How To Convince Someone To Not Buy A Puppy

[pennysvn14]

Hey again All,

Yeah, I told her that whippets aren't the best dogs for being left alone. She ignored that.

She obviously likes the thin, leggy look because her initial thought was to get an Italian greyhound. We can thank Jenna Marbles for that, I think. Maybe the price tag of those particular dogs put her onto BYB whippets?

I have mulled over this all day. I wish that I didn't feel as strongly as I do about this sort of thing. It makes me feel physically sick.

I guess that everyone probably has someone in their life who doesn't listen to them when we think they should.

It's just frustrating when it's the dog that will suffer in the end

[MissMedusa]

Many years ago when I was 19 and renting I bought a 6 week old puppy. He lived with me until he died of old age at 16.

I knew nothing about dogs then so it was a real learning curve but i enjoyed it and he had a great life.Hopefully it will be a similar outcome for this girl and her puppy.

[dasha]

I guess it comes down to the fact she wants to buy a puppy.................. And she will do so. How she spends her money is her business.

It's not up to you or what you think she will be like as a pet owner. SHe may very well purchase a very happy, healthy puppy from someone and give it the best life it could. It's not really your place to say she shouldn't get joy out of dog ownership that millions of other Australians get.

The best advice you can give her is how to look after it well and given you are a vet nurse, you shouldn't have too much trouble giving her advice rather than judgement and criticism.

If it turns out unwell down the track for whatever reason (and lets face it all dogs get unwell, purebred or not) again as a friend and vet nurse, you should offer advice and support rather than tell her I told you so.

If you don't think YOU can do this, walk away now and don't let it become your business.

[pennysvn14]

Ah, I know.

Fingers crossed!

[minimiss]

I hope all goes well, and that she does either change her mind, or becomes a great owner!

Keep us updated Penny, wont you? Try not to stress about it, although it seems like you're wonderful and caring and it'll be hard not to stress.. but try not to work yourself up over it. x

[Polecatty]

Ugh, I've just realised my whole weekend will be ruined if I keep dwelling on this. So with that, I wash my hands.

Thanks anyway all.

Hopefully next time I post it will be with something nicer to talk about!

Hey,

How much has she researched Whippets? And what are her reasons for wanting a whippet and not a mix breed 'oodle?

We have two whippets, and unless she has some time to dedicate to her pup... They arent like 'oodles! Many aren't affectionate with their owners or loyal like a lab might be. They also usually cannot be let off leash unless in a secure/fenced area due to having a high prey drive and racing off after things and deciding they have absolutely no recall. They are extremely fast which can be scary if they see a bunny, bird, or another dog in the distance... They shoot off with no warning!

Whippets aren't particularly fond of playing with other dogs at the park and have such thin skin that doesn't handle the rough and tumble and tears easily. They feel the cold and heat a lot more than other dogs due to such a thin coat and require indoor living. They are not n outdoors dog. Not to mention that whippets can easily clear the average backyard fence if they want to.

If she wants a lap dog, maybe she's better looking at a Maltese? Pomeranian?

I hear your frustration. Tell her to join the whippet breed thread in the sub forums. Whippets aren't for the faint hearted.

Best of luck.

My whippet girl must be atypical- she loves playing with other dogs of any breed and the more rough and tumble the game, the better. She loves to instigate chasing and tackling games. She has also never had an issue with getting skin injuries whilst playing with other dogs, and nor has her best pal [another whippet] who enjoys joining in just as much. Nor can I complain about her recall and she never turns her nose up at an outdoors expedition, no matter how freezing, windy or wet it is.

I think she must be a rather rough and ready type of whippet.

