Vet bills for a pug

moneygrower said:
Well I'll just have to go see, the wee people are spending a few hours with grandparents in rathfarnham on Friday so may go and meet the lurchers and boxers then.
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These are some of the ones in rehoming at the moment although the website can sometimes be a little behind.

[broken link removed] The important issues are:

1. Fee €135.
2. Someone there during the day and the dog not left alone for too long as they get stressed and may possibly do damage or start barking and maybe upset neighbours.
3. Walled or fenced garden.
4. Keep the dog in at night.

Hope you get to meet your forever friend
 
OliviaReilly said:
Vet bills can be up to $1,000 a year. You might want to consider getting pet insurance (VPI, Trupanion, etc. or a vet discount program, like United Pet Care or Pet Assure. Maybe look into your options.
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Please note AAM is an Irish site. Those providers do not operate in the Irish market.
 
Just want to tell everyone who took the time to give us advice, we finally got our dog!
It's been a real education, and a surprising one. After many months of soul searching and pound tramping we finally booked a wee girl today. After all our talk about pugs and bichons, all dogs with relatively low exercise needs, we borrowed our friend's young lab a few times while they went on holiday and discovered we absolutely loved his high energy, talking him out walking, running, throwing balls etc. It was one of our favourite things about him! Very little you read about dog ownership says anything about how a dog that NEEDS exercise is like having a really sweet excited personal fitness coach in the house!
Borrowing our friend's dog I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone thinking of getting a dog.
We were worried our son who is slightly asthmatic son would be allergic, turned out he improved! Meant there was no need to consider the less shedding dogs.
My husband, who never had a dog, discovered he really loved dogs, big surprise to him, though not to anyone who knows him.
The dog was delightfully confident and playful. He was also extremely hard to walk, very strong and pulling constantly, and generally a brat about the house. We could only motivate him with food. I prefer a dog with a bigger eager to please streak, having grown up with collies my expectation of dog responsiveness and eager to please-ness is very high!
We nearly gave up on the pound route. The dogs availalbe were very often unsuitable for young families. There were staffies but I'd have zero confidence with the breed. We decided to try a lurcher, took a beautiful young girl for a walk and she had less than no interest in who was holding the lead. Felt like we'd be adopting a high maintenance cat.
Filled out long forms and got our landlord to sign and scan a pdf (he's very nice!) of a letter saying we could keep a dog. Only to get told me could not adopt a dog, but we could foster puppies?!? Like I'm going to put my kids through bonding with a puppy just to hand it back. (dogs in distress)
Other places just won't give dogs to people who are renting.
Only puppies we did see were psychologically damaged, or the only one left in the litter was the one who wouldn't make eye contact.
Finally decided to head for the hills! Rang lovely people in Cavan SPCA (Tina) and Carrick Dog Shelter who take dogs from Monaghan dog pound. Didn't get as far as Tina as we got a 12 week old collie (!!!!) puppy from Carrick Dog Shelter. She is calm and confident and rolling over for tummy rubs, a really sweet dog. We know she's a big commitment but we're confident we can keep her occupied and happy. We'll be doing dog training classes with her straight away.
This is her http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/dogs/3936322
Although her name is offically Sasha it doesn't mean much to her (she's not in the shelter very long) so we can change it without too much stress on her. All suggestions welcome!
We've ended up with the polar opposite of a pug and we're very excited about it!
 
Moneygrower - Well done you are giving your children a very good lesson in life.....& showing very good example ........you will find this very rewarding...

I did similar 6+ years ago got an 8 wk old puppy within 3 days after he left the shelter he got parvo virus which is deadly for dogs but i nursed him through on the instructions of my vet he was in ICU for a couple of days but since then i had hinm neutered and he get his annual vac#s and that is the only expense.....I had troublesome times with him...discipline mostly...play biting.......but now i have a beautifull animal......that I love dearly......One has to remember that you can never trust a dog 100% espically with children but I am sure you know that.......he will go through all the stages like a child does you just persevere and in time you will have a gem as I have...........

For what its worth I would never pay for a dog (except to a rescue/shelter) as I think too many beautifull animals out there looking for good homes.....

Well done you.....
 
Best of luck with your new doggie, she looks absolutely beautiful and hope that she has found her forever home. You did your homework and hopefully it has paid off. Delighted that you took a shelter dog

moneygrower said:
There were staffies but I'd have zero confidence with the breed. We decided to try a lurcher, took a beautiful young girl for a walk and she had less than no interest in who was holding the lead
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My exprience with both of these breeds has led me to have the exact opposite view to yours. Staffies who have not been trained for the wrong purpose are generally speaking 'lick monsters' and lurchers are known as 'couch potatoes'. Like humans they all have personalities of their own. Staffies in particular just like pit bulls have been given a very bad press over the years and a lot of it has been unwarranted.

Dogs who have landed up in a pound or shelter are most likely traumatised and with due love and care they will generally come out of their shells. Shelter life can be hard on them with a constant stream of different volunteers and possible adopters coming and going.
 

I often wonder why shelters dont do 'overnights' with potential adopters. Its next to impossible to get to know a dog in such a stressful environment, but maybe a quiet evening in someones home would help?
Although perhaps there are insurance or other issues.
 

Overnight would not be enough to allow both to get to know each other properly. I feel that dogs take a few months to settle down and feel that they are not going to be moved on/thrown aside again. I think its the reason why so many people foster animals and why so many of them are classed as 'failed fosterers' when they admit defeat and keep the animal.
 

The ideal would be a few weeks/months of course, but love can blossom overnight (it constantly does when I mind a neighbours pet!!). I agree that longer would be better, but overnight would still be better than a few minutes in a stressful environment imo. I understand that weeks and months are not practical in a shelter situation where they need to know if someone wants the dog or not to free up a kennel space.
 
I think with young kids it's not a good idea to take on a dog who is obviously damaged, unless you are an extremely experienced and confident dog owner. Our wee girl in only in the shelter a few days, and although handed in as a stray she was in too good condition for that to be really the case.
By the way, I'm not knocking staffies, it's just personally I have no confidence or experience with them and I think it's important to go with a dog you feel confident with. Just as some people think Collies are nuts, I know that's rubbish but I wouldn't push one on someone who needs a more low energy dog.
There are a couple of stafffies in Dog's Trust if anyone's interested, they look really sweet.
 
All dogs should be supervised near children. Collies are lovely but as you say they are lively and I don't think I'd have enough energy for some of the ones that I've met. In an ideal world they are meant to be working herding sheep. My springer was very lively when younger but he was meant to be out hunting.

I totally agree with you that people are comfortable with a breed that they are familiar with. When I initially did not have contact with dogs on a regular basis, I was wary of staffies and pit bulls, but over time have come to know and appreciate them and hate the bad press that they get.

Don't want to take the thread off-topic but as so many people class staffies and pit bulls in the same category this quote sums it up for me:

"My kids are around pit bulls every day. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German Shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the Pit Bull." - Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer).

Came across this lovely video to-day about Diamond the pit bull hero:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAzPY5f-_Vc&feature=share
 
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