Should we get a dog? if yes, where?

[Anonymous]

I was all in favor of getting a dog till I just read a thread about newly adopted dog snapping at child (I am so sorry for the way this worked out, the OP seemed to really care for the dog).
Our situation:
6 yo DS, dog crazy child that has been begging for a dog for past 3 years
2 full time working parents
1 GM, lives with us fulltime and provides childcare, fully on board with dog idea
SFH with preinstalled invisible fence
I was thinking about adopting a "teenager" dog (2-4yo) from rescue (any recommendations?). Since GM and DS will be home during the day, I would prefer a small to medium dog (under 40 pounds?)
How crazy is this idea? What am I missing? Should we wait?

[Anonymous]

We recently adopted an adult dog (vet's guess is 4-6 years old) and it's been great. Our kids are younger than yours, and still learning how to properly interact with a dog.

The dog is extremely tolerant of our toddler, permitting everything and walking away (or running) when she's had enough. She apparently thinks our 5 year old is old enough to be trainable, she'll bark at him if he pets or pokes her too roughly. He told me that she snapped at him once, while the sitter was here and I wasn't around. None of us know exactly what happened, but after that I have put much more focus into supervising and teaching him how to behave toward the dog, and what not to do.

So you can put us into the statistic I read somewhere, that 2/3 of children have been bitten by a dog, usually the family dog or a friend's dog.

Is the invisible fence replaceable? Could you add a picket or chain link fence to the yard, instead of the invisible fence?

[Anonymous]

We adopted our dog when she was 2-3 years old from the Mineral County Humane Society and had a great experience - she is a wonderful dog, the perfect pet.

The MCHS is not a physical place; it is a group of about five women who rescue adoptable dogs (and cats I think) from the local high-kill shelter/pound, and place them via Petfinder.com and Facebook:

https://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelterid=WV85

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mineral-County-Humane-Society/247873228623352

Since they foster the dogs in their homes, they get a very good sense of the dogs' temperaments, how they are with cats, other dogs and children, how much exercise they need, etc.

If you follow them on Facebook, you will see adoptable animals come up in real-time.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you for the replies. I'll check out the links.
I actually want to keep the invisible fence if at all possible.

[Anonymous]

If you have a young child, don't get a dog. Also, invisible fences terrorize your neighbors. Dont' be a jerk.I grew up down the street from a neighbor with a dog with an invisible fence and I felt like I couldn't go 5 houses down because that dog would bark and run to the end of the lawn. I knew there was a fence, but it was terrifying every time. Dicks.

[Anonymous]

Who will be walking the dog on the cold snowy mornings and evenings? If everyone is on board with this decision, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to chime in that with a rescue, you are taking on a certain amount of risk. Even if you do everything perfectly training-wise, rescue dogs sometimes come with certain hang-ups that might compel them to act aggressively, which is why some shelters/rescues do not let families with young children adopt their animals.

[Anonymous]

There are other ways to get a dog that's not a puppy, like a teenage or adult dog. Breeders will sometimes have dogs that didn't work out in the show world, or shouldn't be bred, or are being retired. These dogs are not mystery dogs with potentially problematic backgrounds, like an adult dog from a shelter or rescue.

I have heard many stories of rescue dogs not working out, and I was very nervous when we did it. But our dog worked out very well.

[Anonymous]

Op again.
- I will be doing morning and eve walks.
- if not rescue, where else can I get young adult dog?
- one of the neighbors up the street has invisible fence. They are nice people, have clear signage announcing such a fence and and awesome dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies. I'll check out the links.
I actually want to keep the invisible fence if at all possible.

Two things about invisible fences:

1. Dogs with strong prey instincts (this includes all terriers and, I would think, hounds?) will not be deterred by an invisible fence. They will take the hit to get out - but will not take it to get back in. Some breed-specific rescue groups don't view invisible fences as real fences for this reason.

2. Invisible fences keep your dog in, but do not keep other dogs (or predators) out. So, for example, a very small dog (Yorkie or the like) could be preyed on by a coyote or fox coming in from outside, or by a larger dog as well.

Also: If you work full-time, you will need a mid-day dog walker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Just wanted to chime in that with a rescue, you are taking on a certain amount of risk. Even if you do everything perfectly training-wise, rescue dogs sometimes come with certain hang-ups that might compel them to act aggressively, which is why some shelters/rescues do not let families with young children adopt their animals.

Not so if the rescue dog has been in foster care and its temperament is known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies. I'll check out the links.
I actually want to keep the invisible fence if at all possible.

Two things about invisible fences:

1. Dogs with strong prey instincts (this includes all terriers and, I would think, hounds?) will not be deterred by an invisible fence. They will take the hit to get out - but will not take it to get back in. Some breed-specific rescue groups don't view invisible fences as real fences for this reason.

2. Invisible fences keep your dog in, but do not keep other dogs (or predators) out. So, for example, a very small dog (Yorkie or the like) could be preyed on by a coyote or fox coming in from outside, or by a larger dog as well.

Also: If you work full-time, you will need a mid-day dog walker.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies. I'll check out the links.
I actually want to keep the invisible fence if at all possible.

Two things about invisible fences:

1. Dogs with strong prey instincts (this includes all terriers and, I would think, hounds?) will not be deterred by an invisible fence. They will take the hit to get out - but will not take it to get back in. Some breed-specific rescue groups don't view invisible fences as real fences for this reason.

2. Invisible fences keep your dog in, but do not keep other dogs (or predators) out. So, for example, a very small dog (Yorkie or the like) could be preyed on by a coyote or fox coming in from outside, or by a larger dog as well.

Also: If you work full-time, you will need a mid-day dog walker.

This.

Seconded! It also won't deter someone from going into your yard to harm/harass/ abduct your dog. I don't think and an invisible fence is adequate for the metro area... Now, if you live on 6 acres in leesburg- that's a bit different.


Also know that a dog is trained for an invisible fence. The shock isn't what keeps them in. They are trained to the boundaries of your property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Just wanted to chime in that with a rescue, you are taking on a certain amount of risk. Even if you do everything perfectly training-wise, rescue dogs sometimes come with certain hang-ups that might compel them to act aggressively, which is why some shelters/rescues do not let families with young children adopt their animals.

There's no use, pp. Nobody will listen to you, and you may be attacked for having this opinion. On DCUM, the only acceptable way of acquiring a dog is to
"rescue" one from a shelter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adopted our dog when she was 2-3 years old from the Mineral County Humane Society and had a great experience - she is a wonderful dog, the perfect pet.

The MCHS is not a physical place; it is a group of about five women who rescue adoptable dogs (and cats I think) from the local high-kill shelter/pound, and place them via Petfinder.com and Facebook:

https://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelterid=WV85

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mineral-County-Humane-Society/247873228623352

Since they foster the dogs in their homes, they get a very good sense of the dogs' temperaments, how they are with cats, other dogs and children, how much exercise they need, etc.

If you follow them on Facebook, you will see adoptable animals come up in real-time.

Awesome.