Should i adopt a dog?

Jack russells are VERY high energy and need a lot of training as they can be a bit nippy. Pugs are hard to find in Qatar because a lot of airlines will not carry them due to their breathing problems. I wouldn't buy any puppy from anyone breeding them in Qatar as they are rarely looked after properly, the parents are generally related so the puppies are inbred and people here charge over a thousand riyals for a mixed breed puppy and lie about what breed they are.

QAWS is open 6 days a week between 4pm and 6pm (closed Wednesdays). Please come and see us before you look at buying a pure breed as we have over 45 dogs and puppies begging for a family and I can guarentee you that you'll fall in love with one of them.

Then you won't be able to keep up with a Jack Russel - the pug might be OK but the heat will exacerbate any breathing problems the dog may have - but on the upside, probably won't need a whole lot of exercise.

Still recommend you contact QAWS - sandman seems to have his own agenda here by advising you to steer clear before you have the chance to make up your own mind based on your own fact finding.

Thank u all for taking the trouble to reply to my post. I'm a stay @ home mom now & yes v r settled here 4 the next 20-25 yrs if all goes well. So no probs on that end.

My aunt had a beagle back home but maybe coz she was too lazy to exercise the dog, he was just fat & bored. I was thinking along the lines of adopting a jack russel terrier or a pug. I'd love a lab or a retriever but i wont be able to keep up with the energy of either.

The thing about QAWS is that i've seen very conflicting reports from a lot people. & the comments vary in extreme ie either they r quoted as really good or as extremely bad. I cant seem to find another adoption facility. Does any1 have any personal experience with QAWS? I'm going home 4 a months holiday & have plenty of time to sleep on my decision. Meanwhile plz do keep sending in ur valuable suggestions.

Thanx u guys. U have no idea what a relief it is to listen to ur impartial advice. Coz all i hear from my family & friends when i broach this subject is "what about the baby?" Its bad enough to give up your career, stay @ home & feel lik a cow on call. Now i cant even talk about what i want. Its always about the 'baby'.

Hehe - love it!! Steer clear of QAWS!! Oh geez get a life - don't you have anything better to do then stir sh*t?

You've clearly thought long and hard about getting a dog and I applaud you for that. As you are living in an apartment with a small child I would advise you to steer clear of high energy dogs such as beagles. They can get very boisterous and a small apartment means they're likely to accidently bump into the child when playing.

We have several older dogs that are house-trained and would be suitable for living in an apartment. My children are 4 months and 18 months and go to the shelter a lot so all the dogs at the shelter are used to being around babies. We can guide you to the dogs that would be great for younger children.

We have quite a lot of puppies available at the moment as well but please consider the fact that they are not house-trained yet.

My recommendation would be an older, quieter dog who would be loving but won't need to be exercised for hours a day. Please don't be put off by size either - generally smaller dogs need more exercise and some larger dogs are definitely suited to live in apartments.

Please go to wwww.qaws.org to have a look at the dogs available. Thor, Cracker, Emmy, Sally and Lizzie would all make great pets for your family and we have several new dogs not yet on the website that might also suit your family.

Sandman's right - we are strict. We have been rescuing animals for 8 years in Qatar now and our success rate is fantastic. Very few of our animals are returned back or dumped because we won't just let anyone take any dog. If a dog is not suited to your family, we will not let you take him or her. The fact that you're asking this question shows me that you've taken the time to weigh up all your options.

Why not foster one of our needy dogs for a couple of weeks and see how you cope with a dog and a baby?

Steer clear of QAWS. They have their own agenda. You will qualify to adopt a child before you can qualify to adopt one of their 'Personal Pets". They give animal resue agencies a bad name.

But yes, I recommend getting a dog for your child to grow up with. A beagle would be a good choice.

I would suggest you contact QAWS and discuss your situation with them. They do a temperament analysis of their animals and do their best to try and match them with people so that they mutually suit each other.

Perhaps you might foster a dog through QAWS to see if you are able to adapt your household to happily live together?

Good on you for thinking about adopting. If you can spare the time then I would go ahead as long as you can spend the necessary time walking, training and caring for the dog. You would have to be extremely careful about the temperament of the dog you adopt with having such a young baby in the house and make sure the dog knows that he's last in line in the family unit. Also, please only adopt if you are staying in Qatar permanently or can afford to take the dog with you when you leave. Far too many animals here are dumped when people head back to their own countries and it's not fair on the dog or the welfare agencies that have to pick up the strays wandering around Doha. Good luck.