Thinking about a puppy

[chedder]

Mine the day we got him. He's 3 now. And not small or near as cute.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by rohara66

Are there actually any studies to show the differences in health between papered purebred, backyard purebreds, designer dogs or rescue mutts? Every other article/study I've ready flips back and forth between pure vs mutts.

All our friends with rescue mutts have been terribly unhealthy and totally crazy dogs.

I tried searching for one, but was unable to find anything good.
If anyone gets any empirical data on this, please let me know.
There doesn't seem to be much consistency from the anecdotes or studies I've seen. This study says that mixed dogs live 1.2 longer than pure breeds. But I'm not sure about the difference between rescue mutts and hybrids.

[Geraldsh]

Post #3495 in the random thought thread - the last half if Bill Burr’s monologue describes my opinion on dog choices

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

I’d disagree that they need to be busy all the time. Part of training a dog is training them to have an off switch.

I have a GSD and he has no issue with not being busy all the time. I don’t even bother trying to tire him physically since it won’t happen, mental stimulation is just as good and works their brains. Feed out of puzzle toys, train tricks, agility courses or urban agility, nose work etc.. are all great ways to tire working dogs. He does like doing all that and is always ready to go, but he is just fine with laying by the couch with his kong for a movie night.

If I need a full day without working him, I can send him to daycare the day before and he’s destroyed for the next day.

Those all sound like "jobs" to me. :-)

[Winsor_Pilates]

My puppy goes in to get spayed today.
I wasn't worried before, but the amount of waivers about death the Vet has me signing has caused me to be quite nervous now.

[CliffFletcher]

One thing to keep in mind with rescue dogs is they tend to be mixes of very active breeds. That means they need a good long walk at an off-leash every day. Our last two have been great dogs, but they would have driven us absolutely nuts if we didn't take them for a 45 minute walk a day, and even then they are very demanding in time and energy.

With a purebred you can choose a mellow breed that doesn't need quite that level of exercise and engagement.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

Those all sound like "jobs" to me. :-)

They are for sure, but they aren’t things that he does all the time and we aren’t busy all the time. There are days where he gets a morning walk and an evening walk and he has to sort himself out for the rest of the day, which is where the off switch and ability to settle comes in

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

They are for sure, but they aren’t things that he does all the time and we aren’t busy all the time. There are days where he gets a morning walk and an evening walk and he has to sort himself out for the rest of the day, which is where the off switch and ability to settle comes in

Yah my pure bred border collie is working on this right now. Sometimes we don't have the time to do more than the morning and evening walk and he is learning to be 'off' or play by himself nicely. Its still a struggle as he is only 1 but he is way better than a few months ago.

[manwiches]

So hijacking the thread as it's relevant to my question...

Looking to get a puppy for the family. I have owned dogs in the past (a Shiz Tzu and a Wheaton Terrier). My wife has not. She is not very pro-dog, but was around for the entire time I had my Wheaton with my family, and when I took him when I moved out. He never lived with us though, but did stay the night from time to time.

She's not a fan of shedding (neither am i for that matter) or hyper dogs (so my dreams of getting another Wheaton are out). I think she'd go for a dog if it hit the following critera

- Small/Smallish (not teacup poodle small, but maybe a pug size or shiz tzu)
- Non-shedding/minimal shedding
- More docile
- Inherently obedient and listens well (so no stubborn types)
- We have soft hardwood on the main floor. While I'm not naive that any dog has the capability of scratching the hardwood with long nails, I'm looking for one that would be more docile and note be a bull in a china shop, to mitigate the scratches.

Essentially, I think she'll approve if I find a unicorn. My son is dying for a puppy, and carries around a heavy stuffed dog which is actually a door stop, and pretends to play with it and sleep with it all day, everyday, for the past 3 months. It's actually hilarious and cute, but also very motivating for me to get one too.

I plan on taking care of all the puppy training and majority of day to day with the new pup, and get my son to help as much as he can. I work from home, so even after all this mess is over, I'll still be home with him/her.

From my initial research, I was thinking a Boston Terrier or a Miniature Bern-doodle. I'm also not opposed to getting a rescue either, but I might have to wait for the perfect dog to come in as well for that. One big barrier I'm finding reaching out to breeders now, is that EVERYBODY is looking for a dog now that they're home. So the likelihood of me getting one soon is very low, but I'm looking to lay the ground work to get one when I can, or hopefully have a leg up on others, as I do work from home permanently.

With all that being said, any suggestions on breed, breeders, etc? If i had it my way, I'd go right back to the Wheaton breeder I got my Wheaton from. But the size (medium) and disposition (excitable) aren't attractive to my wife.

Thanks in advance!

[Fuzz]

^
Sounds like you should get a cat.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

^
Sounds like you should get a cat.

hell no. No cats. lol. I'm allergic for one, and I'd rather get gerbil than a cat. haha

[rohara66]

Charlee, our 9 week old yellow lab.

[slcrocket]

As promised, here is Iggy:



And if any of you could have seen how hard it was for me to figure out how to put a picture here, you would have really enjoyed the process.

[Russic]

We picked up our new wolf-deterrent about 3 weeks ago from a rescue (her mom was a rescue that they took in, not knowing she was pregnant).

We had a lab for several years before he passed, and he was a tricky one. Quite anxious and required a ton of work. For those reasons we tried to find a dog with a bit more chill (or as much as you can discern from the foster family). Turns out so far it was a great move. She's alarmingly well behaved and aside from some typical bitey behaviour she's already quite pleasant.

The isolation has been very helpful for me (in this regard only). The original plan was to get one during the summer so my wife could help out as I work from home and she's a teacher. This covid business has given us 5 months of tag-team dog managing, so as far as handling a puppy goes, it's been perfect.

