Daughter getting dog...what do you think? *UPDATE*

My daughter's boyfriend wants to buy her a dog for her 21st birthday which is tomorrow. She goes to college three days a week and is home the rest of the week. When she is home she spends most of her time with the boyfriend. The boyfriend already has a boxer mix female. She is a very sweet dog but like an only child. My daughter loves this dog but she misses Casey and wants a Lab. I told her I am not home enough to justify having a dog for now.

I am just concerned that they will not have enough time to train a puppy. The boyfriend goes to college in our home town and also has a job. If they do get another dog, I think they should wait until spring/summer. However, maybe I am just being an overly concerned mom.

I am not sure they have thought it through as to how much time and effort it takes to train a puppy and also how the boxer mix will deal with a puppy.

Thoughts?

Helen,

All your concerns are absolutely well founded !

Each and every animal we have, deserves training, at least in some part, and will retain that throughout it's life. Though important, that is secondary to what I feel is...

One never knows, how a more mature animal will deal with a Puppy !
Even when things go well, at the onset of contact between mature and puppy, at some point, things could go wrong, and I think we know who would suffer the most in a fight, because of a little excessive puppyness.

IF they decide to get another, those animals need to be closely observed for at least a week or more, to make sure there isn't a disaster pending.

Tell them to wait till they have time to do this right.

Have a good Day ! :)
S.W.

I echo was SWHouston said. Labs are high energy and need a place to run and burn off that energy. It wouldn't be fair to keep a dog cooped up all day.

Q: What kind of Friend, would give you a Dog ?

A: The second best Friend, you'll ever have.

Have a good Day ! :)
S.W.

The "mom" of a now 2 1/2 yr old lab (Coco) :)
The first six months was HIGH energy 175%. Thankfully we had a backyard to use (our church's parsonage) that was fenced in to let Coco run. Lab's take allot of work at first. Coco is the MOST loving, loyal dog I knew before we got Snoopy :)

Do you have the last word on this, or do they? If it were me, I wouldn't
do it now. Both people have school & work, and want to spend time with
each other and that's fine,but sounds like little time left over for all that a
new pup requires. Then there is the expense involved. For what its worth,
I'd say, not now.

I would at least try to convince her to wait until the spring/summer. For me personally, I find it much to hard to raise a puppy in the winter. It is so much harder to housebreak a puppy, and you can't accomplish much socialization.

A friend of ine has labs. One is 11, the other 12. She says it is a relief to have older labs, as they "only" need a 2 hour walk per day now! :rolleyes: When they were younger, she thought nothing of going off on a hike with them for half a day or so, on a regular basis (4 to 6 days per week). She takes them to 3 different places with huge open fields, and they can run and run and run and . . . .

I've heard boxers are high energy, low attention span (for training). How old is the BF's dog? No need to answer, just another factor to work in the mix. If that one is older, it is not going to be helping exercise the puppy much; the humans are going to have to do it!

If he is considering maybe rescuing an older dog, that would be far different than a puppy or young dog, particularly with Labs. Encourage him, if you can, to give her a stuffed Lab, with a note attached that says "redeem for a real dog, when we meet the right one!" For years I kept a "baby bunnie certificate" that Paul gave me that was good for one "baby hatchling bunny as soon as we have a house with a yard." It was, of course, finally redeemed for a certain Miss Hoppy!

Well you and I both know Labs... and I totally agree with you that they should wait til things with school slow down to get a puppy... those Lab puppy are go go go!! And need constant attention, as you know! But good luck to her with her decision!:)

I think your concerns are well founded. i think its best to wait to get pets till after ones college course/s are through for good.

but if they adopt or rescue an adult dog the chances of the dog being potty trained is high an if he/she is that should alleviate training time a good bit. however its still of course unknow to how the Boxer mix will take another dog regardless of its a puppy or not.

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Originally Posted by Karen

If he is considering maybe rescuing an older dog, that would be far different than a puppy or young dog, particularly with Labs. Encourage him, if you can, to give her a stuffed Lab, with a note attached that says "redeem for a real dog, when we meet the right one!" For years I kept a "baby bunnie certificate" that Paul gave me that was good for one "baby hatchling bunny as soon as we have a house with a yard." It was, of course, finally redeemed for a certain Miss Hoppy!

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I like that idea Karen!

I second that, GREAT idea Karen!!

That is such a sweet idea Karen. Or perhaps I should say Paul, since I suppose he came up with it in the first place. :) So cute!

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Originally Posted by Varga

That is such a sweet idea Karen. Or perhaps I should say Paul, since I suppose he came up with it in the first place. :) So cute!

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Yes, he's pretty darned adorable, and smart - I "got a good one" as my friend has told me many times!

