Thinking About A Dog

CrpntrFrk

My dog is a Chocolate Lab. With a touch of G-Sheppard. Best damn dog I ever had. She is part of our family and I look forward to seeing her everyday like she is one of the kids. But I have to be honest I am not her best friend.......my 3 year old daughter is. Those two always are together. Lab is a great breed and thats what I would recommend.

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nEighter

dude THAT is a cute puppy dog! Is the top when she was a lil rugrat?

CrpntrFrk

Yup. Thats our Cocoa. We love her to death!

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nEighter

see I see that pic and want a dog!! Warner's pup is awesome cute too!

CrpntrFrk

Well like Curapa said they are alot of work. It seemed like we were never going to get ours house trained. Then she got an infection and that made house training even harder. She is 2 now. I would go thru it again and if she goes before I do then I will get another one for sure. You should whatch "Marley and Me". You will get the picture. They are a great stress releiver. When you had a bad day and after you posted your new thread on CT how efd up your day was you go out throw the ball a couple times your good to go hours later. I say go for it.

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ChainsawCharlie

Brutus (L) and Charlotte (R)

ChainsawCharlie

Just don't do it this way

+ YouTube Video

nEighter

cute pups too. what are they?

that is why I would want one the most. For the listen yet no talk back factor I will have to save some money I think. A dog fund if you will. That way I can get all the crap I need for one. I have NOTHING for an animal. Have some gerbil cages from my sons from a couple years ago.. bout it.


you mean kick the dog?! best part of that whole vid!

ChainsawCharlie

Brutus is pit/sharpei and Charlotte is pit/lab. She also has a root fetish. She just loves to dig up roots and chew on them. I damn near sprained my ankle when I stepped in one of her holes the other day.

Winchester

I'd love to get a dog but it won't be for a while yet.

I initially wanted a Siberian Husky.


Then I was sure about a Border Collie because they're just so damn smart, but they're too hyper.


Then I was thinking, smart, friendly, not as hyper, so I was gonna get a Lab. But there can be some pretty hyper labs, and I've seen some tear a house to shreds when the owners were away (seperation anxiety?)


Recently I've been considering Bernese Mountain Dog, because they're just so damned laid back and I like that. Only thing is they just get so big and that has it's own list of problems.


Now, if I could Have a Siberian Bernese Border Lab! that would be sweet.

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Ryan

ChainsawCharlie

That's one reason. Boredom is another. Charlotte loves stuffed animals. She also loves to gut them. We came home from dinner one night, and it looked a blizzard hit inside the house. You literally couldn't see the floor from all the stuffing from her toys everywhere.

We lock the dogs out when no one can be home with them and we have a 20x20 carport for them if they need shelter.

Fortunately, they've never gone after the furniture.
The cat, on occasion has tried clawing my recliner, but a standard spray bottle with plain water quickly broke that habit. It works on the dogs too, but you have to catch them in the act.

nEighter

Winchester.. that is my deal, figuring out what kind to get to suit me. I am a way laid back guy.. I don't want to be stressed out from some hyper ass dog going nuts on me!

Yep CC that is another deal all in it's self. I don't have a fenced in yard and don't want one either. How much is an electric wireless fence? How much to operate a month?

strathd

If you get a dog get a cage. Cage training is the only way to go and it will keep your house from getting tore up. Eventually the dog will consider the cage its den and go in voluntarily.

Crawdad

Dogs are cool. Don't listen to Bob, he seems more like a "cat person."

Cats are vermin. They hide their turds, so you can find them when working in the garden.
Nasty critters.

cleveman

I think you will serve yourself well by planning this out. It would be good to have the right set-up.

I had a 6 or 7 acre piece of ground with a fence around it and a gate. Another good thing is tile floors. You will need some sort of way to clean off the feet when it comes in the house. A dog shower in the entry or outside would be good.

The worst time to have a dog is when you're in a new house and it's winter and you haven't seeded yet. I guess the season isn't important. Everytime it is wet, you've got a mess.

Yes, you will spend probably $100 per month.

Dogs don't need to eat furniture or trash a house. My dog ruined a mechanical pencil and a ballpoint pen when he was a puppy, and that was it.

If you fetch up the dog properly, you will have someone in your life to love, and it will make your quality of life better. Everyone in your family and life can also love this dog.

If you decide on a cat, let me know. I have two which I will deliver to Kansas City. Let me know before mid-august because I'm going on vacation and have to do something before then. I'm serious, I will drive them down to you.

Mike Finley

These are my - hey, don't be a dumbass rules when it comes to dog ownership.

#1 Take your time and investigate the breeds.
#2 Don't get a dog if you can't take the time to train
#3 Don't get a dog if you can't take the time to investigate the breeds.

There are two to consider when it comes to the quality of life, yours and the dog, if you do 1,2,3 you'll insure yourself and a your dog will be a good match and have a great experience for life.

So explore and research the breeds. They are all different and it's not about what they look like, it's about their personalities and traits that were bred into them. Start with their groups which is the first classification. There are working dogs, sporting dogs, toy dogs etc...

Learn what those are and more importantly what it means! There are thousands of years of genetic traits breeded into these dogs for certain reasons. Most modern dogs are all the result of hundreds of years of careful breeding for a very specific purpose or personality.

When some dumb ass says I have a border collie and he is nuts, he is chewing my down town loft apartment to shreds, I have to get rid of him...

