So Perv and I might be getting a dog. We decided that the added protection of a canine in the house would be a good thing for me. I thought a baseball bat would be good (no extra care/food/shots needed), but when I was talking to my mom this weekend and mentioned that Perv and I had briefly thought about getting a dog before we ruled it out as a possibility, she said that she thought that getting a dog was a very good idea.
We went to a dog adoption event this weekend at Petsmart, just to start to get a feel for the used-dog market. There was a beautiful chocolate lab and a sweet German short-haired (German short-haired what?) that were up for adoption. Perv and I also spent a lot of time online, looking a good match for us.
I also got things smoothed over with the landlord this weekend (meaning he responded to the letter that I wrote to him and he was surprisingly understanding and calm, so I've decided to forgive him since he forgave me for spending $178 of his money), and I asked him about the possibility of getting a dog. He says that his initial reaction is no (our contract says no pets) but that he'll think about it. So I know that even though Perv and I are starting to think about this, it may not even happen.
What I'm asking for, really, is advice. I don't need "dogs are stupid" advice or "don't get a dog advice." What I'd really like is experience with different breeds (there are 250 dogs up for adoption just in our immediate area, so there are lots of different breeds available), etc.
So what do you think? What kind of dog should I get? We have a small apartment. The dog would rarely be alone in the house since Perv and I have opposite schedules. We have a nice back yard where we could tie the dog up to let it play outside, and I'd love to take it for nice long walks and maybe even jogs. We'd like a calm breed, since it would not be a good idea to annoy the neighbors with barking, etc. (though they are with child, so in about eight months, there will be uncontrollable loud noises coming from their apartment) and since I'd need a good, calm breed to not demand all my attention while I'm trying to do homework. I'd rather not have a small breed; medium or large (not too large because it's a small apartment) would be great (but I'm thinking about beagles---they're about the smallest I'd be willing to go).
8 comments:
I don't care what kind of dog you get, as long as it's tiny and shivers.
p.s. as a non-dog-lover who is allergic to just about everything, I WON'T swerve to miss your dog if it is wandering aimlessly in MY lane of traffic
By the way, tying your dog up in the yard will get you arrested--possibly with the death penalty.
I heard a humane society ad on the radio last week. You may have read about it in my blog. Last week. In my blog. That I write.
My parents are on their second boxer. Abbey is a really sweet dog and she's super easy-going. Although, come to think of it, she refuses to eat whenever left without a family member. But besides that, she's a fantastic pooch. Adorable. And fantastic
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Sounds like you need a nontiny poodle. Poodles were the most popular dogs in America just a few decades ago (see Travels with Charlie), don't shed (are even called hypoallergenic, if you can swollow that), are smart and have decent personalities.
Or so I hear.
Hmmm. Well, my favorite breed of dog is a springer spaniel, followed closely by brittany (sp?) spaniels.
They're medium- to small-sized dogs. Need haircuts, which means they don't really shed. Sweet and affectionate dogs. The brittany has been a little . . . overexcited about life.
You were talking about an airedale--I think those are really cool-looking dogs. Beagles seem a little more laidback and chill. (My best friend growing up had a beagle. He was a very sedentary dog, though he had a loud bark and a penchant for escaping and running through the neighborhood.)
Hmmm. Ehow.com says airedales are "very good watchdogs." They do need frequent exercise. I'm willing to bet, though, that in this community, there are plenty of pet-starved college students who'd welcome a chance to walk or play with a dog.
Anyway, good luck choosing.
Are you interested in training a puppy or getting a trained adolescent? Puppies initially take more time then a well-trained dog.
I would get a medium size breed short-haired mix/mutt with a calm personality.
I figure, I'm a mix/mutt: why should my dog not be? Not to mention "pure" breeding can easily increase the chance of recessive gene matching resulting in horrendous health problems (blindness, joint problems, mental health, deafness)sooner or later. Then you have the emotional argument about the community's responsibility to adopt one of the dogs on "death row" at the shelter.
The icing on the cake is that these dogs usually don't cost as much as the pure bred dogs, who are worth more than their weight in gold.
For reasons financial, emotional, and biological, mixes between two healthy mixes seems like the best way to go. If you can't see the parents, then you can just thoroughly inspect and observe many dogs. You can make a pretty good choice from that. I've had 2 dogs that were both great that were mixes.
...and both those 2 dogs came from the animal shelter...
We had a pure bred shelty before that, and it didn't live as dog and died a horrible death. I think it had some weird health problem. I remember it smelled bad and everybody was crying. I was probably about 5 when that dog passed on to doggy heaven.
Avoid begals if you want a calm and quiet dog. Mixes are great and usually don't have the health problems of pure-bred pups. Rescuing a dog is always great, but ask pointed questions about the history so you don't get a child-hater, biter, chewer etc.... Some things can be trained out, but be aware of the extra time.
One of the best mixes I ever saw was a Boxer/Lab. He had the sweetest personalitly and a favce to match.
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