Rach and her boyfriend ended up adopting a 3-month old black Lab puppy yesterday. The boyfriend found the pup on Craigslist. (I have never been to Craiglist so I didn't know if this was an appropriate place to get a dog or now) My daughter called me last night to say they had rescued the pup from the current owners. She said it was a horrible living situation and they felt good about taking the pup. The pup slept the whole way home (about a 2 hours drive), settled right in at the boyfriend's house and is getting along well with the other dog there. She said the 2 dogs played and played and the older dog even let the pup get a drink out of her bowl and stood behind the pup waiting for her to be done.

I do have to say that my daughter is very good with animals. She always bathed Casey for me, cleaned her ears without me asking and loved her beyond words. Whenever I talk to her on the phone she always tells me about the other dog the boyfriend has. The boyfriend says the dog is Rachael's "daughter". They are sort of homebodies when they aren't at school or work which is a good thing.

If I can get photos I'll post them here. She wanted me to come over after work and see the pup.

Rescue dogs are always good.:) Sounds like the two dogs will be getting
along just fine. Does the pup have a name yet?

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Originally Posted by lizbud

Rescue dogs are always good.:) Sounds like the two dogs will be getting
along just fine. Does the pup have a name yet?

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They named her Zoey.

Stories like this are SO good to hear. :love:

YEA Zoey, NOW you have a world ! :D

Have a good Day ! :)
S.W.

Congrats on your grand furkid, Zoey!

They should have her to the vet for a "wellness" check right away. Craigslist has all sorts on there.

Now charge up the camera batteries and get photos!

Just in case someone doesn't know, it's...

www.craigslist.org

Then scroll to your "State"...

Then Click on your "City"...

Then in Community, click on "Pets"

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT !!!
Just in Houston, there were over 1000 entry's for just today !!!

Aww, I can't wait to "meet" Zoey! (Great name, btw!;))

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Congrats on your grand furkid, Zoey!

They should have her to the vet for a "wellness" check right away. Craigslist has all sorts on there.

Now charge up the camera batteries and get photos!

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They took her to the vet on Saturday. She has fleas AND ringworm. I guess the place they rescued her from was not good. I haven't met the pup yet. I didn't want my daughter bringing her over this weekend until the fleas and ringworm are cleared up.

Here are some photos of the sweet baby girl.

Zoey is adorable!:love: I hope they get the fleas and ringworm cleared up quickly. Good for your daughter and her boyfriend for taking this puppy from a 'not so nice' situation.:)

Sweetheart!
Sorry to read about flea and ringworm.

Zoey is precious! :love: What a lucky pup! 3 months isn't too bad of an age. :D

Zoey sure is adorable.:) I hope that her ringworm and fleas go away quickly and that the other dog won't get them either. I'm so glad that she's now in a loving caring forever home that she deserves.:)

Zoey is adorable. :) Reminds me of my Maggie (black lab mix). I adopted
her at 3 mos too. That's a good age. Not a tiny puppy, but still baby enough
to enjoy their play with a older dog.:)

With treatment, those fleas won't last long and the same for the ringworm.

Holy ears! Perhaps she's part hound or spaniel. I hope they didn't pay for her. Usually when they're that young, at least in our area, its the breeder selling them. You can't sell dogs on craigslist so they pretend they are owners who can't keep them and are asking a small "rehoming" fee.

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

Holy ears! Perhaps she's part hound or spaniel. I hope they didn't pay for her. Usually when they're that young, at least in our area, its the breeder selling them. You can't sell dogs on craigslist so they pretend they are owners who can't keep them and are asking a small "rehoming" fee.

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I am not sure if Rachael's boyfriend paid anything for the dog or not. It should be interesting to see her grow up and find out if she is mostly Lab.

All I know is my daughter is totally in love with this pup. She is constantly calling me with questions of what to do which I gladly answer for her. I wish the pup the best, unfortunately, I am not willing to keep the dog at my house if she and her boyfriend every break up. They think they are in love. Oh to be young again......

Zoey is too cute! I agree it will be interesting to 'watch' her grow to see if she is indeed mostly Labrador! Sorry to hear about the fleas and ringworm, make sure she and her boyfriend don't 'rub' against the puppy (we all do this when they are puppies- they are so cute and soft!) because ringworm is zoonotic and no fun!

OH!! She is adorable!! I'm glad they got her from the no-so-good situation she was in. :D

She's so pretty! I like the picture of her on the tie-dye blanket! I hope her fleas and ringworm go away very quickly.

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Originally Posted by *LabLoverKEB*

Zoey is too cute! I agree it will be interesting to 'watch' her grow to see if she is indeed mostly Labrador! Sorry to hear about the fleas and ringworm, make sure she and her boyfriend don't 'rub' against the puppy (we all do this when they are puppies- they are so cute and soft!) because ringworm is zoonotic and no fun!

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I got ringworm one time from an outside kitty I adopted. It took FOREVER for it to go away using a prescription cream. I never want it again.