Dog advice

[Brandwin]

My wife is thinking about getting a dog. We are wanting to get small dog to keep inside, but I have no idea on what breed is best (especially for kids) and what sex. I've heard male and some have told me female. Also, what would be the best option for while we are at work. We are sometimes gone from 7am-6pm, some days later, that is a long time for a dog to be by itself. I was thinking depending on the size we get, we could get one of those baby cages to give it more room, but I don't know.


Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mgoblue]

Re: Dog advice

My wife is thinking about getting a dog. We are wanting to get small dog to keep inside, but I have no idea on what breed is best (especially for kids) and what sex. I've heard male and some have told me female. Also, what would be the best option for while we are at work. We are sometimes gone from 7am-6pm, some days later, that is a long time for a dog to be by itself. I was thinking depending on the size we get, we could get one of those baby cages to give it more room, but I don't know.


Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We have 2 older poodles that might have been good with kids if they grew up with them, but now they're annoying with a baby.

If we were to get dogs in the future I'd want a bigger, more chill breed that is made for kids. My FIL has 2 labradoodles and they were pretty awesome dealing with kids yanking them. Mastiffs and even regular poodles are supposed to be better too....

I'm no animal expert, just stuff we've thought of....ours get lots of energy and yap a lot and it gets old. Our 1 1/2 year old son yells "louie louie" after we do when Louie barks lol. Our issue is that our son's a toddler and will yank at the dogs and stuff, and we know these dogs would bite in reply, just older and crankier.

At the same point a Chihuahua might be fine or any dog that grows up with your kids....maybe other dog experts here chip in?

[Brandwin]

Re: Dog advice

I feel like the hours we are going to be gone will be too long during the day to properly care for it. I don't know.

[mgoblue]

Re: Dog advice

I feel like the hours we are going to be gone will be too long during the day to properly care for it. I don't know.

When my wife worked the dogs would be in decent sized kennel cages from 8ish to 5-ish...It would be a concern though....we can't trust those dogs out during the day, but growing up we had some dogs you could...

It's a valid concern though, for sure...I bet a smaller dog would handle that stuff better, but the bigger lazy dogs I want might not hate it either, i don't know.

[kehlis]

Re: Dog advice

I feel like the hours we are going to be gone will be too long during the day to properly care for it. I don't know.

We take ours to doggy day care on Tuesdays and Thursday's because it exhausts her for a couple days. So Monday she's still got plenty of exercise from over the weekend and then she's exhausted on Wednesday and Friday from day care the day before so it works out.

For what it's worth we are also gone from about 7-6 each day and this dog isn't yet one year old.

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Dog advice

I'm sure aukevin could chime in, I just got a Boston Terrier and I love this breed. This will be my first small dog and I haven't actually had too much experience with it but the Dog 101 video pretty much sold me along with a bunch of videos I watched on youtube.

Ive had two English Bulldogs when I lived in Phoenix and they are amazing but health issues are a big concern but their personality is fantastic. They aren't that smart though but that's part of the charm.

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[PVarck31]

Re: Dog advice

Whatever you decide to do, I suggest getting a rescue dog. Too many dogs need homes as it is.

Sorry if this comes off as high and mighty, not trying to be like that at all. It's just what I believe in.

There are rescues for specific breeds if you are set on one. But mixed dogs are great too.

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Dog advice

Speaking of rescue dogs, the sherriff in Phoenix busted a Pug puppy mill and have a bunch of Pugs that you can rescue, I'm sure you can find it in the Web. It's like over 100 Pugs.

That may be an idea since you're not too far from AZ and could probably setup a transfer.

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[dales]

Re: Dog advice

I got a puppy this summer (great pyrenees/lab mix, so not small) and my wife and I are gone Wednesday through Friday from about 9:30-5:30. We have a dog walker come at 1:30 those days to take him out for an hour. Cost $25/day. When he's home alone, he's in a large crate. I run with him in the morning which tires him out then my wife walks him before she goes to work. This plan has worked out great for us. He's never had an accident.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Dog advice

If you're going to be gone a lot, I'd advise against getting a dog. Obviously, just about all of us have to work, but it's not really fair to bring a dog into the fold only to have it sit alone for 12 hours a day (not saying this is you, Brandon).

