OT: DH wants to get a dog - what should we get?

[ShootingStarMom2]

Check your local shelter and take a tour. We got our yellow lab from our local shelter 3 years ago (he was 1 when we got him) and he couldn't be sweeter. He was already house broken but he was a chewer so we had to move shoes and bags off the floor. He does shed a lot so if you like your clothes without dog hair on them, be prepared to use your lint roller. DS grabs the dog, lays down on the floor next to him, and chases him all the time. He wouldn't leave DS side once we brought him home, and I knew right then that they would be friends. He's the only dog I've ever had, so I'm partial. But he's a great family dog who loves our DS.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

Go here adn take this quiz

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm

We have a lab. Who is the best dog ever. BUT labs are alot of work so if you don't think you are a dog person and don't want to do a whole lot it isn't the dog for you. Plus ours is almost 100 lbs
BUT he is awespme with our kids.

 

[ColoradoLime]

Thanks everyone for the input - it's great! We'll have plenty of time to decide as we won't get the dog until after we get back from Disney. Plus DH just said today we should look at getting a house before we get the dog. Not because we're getting a dog, but we are truly outgrowing our condo. I will definitely post pics when we bring our new member home.

 

[skatermom]

We live in a small two bedroom condo and decided to get our first puppy ever back in November. After alot of research and talking to other dog owers we decided to get a Maltese. We live i the northeast so we paper trained him so he didnt have to go out in the cold and hes small eough that he gets plenty of exercise not leaving the house i the cold. As far as temperament goes he only barks when he sees people outside(we are working on that now) and hes the most loving dog Ive ever known. Hes content to sit on our laps and chew on his bones for hours!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

You have a child and you need to make sure that you choose a dog that is good with kids, not one that might be good with kids. I have heard notorious stories of people who have small dogs and when friends with kids come to visit, they have to lock up their dogs to prevent kids from getting snapped at. Granted I know there are plenty of larger breed dogs too that don't mix well with kids but when I did my research I found that most large breed dogs are gentle giants. I know that pugs are great small dogs for kids. We currently have 2 labs but think that if we ever get another dog, we'll get a pug. Dachshunds need a lot of walking to avoid weight gain because they very easily become overweight. Beagles like a previous poster said are notorious diggers and chewers. My BIL & SIL had one that they found in college and will never own one again. She was trouble and they would nickname her Houdini. I'm not trying to be mean when I say this because beagles are cute and sweet dogs, but they are one of the most unintelligent breeds of dogs (as said also by everyone I've ever known to own one). You can look it up and see which breeds are the smartest and which are the dumbest.

Have you ever thought about a cat instead of a dog?? I have one and they require so much less work than dogs. I can leave my cat for a long weekend by himself with plenty of food and water and not worry. Whereas we have to spend a small fortune kenneling our dogs every time we go out of town as we don't know anyone here that we would trust to house sit for us. Plus that too can be almost as expensive as a kennel. I think this is one of the biggest reasons that after our dogs do pass on, we will stick to cats. We love our dogs but they're so much more expensive than our cat.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do!

 

[Goofy'slady]

we resuced a Pit Bull puppy last summer. Before you shreek in horror we did our research on the breed and spoke with several different animal shelters and vets on the breed before going thru with the adoption and they all said the same thing - they're a wonderful breed to have, especially with kids if you can believe. It was all good feed back and we were concerned because we have two kids. Our oldest was fine with her but our youngest (3) was scared of her at first, but this is the same wee one who is scared of our Goldfish Lightening!

The shelter named her Buttercup and we added the first name Bella; but we all call her Cup-Cup. She has a wonderful disposition. She's very gentle with the kids and was very patient with our youngest getting use to having her around. Now our 3.5 year old is no longer afraid and she pulls on her to move her if Cup-Cup is in her way and she pets her and give her snacks before we leave in the morning and can't wait to get home to let her our of her crate in the evening. Our vet said that in the 30ish years he's been practicing he's never seen a Pit Bull he didn't like. He told us any dog has it in their nature to be aggressive if you train it that way. Many others also warned us NOT to get a small dog if we had kids, cuz kids tend to be a little rough with dogs and a small dog will feel threathened and may snap/bite the child. I couldn't tell you how many times when we were looking for a dog we were given that same bit of advice. Not that all small dogs will go on the war path around small tots but we heard that much more often then we heard anything else.

Cup-Cup is a wonderful addition to our family and in many ways like another child for us. She wants just as much to be recognized by everyone who walks thru our door without being aggressive toward anyone. Only thing I'm not looking forward to is leaving her for almost 2weeks for our Disney trip in May.

HTH's

T.

 

[rluey29]

Go here adn take this quiz

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm

We have a lab. Who is the best dog ever. BUT labs are alot of work so if you don't think you are a dog person and don't want to do a whole lot it isn't the dog for you. Plus ours is almost 100 lbs
BUT he is awespme with our kids.

This quiz keeps telling me that there are NO dogs that fit my criteria, LOL!!!

 

[livie1205]

we just got a westie yesterday!! He is soooo cute and sweet, he is 8 weeks old.We named him SPIKE lol

 

[blessedby3]

The 4 doxies that I know are very territorial and snap. I dont think they are very good with children for the most part. My DSIL's doxen only likes her within their family of 4 and barks at the other family members constantly. I agree that a lab or lab mix would be a great dog for children. My other DSIL has a lab and he is so gentle.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We have a 4 year old Mini Daschund. He loves the kids and are very gentle with them as well as the two children that I babysit. However, the breeder paper trained him and he still has trouble with going outside - and he will not go out if it's raining, wet or very cold. He does very well with using his paper though. He also gets along very well with our cats and at times I think he thinks he is a cat.

We have had a couple of behavioral problems with him though. He absolutely does not like anyone new coming into the house and has nipped at the ankles of a couple of my ds7's friends. The first night my dh got his CPAP machine, he literally went into attack mode - soon as dh turned on the light and he realized it was not someone getting ready to hurt me, he was ok.

But we did have one bad incident with him. Bucky loves food and will steal anything he can. A year an a half ago when dd was 3.5, he grabbed her cup of yogurt and ran, she not knowing better, went after her yogurt and dove on the dogs back. She had to have plastic surgery on her cheek and has two permanent scars - they have really faded nicely, but will always be there. The first thing she did when she got home from the hospital that night was wrap her arms around him and tell him she wasn't mad at him. The dog was scared by it as well, for about a year everytime one of the kids would get a cut/scrap or have a nosebleed (dd has a bleeding disorder and has a lot of nosebleeds), he would run to his bed to hide - he thought he was responsible each time.

 

[katyjeka]

When our 3 dd's asked us for a dog, my first reaction was to say no. I've always had a cat, and really did not care for dogs. Well, needless to say, our kids won another battle, and on Dec. 22 we brought home an 8 week old sheltie. He is one of the greatest things that has happened to our family. Kubota(named after the tractor my dh so desires!!)has turned me into a dog LOVER!!! They are so much fun, and I just love how the little guy follows me around. He is really good with our girls, is already alerting us when someone is around our house. We have a lot of land, and everytime a deer is at the edge of our woods, he lets us know. Our vet actually recommended shelties, and I'm glad we followed his advice. Good luck. Janice