[blonder]

I think You are right to feel so strongly about this-obviously this girl aa you know her is an immature 22 year old and is simply getting a dog because her friends are. I would be angry too. If she is all about 'what's in' then she is not in the right state of mind in getting a dog, and even if she does keep it-what kind of life is it going to have. I say this because when i was 26 i decided to get myself an English pointer! yes a very boisterous dog, needing a lot of exercise1 Then a month later i thought i would get another one for the first one-so at 26 here i was with 2 English pointers and renting! Well Mary and Thomas (my dogs) went through hell with me hiding them from real estates inspecting my home, getting evicted every 6 months cos of the dog hair and smell, going through boyfriends and family issues so me being upset and angry with so much in my life and the poor dogs had to endure me like this. Having said that-they are now 13 and i still have them, i love them to death and even now i own my own house on property, they still sleep under the doona's by the way, i still think i made the wrong decision-for them-they could have went to a better home-maybe or maybe not. Its hard to do butthis girl has to realise that ownership of a dog is at least a 15 year commitment. The best advice that i would recommend is wash your hands of her-for always-forget that its family-family is what you make it-blood is not alwyas thicker than water. Another option is to show her some websites where she could adaopt a very loving shelter dog, or even an older dog-like a little 110 year old dog-show her what people dump at least-that's the best you can do-show her what people dump-i am guessing though that she is not emotionally mature to understand it.

[Greyt]

As a former youth worker, the first rule of thumb is not to own other people's problems or the consequences of the decisions they make because if you do, you will end up an emotional wreck. It is admirable that you care so much so please give yourself a pat on the back.

You *could* ask her to do some research before she buys eg, by reading The Whippet Thread and ask her what is the worst that could happen, what kind of environment would a responsible Whippet owner provide, what kind of care does a Whippet need, what kind of exercise regimen does a Whippet need, how does she feel about not being able to take the dog off-lead etc (or what would she do/how could she pay for the liability she would have if her off lead Whippet chased down and injured or killed a little dog, what would be the most she could afford to pay in the event of an accident etc.

The general rule is to lead the recipient to the information they can use to draw their own conclusions and then let them own and be responsible for those decisions, no matter what they are. As others, have said, the best you can be is to be supportive and non-judgmental along the way.

[Greyt]

My whippet girl must be atypical- she loves playing with other dogs of any breed and the more rough and tumble the game, the better. She loves to instigate chasing and tackling games. She has also never had an issue with getting skin injuries whilst playing with other dogs, and nor has her best pal [another whippet] who enjoys joining in just as much. Nor can I complain about her recall and she never turns her nose up at an outdoors expedition, no matter how freezing, windy or wet it is.

I think she must be a rather rough and ready type of whippet.

My Whippet would play with anything if I let him too but I don't because the thing he likes to do more than anything is chase small dogs....it is when he becomes intensely focused on a small running thing that his otherwise almost perfect recall goes out the window. I have had the experience of a Greyhound who was on the wrong end of a single "warning - stay away away from me while I am chasing a ball" bite from a GSD. Because of the Greys thin skin, lack of thick fur and a wound that would not heal = vet bills for surgery... the same bite would not have broken the skin of a lab, GSD or Staffordshire, or Corgi etc.

[Blonde_Phoenix]

As a former youth worker, the first rule of thumb is not to own other people's problems or the consequences of the decisions they make because if you do, you will end up an emotional wreck. It is admirable that you care so much so please give yourself a pat on the back.

You *could* ask her to do some research before she buys eg, by reading The Whippet Thread and ask her what is the worst that could happen, what kind of environment would a responsible Whippet owner provide, what kind of care does a Whippet need, what kind of exercise regimen does a Whippet need, how does she feel about not being able to take the dog off-lead etc (or what would she do/how could she pay for the liability she would have if her off lead Whippet chased down and injured or killed a little dog, what would be the most she could afford to pay in the event of an accident etc.

The general rule is to lead the recipient to the information they can use to draw their own conclusions and then let them own and be responsible for those decisions, no matter what they are. As others, have said, the best you can be is to be supportive and non-judgmental along the way.

x2

I think this is really sensible advice.

[shellbyville]

I have gone through something very similar with very sad results. A friend of my daughters told me she was thinking of getting 2 mini poodles, from a breeder (not registered)!!! I tried to talk her into buying from a registered breeder, but the price was her main issue. I also thought I had her convinced to only get 1 pup at this stage, however she went ahead and bought a litter brother & sister.

I then found out via others that her female (not quite a year old) had just had a litter of pups, to the brother. Apparently she didn't even know she was in whelp until she started having the puppies. She didn't ask me for advice because she knew I would be upset about the whole affair. However I offered it to her. The bitch had 7, they lost 2. So 5 pups. I adviced about saving for vaccination/microchipping costs, but again found out after the fact that she sold the pups to a pet shop in QLD at 8 weeks, but not vaccinated or microchipped. She got $250 each for the pups.