She's on a similar weight trajectory as the one mentioned above... about 2-3 pounds per week. It's pretty insane to see the difference so quickly.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by manwiches

So hijacking the thread as it's relevant to my question...

Looking to get a puppy for the family. I have owned dogs in the past (a Shiz Tzu and a Wheaton Terrier). My wife has not. She is not very pro-dog, but was around for the entire time I had my Wheaton with my family, and when I took him when I moved out. He never lived with us though, but did stay the night from time to time.

She's not a fan of shedding (neither am i for that matter) or hyper dogs (so my dreams of getting another Wheaton are out). I think she'd go for a dog if it hit the following critera

- Small/Smallish (not teacup poodle small, but maybe a pug size or shiz tzu)
- Non-shedding/minimal shedding
- More docile
- Inherently obedient and listens well (so no stubborn types)
- We have soft hardwood on the main floor. While I'm not naive that any dog has the capability of scratching the hardwood with long nails, I'm looking for one that would be more docile and note be a bull in a china shop, to mitigate the scratches.

Essentially, I think she'll approve if I find a unicorn. My son is dying for a puppy, and carries around a heavy stuffed dog which is actually a door stop, and pretends to play with it and sleep with it all day, everyday, for the past 3 months. It's actually hilarious and cute, but also very motivating for me to get one too.

I plan on taking care of all the puppy training and majority of day to day with the new pup, and get my son to help as much as he can. I work from home, so even after all this mess is over, I'll still be home with him/her.

From my initial research, I was thinking a Boston Terrier or a Miniature Bern-doodle. I'm also not opposed to getting a rescue either, but I might have to wait for the perfect dog to come in as well for that. One big barrier I'm finding reaching out to breeders now, is that EVERYBODY is looking for a dog now that they're home. So the likelihood of me getting one soon is very low, but I'm looking to lay the ground work to get one when I can, or hopefully have a leg up on others, as I do work from home permanently.

With all that being said, any suggestions on breed, breeders, etc? If i had it my way, I'd go right back to the Wheaton breeder I got my Wheaton from. But the size (medium) and disposition (excitable) aren't attractive to my wife.

Thanks in advance!

I have a bichon shih tzu mix and she is the easiest, friendliest dog ever. She fits all the criteria you listed above. If you want slightly bigger, maybe a purebred bichon?

You will likely have a hard time finding a rescue like that at this time. There are very few of them in local rescues and rescues that do have them tend to bring them in from LA (which obviously they can't right now). Even when the rescue I volunteer with was bringing them in, they often had waiting lists before they arrived, unless they had issues.

[DuffMan]

How come nobody has mentioned Corgis yet? they’re the new hotness.

[Jason14h]

If someone can PM me how to post a picture I will show you the cutest Aussie Shepard ever born !

[d00little]

I got a puppy March 1, with the deposit put down months earlier, so it was great timing. The one thing I’m worried about is the puppy is getting so used to me being home all the time I imagine it’s going to have separation anxiety once I start going back to the office.

I’ll probably have somebody stop in the check on it or drop her off at my parents once things go back to “normal”.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by d00little

I got a puppy March 1, with the deposit put down months earlier, so it was great timing. The one thing I’m worried about is the puppy is getting so used to me being home all the time I imagine it’s going to have separation anxiety once I start going back to the office.

I’ll probably have somebody stop in the check on it or drop her off at my parents once things go back to “normal”.

Practice now. Put In kennel or what you plan to keep the dog in while gone and pretend like you are gone while you work. It will help you immensely down the road.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by manwiches

So hijacking the thread as it's relevant to my question...

Looking to get a puppy for the family. I have owned dogs in the past (a Shiz Tzu and a Wheaton Terrier). My wife has not. She is not very pro-dog, but was around for the entire time I had my Wheaton with my family, and when I took him when I moved out. He never lived with us though, but did stay the night from time to time.

She's not a fan of shedding (neither am i for that matter) or hyper dogs (so my dreams of getting another Wheaton are out). I think she'd go for a dog if it hit the following critera

- Small/Smallish (not teacup poodle small, but maybe a pug size or shiz tzu)
- Non-shedding/minimal shedding
- More docile
- Inherently obedient and listens well (so no stubborn types)
- We have soft hardwood on the main floor. While I'm not naive that any dog has the capability of scratching the hardwood with long nails, I'm looking for one that would be more docile and note be a bull in a china shop, to mitigate the scratches.

Essentially, I think she'll approve if I find a unicorn. My son is dying for a puppy, and carries around a heavy stuffed dog which is actually a door stop, and pretends to play with it and sleep with it all day, everyday, for the past 3 months. It's actually hilarious and cute, but also very motivating for me to get one too.

I plan on taking care of all the puppy training and majority of day to day with the new pup, and get my son to help as much as he can. I work from home, so even after all this mess is over, I'll still be home with him/her.

From my initial research, I was thinking a Boston Terrier or a Miniature Bern-doodle. I'm also not opposed to getting a rescue either, but I might have to wait for the perfect dog to come in as well for that. One big barrier I'm finding reaching out to breeders now, is that EVERYBODY is looking for a dog now that they're home. So the likelihood of me getting one soon is very low, but I'm looking to lay the ground work to get one when I can, or hopefully have a leg up on others, as I do work from home permanently.

With all that being said, any suggestions on breed, breeders, etc? If i had it my way, I'd go right back to the Wheaton breeder I got my Wheaton from. But the size (medium) and disposition (excitable) aren't attractive to my wife.

Thanks in advance!

We have a Boston Terrier now - she is healthy and is a great dog (she was a rescue). The previous Boston Terrier we had, was also a great dog, but had a number of health issues (bad skin allergies that we were never able to get under control in spite of spending vast amounts of money on vet bills). We got him from a breeder.