Finding a dog for an ex-cat lover!

Great idea hildaw. Dogs are great company and love you unconditionally. I would go along to a local rescue centre they will be able to advise you on temperament and the type of dog that would suit your lifestyle. I have a big lolloping golden retriever, very placid, will walk for miles when I want her to but also be content to lie in the sun all day(or in front of the fire in winter).

---- happy dog hunting hildaw

Maybe a rescue greyhound?
They are quite tall but fold up small in the house
Sadly there are lots available - you will easily be able to find one to fit your lifestyle
http://www.greyhoundrescue.co.uk/

Gosh thanks for quick responses.....certainly food for thought.and love the idea of a folding dog!

You're welcome HildaW

Have you not had a dog before? Or not for a good while?
Before setting out to find your perfect pooch, if it is to be a rescue, can I recommend you get a copy of The Rescue Dog by Gwen Bailey, who does a lot of work with The Blue Cross. She tells it like it is and offers all sorts of ideas to prevent problems arising or to deal with any which do occur.

Good luck in your search

i would recommend a Shiba Inu if you are used to cats because they have quite a few of their traits. Only thing is they cant be let off the lead unless you are sure of them, and also they do shed their coat once a year.... but the most gorgeous dog you could wish for.

Greyhounds - my daughter has one, got it for company and consolation I think after her divorce and he's an sweetie. He's an ex-racer and a big lad!
Although they're big and 'racers' they don't need a lot of exercise but like most dogs will take as much as they're given I suppose. He still has odd moments of.....cat....rabbit.....chase....and he's now 12! Oh and tall (for food counters!)
We had beagles for over 30 years (not for the faint hearted hard to train!) and when the last one died said we weren't having another dog. Then this funny little jack russell cross came into our lives, she had been rescued by her previous owner who died! So we didn't feel able to refuse her because if she went back into rescue she'd probably be put to sleep.
She's a little star, think about 7 years not what you'd call a 'pretty' dog (like beagles ) but so cute and makes us laugh....oh and the waggy tail when returning home no matter how long you've been gone, can't beat it!
Good luck with your search.

I have a Yorkie and Yorkie cross, they are both bitches and very loving. I don't treat them as lap dogs, but occassionally they are allowed on knees. They are great happy little dogs with gigantic characters, not snappy and wonderful temperaments. Always had big dogs before, but these two little dogs seem to have a way of training us not us training them (very much like cats) XX

I can only echo what has been said about greyhounds, although I have whippets myself [that bit smaller]. Only let her off the lead on beaches or in fields a long way from roads, and, if she went into the garden she would trash all the grass and eat all the plants [she has her own bit of the garden fenced off] but, as an ex cat owner she is the nearest I've found to a cat. Sits on my lap and watches telly at night, and is very clean. Very sweet natured and gentle. I do know a lady that has had a Yorkie for a couple of years and also agree with what nannyeileen has said, as well.

The greyhound thing does look interesting...but the new graden is husband's pride and joy...or will be when finished.

We have always been cat people and had 8 at one time ...only one of the original 8 left. .....but we also have 2 Yorkies. Nice and small, very loving. easy to exercise and DO NOT shed any hair. Bit yappy but we had a Red Setter for 13 years who never barked . A Red Setter would be my ideal dog but we are getting a bit too old to train one.
Hope you find one to give lots of love to xx

We had cats for 20+ years, and when the last one sadly died, we got a Golden Retriever. She's cheerful, friendly and lots of fun. She absolutely loves people and fusses round all our visitors.

You get this unconditional love which is hard to beat. And of course you can train a dog. Well, you know what they say, dogs have masters, but cats have staff.

We still miss our last cat though, Mao. He was only six, but he ate a dead rat that someone had thrown over the fence. It had been poisoned, so the poison was passed on to Mao who sickened and died. We worked this out later - we didn't realise at the time.

He was very loving and would sit on my husband's lap all evening, then sleep on our bed at night.

Although I didn't intend to stop having cats, I always worried about them; we lived close to a very busy road, and lost a couple on the road [I always fed them in the early evening and kept them in through the night, but we still lost them]. Two cats we had just disappeared; one went to live with someone else, but we never found out what happened to the other. We then had house cats; Burmese, but it was a nightmare trying to stop them getting out, and I'm not sure that I'm happy not letting a cat have complete freedom. With dogs I have more control over them; they're obviously not roaming around with me not knowing what danger they're in. Poor Mao; what a rotten thing to happen. I do miss having cats in my life, though, and if I lived somewhere really safe I might have another. I think as well that those if us that have cats always have the one 'special' cat that we can never replace, and mine was a little black cat who was perfect in every way. Had several cats afterwards, but it was never the same.

There is a website for older dogs needing re homing - google oldies dogs uk and it should come up. Older dogs can ve very rewarding to care for and they are always overlooked in kennels.