I then, when I saw her next said now you can desex your 2 poodles, but she has decided the money was very handy for Christmas so thinks she will do it again, except use a friends male poodle over her bitch next time

I have given this girl all the advice, guidance and help I can, and no more. The first litter was an accident, she was an inexperienced dog owner, didn't even notice the dogs mating apparently, which I am still baffled by! Wondering how much time does she spend with these dogs. However I cannot offer any help if she deliberately goes ahead an breeds from her already poorly bred dog!

So what can you do!!! I take breeding my dogs so seriously and am quite passionate about it, which makes it very difficult and find I waste far too much time, fuming over what this girl has done, but no amount of education is going to change her mind. She had smooth sailing with the first litter, except for the 2 that didn't make it, which frankly I would be devastated about, but she wasn't upset by that at all, so she thinks it is 'easy' to breed dogs, and quite profitable!

I wipe my hands of the situation and walk away....sadly!

[Fit for a King]

Is she even permitted to have pets? Do you know the landlord? maybe a word in the RE agent's ear might head off the disasterous plan....

[MalteseLuna]

Hey again All,

Yeah, I told her that whippets aren't the best dogs for being left alone. She ignored that.

She obviously likes the thin, leggy look because her initial thought was to get an Italian greyhound. We can thank Jenna Marbles for that, I think. Maybe the price tag of those particular dogs put her onto BYB whippets?

I have mulled over this all day. I wish that I didn't feel as strongly as I do about this sort of thing. It makes me feel physically sick.

I guess that everyone probably has someone in their life who doesn't listen to them when we think they should.

It's just frustrating when it's the dog that will suffer in the end

I feel your pain. My Auntie (40 yrs old) is a very irresponsible dog owner and breeder. She bred her Labs with little /no health testing for 2 generations. She chose her "sire" at the local dog park. The last of her labs passed away a few months ago.

She had told me that she wanted to start breeding responsibly, might do some showing and get registered etc. I offered to help her find a good reputable breeder provided she was honest with the breeder that she wanted to breed etc. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, she started breeding when she was young and impressionable so perhaps she wanted to turn over a new leaf.

Well 1 week after her lab passed away (after deteriorating rapidly) she had found a puppy from a registered breeder - without talking to me (should have been my first hint that she didn't care anymore)... Pup was on limited rego, I said okay well if you want to breed you can always get another pup. Her response was "I don't need her to be on mains to breed her and I don't have to tell the breeder either (apparently breeder was adamant that pup was limited and not to be bred from)" and "I know what I am doing as I have done this before" (in regards to health testing... which she doesn't). AHHHHHH I would have called the breeder if I had known who they were. It makes me so angry. She apparently plans to ask the breeder to upgrade the pup to mains when the pup is older as "the pup is so gorgeous she will of course be breeding quality"...

I'm already in a tense relationship with her... now I don't even want to talk to her ... or invite her to my wedding... just seeing her makes me angry. But my parents are adamant that I need to just mind my own business (although they agree that she is irresponsible and doing the wrong thing...they just don't want to start any family feuds).

Unfortunately there is no way to convince people if they have already made up their mind and with family it is even worse. i.e. 24 yr old niece telling 40 yr old auntie what she should be doing... end in tears every time!

[toy*dog]

do what i did to my brother, i picked out a dog for him and then pretty much promoted her to him, he was looking at petshop puppies but i managed to get in first before he found something to buy. you could try to look find something like a young dog in rescue or even the breed rescue, if that breed has a rescue? don't know.....then tell her all about the dog and get her connected with it even offer to drive her there and see the puppy/dog. once they see the dog/pup sometimes thats when the connection starts. worth a try.

i do see where you are coming from and it is frustrating sometimes you have to not listen. the friend at work was going to BYB her aussie bulldog no matter what. and it really peeved me off but at the end of the day i still had to work with her and be friends with her so i just had to forget about the dogs. and realise there is nothing you can do, people are going to do what they want to do and there's nothing you can do to stop it.