Taking on a dog is a big decision and one the whole family needs to be on board with. And it’s often not as easy as you might think. Here, mum of three Ali Varty, from Shenley, talks about the ups and downs of picking ‘the right dog’ and persuading the husband…

When I was growing up as a child we had a family dog called Patch who was given to us by some friends of the family who were emmigrating to Canada. I was about three and so don’t remember my childhood without a dog. I loved having a dog and therefore thought it would be great for our family to welcome one into the home.

I’d been trying to persuade my husband for a number of years that a dog would be a lovely addition to the family. Our three children were very much behind the idea but unfortunately the husband was not keen and was quick to point out all the disadvantages of having a dog. He did once say that if we tidied all the rooms in the house and kept them that way for three months we could have a dog. Unfortunately we were unable to keep our side of the bargain! So we continued to look after the hamsters and guinea pigs.

‘The idea of starting off with a puppy didn’t even enter my head’

Funnily enough a few years later, after reading a novel which was based around a rehoming centre and coming into contact with friends who owned dogs I began to rethink my plan of having a dog. I came up with a list of advantages and began to think very seriously about whether we were ready to make a good family home for a dog.

My first thoughts were to look into rehoming a rescue dog, mainly because it didn’t seem fair for these poor dogs to be on their own when they could be looked after and bring pleasure to others. The idea of starting off with a puppy didn’t even enter my head.

I spoke to friends who had carefully explored rehoming centres locally and a little further afield. I then spent hours trawling the internet (when I should have been tidying those rooms) looking at ones they had recommended and others too. We really liked the look of the Wood Green Animal Shelter, the website was easy to navigate and friends had got their dog from there and couldn’t speak highly enough of the centre, its staff and the way they looked after the animals. We were able to view the dogs online where there were pictures and very honest descriptions of the dogs along with the type of people they would suit.

After looking on the website the night before, we arrived one Saturday morning but, to our dismay, several of the ones we had identified had already been reserved and were very disappointed.

‘Prepared to wait for the right dog’

We walked a dog called Sophie who looked lovely and the children liked her. I did not want to pick the first dog we saw just because we wanted a dog and I know it sounds funny but I didn’t feel she wanted to be with us, she just wanted to be with anyone. I was prepared to wait for the right dog.

We went again the following Saturday, this time taking my mum with us. My mum visits us and stays frequently and I felt it was important for the dog to be right for her too. This time we walked Poppy who sat beautifully in the kennel but when we walked her she was very hyperactive and jumped up all the time. The handlers said this was an issue but they were trying to work with her to get it sorted out. Poor Poppy was not the dog for us.

We went a further time during the school holidays but kept coming up against barriers, for example the dogs we liked could not go with small furries (Jimbob the guinea pig) or could not go with children under 11 and my youngest was eight at the time.

We were all getting disappointed (except the husband who had not come with us due to work commitments) and were wondering if we were going to remain dogless when a friend text me from Salcey Forest to say there was a number on a piece of paper with the words border x puppies for sale. This is not normally the sort of thing I would do but rang the number and spoke to a very nice lady from Northampton who said due to an accidental breeding her Jack Russell x border collie had given birth to five puppies and the father was her sister’s Lurcher x poodle!!!! Still not being put off we arranged to go to Northampton two days later to visit.

In the meantime I was on the internet finding out all I could about the breeds, looking after a puppy and all sorts of other dog things. I also rang a dog trainer and found out what questions to ask and what characteristics to look for then I phoned a vet to find out the initial cost of puppies and dogs – although I felt I had done my homework, my head was in a spin and I still couldn’t imagine what these puppies would look like.

‘Jim, Joe, Mo, Flo or Susan?’

We were all in the car, husband included, and off we went. I had given strict instructions that we were not going to make any decisions today and that we would have a family discussion in the car on the way home. All I can say is that as soon as we saw the eight-week-old puppies our hearts melted and we all gushed, husband included; now we had the awful decision of which puppy to have: Jim, Joe, Mo, Flo or Susan. Although they were all lovely Joe was the dog for us and who was it who decided he would cancel his badminton to go back to Northampton the next evening to up Joe? You’ve guessed it – the husband!

It is now 19 months since we picked up Joe and I can’t imagine our lives without him. Maybe it was meant to be that we didn’t get a rescue dog but we still got a dog who needed to be loved, looked after and has definitely brought lots of pleasure to us all, husband and mum included.

‘Don’t rush in, do your homework, ask advice’

My advice would be to not rush in, do your homework, ask advice from as many people as possible – friends and professionals and make sure that the whole family are prepared to help look after your dog. It’s not always easy, especially at the beginning but with the right help and advice having a dog is truly rewarding.