Cross Breeds

To get a puppy or not ?

A good friend of mine has a litter of dachsund puppies. They are 5 weeks old right now, black & tan shorthairs, all female. They're not going to be ready for 3 weeks, so I still have time to decide. THEY ARE VERY VERY CUTE! He says we can have one free if we want - he knows we'll give her a good home and would rather know that then worry about selling them. The parents are his own house-dogs, not breeding dogs, although they do have papers. I want so badly to say yes! I've wanted a dachsund as long as I could remember... but never wanted to pay for one, and always worried about getting stuck with a puppy mill dog as I didn't know anyone/anywhere personally to get one. I also have a dog already (my son) he's a 4 yr old mixed breed male/neutered terrier about 15ish pounds. I'm not so sure how happy he'd be about having another doggy around the house - although he likes having our cats around, and has always been friendly with other peoples dogs (that didn't live with us!) I also work a lot... and am limited to being home in the evenings & weekends. My current doggy stays in the laundry room while we're at work & school. I'm thinking of putting the puppy in the little dog kennel in the laundry room with Teddy (my other dog) while we're at work, so they could get to know each other, but he couldn't hurt her & she couldn't get hurt/lost in the house until she's bigger. BUT- is it fair to put an 8 week old puppy in a cage for 8-10 hours a day??? How will I ever housebreak her? Won't she be scared and lonely? When I got Teddy I was only driving a school bus, I was only gone 2-3 hours at a time, and home all summer, school holidays etc - I had all the time in the world for him & he was pretty much trained & housebroken by the time he was 8 months old - which I thought was pretty darn good! I'm really excited and want to get her so badly, but just don't know if it's a good idea! My friend says I can have her for a week or two, and if she doesn't get along with Teddy, or for any reason I don't think it's going to work out, he'll take her back. Whatd'ya think?? Should I go for it? Or am I just setting myself up for heartbreak because there's no way I'm gonna have enough time to take care of this new baby doggy & if I have to give her up it's going to be so hard, because you know I'm gonna fall in love with her!!!???

Public Comments

1. Don't get it.
2. I think you know yourself that your not in a position to give this puppy the home you should. I'm in a similar situation,its difficult to say no to a cute little dog even when you really know you shouldn't.
3. It's unfortunate but I think you should hold off and maybe get an older dog you don't have to house train. Unless you have someone you can trust to come over everday and let her out for a while, you might want to forget about it for now.
4. You better not. These puppies need lots of attention to get them started out right.
5. This is difficult. You know your situation best. You CAN keep an 8-week-old puppy in a crate for 8-10 hours a day; that is what we did with our Shiba when he was young, until he was trained enough to roam freely. But, we hired a dogwalker to come in the middle of the day to walk and play with him for an hour. And we committed to a long fetch session and many other walks a day when we were home on evenings and weekends (husband and I both work 10-hour days on weekdays). We stuck to a very rigorous schedule, and our puppy has turned out very well--very sweet, well-behaved, well-adjusted. As long as the crate isn't used for punishment, and as long as it's a safe haven for the dog, you will be fine. You just need to set up a strict schedule for the dog in order to housebreak it well. BUT, that is the the only issue. As you know, a puppy comes with many other expenses/needs. You already have a four-year-old dog, and while I'm sure they'd get along after a while, the first few months may be rough. You may see some bad behavior from the four-year-old while he adjusts to the new puppy. Sometimes, existing dogs have housebreaking lapses while the new one is learning to go outside. Your new puppy will need to go to the vet often, which will take you away from work (which may or may not be possible given your boss). Also, I know you know your friend, but it greatly concerns me that these puppies are not from dogs raised specifically for breeding. I mean no offense, but your friend falls into the category of "backyard breeder." It doesn't matter if the dogs have papers or not. Has your friend gotten all the necessary tests done on both parents? Are the parents' eyes, knees, hips certified? Were their temperaments compatible? If not, it doesn't matter that you didn't get this puppy from a pet shop -- the breeding was not carefully planned, and you may see problems crop up in the puppy later. I'm not saying these puppies won't make good pets, but you may be getting into more than you realize here.
6. First, I'd like to tell you that it's impressive that you have put so much thought into this. So many people don't think about it and get a puppy and then it sits in the backyard, neglected. So kudos to you!!! But, I think we both know it's probably not a good idea to bring a new puppy into your home with your schedule the way it is right now. Although I think by the sounds of it you would make a super good pet owner. You could always try it for the couple weeks and if it doesn't work, give her back. But just be honest with yourself when making the decision!! Good Luck!