And rescue dogs are indeed awesome.

[daflyboys]

Re: Dog advice

Our first dog was a Shih-Tzu bought from a puppy farm in NC. She was the runt and was cute as hell. She didn't bark for several years, amazingly. She was great with our kids and with other animals...actually a bit too good with other animals to the point of going up to other dogs on their leashes. We both worked and had to leave her at home for long days sometimes, which was tough at first. She lived 16 years.

Our second dog is currently a Maltese. I'm not sure if it's the breed or just this particular dog, but she is great with every living human being and horrible with every other creature on the earth. We cannot trust her around other dogs, etc. She is also the alert dog the Shihtzu should have been. She is really loud for her size. I think she thinks she's a Pit Bull.

Each of these breeds we got because of my family's allergies to dog dander. The first had hardly any and the Maltese has hair, not fur.

[fistofrage]

Re: Dog advice

The smaller the dog, the bigger the attitude and the smaller the bladder. We have a Big Black Lab and a Morkiepoo(Maltese, Yorkie, Poodle).

The lab gets the run of the house, but the Morkie is kenneled when we are gone. He would find a way to put dog poop in our pillow case if he was free to do whatever just to get back at us for leaving him. I can't imagine the chaos what we'd come home to if he was loose.

You have to remember smaller terriers were naturally made to go after rodents and go into burroughs. I had a friend who came home and his couch had been turned into the perfect cave, the jack Russell had burroughed into the couch and removed all the stuffing and pulled all of its toys and other things into the couch. At first he couldn't find him, then it was life What The......He ended up just leaving it, so now his 1200 leather couch is a defacto dog kennel when he's gone. It works because he's a bachelor and you really can't tell because he made the hole in the corner under a cushion, but be warned.

The lab is great with kids, they will put up with a lot before they get bent. Smaller dogs and their napoleon complex, not so much. Our little dog loves kids but we had a neighbor that had to get rid of their Shorkie because it bit a few kids and they were really good about getting the dog all types of training but it didn't work out.

[slickdtc]

Re: Dog advice

The in-law's have 3 Jack Russell's and they're fun dogs to play with but damn they are exhausting! And soooo weird. Definitely needs tons of attention and affection. They're lovable as all hell but they cause chaos.

[jeremym480]

Re: Dog advice

My wife is thinking about getting a dog. We are wanting to get small dog to keep inside, but I have no idea on what breed is best (especially for kids) and what sex. I've heard male and some have told me female. Also, what would be the best option for while we are at work. We are sometimes gone from 7am-6pm, some days later, that is a long time for a dog to be by itself. I was thinking depending on the size we get, we could get one of those baby cages to give it more room, but I don't know.


Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Dogs can be a lot of work (especially in the beginning). However, there's nothing quite like a family pet. I looked up the Waco Animal Shelter and man they have some damn fine lookin' dogs there. You should go there this weekend and check them out to make sure they're a fit for your family.

http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=WACO.A000796

http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=WACO.A000790

They have some puppies there too, but those would probably be a little more work. http://humanesocietycentraltexas.org/view-dogs
I'd suggest a mid sized dog, boy or girl really doesn't matter because each have their pros and cons. Girls with girl stuff and boy's with their potential to "mark". We have four boys fwiw. 2 of they came from the animal shelter and came from a "foster mom" who saved him from the shelter on the day he was scheduled to be put down. The last my wife got from someone who was giving him away at the Dollar General.

[Darkleaf]

Re: Dog advice

It took a lot of initial work but it all paid off in the end. I have a 3 year old Mastiff/Korso rescue, he came to me in what I can only describe as a PTSD dog.
Beaten abused something, even when you spoke to him happy and hey bud he would piss on the floor.. for no reason nothing. About to give him a bone for something good piss.. Months of basically building up his self confidence, walking a line between discipline and compassion.

Now 1 year later he is perfect in every way. Dog parks a sweetheart, kids he loves them. Barks when someone comes in the driveway, goes to the bathroom on command. Go pee, go poo lol.. Sleeps a ton.Doesnt mess with the house.No stupid puppy faze.Follows me everywhere. I never thought a dog could really be my best friend.

Hell he's done more for me than Ive ever done for him. So don't pass on medium to large dogs.