Hi There,

My husband and I lost our feathered kid last summer - a Molluccan Cockatoo we had for 12 years.  We are now finally considering adding a pet to the family again and think a rat terrier might be the way we want to go.

The main dilemma we have is that we both work about 15 minutes from home.  I'm gone from 8 - 5:30 and he's gone from 7 - 4:30.   We want to be sure that we have a situation that is good for the pet.  How do you all handle the potty breaks for pets if you work away from home?  We have neighbors we could call upon for the occasional long day walk, or maybe hire a neighbor kid to let the dog out after school.

I did not grow up with a dog and my MIL was always home part of the day with their dog. 

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Amy

Welcome!  May I ask what made you consider a rat terrier?  (I just mean they are very different from birds!) 

Working all day is no problem for me and my husband.  We are gone from 7 am until 5 pm.  I just let them out twice in the morning before leaving (or give them a good walk if isn't cold).  They rarely have accidents, I think they sleep most of the day until we get home.  Now, when Mayfly was a puppy we put down potty pads for her because we couldn't expect her to hold it all day.  (With Mitzy I was so dumb I didn't know about pee pads and she had  lots of accidents until she was old enough to hold it all day...luckily we have a wood floor.)

It really helps, too, if you exercise your rattie a lot in the evenings when you're home....long walks, etc.  Crating is a good idea, too.  It will protect your dog as well as anything in your house that might get chewed up, etc. 

Do you have a fenced yard?  I would be very cautious if you decide to have someone come in during the day - make sure it is someone you really trust.  (I just heard a story here at work about friends watching another's dogs and one of them got out the door and was missing for a week.)

Welcome, and I think you're right on to think a rattie is the right choice.   I would highly recommend rescuing a dog, or two.   I have two and they were both quick to figure out the outside potty issue.

I'm a newbie to this site, and kinda a newbie to rat dogs.  I've had dogs all my life from papered blue bloods to mutt mutts and NOTHING is like being loved by a rattie!!!!!  I've been with my little girl for only 4 monthsd and I don't know how I ever got along in life without her.  She makes bad days great when she climbs into my lap and give me kisses and looks into my eyes with her eyes filled with love.  I haven't been around alot of other rat dogs, but If they are anything like mine (and they sound like they might be) everyone sholud be owned by one.  Good Luck, Good Life, & Good Love.

Thanks for the great advice!

Why a rattie after a bird?  Well....we had a very large bird, one of the largest kept as pets.  This breed of bird is probably one of the number one that is surrendered to rescues because they are so hard to live with and keep as pets.  They can inflict tremendous injury (even to the point of breaking fingers) and have a scream that's louder than a chainsaw, which they're not afraid to use!

We were pretty successful bird parents, but decided that we wouldn't make that kind of commitment again (they have 50+ year life spans, ours died unexpectedly as a teenager).  We finally after a year donated his giant cage to a parrot rescue.  One of the birds in the sanctuary bit me after I was there for five minutes, it was kind of a reminder as to why we aren't going there again right now.

My husband travels a fair amount, so I would like a companion.  Also, we want a pet that we can take along on road trips, that might enjoy going on hikes and out in the fishing boat with my husband.  Our house is fairly small, but we do have a big yard, so a small dog was very appealing.  Everyone has said such wonderful things about the Rat Terrier that it sounds like the perfect choice! 

I'll certainly let you know what we decide...

Get one! There the best dogs in the world!