should I or not???????????????

[disney obsessed]

After months of searching, I have finally found a female blenhem cavalier king charles that is not an arm and a leg and appears to come from a healthy line of dogs. Should I give in and get her or not? We have a lab already. The kids want puppy. We love the cavs. It is the beginning of summer(so kids are around) and we are thinking of new carpet anyway.

But do I really want the responsibility? It will fall to me, I know. I have gotten used to the older dog, can I puppy train again?

Help!!

[Mickey'sGirl]

I'm probably NOT the voice of reason you are looking for. If there is room in your heart and in your wallet for a new doggie, then go for it (We've spent over $500 this past week on regular annual check ups and shots for our 2 big dogs). I love spaniels (one of our doggies is a Brittany), though I would rather adopt an adult dog any day over a puppy. Puppies are very cute but far too much work for me!

[Carol]

Not the voice of reason here either. I work at an Animal Hospital. There are so many puppies and dogs out there via rescue groups that 'really' need homes.

I bought one dog in my lifetime and will never do that again. I'm all about the rescue.

That being said, I also believe you should always have '2 of' whatever pet you have. I would definitely get a second dog.

[gauvin4]

No one but you can make that decision.

A few years back we got another puppy to go with our 5yr pom/peke mix. Yes, it is a lot of work at first, but I do not regret it at all!! Our two dogs are our "babies".

Good luck with your decision!!

[mgmnut]

I'm with Mickey'sGirl, if you have the room, in your home and heart, and of course the money, go for it. If you take the time to train a puppy correctly now, you will thank yourself later. We have taken in both puppies and adult dogs. Sometimes when you get a adult dog you get a dog that has had NO training at all. I think adult dogs can be harder to train, of course it depends on the dog too.

We have 3 dogs right now, all females to boot. We have a faun boxer (Roxie), a white boxer (Daisy) she is deaf, she has the most beautiful blue eyes, and we have a dog we brought back from the Cayman Islands (Blue). she looks like a cross between a dingo and a Coyote. All dogs were rescues and we only got Roxie as a puppy. It was tough teaching the deaf dog, especially since she had no training at all and was a year old when we got her. She does pretty well with hand signs now and is still learning more as time goes on. The losers that had her didn't even know she was deaf and were beating her because they thought she was just stupid! (who's stupid now?) Roxie, the faun boxer we got as a puppy is so well trained I think she could do my taxes next year. I took the time to train her right from the start and boy did it pay off.

These 3 girls are just another part of the family now. I love having multiple dogs and they love having each other. They play together, nap together, and I think appreciate the home and companionship they have.

It's tough when the annual physicals and vaccinations come around, not to mention what it cost us for Spaying. We end up shelling out quite a bit in vet bills, but in the long run it is well worth it.

The lab you already have may appreciate another dog in the house, as long as all the attention doesn't go to the new puppy.

It is a big decision, good luck on whatever you decide.

[Mickey'sGirl]

It's tough when the annual physicals and vaccinations come around, not to mention what it cost us for Spaying. We end up shelling out quite a bit in vet bills, but in the long run it is well worth it.
That's the other thing about most Rescue dogs ... They are usually spayed or neutered when you adopt them (all of ours have been).

[mgmnut]

That's the other thing about most Rescue dogs ... They are usually spayed or neutered when you adopt them (all of ours have been).

This is true.... Good point :thumbsup:. We did not get our dogs via any rescue league. Roxie was my sisters neighbors puppy. They had already been through multiple dogs and never took care of them. They always quickly got rid of them for 1 reason or another. He was fuming at the puppy one day (really no good reason) I was there at the right time and offered to take the dog off his hands, I thought he was going to kill the poor thing. In the end I actually gave him $300.00 for her. Not a bad deal, she is a pure bred boxer. Even seems like a better deal now (6 years later) because she is just so darn sweet

Daisy was taken away by a family member of the original owner who saw how she was being treated. We took her in to foster her until she found a forever home. Fell in love with her and could not give her up, it is now 2 years later.

Blue was from a homeless pack on the Cayman Islands (Little Cayman) who were all to be destroyed due to the adult dogs in the pack causing problems (killed some chickens I think). SIL and BIL have dual citizenship, they took in the puppies of the pack (5), had them all spayed and neutered, and then found homes for all of them. We brought Blue back with us, so she was the only one of our 3 already spayed. Customs was a little tough on us brining her into the US. For the first year, before we brought her back, she lived the life. They have 3 acres on Little cayman and the front yard is the beach. She would just lay on the beach all day sunning herself and playing in the warm water.



