Clueless about dogs -- what type to get as our first pet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do understand a dog is worse then a kid right. You need eyes on them at all times. All your attention will now be on the dog and not your kids. Sign the dog up for doggie daycare so it's not stuck in a crate for 10 hrs per day

Not true.

[Anonymous]

How much exercise?

Op, how much exercise-time can you (someone) give the dog every single day consistently. I'd start there.

[Anonymous]

We just got a goldendoodle puppy and it has been tiring for 2 months but she is the best. She loves our kids and us, is easily trainable, was a blank slate (no fears etc.) we have socialized her a lot and we are thrilled with her at 4 months. True I had 2 months off but I amniw going back to work FT and getting a dog walker. But maybe you could hire someone to come 2x a day early on...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am in your situation now (never had dog before), except that our kids are few years older. It took us more than a year of active research on the dog breed. I mean, not just actively reading a lot of information on the internet and books, but also meeting with dog's owners and actively talking to them. We settled on the French Bulldog and we are gettign a puppy. I am taking 3 weeks off to train him once he is at home, and then my husband will be able to take few days here and there in the morning, and kids will be responsible for the afternoons. I think it is better to train a young puppy (of you are willing to invest some time) rather than leave for next 10-15 years with the dog with the bad habbits. I also want to cook for the dog, so I want to make sure that he is not fed by processed commercial food. Just check what you family really wants and how much time and money you are willing to invest in it. Good luck!

HAHAHAHAHA good luck training a French Bulldog puppy in three weeks. Snort.

I was talking about basic training, of course we I'll continue it through the entire first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a puppy, from a reputable breeder. If you're not experienced with dogs, you aren't prepared to deal with the nonsense that comes with rescues. You can maybe get a pup from a rescue, but I advise a lot of caution. Corgis can be a little hardheaded, btw. Get a decent sized dog: golden, lab, a show bred Aussie, Brittany.....no doodles or such nonsense.

It's easier to train a pup, you can hire a dog walker who will help you train the pup, and you know what you're getting.

WRONG. Adopt, don't shop.

Retail rescue is a very real thing. Get a pup from a reputable breeder, with health guarantees and a lifetime return policy. There's nothing wrong with a purpose-bred, healthy pup from someone who socialized it appropriately. A new to dogs owner does not need to cope with a shelter or rescue dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do understand a dog is worse then a kid right. You need eyes on them at all times. All your attention will now be on the dog and not your kids. Sign the dog up for doggie daycare so it's not stuck in a crate for 10 hrs per day

Or you can just train the dog.....maybe you have a lemon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do understand a dog is worse then a kid right. You need eyes on them at all times. All your attention will now be on the dog and not your kids. Sign the dog up for doggie daycare so it's not stuck in a crate for 10 hrs per day

Not true.

Not my kids.

[Anonymous]

We are a family of 5, two working parents, kids are 10, 12, 16. Just got a Jack Russell Terrier. They are energetic, but the kids run her around a lot. Jacks are smart, so training has been going well. The kids are not in camps these last weeks of August in order to have her on a schedule by the time school starts. We will likely have someone come in at lunchtime to take her out, and one kid will get home by 3, so she won't be home alone too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a puppy, from a reputable breeder. If you're not experienced with dogs, you aren't prepared to deal with the nonsense that comes with rescues. You can maybe get a pup from a rescue, but I advise a lot of caution. Corgis can be a little hardheaded, btw. Get a decent sized dog: golden, lab, a show bred Aussie, Brittany.....no doodles or such nonsense.

It's easier to train a pup, you can hire a dog walker who will help you train the pup, and you know what you're getting.

WRONG. Adopt, don't shop.

Retail rescue is a very real thing. Get a pup from a reputable breeder, with health guarantees and a lifetime return policy. There's nothing wrong with a purpose-bred, healthy pup from someone who socialized it appropriately. A new to dogs owner does not need to cope with a shelter or rescue dog.

