Dogs?

Juni · Guru

RE: Dogs?

Sara · Guru

i love labs and my kiddos have been around those and they are always great with them.

owen was quite dog obsessed when he was younger and still loves them as does keegan.

owen however is allergic to pet dander so there will be no animals in this house.

happylib · Guru

crystal wrote:

sbucking wrote:

Our last dog was a St Bernard/Golden cross. She was amazing in each and every way!!!

Now we have a full breed St Bernard puppy. She's 9 months old and GREAT with the kids.

I love big dogs so I know our breeds not for everyone. The shedding isn't ideal, but now that we have a Furminator, it's really not that bad.

I'd suggest looking at shelters. You never know what breed you can find there. Mark always makes sure the dogs are rather subservient. He flips them on their backs and such to see their temperment.

ITA with looking at the shelters. We always had dogs growing up and every one of them were from a shelter and were fabulous. Definitely rolling them on their backs shows a lot. The BEST dogs will just roll on their backs on their own, or have no problem at all doing it when you roll them over. If they don't do this (aka the dog i have now) then you may have problems with dominance (i.e. possible biting, territorial). There are always lots of lab mixes in the shelters and they make great dogs.

I just remembered why I picked my dog though. Little dogs make little poop. I don't like cleaning up big poop. My dog also doesn't shed.

Debbie Downer here again. Our puppy is/was very submissive but when kids are little and the dog is big, the dog often perceives the kid as another litter mate. That is where we had the problem.

Of course since we came back from vacation, our puppy has been so very good that it makes me feel a little bad for ever saying anything bad.

Cuppycake · Guru

happylib wrote:

crystal wrote:

sbucking wrote:

Our last dog was a St Bernard/Golden cross. She was amazing in each and every way!!!

Now we have a full breed St Bernard puppy. She's 9 months old and GREAT with the kids.

I love big dogs so I know our breeds not for everyone. The shedding isn't ideal, but now that we have a Furminator, it's really not that bad.

I'd suggest looking at shelters. You never know what breed you can find there. Mark always makes sure the dogs are rather subservient. He flips them on their backs and such to see their temperment.

ITA with looking at the shelters. We always had dogs growing up and every one of them were from a shelter and were fabulous. Definitely rolling them on their backs shows a lot. The BEST dogs will just roll on their backs on their own, or have no problem at all doing it when you roll them over. If they don't do this (aka the dog i have now) then you may have problems with dominance (i.e. possible biting, territorial). There are always lots of lab mixes in the shelters and they make great dogs.

I just remembered why I picked my dog though. Little dogs make little poop. I don't like cleaning up big poop. My dog also doesn't shed.

Debbie Downer here again. Our puppy is/was very submissive but when kids are little and the dog is big, the dog often perceives the kid as another litter mate. That is where we had the problem.

Of course since we came back from vacation, our puppy has been so very good that it makes me feel a little bad for ever saying anything bad.

That's my sister's dog... she just recently got a border collie mix, and she absolutely thinks Hannah is another puppy. She's gotten a bit better (now she just nips, barks, and occasionally knocks her over to wrestle, which is a nice change of pace from listening to Hannah scream the whole time - which of course makes the dog think she's barking and makes it worse, lol). That's why I love shelter pups so much - you can really get a chance to evaluate their behavior for a while before bringing them home. I think Remy's really the first dog I didn't completely rush into getting, and sweet omg it shows.

-- Edited by Cuppycake on Monday 8th of February 2010 01:02:10 PM

Jennie · Guru

I would research the terrier breeds before going that route. I think it truly depends on each individual dogs temperament. I like Westies and they are suppose to be relatively good family dogs. I thought of the Cairns terrier but AKC standards and other breeder sites have suggested not to have them around small children but each dog is individual in terms of temper, etc. I have a huge soft spot for Shih Tzus and Yorkies. Yorkies are yappy though.
aww

Boxers are great but hyper and energetic. Labs are awesome. I grew up with lab mixes. ;)
St. Bernards are awesome. Great Pyrenese are awesome. And my personal fave- Newfoundlands are the ultimate family dog. They are the original nursemaid dog. Nana in Peter Pan was a Newfie. But if you aren't wanting a dog that big I wouldn't go that route. But in all honesty- Newfies are huge couch potatoes.
We spent a lot of time researching breeds, etc before landing Molly-spec. And of course shelter dogs always make the best dogs! I always had shelter dogs!

