Hi  my name is Cindy,

I reside in Portsmouth VA.  I'm married have a three year old stepson who will be four on Halloween and an eleven month old daughter who's name is Alisah and she'll be one on October 22nd.  To make a long story short I came across a purebreed "Rat Terrier" yesterday Sept 22nd at the Family Pet Center.  The terrior is four months and his name is "Pogo," he loves to jump and he immediately tugged on my heart strings and I wanted to get him. My husband is military in the Navy however not on a ship so now he's home more often, however I'm a junior/senior in college and currently work 0800-1600 (8am-4pm). I want to get "Pogo," however my husband is not in favor stating that it will be expensive to take care of a dog.  I'm familar with crate training from previous pets coming up however I just want to know that if I work M-F 8-4pm EST and Tuesday-Thursday I have night classes will Pogo be okay at home by himself.  I know when I'm home he'll get plenty of love.  Haven't had a dog in a while now and currently have no pets unless you count my husband j/k.  I'm torn I want to get the dog but I dont want to cause un-necessary stress in my home.  Pogo needs a good home and for some reason he's not sold at the pet store.  He's four months asking price for him is $235 dollars without warranty $280 dollars with warranty. Pogo has all his shorts besides the rabies and can't get those until he's six months. What should I do and about how much would a rattie cost me on a monthly basis if anyone has any idea....because as of right now I'm leaning toward purchasing him and just dealing with the fireworks later.  I know he could make a great family pet.

Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated.

I would think about it...  You will need to make sure you have time to train Pogo.  Ratties are great dogs, and I love mine to death, but he was a shelter dog simply because his old owner couldn't take all the time neccessary to be with him.  He doesn't do well if he is left home, even crated, for anything over 8 hours.  And once he's out of his crate, he needs some time to run and play before settling down for the night.  You'll need more time at home to housebreak Pogo too.  He won't be able to go 8 hours in a crate without an accident unless you have time to spend with him first. 

I would think it through long and hard first.  It's much sadder to buy a dog only to see it go to a shelter or another family when it doesn't work out.  You want to make sure you're prepared with the time needed before you bring the dog home.  You want to make absolutely, positively sure that your home will be the "forever home" for Pogo, and without the hubby agreeing, that may not be something you can be positive of yet....

First off, Welcome to the group!  This is a great place for rat terrier info & stories!  Sounds like you're on a pretty hectic schedule right now, with two little ones, work and school nights as well.  I know how overwhelmed I was just with teaching and school nights (I didn't have the added layer of small children).    Potty trips outside is virtually an hourly task the first week.  You'll have to get up at night every couple of hours as their little bladders can't hold it all night, so you will lose sleep the first month.  It's virtually like getting up every 2hrs. to feed a new baby at night.   

There are so many basically healthy rescue dogs needing a home and many are already housetrained.  I adopted a 5.5 mo old pup that was a stray.  Though she didn't come housetrained, she trained in only a month.  You could check out Ratbone Rescues or Rat Terrier ResQ websites for available puppies.   I also would recommend perhaps waiting until you're through with your classes.   New puppies in the house can be very stressful and you will not want to be pulled away from your college studies at night.  Since you work days, perhaps you might consider adopting a rattie that is a year or so old, that has already been housetrained.

But when the time is right, if you decide to go the puppy route, know that as a rule of thumb, they say for every month or age, they can be crated for an hour.  That means a 2 month old pup can be left in a crated for 2 hours.    Younger pups will take crating for only short periods of time.  And with particularly active terriers, perhaps even less because of their high energy level. 

First I would like to say thank you for all the advise and encouragement.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to get Pogo after all because another family with children are in the process of purchasing him now.  I have now fallen in love with the breed and will look to get one when the timing is better.  Thanks again though and I have considered the rescue and shelters as an option as well.