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Pets
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 10/05/2008, 12:01
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Richard T
Joined on 26/02/2008
Posts 92
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 Magnolia wrote: | | Firstly, i'd like to apologise for my email reading so negatively (when I was doing it I actually thought it was quite funny) however, you must appreciate that what you wrote didn't sound too positive from a dog owners point of view. |
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Hi Magnolia,
Thanks for the serious reply. I'm not sure what I said in my original post that "didn't sound too positive". I was merely trying to set the scene. If I'd just said "what sort of dog should I get" then you'd quite rightly want to know a bit more detail about it's likely surroundings and the reasons for thinking about getting a dog. I thought I'd try to anticipate those questions. Instead what I got felt like dog owners telling me that only dog owners should ever become dog owners!
Whilst my knowledge of dogs is limited (but I can bore you for hours about cats!) I know enough to understand that different breeds have different characteristics: some are more suitable for families, some more suitable as working dogs, some more demanding of attention (and maybe some less likely to eat chickens!) so what I'm trying to understand as a starting point is that, given the scene I set, which breed is more likely to fit the bill. From there we can do some more research and understand the sort of comitment my son will have to make and he can then decide for himself whether he is prepared to make that comitment.
Richard T
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10/05/2008, 12:10
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Hoddy
Joined on 23/08/2004
.....Forum Moderator..... NW Leics/SE Dordogne
Posts 2,101
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My nearest neighbour here in France has a very sweet-natured Border Collie ***. She doesn't attack the hens or ducks although she can occasionally be seen rounding them up. She is excellent with children and is willing to be subjected to all sorts of minor indiginities by them.
She barks loudly whenever anyone approaches, but probably wouldn't defend you if you were actually being attacked. She does sound very fierce though and might deter strangers. This breed might be worth your consideration.
Hoddy
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10/05/2008, 12:35
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Christine Animal
 
Joined on 14/05/2005
Deux-Sèvres
Posts 4,243
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You still haven't said if the property is fenced Richard. I would agree with Hoddy and was thinking more of a German Shepherd type adult if your son is not too disciplined about training, they are less likely to go after chickens than a gundog type.
But you say your son does not have much money and wouldn't want a dog with a big appetite or that may require expensive vet bills. Noone can tell in advance with any dog what the future vet bills may be. Any dog will cost something to purchase or adopt, have costs for food and the annual vaccinations, as has already been said.
The most important would be your son's motivation. Is he willing to take on a dog for about fifteen years, is he going to stay in France forever? If not, is he ready to get the dog passported in case he goes back and not leave him here. If he wants to go back to England for stays is he willing and able to pay for the kennels here while he is away?
animalaidsaintaubin.monsite.orange.fr/
Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful
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10/05/2008, 16:32
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sweet 17
Joined on 05/08/2006
charente maritime
Posts 2,355
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Sensible questions from Christine, as you would expect. Richard, don't think that everyone is just being "negative" for no good reason.
I must admit that we are all probably doting dog owners and lovers and hopelessly biased in favour of dogs but your first post did ring some alarm bells for me.
Like Magnolia, I must apologise if I came across as "negative". For your information, we gave a home to a little dog (simply because we felt sorry for her) and she has, to all intents and purposes, altered all our plans for our retirement.
We meant to travel, live in a small lock-up-and-leave home, be able to be entirely selfish, etc. Instead of which we now have a large garden for the dog to run around in and we more or less stayed put all last summer as it was too hot for the dog to travel in the car.
Then, earlier this year, we took her back to the UK (at the bequest of the grandchildren) and she was so incredibly good, staying in hotels, enduring the noise of the train, etc. etc. But the OH and I were completely stressed out with worry about the effect of all the changes on the dog, so we have sworn never to do it again.
I am telling you all this just to emphasise to you that animals can and do "take over" your whole life. Many people spoke with the best of intentions, so I hope you don't think we were being deliberately obstructive or purposely misunderstanding your request.
