Finding the Right Doggie

[Garden Kitty]

. Consider a rescue dog, not all rescue dogs are from bad situations. I know a few which were 'rescued' when the owner went into a nursing home.

Today, lots of great pets end up in shelters for financial reasons. People lose their house and can't afford (or don't try) to take their pets with them.

[Anita18]

The real reason I decided to reply to this thread is to remind people to consider the area the dog will be living in. We have eagles and great horned owls in the neighborhood. Very small dogs/puppies have been grabbed by predators.

Oh yeah, we live in SoCal and we have coyotes. Cats and small dogs are grabbed all the time.

[OrioleBeagle]

My sister and I grew up around beagles. (My father was a rabbit hunter.)
Positives- Playful, affectionate, love people (especially children.) Short hair (not a lot of grooming).
Negatives- They follow their noses! You must have a fenced yard and keep them on a leash at all times! Some beagles howl a lot! (Not a good apartment dog).

I love beagles. They are the only breed I would own but I realize that they are not for everybody.
You will find a lot of beagles available in shelters and rescues.

[tracylynn]

If you are interested in pure breeds you show watch Animal Planet's Dogs 101. It's a very informative show. You can go to their site and they have a dog breed selector survey that will help you in finding the breed that may suit your life style along with videos on the breeds. I've gone there to help find the dog that would best suit my lifestyle. Even if you're not looking for a pure breed the information they provide about each breed can help you in understanding the characteristics each breed has if you are interested in a mix breed.

Here's the link
http://http://animal.discovery.com/tv/dogs-101/]

[Japanfan]

Oh, one more thing. Do an obedience class. Both you and the dog will appreciate it.

My golden retriever almost got kicked out of obedience class - she was dog aggressive there in addition to being hyper. We left the class and worked with the trainer privately, but I never did succeed in teaching her to heel properly, even though we must have done over 500 repetitions.

So not all dogs appreciate obedience classes or training. They say that golden retrievers are cooperative dogs who always want to please their people but mine has been really hard to train. Part of it is probably because I didn't start working with her until she was three, part of it is that my husband isn't on board, and part of it is just the dog's personality. She's so hyper that she finds it hard to control her excitement. For example, when she is commanded to 'your place' and 'hold' when someone comes to the door, her whole body is trembling with excitement.

But don't give up on a dog just because it isn't textbook obedient. My golden is still a great dog and my next goal is to teach her to discriminate between objects like a pen and a cloth, then retrieve them and drop them on my lap. In teaching her this I'm working with her natural retrieving instinct and it's more pleasurable to do this as opposed to working against her instincts.

My dog and I will start volunteering to visit a nursing home shortly and I think the retrieving game will be great fun for the residents. Now, I just have to hope she doesn't get herself fired!!

Point is - all dogs are different and you have to work differently with different dogs. Some things work with some dogs, not with others.]

Enjoy your dog search and post some pics and comments when you finally find your pup.

[Anita18]

My golden retriever almost got kicked out of obedience class - she was dog aggressive there in addition to being hyper. We left the class and worked with the trainer privately, but I never did succeed in teaching her to heel properly, even though we must have done over 500 repetitions.

So not all dogs appreciate obedience classes or training. They say that golden retrievers are cooperative dogs who always want to please their people but mine has been really hard to train. Part of it is probably because I didn't start working with her until she was three, part of it is that my husband isn't on board, and part of it is just the dog's personality. She's so hyper that she finds it hard to control her excitement. For example, when she is commanded to 'your place' and 'hold' when someone comes to the door, her whole body is trembling with excitement.

But don't give up on a dog just because it isn't textbook obedient. My golden is still a great dog and my next goal is to teach her to discriminate between objects like a pen and a cloth, then retrieve them and drop them on my lap. In teaching her this I'm working with her natural retrieving instinct and it's more pleasurable to do this as opposed to working against her instincts.

My dog and I will start volunteering to visit a nursing home shortly and I think the retrieving game will be great fun for the residents. Now, I just have to hope she doesn't get herself fired!!

Point is - all dogs are different and you have to work differently with different dogs. Some things work with some dogs, not with others.]

Enjoy your dog search and post some pics and comments when you finally find your pup.

OMG ours actually got kicked out of obedience class! We joked to my mom that he was the only child to fail school! He heeled properly though...unless there was another dog in the vicinity. Then there was no hope. The only time when he didn't chase after other dogs was when he became too old and couldn't be bothered.

And he never did fetch properly either. My friend's cat fetches better!

My mom's current golden is less dog aggressive (excitable, but not aggressive), but she's still taking him to obedience class because he's MUCH bigger than our old one. Our old one, he never got much above 70lbs but the new one, once he got to be a normal weight (he came to us with bones sticking out everywhere), he'd outweigh her by a good bit. She wants him to be trustworthy before he hits that point.

[sk8starz343]

I have adopted and rescued many different types of dogs. In my opinion, if you are not going to be home a lot, get a shih tzu or a similar breed. My mom has a shih tzu and she just sleeps all day and doesn't require a whole lot of attention. A short walk once a day is more than enough and they are so easy to take care of. Just choose wisely. Bigger dogs and dogs with more energy require a whole lot more from the owner.

[rfisher]

I have two high energy Standard Poodles and they do fine while I'm at work. I crate them and they sleep. Then they tear around the back yard like fiends when I get home. They are a breed that really does well having two. While they both demand my attention, they get a lot of exercise playing with each other while I get other things done. Of course, having a fenced yard is a must and a yard that they can play in. Don't expect to have a lot of fancy landscaping and a dog. Make the yard dog and kid friendly and both will be happier. Cats are OK, but I love dogs. Big or small. I've had an Akita (actually a fantastic house dog except for the massive shedding and hair), a Doberman (wonderful breed), Golden Retriever, Dachshund, Irish Setter (beautiful and dumb as a rock), and multiple German Shepherds (also wonderful dogs but also have a lot of hair). All were different but all were wonderful companions.

