New member and like to have A puppy or even try a rescue puppy/dog

Hi all,

Just like to introduce myself.

I would like to have a sbt puppy now that my kids are older (3 daughters: age 4,7,9) and would like to know more about the ins and outs of this before I decide. Moto is research research and more research.

one question I like to ask the experience owners is how long would you say is reasonable for a sbt to be left alone.

We both work and of course the kids go to school and was wondering how long you leave your sbt alone in the house for?

Hope this is not a stupid question.

Thanks

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Hi ya, Welcome to the Forum from Flo & me

That's not a silly question at all, if only other people would consider things like this before getting a Dog. Ultimately it depends on the Dog and how he/she is brought up. When still a puppy it will need lots of attention just like babies but as time passes you can condition it to accept that you will be gone longer and longer by building up the time left alone.

this is not a quick task but will be the best way of getting the Dog to understand that it is normal. My girl is left from 8 in the morning until lunchtime and then from 1 through to 3:30 when my youngest gets home from school. I know some leave theirs longer but make provision so that they can go outside or have a walk with paid or neighbourly help.

Thank you for the quick reply Ian.

I leave work at 9:10am and my OH does not come home until approximately 3:30pm with the kids.

That's like 6 hours

That would be fine after getting the pooch used to it. We took our girl on whilst the schools were out for holidays (she was a mature rescue Staffy) which gave us some time to work on things but a puppy may well need longer than that but there are solutions like day care or walking services.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

As a breed they like to be around people and can suffer from separation anxiety and may act out when left alone. Ideally this is something you can train them out of. Suki is okay by herself for 8 hours or more but we started getting her used to it from the first week. Leave the pup alone for 10 minutes and then 20 and slowly increase from there. Make sure they have something to chew and it helps if you exercise the pup first

I think it's a personal preference and relative to the dog. Some dogs handle is better than others. I personally would never leave a dog alone for more than necessary. Knox was left from 8am til 12 and then 1 til 4 but he would have a big walk in the morning, a lunch time walk and two after work walks.

Welcome from Misty and I. Misty hates being left alone, we never leave her for more than thirty mins but we are very lucky in the fact my husband is at home most days and my parents love dogsitting whenever we want to go out.

Thanks all for the replies.

Just getting my head around possibly having an extra loved member in my family and trying to see what impact he/she will have to the family routine.

Would have loved to adopt but worried about the history and with my kids, so have decided ( on paper) a puppy which will grow up with the family.
Just hope I would have done enough research before making the commitment, for the puppy sake.

Hiya from me and Vinnie, thank you for researching and really taking all into consideration before deciding it really is uplifting to see some sense in the world of so many irresponsible people. It is hard work at first but as above with build up time shouldnt be a problem at all xx

Welcome to the staffy world

Thanks for the welcome all

Really looking forward to having a sbt but holding off until I have done my planning. Lol

Been reading all the helpful information here and it is looking promising
Did not realised about the health checks. Only know about the certificates etc for a purebred.

Learning a lot here and thank you all.

Going to look at the puppy forum section now

I am still learning and have had mia for 10 years happy reading

Now I have another option .

Don't see why I need to purchase a puppy if I can find a rescue puppy/dog that will be fine with my 3 daughters ( ages 4,7,9).
At first I was skeptical about the history of a rescue dog but after reading here, seems maybe it can work??

Any advise please?

Its only my opinion but I think that would be a fantastic option. I think it would be a lot easier than a puppy, plus a rescue dog might come toilet trained etc and it also means you can walk them straight away unlike a puppy. Plus any neutering will have already been done. Of course the best reason would be to give a dog which had has a rubbish start to life a loving family home, what could be better! Im not saying it would be easy but what a wonderful way to get a staffy. Good luck x

Thanks for the kind words..
You are right...it took a while for me to understand that rescue dogs are not all mysteries..
Like you said, Why not give a better life to a dog that had a rubbish start??

Just need to read up and research again on adoption/rescue dog.

Yippee, hopefully a staffy is coming out of kennels soon

Definitely, just trying to find out how to go about it and do I need to purchase items for adoption.

Trying to sort my kids out at the moment...

Karlo555 wrote:Now I have another option .

Don't see why I need to purchase a puppy if I can find a rescue puppy/dog that will be fine with my 3 daughters ( ages 4,7,9).
At first I was skeptical about the history of a rescue dog but after reading here, seems maybe it can work??

Any advise please?

That's actually a very good option. A rescue puppy will have had all the health checks and depending on what age, it might well be on the way to being toilet trained as well.

What part of the country are you in ?

hia from me and sasha

Ud be best to get a young pup with not too much of a history least this way any issues the dog may have can be worked upon. A rescue dog if over 6 months will be neutered they will also be vaccinated flea'd wormed and microchipped . An 8 month dog would be ideal this way u can get the dog used to your kids . It can be a lot harder if u have a toddler in the house but if your kids are older they will adapt more easily to the dog .
Few things i believe you should be aware of
Dogs temprement
Has the dog been socialised with other dogs
Any current health conditions .
Training the dog .
Do you have the time for a dog for training, walks etc .
Money for food and dietry requirements .

Thanks.   These were the questions I asked myself and oh before I did my research to ensure we could look after the puppy.

I am in the north west.

The other questions will be asked if there is a suitable dog to adopt.

But the rescue centre will know of the family situation and should not ask or recommend one that will not fit.

There's a list of rescue centres here :-
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t10833-rescue-centres-list

Or take a look at some of the rescue centres that list in this section and see if there is one near you :-
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f71-staffordshire-bull-terrier-rescues-adoption

Thanks Ian,

Already looked at the lists and sent emails.

It's all thanks to you guys that has moved me to rescue centres

It's all thanks to you guys that has moved me to rescue centres   I blame you lot. Lol

Seems a lot of the centres have age range between 3-10 years old.  Will that be an issue?

Trying to see which age group to be looking at, 5-1 year old??

Do I also need to have purchased items for the adoption home visits or not?

Sorry for all the questions I feel so inexperienced at the moment

Welcome to the forums. No worries on being inexperienced you're here to gain knowledge and that's wonderful. Some people just jump right in head first. Here you will find a lot of information to help ease your mind and make the right decision for you and your family. Again welcome aboard.

Hi and welcome from Oz and me Lots of great advice for you here I hope, personally. Only leave Oz for max 4 hours at a time, I know he can go longer as he has had to in the odd occasion but I don't think it's fair on him