Beyond furious with my Mum and Dad

[FeminaziStoleMyIcecream]

My Mum is 76 and suffers from emphysema, my Dad is 80 and has a bad back and dodgy knees, neither of them can walk very far. In fact my Mum struggles to walk from the living room to the kitchen in their small house. They have a tiny garden and live in a large built up area. The nearest grassy space is about a 10 minute walk and there is nowhere within walking distance where a dog could have a run.

I have just phoned them and they are off out to pick up a labrador puppy. I just cannot believe their stupidity and that of the "breeder" who is selling it to them.

Obviously I suggested forcefully that they were being ridiculous and was told pretty much that it was none of my business. If (when) it all goes wrong I'm prepared to take the dog on, we've got two already so another would be no big deal but it feels like in doing that I would be enabling their idiocy.

Poor puppy. :(

[Lilcamper]

Are they aware that an under exercised and under stimulated lab will become destructive and a complete escape artist? Despite general public beliefs, they are NOT easy dogs. They are big strong dogs with a very determined attitude, need shed loads of training and both mental and physical exercise. Tell them to rescue a cat!

[littlewhitebag]

Oh my lord. We got our lab pup last summer and she wears us out no end. We are a reasonably fit and active family of four with a massive garden. She is walked for an hour twice a day and needed a lot of training to get her to a semi-obedient state. Your parents will never manage.

I expect we will be discussing your new lab pup soon then??

[Scuttlebutter]

Is it possible for you to contact teh breeder directly? It's possible your parents have been misleading about their health status, and if the breeder has a shred of conscience, they may rethink the sale if they know the true position.

[seagullsid]

poor puppy, this can be the problem with some breeders - they are in it for the money and don't check out where the dogs will end up...usually in a rescue shelter.

You sound like a nice, responsible pet owner though

[FeminaziStoleMyIcecream]

They've just called in with the puppy. She's a beautiful chocolate lab. :(

The only positive is that she is from a family home with Mum, Dad, older sister and random other dog living there. Frankly though I think the breeder should be shot as my parents are clearly unable to cope with a young boisterous dog. I suppose some people are all about the money.

They have rejected my suggestion that once she is able to go out I take her a few times a week with my two for socialization and for longer walks when she's older. Mine are both very young, one a year old and one 6 months and are a spaniel/lab cross and a retriever so they'd be a similar size and energy pretty quickly. I can only pray that they change their minds once they see how crazy she gets.

I just can't see them coping at all. We had labs when I was growing up and they were all bonkers so they should know what they are getting into and know it's a really stupid idea. They lost their dachsund about a year ago and were thinking about getting an elderly rescue dog which would have been great and then this, totally out of the blue. They've never been much for dog training either. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

[Lilcamper]

As an aside, she needs to go out as much as possible before her jabs are valid, being carried everywhere for as many positive experiences as possible. I have actually found out today that a labs socialisation window (that's experiencing EVERYTHING, not just other dogs) closes at around 9 weeks.

[SmokyHeart]

Give them a present of Life Skills for Puppies. It's nicely written and illustrated book, and at least then they'll have a good source of advice for how to raise a puppy (that isn't you, since they don't seem to want to listen to you). Plus you can do it as a 'making-up' gesture if you like.

You must feel very annoyed, especially if you are going to have to pick up the pieces later.

Lilcamper, wow, that's early! Is that just for labs? If you have a reference I would be really interested to read it. Thank you.

[Lilcamper]

It is breed specific apparently SmokyHeart, GSDs as young as 7wks. Was on a SPARCS webinar, I didn't see it but it came up in conversation today. Will try and find a link for you.

[Floralnomad]

Most of the elderly people around here who have dogs have Labradors ,most look a little overweight / over indulged but they all seem well adjusted . Presumably your parents would be able to drive her to the park ? I've always found that if dogs are not use to hours of exercise than they don't expect it . If the socialisation window closes at 9 weeks the onus is really on the breeders as pups don't generally get picked up until 8 weeks and TBH how many breeders are going to be taking out a whole litter ? Obviously you know your parents and we don't but they have had dogs before and it might work out ok ,fingers crossed .

[FeminaziStoleMyIcecream]

Exactly BeerTricks. The breeder of our Curly Coated Retriever vetted us very thoroughly before they would even consider us and even our accidental little crossbreed's owners asked about our experience, family set up, other pets etc.

That's really interesting Lilcamper. We carried our previous puppies all over the place when they were tiny. My eldest son works at Pets at Home so I can almost certainly borrow the puppy to take visiting there and add in some novel experiences on the way. :)

Thanks SmokyHeart. I'll look that one up for them. I've got a copy of the Gwen Bailey (?) book somewhere too. Good thinking.

I don't mind ending up with three dog, we've had three before, but I suspect that the poor thing will be untrained and with horrible bad habits that I'll have to deal with.

[FeminaziStoleMyIcecream]

My fingers are firmly crossed Floral. I could be totally wrong, in fact I really hope I am. It might give them a whole new lease of life like it did my elderly dog when we got a puppy.

[Floralnomad]

You never know , it might just end up fat and indulged ,lots of pups would like to be that lucky . Lots of dogs end up in less than perfect homes and I can think of worse places it could be .

[Lilcamper]

The breeders can start in the home with hoovers, visitors, music, children etc. it really is a minefield though.

[SmokyHeart]

That's fascinating, Lilcamper. So early!

I really hope it works out for your parents and the puppy, OP. It's a lucky pup in that there is already another excellent home ready if the worst comes to the worst (even if you weren't looking for an extra dog right now).

[Floralnomad]

beer I agree ,but as I said many dogs end up in less than perfect homes . Also there are many dogs that don't know when their next walk is coming and they're not all owned by the elderly .

[Eliza22]

This is terribly sad. Clearly, irresponsible breeders and the dog will be neglected, in terms of what it actually "needs". Rehoming sites are FULL of such animals.

Desperately sad for the animal. A dog is NOT just for Christmas and most definitely NOT for anyone who cannot exercise and play with it.