Dog that is the least work

[Anonymous]

I have a short haired chihuahua. He does not shed. He is very sweet and is a lap dog. He requires short walks but needs attention. He follows me around the house.

I got him when my kids were 6 and 9 years old. This breed lives a long time. Which is a good thing since we love him so much.

[Anonymous]

Of all the dogs I have owned (8) greyhound is the least work. The centers preselect a docile quiet dog from the hundreds they have to choose from. (They can’t take them all). But greyhounds are large dogs.

[Anonymous]

I have an adult corgi who is perfectly happy to go out in the yard for a few hours then sleep it off in her crate. She is a very happy dog in general. I certainly don’t walk her twice a day. She has joint problems and can’t walk so much.

[Anonymous]

We got a sweet Havanese puppy in October. Lots of work, but soooo cute and sooo sweet. Non-shedding. I work from home till about April, so we are together 24/7. Need to take him out potty every two hours. He needs lots of attention, grooming etc. The kids love him, but I do 95% of the work. Be prepared for that. My kids are 9.5.

[Anonymous]

I have a JRT/Chihuahua mix who is super easy and is the most wonderful, loving dog. He requires no grooming but the kids do like brushing him sometimes even though he doesn’t really need it with his very short coat. Just feed, water, let him out into our fenced yard a few times a day. He enjoys chewing on a nylabone type toy. He did go through a short destructive/chewing period while adjusting to our house (normal for a young dog getting used to a new home) but he is fine being left along now during the day when we go out, though I work from home so I am usually home with him. He does bark at old men. He enjoys walks but doesn’t need them all the time. I feel like he gives back 10 times what work we actually have to put in. Not all dogs are equal work.

[Anonymous]

The least work dog is an adult rescue with a bio that lists them as easy going and potty trained. It's not common but there is always one around, check petfinder.com The fosters are forth coming and will post a good description.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m considering a dog for my three boys. They want another sibling. I think it would be good for companionship and for them to learn responsibility. However, I’m not fond of all the work. Is there a breed that would be easy? Doesn’t shed much?

Our first dog when DH and I had no kids was an 1 1/2 y.o. rescue. Fortunately the dog was housetrained, so the work was the morning and evening walks - had a dog walker in the day. Dog loved to play fetch on occasion, but was not an overly active dog. Absolutely gorgeous, but shed up a storm!

Sadly, the dog died at 14 and I just couldn't bear to get another dog because I missed it so. The kids really wanted another one and I put it off for four years, but they were both miserable in HS, so I relented. This time I got a 6 y.o. non shed rescue. He has had his own challenges and that took up a lot of time in the beginning, but he is completely house trained and never any worries on that front. And the behavioral challenges were really nothing compared to getting up in the night and being available during the day to take a puppy out for house training.

So perhaps less work with a housetrained non shed older rescue, but really it is so worth and I wonder why I waited!

14 year old is pretty good!

Yes, so true. Her passing just came so quickly - woke up one morning and really couldn't walk. Within the week, we had to put her down. Maybe I would have never been prepared, but the sudden loss just jolted me to my core.

OP, GL with your decision.

My senior dog is over 13 and I am getting myself prepared just in case she goes just as quickly. My neighbor's dog died and was only 9! Had a freak accident and jumped off the step and got paralyzed. Something he had done thousands of times. Still shocking five years on...

[Anonymous]

Op Come back and tell us what you have picked ( if any)

[Anonymous]

Definitely an older house trained dog. Our first dog was an 8 year old rescue who played a little and slept a lot and only required a couple of walks a day. He was good company in terms of feeling like someone was around, and he liked to sleep on the sofa next to us. He wasn’t exciting but nice to have around.

However any dog is work in terms of needing to structure your day around them or hire dog walkers. If you take them on trips you need to find dog friendly hotels. If not you need to find a place to board them.

There are the vet visits, store runs, being outside when it is pouring, messes from dirty paws, hair (even low shedding dogs), etc.

Of course this is all doable if you are up for it. Definitely do not get a puppy no matter how cute. They are freaking tons and tons and tons of work.

[Anonymous]

Do not do it, OP. I did it for the same reasons - my kids really wanted one and have asked for years. So now we are a few weeks in and I am miserable. Everyone is chipping in, and it’s not all on me but I really do not enjoy it. It’s a lot of work not to mention how much you will worry about everything: from food, to eating crap outside and vomiting, to socializing the puppy appropriately so he does not grow up to be fear aggressive, etc. It is a lot. We are proving lots of love and structure. Perhaps if you get an older dog, than it might be easier. I’m in the trenches so perhaps my view is skewed. He is cuddly, cute and sweet which is lovely but does not make me resent any less all the time, physical and mental, I am spending on the puppy.

[Anonymous]

An older, calm dog, good with kids.

[Anonymous]

There is no least amount of work. Last night my dog had diarrhea and couldn't signal in time. It is just as disgusting if not more to be cleaning your dog's sickness. If you aren't prepared to do the work then you don't need a dog. You'll be miserable and resentful and then what? You send to the pound because of your irresponsibility?

[Anonymous]

https://us.aibo.com/ This one is the least amount of work.

[Anonymous]

I would also suggest fostering (if you have at least some experience with owning a dog), but if that is too intimidating do you have friends with dogs that might need someone to dog-sit over a weekend or holiday? it seems like everyone we know got a pandemic puppy so there must be a dog-sitting need out there!

I became convinced I wanted a dog after taking care of some friends' dogs. I don't mind the shedding, and I use the walks as a way to force me to get out of the house every day. We have since adopted lab mixes from local rescue groups that were 1-2 years old -- still very puppy like and a bit crazy the first couple of years, but they grow up into wonderful companions.

[Anonymous]

Pug. Quiet. Doesn't need a lot of walks. Portable.