I retired last year and one of my promises to myself was to have a golden labrador. I found the most gorgeous puppy and we called her Molly. Our life has not been the same since, up in the night during puppy training, making the house puppy safe, puppy parties for socialisation, the best dog food (also the most expensive), puppy help books to ensure a well balanced dog, adolescence and a wrecked garden with big holes, weight loss, pet friendly holidays, fab walks, (guilt if they are not 8 miles long), meeting lots of new people, an adoring, tail wagging, never has a bad day canine child. We are now in the throws of her first season and I have bought a can of 'bitch spray' to keep those male dogs away from my girl! I wouldn't change a minute and I did not realise you could love a dog almost as much as your children. We are also getting fitter by the day.

We used to have 2 cavalier King Charles - the sweetest dogs ever but after they died we decided against any more as we were all out at work all day and it wouldn't be fair on a dog. Have had cats since 1976 and my current one Darcy is the sweetest-natured cat I've ever come across (he is my special cat). However, now that I'm retired and my OH retires at the end of this year, I do so want a dog again, and I know it will be a total disruption to our lives, but I love the unconditional love that a dog gives, unlike the cats we've had.

Our neighbours adopted a lurcher and she is adorable albeit very hard work, but we will probably have a cavalier again (or maybe a poodle).

Good luck with your search and if you go to the RSPCA be prepared to have your heart in bits!

Just to update this earlier post....visited a Dogs trust home yesterday, just to 'have a peek, and see how one goes about things'.....needless to say have fallen for a young springer/hungarian vizsla cross. Shes mad as a bag of frogs but is so friendly with huge brown eyes. We have to be 'vetted' etc, but she might just be the one. Having been a cat person all my life I had no idea I would be so instantly smitten.

She sounds gorgeous, Hilda. I'm quite jealous as I intended to have a dog after retirement but my family all got cats and visiting would have been difficult, not to mention dog-proofing the garden - there's a brook a the end of it and wet dogs don't half smell! I fancied a standard poodle - very intelligent and don't cast their coats - allegedly. I suppose the mini ones are much the same.

Vizsla's are a favourite breed of mine; if I could cope with a large dog I'd love one.Very sensitive dogs who adore their owners. Word of advice. I've been having problems with my whippet. From being a clean dog she started having accidents in the house. After negative blood tests and such like it's dawning on me that, having had an accident on the sofa the other day [never allowed dogs on the sofa till I had whippets, but it's impossible to keep them off it] I think she's got 'spay incontinence'.I wouldn't dream of not having my dogs spayed, because I almost lost one with pyometra; she survived but was never really well again afterwards, and I knew that spay incontinence was quite common. For the first time ever I've insured this dog, so was quite relieved to be covered by insurance when I realised she was going to cost me quite a bit of money, and now looks as if she'll be on medication for the rest of her life. However, when I looked at my policy, I've got a 'yearly' policy, not a 'life policy' I thought that, as I renewed it by direct debit each year it would cover any medical condition for the lifetime of the dog, but it only covers it for 12 months. Feeling quite sick about the mistake I've made. So, if you take out insurance, check the small print!

Crimson, there was an item on tv about pet insurance......evidently its not a great earner for the companies so they are getting a bit scared and some have even stopped trading and left many pets high and dry.

We will shop around carefully, if all goes to plan she'll be covered for a month to give us a chance to try and make the right choice. This pup is near full grown and although has a lot of Vizsla about her -colour, face and coat she's much more a springer in size! Shes been very well loved but her original owners were quite elderly and just could not keep up with her, I get the impression they were very upset to hand her in. Am now looking up local puppy classes!

I have a soft spot for springers as my granny had one when I was little. She used to tie her ears (dog's not granny's) together when she was eating because they got into the food.

I've always had rescue dogs, while also having a bunch of house cats at the same time. Rescue dogs do have issues, although not by any means always a serious problem, so it is worth finding out something about their history before giving you heart away. I like all dogs but am a great believer in mongrel strength and resistance. I'm very unhappy about a lot of breeding programmes. Beware of anything with border collie, although they are fabulous dogs, unless you are prepared to walk for miles every day. Ditto but not quite so extreme with anything bred for sheep wrangling.

Saw 'our' baby again yesterday and took her for a walk and then had some lovely cuddling time where she really calmed down. They can't do a home visit until after Christmas and in any case it would be cruel to bring her into a busy household with all sorts of visitors and a huge Christmas tree. She is full of beans but very loving and wants to know everyone and everything that passes. The Dogs Trust building was fair buzzing on Sunday with all sorts coming and going. I witnessed at least two very sad sets of people handing in their dogs. Then there was the look of pure joy on two childrens' faces when the staff brought out a little sandy coloured whippet for them to meet properly, I could just see the Mum's expression as she very quickly realized that her children were smitten. If all goes well she will be with us at the begining of January.

You have such good times coming HildaW. We have had a few rescue dogs, both mongrel and pedigree, over the years. All have brought us great joy and returned our love ten-fold. I had to wait a few years till I retired to get the dog I have now - a mischievous basset hound, now two years old, who only yesterday ate the two Christmas cards that landed on the mat while I was out. She pinches my socks and underwear, and last week I dropped my mobile phone but didn't notice as I was leaving the house in a rush - it was in her basket when I got home. She knows what she's doing and gives me that Hush Puppy look to disarm me - works every time. She adores my grandchildren and will happily share her basket with my twin 3 year old grandsons, who charge around with her following in hot pursuit. There's nothing like the devotion of a dog to complete a happy household.