Not too long until I move house and begin my hunt for a new family member!

A couple months ago I joined up here talking about getting a staff puppy and hoping my landlord agrees to letting me have a pet. He ended up saying no... so using that as a blast of encouragement, I had decided to buy a house of my own!

Mid next month is when I move in and once I get settled in I am looking to finally get the dog I have been waiting for since I was a toddler Having a few months to think about things since I last posted I've decided to go against getting a puppy, and have decided to adopt a dog from my local shelter; Since I would definitely benefit from the experience gained from an older dog, whilst also giving a dog a place in what i hope to make a good home... http://www.hularescue.org/the-kennels.html Seamus is the fella I've got my eyes on .

I was wondering if you guys could help me get my list of what to get to prepare my home. I would like to maximise my chances of a successful adoption and also make for a "easy" transition into dog ownership

Thanks a lot! Andy.

wow well done you, moving and adopting just had a look at seamus, he is so lovely.



you will need a bed, maybe a crate, toys (looks like he likes footballs), lead, collar, food bowls, food and of course a camera to take lots of pics

He looks like a lovely wee man! And huge thanks for re-homing, there are so many out there that need good homes.

You'll need to 'dog proof' the garden. Is he going to be allowed upstairs? If not then maybe a baby gate, although he is 7 so he may well know this. All the obvious, bowls, toys, leads etc. I guess you'll find out what his character is like when you get him. Mine isn't a chewer so has free run of the place, is he going to be left and if so is there a safe place for him to go.

Congratulations on buying your first house and the adoption, I did it a couple of years ago and then got Moo, best thing I ever did.

Thanks for the replies. I'm buying the house purely so I can get a dog so I am not taking the decision lightly haha.

What size do staffies usually come under with dog products, medium? He seemed to be an average sized staffy when I went to meet him.

He was amazing when I went to meet him, really friendly/happy go lucky but not a complete loon. When all the other dogs in the kennel were going crazy barking their heads off he was happy to sit next to me and play, with not so much as a peep He was an angel compared to the others there.

There was a boxer (andre on the op link) there stealing the bed sheet from the dog kennel next to his, trying to tear it up and ultimately peeing on it. It was a mad house

I am likely to let him have free roam of the house, luckily pretty much all rooms are hardwood floor so hoovering dog hair won't be an issue.

For toys I have had a look through other threads on "indestructable/staffy appropriate" toys ones that caught my eye were initially intended for zoo animals (lions) so I may get something like that.

What would you define as a dog proof garden? At first glace it seems pretty secure, just a lawn circled by a 6ft wooden fence.

Just wanted to pop in and say "good on ya" and good luck!! There should be more people like you in the world and just maybe it would be a better place, plus your post made me cry (hormonal...possibly) xxxx

Garden sounds dog proofed then,(I just ment so he can't escape they can be good at that).

Personally I haven't found a toy that is destructable to a staff, but yours maybe different, I wouldn't go spending a foutune as he might just shred them, although its funny to watch all the same and hay, your gonna spoil him rotten anway

Have you decided what food your going to put him on yet? I'm really excited for you he sounds like a wonderfull little fella

Ahh sorry for making you cry Carla! Maybe I wrote my post out a bit too sincere and emotional!

Janey, the only way I could imagine him getting out is digging... but hopefully he won't want to get away from me that badly I think it was about £15 for the "lion friendly" ball, so hopefully I can spare £15 a month on replacing toys . I wouldn't be suprised if I end up spending more of my monthly budget on him than me!!

I'm hoping on doing a raw/kibble mix. Any suggestions on good kibble brands? I don't intend on getting "value" kibble as im sure it's probably false economy, plus even more doodoo...

Also, if anyone taking a look at this thread is trying to flog some old stuff i wouldn't mind having a look at them.

I feed Ruby on Wrainrights, find it good and quite good value, but once we get Beau in 19 sleeps....we are going on BARF xxx
And thats ok it was the bit where you said I am looking to finally get the dog I have been waiting for since I was a toddler...blub bulb xxx

andyhickman wrote:Also, if anyone taking a look at this thread is trying to flog some old stuff i wouldn't mind having a look at them.

eBay all the way baby!!!

