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Looking to get a dog now that me and the Mrs are settled in our own place.   My intention was go go to Dogs Tust and give a home to a dog that really needed it, I have owned dogs before and been aorund dogs my hwhole life same as the other half.   But I felt Dogs Trust to be very picky and somewhat stand-offish it was as if they never wanted to give the dogs up, everyone i liked the look of they raised somesort of problem.     I get they need to be careful, but it's highly unlikely imo that you can make a full assessment of a dog when its caged and kept with a number of other dogs.   

With that in mind, I have been looking at the buy and seel websites and making enquiries, some offers seem to good to be true.   So I am obviously weary about handing over hard cash without having any sort of comeback should something go wrong.   Today I seen a French bulldog advertised on Gumtree for £300, now to the best of my knowledge this seems like its been given away.   

I'll give you three pieces of advice.

Don't ever consider buying a dog, or any other animal because it's cheap. It's the worst possible thing to base your decision on. When you break the cost down over 12/15 years, a few hundred quid is neither here nor there.

Don't re-home an unwanted dog because you want to do something nice. Unwanted dogs are usually (not always) unwanted for a reason. It is possible to get an excellent dog, but you will be relying on luck if your not an expert.

Reserch the breeds. find one that breed that you like and who's traits and personality will fit in with your preferences and your situation. Then go and look at several litters. Look at the dam rather than the puppies. Try to see her true character. When you find one that you really really like, then buy it.

Thanks Red, the £300 put me off because it seems far too cheap.  My instincts are something isn't right. 

The cost isn't really important if its the right dog I am prepred to pay.   

Hi Kmac

Please do not buy a dog from classified listings or the internet adverts, if it looks to good to be true it is, a lot of dogs are mass bred for puppy farms and will have lots of medical issues in the future from inbreeding and such. 2 options I would go for

1) Retired Greyhound Trust are always looking to rehouse retired greyhounds and can make the most fabulous of pets, they do not need excessive exercise as they are sprinters and are more than happy to lounge around the house, a nice 30/40 min walk twice a day should be ok. Your local dog track will have details of where u can go. Will of course still be some criteria you have to meet but in general they are great to deal with (6 foot fence for example).

2) bit more expensive but if u are not going to rescue a dog then go to the kennel club website, look for the breed u might be interested in and the will have a list of accredited breeders (from pups obviously) will also say when there last litter where born. Great breeders will be able to show you the parents (or at list one of them) will get you to visit them by appointment and spend time with you making sure the dog is right for you and vice versa. I can highly recommend Labradors, I've got 2 myself and the guy I got them from based  near Peterborough was able to show me 2 generations if the family on both sides as he has Labs as working dogs, in fact my second lab I got from him not as a pup but as a 3 year old as he was downsizing.

Please please please be weary of anyone just offering u a dog for cheap, puppy farms even operate out of houses now (just a couple of pups there but not able to see the parents).

Good luck in your quest, dogs make fabulous pets but need a lot of work put in, especially if u get a pup, make sure you go to puppy training and be consistent with your commands (not just you but your partner too). Also think of the additional cost in a daily basis. Do u both work? If so getting a dog is probably not for you as what will happen during the day? A dog needs to have human contact most of the time, the longest my 3 dogs are left is probably 2 hours. Extra cost if we go on holiday as it can be £20 a day per dog for kennels (the cost of another person going on holiday). Lots t think about mate.

How about a British Bulldog?

English Bulldogs may suffer from more health problems, and more severe health problems, than any other breed. That’s no accident – it’s the result of the way they’re bred.



http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/pets/dog-care/the-trouble-with-bulldogs

Wp

Not so wp

Lol. Been whooshed obv,

That's wit she wants, foot well and truely put down. 

Amy and Karl Mahrenholz have a blue french bulldog bitch (looks like a cracking dog) due to give birth in the next few weeks, fwiw

know location won't suit but plenty of pictures of parents etc on facebook

"Less than two weeks till puppy time!

Any one in the market for a blue French bulldog puppy (Comes from strong bloodlines, KC registered and full health checks) as a family pet and UK based let me know and I'll update you with developments."

I heard that all French bulldogs have to be born by cesarean section.

Will second what Omm said as far as greyhounds.

Retired Greyhound Trust are the main people but there are plenty others out there and shouldn't be too far from wherever you are.

I have 2 at home with a couple more to follow in the not too far future. Absolutely love them, so easy, they sleep 18 hours a day (literally). I give them a walk round our local cricket field (15-20 mins) first thing in the morning and last thing at night and they are happy as anything. Absolute characters too, I took them straight from the track and took the boy about a week to settle in and the girl was easy as anything apart from a little piss indoors to begin with but she is so smart and learnt so quickly. I'd recommend getting a bitch if you were going to just get one, we started off with a boy and he got a little whiney and lonely but soon perked up with company.

Happy to provide any other advice you might need on them also/answer any problems to the best of my ability should you decide on a greyhound.

I'd 100% take a greyhound.   Wee bit big for our house though thats the only problem.  I think the biggest I could go to would be a spaniel.   Or somehing similar.   

Had 3 cockers, and they've all been incred.

Great with kids, and very adaptable to the lifestyle of owners.

Ours goes out for an hour walk in the morning, and then normally sleeps for the rest of the day/night, other than when there is food about :D

A friend of mine has always had greyhound rescues. She describes them all as 'speed bumps' as they spend so much time just lying around. Sound like a really good breed to me and I'd definitely consider one.

Best bit of advice would be to take your time and decide exactly what you want from your dog and exactly how you're going to spend time with it.

There's a dog for pretty much every requirement but you need to get one to fit your lifestyle. If you get a working breed it's going to need to work or have some kind of work simulation. If you get a lap dog it'll be happy sitting in your lap all day having a stroke but won't want to be left alone for too long.

Whatever you do don't just get a dog because of how it looks. You could get an Akita because you love their striking eyes but once you get it home and realise it needs 3 hours exercise a day it might not fit in with your requirements.

Research is the key and I really can't stress it enough.

Other side of the coin - 15 years ago i decided to treat my mrs to a fancy restaurant lunch - drove from london to wales - arrived at restaurant - alas did not serve food on a Sunday - ended up having a pint and pack of crisps - the restaurant had a springer spainel  which decided to eat my crisps - went to bar to get another pack and there behind the bar was a sad little puppy looking at me - she was the runt of the litter - £300 lighter back to london with one dog -

Best dog i ever had - brill with people - cats and children - needed 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour at night walking or they get bored.

Try the Dogs Trust again - i know they can be a pain - we got 2 cats from the cats protection place and they came to do a house visit - i asked them if they wanted to check my bank accounts to make sure i could afford to feed them - no sense of humour these people - cats now ten years old - i always go for the runts and bitches as they seem to be more lovable.

No jokes about my Mrs please

Just love an underdog

GL it what ever you go for