the parents, asking for the parents' hip scores and medical records with the vets' contact numbers etc (which are all things you should do if you're going through a breeder).

Are they a licensed breeder?

RedRabbit

digitalscream said:

RedRabbit said:

I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Last week I arranged to go and see the pup with parents this Thursday.  I offered to pay a deposit through Pets4Homes but they've never sent the payment request or asked me to initiate the process (I don't know how much the deposit is).  It was just left that I'd message them tomorrow to confirm I'm still going and they'd send me the address.

I've messaged them a couple of times today to try and find out what's going on as they've updated the advert to show the one girl pup as the only one available and ready to go.  So far I've had no response either through text or the site's messages.  I'm hopefully worrying about nothing, but I am starting to get the feeling that they are ignoring me.

Very rare that a reputable breeder would do that; in fact, it's often the case that backyard breeders suddenly become very hard to contact when you make requests like seeing the pup with the parents, asking for the parents' hip scores and medical records with the vets' contact numbers etc (which are all things you should do if you're going through a breeder).

Are they a licensed breeder?

They're shown as licensed on both Pets4Homes and their website (the latter is mainly for stud hire).

When I originally messaged them they weren't quick to respond but I'd get a response in a couple of hours.  They were happy to let me see them with the parents - dad is one of their studs (and a very handsome fella).  Dad's genetic tests were on the advert.  All seems above board, I just can't get a response out of them now.

Just a bit bemused and anxious at the moment...

paulnb57

I was just out walking our two and remembered what trainer once said, which was she didn't care if her dogs do as long s they are well socialised, don't jump up at people and most important come back when called, start recall from day 1..

Sporky

duotone said:

The lady who ran our local class I took my Labrador to, recommended buying a harness (instead of a traditional collar) from https://cosydogs.com/collections/dog-harnesses & told us to avoid Extendable/Retractable Leads as they “teach puppy’s to pull”.

I believe you have to have a collar by law.

If you're getting a harness (we use them so I'd recommend it) get one with a ring to attach the lead on the chest. If you clip on the back the dog can get all its weight and power down. Attached to the chest gives much more control. 

RedRabbit

RedRabbit said:

digitalscream said:

RedRabbit said:

I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Last week I arranged to go and see the pup with parents this Thursday.  I offered to pay a deposit through Pets4Homes but they've never sent the payment request or asked me to initiate the process (I don't know how much the deposit is).  It was just left that I'd message them tomorrow to confirm I'm still going and they'd send me the address.

I've messaged them a couple of times today to try and find out what's going on as they've updated the advert to show the one girl pup as the only one available and ready to go.  So far I've had no response either through text or the site's messages.  I'm hopefully worrying about nothing, but I am starting to get the feeling that they are ignoring me.

Very rare that a reputable breeder would do that; in fact, it's often the case that backyard breeders suddenly become very hard to contact when you make requests like seeing the pup with the parents, asking for the parents' hip scores and medical records with the vets' contact numbers etc (which are all things you should do if you're going through a breeder).

Are they a licensed breeder?

They're shown as licensed on both Pets4Homes and their website (the latter is mainly for stud hire).

When I originally messaged them they weren't quick to respond but I'd get a response in a couple of hours.  They were happy to let me see them with the parents - dad is one of their studs (and a very handsome fella).  Dad's genetic tests were on the advert.  All seems above board, I just can't get a response out of them now.

Just a bit bemused and anxious at the moment...

Got a response on my way home.  The pup is still available but they are now saying that they can't keep her for the extra week and I'd need to bring her home on Thursday.  Still no mention of paying for either a deposit or making the payment through Pets4Homes (they hold the funds until the buyer confirms they have received the pet).

I've not really got everything ready to bring her home on Thursday, but I could scramble tomorrow and get the few bits I'd need right away...

I don't know if I'm being paranoid but I've got alarm bells ringing in the back of my head.