Thanks for the suggestions Carla, I'll check them out now (spending my time productively at work).

Haha my parents always said "How do you expect to look after a dog if you can't even look after yourself?" and they were always opposed to getting a dog themselves.

What offended me recently is I have been a tenant to my landlord for over a year with no missed payments or complaints. It took me 3 weeks to get in touch with him through the agency and he then goes and says no... I got fed up and decided he doesn't deserve a tenant like me paying his mortgage

Sorry for the rant haha.

No worries, I'm really lucky my landlord is one of my dads friends and he don't care, as far as he is concerned it's our home. It's a shame, but we will never be able to afford to buy a house, not unless we win the lottery or someone leaves me A bit of money

And I moved out when I was 16 the first thing I did was get a cat! At one point I had 4 cats, sadly now we have 2 left. Originally I wanted a chiwawa (I know that's not how you spell it :/) Husband always wanted a SBT, and that's how we ended up with ruby! Now I'm waitin for our new addition Beau, who comes to us on the 8th

Im so pleased that you are giving a rescue staff a good home.good luck on the adoption

That is great to hear you are giving a rescue staff a good home, and an older staff too which is even better. Seamus will be one lucky boy if it all goes ahead for you. He is lovely by the way.

We only got our dog 6 weeks ago and the only things she will play with is a ball on a knotted rope (tug toy I think it's called), or the towel which I try and rub her down with after a walk!

If you do get to adopt Seamus, could you maybe give the kennels a blanket that smells of you or your house. This way he can get used to your smell and bring the smell of the kennel back with him when you do get him. Same as what you would do with a puppy as it might help him to settle in to your house.

Carla, yeah it's a painful cycle. Need a place to stay so you rent, can't build a deposit up because you're paying for rent. Can't get a house to future invest money into without a deposit. But you need a place to stay so it starts all over again.

My dad retired last year so he could look after my mother full time (MS) and moved to a bungalo. Lucky for me and my brother when they moved they gave us some of the released equity as contribution to a house, I owe them so much in every way. One of the things i looked forward to most was becoming a crazy pet owner, was very disheartening having a landlord say no. No worries, this isn't a spelling bee I Hope to see loads of pics of little ol' beau

Thanks "i love leah and lois", appreciate it

Karen, I hope I manage it haha I can imagine that being quite fustrating! From my experience with dogs so far, the funnest toys are also the most incovenient... Like shoes Great idea! I will have to ask the kennel if they will permit that next time I visit.

Seamus is gorgeous. Looks like an active lad be ready for lots of play and walks, just look at those muscles!! You seem like you've d0one a fair bit of research already, which we love here. Responsible owners are our favourite!!! The website is really informative with loads of experienced members so hopefully any questions you have will be answered. Getting a slightly older dog as your first will be good as he will already know how to behave in the house! good luck and any questions fire away, well done for looking to rescue!!!

It is a very empowering photo of him and he looks even better in the flesh! I have been looming around the forum for a few months now just reading everyones stories and hopefully from seeing others experiences I can apply them to situations of my own in future. When I went to the rescue initially i was suprised he hadn't been taken in. His original owners couldn't care for him any longer so they left him with hula. He was adopted once before but came back after an "incident" where he tugged on a babys clothes whilst it was sat on the owners lap . His history indicates to me that he will be nothing short of the perfect dog for me

One of my reasons for deciding on a SBT is from the bad reputation they have. I would take pride in having a good example of the breed, to do my part in dispelling the horrible rep the breed has gained from people blaming the dog for it's behaviour, and not the awful owners who conditioned them that way.

A few things have happened since I made this thread!