The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is such a beautiful dog, but they are susceptable quite a few health issues (like most pure breds). The big one being Mitral Valve Disease which can be fatal, as well as Syringomyelia (spinal issues) that can be very painful or cause partial paralysis. About 90% of King Charles have this Syringomyelia disorder but not all are symptomatic. They are suppose to be real affectionate and good with children and other dogs though.

[Dulcee]

Here's another one that probably isn't the answer you want...

Take in a rescue puppy, one that needs a home. There are so many puppies every year put down because there simply isn't room. And that doesn't even begin to factor in the millions of adult dogs put down who stand even less of a chance of adoption.

Our pooch is a rescue dog and we just got a kitten last week. Both were slated to be euthanized due to over crowding before the rescue group we got them from came to their rescue.

If you have your heart set on a specific breed search rescue groups for that breed or run breed specific searches on petfinder. Either way you can find a pure bred who really needs a home and who comes with out the hefty price tag a breeder attaches.

[MNNHFLTX]

Blue was from a homeless pack on the Cayman Islands (Little Cayman) who were all to be destroyed due to the adult dogs in the pack causing problems (killed some chickens I think). SIL and BIL have dual citizenship, they took in the puppies of the pack (5), had them all spayed and neutered, and then found homes for all of them. We brought Blue back with us, so she was the only one of our 3 already spayed. Customs was a little tough on us brining her into the US. For the first year, before we brought her back, she lived the life. They have 3 acres on Little cayman and the front yard is the beach. She would just lay on the beach all day sunning herself and playing in the warm water.
That is probably the most interesting rescue story I have ever heard. :thumbsup:

To the original poster, I have to say that I'm also in the group advocating giving a puppy from a shelter or rescue group a chance. Sometimes you can find a breed specific dog, but (speaking from personal experience) I think mixed breed pups are the best. And they often have less health issues than purebred dogs. But you have to do what you think is best. I agree with Carol though, that dogs are pack animals and your lab will probably appreciate a new friend.

As far as puppy-training, it is a big commitment, but since you've been through it before have a good baseline knowledge in what to do. Depending on the age of the puppy, the first 3 months will be the most difficult, but if you have the time (and don't mind getting up in the middle of the night), I say go for it!

[Imalismom]

We have three dogs, two of which we got as puppies... We love all three of our dogs (2 yorkies and a beagle).

How much do you love your furniture? I had brand new coffee/end tables, which even with us watching the puppies managed to get chewed on, as did the end of our couch.... (that was the day for some reason they were not in their kennels and we went shopping)

Now that they are all older, they are realy good dogs, but I for one would NEVER get a puppy again!

so, I would say no to the puppy, but yes to another dog, as I love watching ours play together.

[disney obsessed]

Our lab ate the walls in the laundry room. Seriously, down to the studs on three walls.

I heard from them last night but nothing this am. We have to travel three hours to get her and if they do not call soon, we will have to pass because this is the only day I have.

FATE.

[disney obsessed]

Doing it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BraddyB]

DO IT !!!!!!!! I had a Cocker Spaniel when I was younger and I will eventually have another. So I am all in favor of you going for it !!!!!!!

[joonyer]

The best dogs we have ever had have been what I call "pound specials" or "shelties" (shelter dogs) the have all been mixed breed and have been better than any pup we have ever paid for (there were only a couple of those) Our current pet is a now 15 year old mixed breed that has been the love of our children's lives, loyal, loving and gentle. He was housebroken and neutered when we got him, and I don't think it's possible to ever find a better pet.

[micky95]

If its something you want and can afford go for it .we just got a new puppy 3 weeks ago,a toy poodle.all our other dogs are 2 years and older so having to house break a puppy again is a pain but well worth it.with the new puppy we now have 7 house dogs.some we bought some we had from the two we bought.2 are rescued.all are fixed and are better taken care of than me LOL .if you have a fenced in yard a doggie door would be a good investment.with all our dogs i was constantly getting up to let one out.this way they come and go as they need to.training them on the door was a little difficult but i took each one and pushed them in and out and after a while they were no longer scared of it.we love all our pets and one poster stated they're our babies.oh by the way 4 are chinese crested,one of which is hairless,the new toy poddle.an american bulldog and a pit bull mix and they all get along fine.

[disney obsessed]

What a sweet puppy!

braddyb...did you go to Penn State? I did for undergrad then Pitt for Grad. I know, it was weird but I never forgot my true loyalty to JoePa.

[diz_girl]

When confronted with decisions like this, I just ask myself two questions -

Can I afford to do this (financial, time, sanity)?

If I don't do this, will I regret it?

If the answer to those two questions are 'yes', then that is a pretty stong indicator of what I should do.

[Mickey'sGirl]

What a sweet puppy! Congratulations!! What did you name her?

[disney obsessed]

We named her Bella.

So far so good. Lets hope it continues to be like this.