[orbitz]

I don't see how a dog can be expected to not go to the bathroom for 8+ hours per day. IMO, I think that if you expect to leave a dog by itself inside the home for 8 or more hours straight per day then it's best not to get a dog at all unless you plan to train it to use pee-pee pad during the day, hire someone to walk it before you get home, or pay for doggie day care.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

Today, lots of great pets end up in shelters for financial reasons. People lose their house and can't afford (or don't try) to take their pets with them.

In my area, entire sections of towns were condemned due to the recent flooding. Many homes were condemned, and some of those folks had to give their pets to local shelters.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

My sister and I grew up around beagles. (My father was a rabbit hunter.)
Positives- Playful, affectionate, love people (especially children.) Short hair (not a lot of grooming).
Negatives- They follow their noses! You must have a fenced yard and keep them on a leash at all times! Some beagles howl a lot! (Not a good apartment dog).

I love beagles. They are the only breed I would own but I realize that they are not for everybody.
You will find a lot of beagles available in shelters and rescues.

We met a very nice beagle today at a local animal shelter. He's on our hot list. The "following his nose" thing really cracked me up as we walked him. I have no problem keeping him on a leash at all times - we live right downtown, on a busy street, so it's not realistic for us to have a doggie not on a leash; too dangerous to the dog, fence or not.

[rfisher]

I don't see how a dog can be expected to not go to the bathroom for 8+ hours per day. IMO, I think that if you expect to leave a dog by itself inside the home for 8 or more hours straight per day then it's best not to get a dog at all unless you plan to train it to use pee-pee pad during the day, hire someone to walk it before you get home, or pay for doggie day care.

How do you think they make it through the night? I've always worked and my dogs have always been housetrained.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I don't see how a dog can be expected to not go to the bathroom for 8+ hours per day. IMO, I think that if you expect to leave a dog by itself inside the home for 8 or more hours straight per day then it's best not to get a dog at all unless you plan to train it to use pee-pee pad during the day, hire someone to walk it before you get home, or pay for doggie day care.

A dog walker is a really good idea that I'm going to look into. My husband is also often either very late to leave the house, or early home due to his job, so most days, it won't be a full workday that the dog will be alone. The dog we met at the shelter today is also used to being "crated", and does well both with it and with cats and kids. This dog normally goes 12 hours overnight at the shelter without an accident, and he'll never be home alone for nearly that long, so I'm thinking he'll be okay on the bathroom front.

[PRlady]

We met a very nice beagle today at a local animal shelter. He's on our hot list. The "following his nose" thing really cracked me up as we walked him. I have no problem keeping him on a leash at all times - we live right downtown, on a busy street, so it's not realistic for us to have a doggie not on a leash; too dangerous to the dog, fence or not.

My daughter had a beagle at her dad's house for 10 years. Incredibly sweet dog but...dumb. Beagles are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, even my daughter who loved her dearly laughed about it. Now I realize you don't care how your new dog does on the SAT but it's something you should know.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

My daughter had a beagle at her dad's house for 10 years. Incredibly sweet dog but...dumb. Beagles are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, even my daughter who loved her dearly laughed about it. Now I realize you don't care how your new dog does on the SAT but it's something you should know.

Actually, I'd been hoping for doggie-Mensa

[rfisher]

Actually, I'd been hoping for doggie-Mensa

then a Standard Poodle is your dog. They let Border Collies pretend to be number one because they cry if they're not, but Standard Poodles are the Mensa of the doggy world.

[Anita18]

Actually, I'd been hoping for doggie-Mensa

My classmate has a Jack Russell Terrier (remember Wishbone? ) and apparently their thing is that he has to learn a new trick to show off every year at Christmas. Apparently he's already got like, 30 up his sleeve.

Our old golden only could do shake, sit, down, and rollover, and there was no indication that he knew which was which. When we had a treat in our hand, he'd do all 4 without waiting for a command first. "It's bound to be one of them!"

[GarrAarghHrumph]

then a Standard Poodle is your dog. They let Border Collies pretend to be number one because they cry if they're not, but Standard Poodles are the Mensa of the doggy world.

But I am joking with the doggie-Mensa thing! I am just fine with how smart this beagle is. IMO, seemed fairly smart - but like I know from dogs.

BTW, this is the beagle we're looking at:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21346501

[rfisher]

Beagles are great dogs as long as you don't expect them to be anything but a beagle. If this dog was a hunting dog, you will need a fenced yard or he will go hunting. He'll bark and chase things including your kid. That's what they are born to do. If he was a pack dog, they either hunted rabbits or deer. If deer and he gets out, he can go miles. My parents rabbit beagles used to jump a rabbit and be gone for hours. Sometimes days if they inadvertantly jumped a deer. Do your homework on beagles. And, be aware that he will smell like a hound because that's what they are. None of our beagles (and my parents had several over the years) were pets (as in playing with people and doing doggy pet stuff), but they were bred to be hunters. Most of them preferred to hunt than be petted anyway. Good luck.

[oleada]

I don't see how a dog can be expected to not go to the bathroom for 8+ hours per day. IMO, I think that if you expect to leave a dog by itself inside the home for 8 or more hours straight per day then it's best not to get a dog at all unless you plan to train it to use pee-pee pad during the day, hire someone to walk it before you get home, or pay for doggie day care.

I'm with rfisher on this one. Our schnauzer is a very well trained apartment dog and gets two good walks at morning and at night. He rarely if ever goes inside.

Freddie looks super cute. Good luck on finding the right dog for your family whether it's Freddie or another pup