Sadly the rescue centre rejected 3 of my applications to adopt, because they felt the dogs in question were not suited for a first time owner. That was the staffys Seamus and gunner, and the rottweiler jake. (link should still be up top)

Since then I have been scouring the internet looking for pups, to pass the time at work (as you do ) and a couple of weeks back I came across an advertisement for a litter of English bull terriers

I went to visit them the other day and have since then fallen in love with a black/brindle and white little fella. The breeder grilled me and my brother for two hours straight and had pretty much answered our own questions in the grilling before we even asked them! The little guy should be joining me in my house this weekend

He had just turned 9 weeks old when I met him so he is ready to go (they've been BAER tested, first vaccine shot, wormed). The sire of the litter is Ch. TULSADOOM ABI ALBON (Link to his page http://www.tulsadoom.com/malepedigrees.htm) and the Dam is Busell Darling Damsel (I don't have a copy of her pedigree but i will upload the pups pedigree when i get the certificate.).

Sadly I didn't get to meet the Sire as he was a stud, but i met the dam and she was a really happy-go-lucky and lovely girl When I work out how to upload pictures here (whilst on my office computer) I will upload the pictures I took when I got to go meet him

Let me know what you think guys! - Andy.

congrats, the link does not work btw.

bet you cant wait for the weekend to come, dont forget we want to see lots and lots of pics, good luck

hmm, tried linking to the main webpage and got a similar error! how strange. simply googling the sires name should bring up the breeders website atleast

Oh yes! I'm looking forward to sharing pictures of his antics

Good luck and looking forward to the pics

I literally just read this thread the other day and made a mental note to ask how you had got on when I had more time. Shame it didn't work out with the adoption, but great to hear you've found the pup for you. And I have to say, I'm really impressed with how much research you've done and you've thought of everything, you're clearly going to be a good, responsible owner. Stick around and let us know how it all goes. We're always here to chat or for some advice, and of course, we want to see lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (you get the idea!) of pics of your new puppy

Fantastic news on the new pup. I am sad the adoption did not work out but personally we get the dog we need. Here's to seeing lots of pics and sharing in his antics.

We also looked at adopting before we got Mia but they do make it hard for you and they wouldn't allow us to adopt either of the two we were interested in so we just gave up in the end, sad thing is I bet both are still waiting at the rescue for the right person...

As disheartening it is to be turned down for adoption, id rather be turned down than think they would give up a dog to anyone who can cover the adoption fee. Shame they turned me down though, as i got along well with all of them!

...But then I would never have gotten the little guy im getting now! Speaking of which, I'm thinking about calling him Toby. What do you all think?

lovely name, although billy had no name for the first few weeks except no

haha, i'm sure "Oi" would suffice for now :p it works well enough with my brother!

just read all this..Seamus reminded me of my Jethro! Lets just hope and pray he gets a wonderful forever home soon.

Hope all goes well anyway and look forward to the continuing adventures...

Just read through this and wanted to say congrats! I bet you are very excited!

vanessa wrote:just read all this..Seamus reminded me of my Jethro! Lets just hope and pray he gets a wonderful forever home soon.

Hope all goes well anyway and look forward to the continuing adventures...

I thought the same thing Vanessa - Seamus does look like Jethro.
Hope all those dogs find forever homes. I loved the Bull Mastiff as well.

Looking forward to hearing about your little fella's antics.

lynne wrote:lovely name, although billy had no name for the first few weeks except no

Im so glad you are getting an adult, they are so much better for first time dog owners as you will know thier personality as you get them. First thing i can advise is a baby gate for your kitchen to keep him in there for the first few days to see if he is a chewer! If he is youi cant let him into the lounge alone or your heart will be broken lol

Ah hayley! Sadly Hula rescue declined my adoption requests so i didn't adopt in the end

Believe it or not, I've only just seen this thread!

Gorgeous pup you have there, and his parents are both stunning dogs from good kennels!

Thanks! You're one of the reasons I ended up getting an EBT haha. As the adoption didn't pan out for the staffie at HULA i started looking for other breeds, and I thought Dempsey was a lovely specimen!

Aw, Dempsey's all embarassed, now!

haha, i love how our pictures are both of an EBT sleeping. Probably the only time they're still enough to get a photo of them...