Now CBS has published the downside dirt on what happens when save rates are prioritized over safety. This is Fairfax County VA's taxpayer funded county animal shelter. A few years ago it relaxed pit bull and mixes adoption rules as well as other standards. It is described as a climate of fear for employees [and volunteers??] who whistle blow or complain. Look at the pit at about 1:49 dressed up in festive attire to appeal to families etc. Then go to about 1 55 an see the chunk taken out of a worker's arm. It's so bad they don't even tell adopters about dogs who have fear of cars and get aggressive and an adopter was bitten leaving with the new "pet." I've known nice German Shepherds but Fairfax County was marketing for adoption a biter. http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/fairfax/multiple-dog-attacks-inside-animal-shelter/293740749

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a puppy, from a reputable breeder. If you're not experienced with dogs, you aren't prepared to deal with the nonsense that comes with rescues. You can maybe get a pup from a rescue, but I advise a lot of caution. Corgis can be a little hardheaded, btw. Get a decent sized dog: golden, lab, a show bred Aussie, Brittany.....no doodles or such nonsense.

It's easier to train a pup, you can hire a dog walker who will help you train the pup, and you know what you're getting.

WRONG. Adopt, don't shop.

Retail rescue is a very real thing. Get a pup from a reputable breeder, with health guarantees and a lifetime return policy. There's nothing wrong with a purpose-bred, healthy pup from someone who socialized it appropriately. A new to dogs owner does not need to cope with a shelter or rescue dog.

Now CBS has published the downside dirt on what happens when save rates are prioritized over safety. This is Fairfax County VA's taxpayer funded county animal shelter. A few years ago it relaxed pit bull and mixes adoption rules as well as other standards. It is described as a climate of fear for employees [and volunteers??] who whistle blow or complain. Look at the pit at about 1:49 dressed up in festive attire to appeal to families etc. Then go to about 1 55 an see the chunk taken out of a worker's arm. It's so bad they don't even tell adopters about dogs who have fear of cars and get aggressive and an adopter was bitten leaving with the new "pet." I've known nice German Shepherds but Fairfax County was marketing for adoption a biter. http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/fairfax/multiple-dog-attacks-inside-animal-shelter/293740749

We had a bad experience with a reputable rescue. Nothing this severe, but they lied. We know this because we started to investigate after the dog bit our daughter (broke skin, but mild and doctor was not concerned). We spoke with someone at the shelter the dog was at prior to the rescue. The info in writing from that shelter was different from what someone shared only once I pleased and explained the dog had bitten our daughter. My repeated calls and emails to the rescue asking them to give full disclosure were mostly ignored except I was assured the dog would not be placed with children. The director /founder of the rescue gives zero contact info. Everyone reminds you they are "volunteers" as though that instantly puts a halo on their lying heads.

[Anonymous]

I would only adopt a puppy from a shelter. You just don't know how the dog was treated in its prior life or whether it is fearful of people.

[Anonymous]

I have always gotten dogs from reputable breeders and had no issues. We currently have a mini golden doodle and he is as sweet as can be, great with kids, and content being indoors or outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am in your situation now (never had dog before), except that our kids are few years older. It took us more than a year of active research on the dog breed. I mean, not just actively reading a lot of information on the internet and books, but also meeting with dog's owners and actively talking to them. We settled on the French Bulldog and we are gettign a puppy. I am taking 3 weeks off to train him once he is at home, and then my husband will be able to take few days here and there in the morning, and kids will be responsible for the afternoons. I think it is better to train a young puppy (of you are willing to invest some time) rather than leave for next 10-15 years with the dog with the bad habbits. I also want to cook for the dog, so I want to make sure that he is not fed by processed commercial food. Just check what you family really wants and how much time and money you are willing to invest in it. Good luck!

HAHAHAHAHA good luck training a French Bulldog puppy in three weeks. Snort.

You beat me to this comment, Frenchies are notoriously hard to train. My neighbor has 5 all rescues from frustrated owners that dropped $3-4000 on a puppy they couldn't train.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That brings up an important issue of crate training. Start the day you get your puppy home. Make it a safe space for the dog.

My Havanese would not tolerate being in a crate, he harmed himself more than once trying to claw and chew his way out. I gave in and just confined him to a small area instead and that worked. You have to be willing to try whatever works for your dog. Crate training is the best method IMO but a lot of people use it too much and don't train well beyond that.

[Anonymous]

Best thing to do is not get hung up on a particular breed. Start going to adoption events and find a dog your family falls in love with. You can also tell how the dog will react to all your kids. Some dogs just react to certain people (it took our dog awhile to get used to men, I think she was abused by a man before).

Talk to the rescue group about the dogs. You need a dog that is OK with a lot going on in the home. Some dogs need more quiet, some are laid back.

After you get the dog, hire a trainer to come to the house when the whole family is there. Training a dog is as much about the people as the dog. Everyone needs to be consistent.