Whisper

I have 2 cats and 2 dogs, the cats are soooo easy to look after, but the dogs are a total different story. They are extremely high maintenance, need to be let out alot to go toilet,the springer jumps all over the furniture and barks and chases the cats and my ridgeback if he is left alone, will chew everything (literally we need a new kitchen because he chews so much!)! Honestly, i do love them and wouldn't get rid of them but i have come close oh so close on several occasions.
I would have a long hard think about it before you make the decision, in my experiance i would say they are harder work than a baby (i guess it all depends on the baby too).
It wouldn't quite be the same thing but could you borrow a friends puppy or rescue dog for a weekend to see how things go, how much time you have for it etc? Just an idea.

Either way i'm sure you will make the right decision for you.

turbo_mom

Thank you so much for your replies everyone. You are all alot more sensible than I am LOL

NEWT you are right I am definetely not that kind of person. I'm one of the biggest animal lovers on the planet hence why I have all those pets The last thing i'd ever do is tie my dog up to a tree and leave him there. Thats cruel and inhumane..

But I talked with DH some more and he told me he's not ready right now. I guess I just got excited because I found 2 people who are going to have litters ready in the next 2 months.
But I have to respect Jay's decision so the right thing that I have to do is wait. I asked him if he might be ready to adopt near september (my birthday) and he said maybe. So I will have to try and hold out until then.

I just envision having a cute dog here to cuddle with and take for walks to the park and take for car rides. Don't get me wrong I know how much work they are and i'm prepared for that when the time comes. I know it won't be easy. But I am just going to have to be patient. I want Jay and I both to agree on it and pick one out together. I don't want to cause any stress between us. It's just a sign that right now isn't the best time. I was just hoping to have a little furball to play with in the summer time

Thanks again everyone you are all awesome. Thanks for talking some sense into me

Margerle

Glad you and Jay are working something out. Sometimes our OH's have their feet planted on the ground a bit more than we do (and vice versa!)



I had a small breed (Papillon) for the last 5 years, and DH and I purchased a Chessapeak Bay Retriever (for husband) AND a Pomeranian (for DD1) a month prior to finding out we were pregnant.

They are both almost a year old now, and they are finally starting to get appropriately trained, although the large breed is still much more puppy than the pom.

It will be nice having some company for the baby, but we're all thinking about having a small baby in with all these animals.

Anyway, they really are a ton of work, and I know from experience Beagles are very high energy animals.

Good luck to you and bless you for your love for animals!

freckleonear

I know what it's like to long for a dog, I grew up with dogs but haven't had one since I've been married as we rent our house. Sounds like you've made a sensible decision for now though.

I just thought I would respond as I have had several beagles, and my mum also kept beagles when she was younger.

They are very friendly dogs and wonderful with children. When I was born, my parents had two beagles, one was a year old and one was a six week old puppy. We grew up to be inseperable. In my opinion, growing up with dogs is great as you learn to read their body language. I am quite comfortable around strange dogs, whereas my husband is usually scared of them!

However, much as I love them, beagles also have their disadvantages. You can't ever let them off their leads while you are out walking, unless you have a supply of food to tempt them back, and even that won't work if they find something more interesting! They can be trained with basic commands, but on the whole they are not very obedient.

They will gobble up EVERYTHING in sight, to the point of making themselves sick or even seriously ill (one of my dogs had to have her stomach pumped at the cost of huge vets fees, after eating loads of slug pellets). They will snatch food if it is in their reach (so embarrassing when people sit near them with icecreams!) and one of my dogs even jumped up onto the dining table occasionally! If a beagle ever refuses food, there is something seriously wrong!

For their size, they need a longer daily walk than you would expect, and unless you have some handy mountains it is nearly impossible to tire them out. A large escape-proof garden is also a must. They love to dig holes in the lawn, dig up plants, and snatch things from the house and take them out into the garden to chew and destroy.

If I could have another dog though, I wouldn't hesitate to get a beagle, so don't let all that put you off if a beagle is what you want!

hypnorm

I have wanted a dog all my life and we finally got one about a month ago now, My son is coming up to 3 in august and as yet is still an only child, i didnt want him getting lonely like i did so we talked and thought it would be good for him and also for him to learn about animals.. and also for me and hubby to get more excerise with.
We did look at getting a puppy but then we saw how many dogs are in rescue centres looking for a home and it reallu hit home that if we get a puppy from breeder we are only lining their pockets, where as if we get a rescue at least the money goes towards helping more dogs.
We got ours from many tears rescue in wales although she was being fostered in chippenham.
She is still hard work even though she is 18 months old, and needs a good 2 hours of walking a day, and can't be left for very long, days out are no longer unless we can get a friend to have her or put her int o kennels for the day.
Why not speak to the beagle rescue they sometime get pups
http://www.beaglerescue.org/