Well, he's a dumb ass. You don't own a working dog and leave it at home all day long and not expect it to go absolutely nuts and tear the place up. He's a working dog, he needs to work! He needs a lot of excersice 2 times a day just to stay normal.

Same thing you don't get a toy dog and wonder why it won't pull a dog sled. The guys a dumb ass, it's a toy, it's meant to be carried around in a purse like Paris Hilton would.

Explore the groups and understand what they are is the frist step. Match the dog breed to your lifestyle. Every bad dog you have ran across is usuall the result of a mismatch in the breed to the owner's lifestyle and a lack of any training.

If you are sedintary get a dog that matches your life style, if you are active get a dog that matches your life style.

This is the first step that will help you get off to at least a fighting chance of having a wonderful life long relationship with your new best friend.

#2 is train the dog. Your life and the dogs life will be better off for it.
Sit, stay, come. Minimum that every dog should know. If you can't take the time to train your dog, don't get one. It's your responsibility to that animal to train it so it has a good life with you. All dogs are trainable, only owners are too stupid to train them.

Good luck, dogs are the best! Take your time and investigate, don't get a dog based on how cool it looks, match yourself to a breed and you'll never regret it.

AmeliaP

You may be able to foster a dog for a local rescue group. I've always had a dog of my own but I also used to do that.
It may be a nice trial run for you. Some rescues are breed specific and some not. I fostered probably 8 dogs and only miss 1!
You could volunteer at a pound but usually the dogs are a bit stressed there so you see a more hyper version of them.
A small older dog is probably the way to go. There is temperment testing that can be done to see if you might be getting a nut job dog.

I wish I'd known all this 8 years ago.

One day (a little over over 8 years ago) I got it in my head I wanted a new dog.
I thought I knew a lot about dogs.
I can home with an 18 month old untrained, unneutered (they told me he was neutered) monster Rottweiler. I thought he was big at 77lbs - he was skinny and filled out at 120lbs.

Week 1 - crashed into my other dog, chases my cat - EATS table legs!!! Call vet and dog trainers.
Week 2 - neutering is done but I have to find a new vet - he scared the sh*t out of all the vet techs. Dog training started......
Week 3 - bought him a Kong - read a few dog training books (invaluable), found a new vet, needed to buy a 40' horse lead as a training leash!!
Week 4 - had to buy different car to fit travel crate - dog scares the sh*t out of gas pump jockeys, toll takers, and anyone who walks past my car...

and on it went....after about 1k in training - which was all clicker training and more to train me to know how to train the dog - he is my best buddy

Paulie

I agree with most of the posts (except for Bob), educate yourself first.

Puppies are cute but a lot of time, training and cost. To avoid that you can go to the pound. I swear to God every dog that I've known (from the pound) knows they've been saved and are grateful.

Another benefit of a dog is security. I've haven't locked my house for years and pity the soul who's crazy enough to let himself in.

10fingers

Cdat

Had a Husky. It'd howl at the moon. Kinda' creepy some times. But boy would it shut the coyotes up.

As stated by others, pick the breed that fits you. I don't agree with the adopt from the pound, a mutt, like some people here. Then you get something that has built in bad habits.

We buy from breeders we trust and that don't run puppy farms.

The last few dogs we had and why we had them:
Bouvier des Flandres, The Bouvier des Flandres is good-natured, obedient, and calm. Because of their intimidating appearance and courageous, responsible personality, this breed is an excellent watchdog and guard dog. They are easy to train and approach their work with great enthusiasm. They learn best from an owner that is consistent, balanced, and firm. Proper training and socialization with this breed will avoid the onset of dominance issues. The Bouvier des Flandres is terrific with children and makes a wonderful family pet. They are quiet and adaptable, and they are usually good with other dogs. This breed shouldn’t be left unattended with small, non-canine pets. This breed will not fully mature until the age of two or three years. They can be suspicious of strangers and protective of their owner(s) and family.

Airedale Terrier, Airedale Terriers are valiant and protective. They have a sociable, kind demeanor and they often aim to please. The breed can get distracted by small animals, other dogs, or food. In order for an Airedale Terrier to be happy, he needs to feel loved and appreciated. Also extremely intelligent, Airedale Terriers can be obedience trained at a very high echelon. As puppies, Airedale Terriers are carefree, fun-loving, and playful. For the most part, the breed is accepting of strangers, but they can become nervous if they feel threatened. Airedale Terriers frequently play too rough and rowdily for small children, but if they are raised and trained properly, they make excellent family pets. Without proper training, Airedales may become domineering or disobedient.
Airedales do fine around children when they have had sufficient training. Airedales are highly intelligent and if trained properly, will listen to every word their master commands. They are extremely loyal, patient, kind, loving and very gentle but won't take any sort of abuse and will defend their territory. It is important to familiarize them with young children from birth and they will adopt the kids as their own and be very protective.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier , The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is a friendly dog which loves its family. They are always sweet and loving and develop very close bonds with their family. The breed does great with children and does well with dogs if properly socialized. However, they *should not be around cats or other small animals because of their strong hunting instincts. They are very friendly and gentle with strangers. Unlike many intelligent breeds, the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier will listen well to its owners. They very rarely bark unless it is to warn of danger. They are hypo-allergenic dogs that do not shed!!!
*should not be in a home with small animals because of their strong prey drive (they have managed to remove the entire rabbit population from our yard!