Anonymous wrote:Don't focus on size, but on energy level. You need a low-energy dog, like an Irish Wolfhound or a Basset hound. Or a retired greyhound.

Exactly what I was going to say. A lot of small and medium dogs are VERY high energy. Think terrier, beagle, etc. But I've never met a greyhound (often 90+ pounds) who wasn't totally chill.

My cousin got a puppy lab from a breeder and paid a lot of money and the thing was high strung and crazy all of its 12 miserable years.

My sister got a two year-old lab from a rescue that was left tied to a tree in a backyard in West Virginia for a few weeks and had sores etc. - it's the best dog ever.

Big dogs don't need a big space. Small dogs can be totally annoying neurotics, Jack Russell's come to mind.

That's why I vote for getting the adult rescue - you can check them out first.

We have a 128 pound German Shepherd who is an absolute sloth indoors. I have to drag his ass outside to go potty. Outdoors he is very active. Inside, he is a couch potato. He would be fine in a smaller home.

puppies are just as unknown as shelter dogs. Perpetuating the stereotype doesn't help.

A puppy can be "well socialized" but still have issues, just as a shelter dog can be a complete love bug.

Only difference is that pure bred dogs tend to have poorer health

Just get a mutt from the shelter - they'll test them and you can get an active one.

We have a 95lb mastiff mix from the shelter - she is the least active dog ever. I think if she could ask us to give her a diaper so she'd never have to go outside, she'd be happy. Though, we used to have a balcony and she could sit out there all day and people watch.

Neighbors didn't even know we had a dog.

However, if she lived with people who wanted to run/bike/hike with her, she'd be miserable.

the DC Humane Society has a program called PACC, where volunteers run with the dogs in an organized group. This might be a good way to test a dog, or to find a more active dog. Even an active dog, the more active you are outside the house, the better behaved they'll be in the home. Not worth spending money on a pure bred that won't have a specific working function. Adopt

We adopted a lab mix as a puppy from a rescue. We live in a rowhouse that has a yard but it is all terraced large gardens and a patio. There is no grass. He can go in the yard in one of the gardens in an emergency but we walk him. When he was a puppy we crate trained him and we took him out a lot but now at a year and a half I walk him in the morning to the dog park, let him play for a while and walk him back and he is a doggy lump until around 4:00.

I have a big goofy lab/poodle mix and recently, due to circumstances beyond my control, adopted a shih tzu.

I am not a little dog person but this dog is awesome -- calm, extremely affectionate, smart, doesn't shed or smell. He's cuddly and great with my kids -- a living teddy bear. He's really an amazing dog and not at all what I thought a little dog would be.

So just me recommendation to check out a shih tzu.

Anonymous wrote:Nah. I've worked rescue and will never get an adult dog around kids---I've seen too m at quirks come out months later. I want an eight week old pup that I can socialize to everything in existence. I have no problem teaching the kids to respect the dog.

Agree.

Nah. I've worked rescue and will never get an adult dog around kids---I've seen too m at quirks come out months later. I want an eight week old pup that I can socialize to everything in existence. I have no problem teaching the kids to respect the dog.

Anonymous wrote:Actually having a puppy with a cat helps the cat exert dominance over the dog (size being a factor).

agree--the only good thing about getting the dog as a puppy is that the cat will teach the dog to respect its boundaries and a puppy will be receptive to it.

Actually having a puppy with a cat helps the cat exert dominance over the dog (size being a factor).

If you get a puppy, there's no guarantee you'll know the temperament. If you get a dog that's one or two years old you'll know how it behaves. We got our dog act foha.org and they allow you to walk the dog on their trails and play with the dog in their play spaces so you can see it's temperament. You could spend an hour or two playing with the dog at the rescue. And the rescue will likely have info about whether the dog is friendly with children and pets.