Paula89

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think I will invest in a few baby gates and those child proof things for door handles just to be on the safe side. I didn't think about the trail! That would be even more cleaning up :laugh: In all seriousness, I think you and aussielover have a point. The most simple option and yet one that I didn't even think of. Thanks again everyone. We get our boy on Friday, I'll let you all know how he goes :)

Thanks for the replies everyone. They wouldn't leave the dog alone all day if it was raining, but I don't think they would realistically be spending several hours outside in the rain. It's not ideal to do so with a toddler, especially in winter. She has said they would like to get a dog before they have their next child. I don't know a lot about smaller breeds, I tend to think of them as a little more fragile than the larger ones and therefore don't cope too well with being outside. Am I incorrect in that assumption? Her partner has said that the dog will be outside only, but I will suggest a crate. They may not have thought of that. I am personally an inside dog person but we don't see eye to eye on that subject. They tend to go for the working breeds. Their first choices were blue heeler and border collie but I think they have realised that those breeds may not suit their lifestyle. Their current idea is a beagle. Based on their responses to breeds I have suggested, he doesn't like fluffy dogs like spitzes, woolly dogs like poodles or sighthounds. Ok so since nobody has suggested a breed, I'm guessing the consensus is that nobody can recommend a breed of dog that is happy being an outside dog?

Not sure, I think that they have a covered patio that they could go under.

I know that these threads have been done to death, but I'm hoping some of you can suggest some breeds to look at for a friend of mine. She needs some suggestions. She and her partner have a 18 month old daughter. They rent and have a largeish backyard that is well fenced with concrete under most of the fences(but probably wouldn't be good enough to keep an escape artist in). They would like the dog to be an outside dog. They spend quite a few hours playing in the backyard every day, if the weather is fine. As far as I am aware, they don't currently do much walking but her partner is happy to start jogging. They're after a medium sized breed (although they are flexible on size) and one that doesn't have a high maintenance coat. She is happy to do a weekly groom or occasional clipping, but not much more than that. They grew up with family dogs but this will be the first dog they have owned as adults, so a breed that isn't difficult to train would be good, especially since she has a toddler to look after at the same time. I will be showing her this thread, so any suggestions you have would be great :)

Whoops, sorry about the quote above. I'm not really worried about not being able to watch them both. DS is very easy, he plays by himself pretty much all day if I let him. All I have to do is glance his way every 2 minutes and play with him occasionally and he's all good. Puppy will be with me at all times, if I'm not able to watch him he will go in his crate. I will try the plastic container, but I think it would get moved very quickly by curious hands! haha yes, I will be fit! We did quite a lot of reading and talking to people (trawled through this board too to see what problems other people have had :)) so I know I'm in for lots of stair climbing. What you have described is exactly what we are planning on doing, I guess the issue for me that I'm trying to work out is what to do in the case of accidents. Oh I wont be confining my son on a regular basis. I don't think that would go down too well. :laugh: . The plan is to have eyes on the puppy at all times or in the crate or pen and outside for regular toilet breaks. I'd like to think that will be enough to avoid accidents but that's probably not realistic :laugh: I forgot you can child proof door handles, we're so used to DS going wherever he wants in the house that the idea didn't occur to me. I will have a look next time I'm at the shops, although I'm still not 100% keen on locking him in one room while I am outside.

No we don't we do have a play pen type thing for the puppy but it won't hold up against a toddler. I thought about shutting him in a room like his bedroom but he can open doors (plus I think he would get quite upset if i did that)

Hi all! In just under 2 weeks we will be picking up our newest family member - an 8 week old, male, Finnish Lapphund. We have a 20 month old son. We know that there are certain challenges to having a toddler and a puppy and have planned ahead to work out solutions for any problems that may arise. However, there is one potential problem that we're not sure how to solve. We will obviously be taking our puppy outside regularly for toileting but are aware that accidents are still likely. My dilemma is, if i see him going to the toilet inside I know I will need to take him outside as quickly as possible to finish his business out there. We have a raised house, so this involves going down a flight of stairs. I'm not sure I would be able to take our son down with me- a puppy in one hand and a squirmy toddler in the other may not be a good idea so he would stay up in the house (alone if my husband is at work). That in itself is not a problem, the house is child proofed and i go outside ocasionally anyway, but my concern is leaving him unattended when there could be puppy poo/wee on the floor. He will eat cat poo if given the chance so i think dog poo would be eaten too. If you've managed to get through my rather long post, do you have any suggestions? As i understand it, time is of the essence in this situation so i can't really clean up before taking puppy outside. Any ideas would be appreciated!