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10/05/2008, 16:59
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Richard T
Joined on 26/02/2008
Posts 92
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| Christine Animal wrote: | | You still haven't said if the property is fenced Richard. I would agree with Hoddy and was thinking more of a German Shepherd type adult if your son is not too disciplined about training, they are less likely to go after chickens than a gundog type. |
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The property is surrounded by 4000 sq metres of woodland and although technically it is fenced the fence needs major repairs. There are only two other properties within, say, 500 metres - both used as holiday homes and both properly fenced - and then nothing for at least 2km in any direction. In other words it's a very rural area, mostly forest and little in the way of livestock.
A friend of mine has a German Shephard - a magnificent dog but seems extremely demanding.
| But you say your son does not have much money and wouldn't want a dog with a big appetite or that may require expensive vet bills. Noone can tell in advance with any dog what the future vet bills may be. Any dog will cost something to purchase or adopt, have costs for food and the annual vaccinations, as has already been said. |
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Actually I support my son who is, in effect, working for me. So although we would both like to keep the bills as low as possible there would be no shortage of money for essential vet bills etc.
| The most important would be your son's motivation. Is he willing to take on a dog for about fifteen years, is he going to stay in France forever? If not, is he ready to get the dog passported in case he goes back and not leave him here. If he wants to go back to England for stays is he willing and able to pay for the kennels here while he is away? |
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My son's motivation is that he lives alone in a rural area and, not unnaturally, he would like some companionship. Whilst he may prove not be entirely disciplined when it comes to exercise or training (an that's only my assumption at the moment) he has been around small animals (but not dogs) all his life so I have absolutely no doubt that he would reciprocate any companionship.
It's not entirely clear whether he will stay in France long term but again if there are costs involved in passporting they will be met without question.
If one has never previoulsy owned a dog then I guess it's impossible to say for sure how you will cope with the long term comitment. But that applies equally to having children. As a father of four it's quite possible that with the benefit of hindsight I might have avoided having children altogether but sometimes you just have to go with what your heart says. In the case of children I'm so glad I did.
Richard T
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10/05/2008, 17:14
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Russethouse
Joined on 23/08/2004
Forum Moderator
Posts 9,808
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Many area's have dog training classes, that may both help the dog and mean that your son meets some people who live in the area.
www.quimperclub.org
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10/05/2008, 17:15
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nectarine
Joined on 02/08/2007
Lot-et-Garonne
Posts 225
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It's been some years since we owned a dog (a West Highland Terrier) but with our impending move to France we plan to get another one, and for exactly the same reasons as Richard's son - companionship, an early warning system, etc. Now I'm not a dog expert and can only talk from experience of owning a Westie but the one we had was an excellent companion, guarded his territory well, barked at strangers, was well behaved with the kids and didn't eat us out of house and home. Also, when we went away we often found willing dogsitters for him to stay at - people who would baulk at taking a Lab or Alsation but who didn't mind having a smaller dog in the house.
I'm sure there are temperamental Westies around but a dog's temperament will generally match his owner. Bad tempered owner equals snappy dog. We put in strong discipline with him (it was important to remind him who was leader of the pack) but it was well rewarded with a loyal dog.
Anyway, just my experience and I hope it helps. Perhaps a smaller dog for Richard's son might at least keep the food bills down.
If you look like your passport picture, then you probably need the holiday.
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10/05/2008, 18:12
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Val_2
Joined on 23/08/2004
Posts 3,117
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We took on our first ever dog last year as a new pup and it is a 24/7/365 commitment which we were prepared to do. He is a Shiba Inu but not recommended if you want a dog off the leash as this breed can never run free except in a very well enclosed space and then they have been known to leap 6ft as they are a breed thousands of years old and originally a wild dog in Japan where they were also used to hunt birds and for dog fighting. On the plus side,he is very intelligent and loyal with great affection for our three cats who he has taken to looking after and they him. The big drawback is the twice a year fur shed which comes out in balls not loose hair and looks like they have mange from the sheer amount of the "blowing".At not a year old yet we have this to look forward to. Just in case you decide to choose this breed and don't realise what you are letting yourself in for.
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France Forum » Living » Pets » Re: What Dog?
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