Persuading a friend not to get a dog

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Ranyhyn

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I am usually really pro people getting dogs, if it means a pooch finds a good home I'm always recommending it.

My friend of about ten years has an awful family record for keeping animals, admittedly mainly her mother (nuts) but I can't help but feel its not the best thing for her to get a dog.

The track record:

Lab - PTS (!) they ended up not wanting it
Dalmation - given away
springer - given away
bichon frise - given away
bichon frise (2) - currently still with them
St Bernard - currently still with them.

Each dog usually has a shelf life of 2 years before they get bored.

My friend has grown up in this environment as apart from being very clever and nice is actuall very lazy (ie they do no excercise whatsoever)

How do I help turn the tide and get them to rethink getting a dog, I don't want to be horrible and would rather gently push them in the right direction.
 
Trying not to get angry at the stupid people who seem to see dogs as disposable toys..... tryyyying...... tryyyyiiiinnnnngggg......

Is your friend now living independently or is she still at home?
 
Wow, sounds like someone I would like to punch in the face.
Sorry.

Having said that - I have given one dog away because she was trying to chase livestock (she is very happy in her new home, she is about 12 now) and we have sold two pups because they were not compatible with our other bitch (one was a longcoat and was bought to show, another was the bitch's daughter and they fought all the time, although if I was an adult now I would have kept them both but I understand my mother's motiviation)

Suggest a hamster/gerbil?!
Ask her to volunteer at a rescue or shelter instead?
Lie and tell her there is lots more legislation coming in, registration, licensing, examinations (£££££!)
Show her Cayla's rescue thread? Take her to a rescue kennel?
I can also supply you pictures of a pile of PTS dogs
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but I am sure they are easy enough to find on Google.
 
Getting her voluteering at a shelter is probably not a bad idea, they could probably do with dog walkers and she will get a taste of the reality of it - pooper scooping, pulling on the lead, the whole lot. And she will also see the results of people getting bored with their new toys
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She might change her mind - or she might even change her ways and find the perfect dog for her, being optimistic.

I'm sure that between us we can come up with some stories of how being rehomed can affect a dog - the way Henry sticks so close to me if he thinks I might leave him, after all one family abandoned him so why not another (OK I don't actually think he's all that scarred for life but hey, she doesn't need to know that
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)
 
She lives independantly now with her OH. But instead of going for a sensible first dog (ie an older dog from a rescue) they want a Dane puppy. Not only are they clueless about upkeep etc etc they are almost certainly not aware of bloat etc...

There have been a few occassions where I feel she's a chip off the old block so worry this dog will go the same way as all the others, I wont go to the family home now because I could quite happilly smack her mother round the chops..
 
Frighten the pants off her with tales of humungous vets bills for large dogs that the insurers wouldn't cover! Hips and elbows going, bloat... we must be able to think of more. The cost of giant size everything - beds, food etc!
 
Its all about impact with them, as much as i love my friend every single thing they do is to have an impact, to show off, so a giant dog is no surprise.
 
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LOL Booboos - are they tricky then?

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My neighbour has two and they have lovely characters but they are HUGE. You need to seriously dog proof the house because even the slightest movement of their heads and tails sends things flying. They are a bit slobbery, they won't fit in a car you would need a decent sized 4x4, they need to have very good manners because of their size (a tiny pull on the lead would send a grown man flying, they are level with kitchen surfaces, if they jump up they will throw someone to the ground....all things that a well trained dog will not do, but training takes time, patience and knowlegde).

They also suffer from health problems as a breed and usually die relatively young (8ish).

They are wonderful dogs, but for the doggie person!
 
The breeder we got Poppy from was actually a Great Dane breeder (can't remember the exact reason but she had a litter of Jack Russels as a kind of one-off) and I remember her saying about how, despite being lovely dogs, she can see why people wouldn't want one (mostly because of all the reasons Booboos has just mentioned). The short life expectancy would really put me off because it's just so unbearable when you adore an animal and they pass on... I want to keep that from happening for as long as possible! But if she's the kind of person that gets bored of a dog after a short time anyway, that might not deter her.
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God i hate hate hate people like this ... this is how MIL has ended up with 2 rotties and currently a staffie X as they were bought 'for show' by people who a) had no frickin idea and b) got bored/'didn't realise it would be so hard to look after them' ... 'i don't understand why he's suddenly turned viscous' BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE HIM LIKE IT YOU SILLY WENCH!!!

As for a Dane ... my god
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good luck! I have known a few and they really are a handful, like someone said above - overgrown puppies and because of their size - very clumsy! They need so much space .

How about suggesting a fish tank???
 
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I heard on Radio 2 they are the most expensive dog to run, something like £31k on average in their lifetime.

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If she's grown up in that environment where its normal to just get rid of the dog and get a new one, then i wouldn't be surprised if she has a similar view. Can't say i blame you for feeling uneasy about it and given the breed choice doesn't seem like her OH is any more sensible.

I think all you can do is try to educate her and hope she comes to the right conclusion, but be prepared that often people just ignore advice and do what they want in the end.

These Its Me or the Dog episodes featuring full & cross Danes are fantastic for showing that if you don't get the training right there a hell of lot of dog to deal with. Admittedly it is quite funny watching the people get pulled over
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but you can also see how dangerous it is, the Dane owner got dragged along the high street as the Dane wanted to get to another dog.

Great Danes

Great dane crossbreeds
 
Sorry but people like this don't care if the dog is hard to handle/expensive to run/too big etc etc as ALL dogs are in the wrong hands, that's why the rescues are full, so not a great deal of point in pointing out the pitfalls really. I'd just change friends
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