Retrievers are great. But nothing is worse than a bored retriever!!

Dogs are great! Good luck! And I hope you find the dog for you. We narrowed it down by breed and then researched the snot out of the breed, talked with people who had that particular breed of dog, spent time with the breed, etc to get a feel for it. We lucked out with Molly.

I hope you find the perfect dog for your family.

-- Edited by Jennie on Thursday 11th of February 2010 03:52:16 PM

Jennie · Guru

happylib wrote:

We went the shelter route and have a mutt. We got him right before Elizabeth's birthday last year. He is some type of hound and Australian shepherd mix, but he is quite large (way over 50lbs and won't be year until the end of april). I looked into some rescues for various dogs and puppies, so that might be another option. Labs and goldens are good dogs for families. Surprisingly some of the bigger breeds of poodles are family dogs and they don't shed. Newfoundlands are huge but are suppose to be fantastic family dogs too. When my ds was young we had a border collie, which are great dogs but try to "herd" kids sometimes.

I concur!!!!!!

Our Molly is a Newfie/Great Pyrenese mix. Both are fantastic family dogs. But what you said about Newfies is absolutely correct. Molly is uber gentle with Colin and Addy. She is so calm and gentle. Most of the time you don't know she's there until she sticks her big head in your lap and looks up at you with those big brown eyes that say, "Love me." And then you do and its all gone from there.

Newfies are amazing family dogs- we did our homework. Mally can also back me up as she has a Newfie too. We've only had our Newfie/GP mix for a couple days but she's perfect. She doesn't bark, she doesn't nip, she doesn't chew, she doesn't chase the cats..Nada. When Addy is in the floor playing, Molly is close by watching over her. When Colin is in his room playing, Molly is right there with him. If Addy gets up in the night, Molly sits by her crib and waits on us. Amazing dog. She was a rescue- her owners up and moved to Florida leaving her chained to the house. My husband doesn't call me St. Francis for nothing! LOL

And border collies will herd your child! Our neighbor has the most adorable b.c. and when Colin is over visiting all he does is herd Colin around the yard. If Colin so much as steps over the property line, Charlie is right there to herd him back. But a herding dog for Colin isn't a bad idea! LOL

mctex · Guru

Getting back to this late... TYSSSSSSM all for all of the input!

After spending some time on petfinder.com and various rescue sites, I definitely think we'll be going that route. And those of you that commented to get an adult dog have my attention... so if anyone wants to make the "no, get a puppy!" argument, please do so now. :)

I'm thinking we might wait until summer to get a dog when we have more time to dedicate to it... although it's now the beginning of our outdoor season (I know most of the country finds that thought insane right now), so maybe now is the time, IDK.

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted. :)

Lizzy · Guru

awww....I missed this thread :( as you can see in my siggy, we have a beagle...he is really good with ivy, but he is older (when he was a puppy, he jumped on the furniture alot but he is very gentle) they are good dogs, but are very, very stubborn! we also looked at shelters and i saw a beautiful beagle mix girl dog...she was soooo pretty, but she was taken and then for christmas, don surprised me with a beagle puppy

he did chew on stuff alot and it took some training for him to go outside, but he is fine now.

crystal · Guru

mctex wrote:

Getting back to this late... TYSSSSSSM all for all of the input!

After spending some time on petfinder.com and various rescue sites, I definitely think we'll be going that route. And those of you that commented to get an adult dog have my attention... so if anyone wants to make the "no, get a puppy!" argument, please do so now. :)

I'm thinking we might wait until summer to get a dog when we have more time to dedicate to it... although it's now the beginning of our outdoor season (I know most of the country finds that thought insane right now), so maybe now is the time, IDK.

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted. :)

the ONLY benefit to getting a puppy is that they are cuter! get an adult dog.

Jennie · Guru

mctex wrote:

Getting back to this late... TYSSSSSSM all for all of the input!

After spending some time on petfinder.com and various rescue sites, I definitely think we'll be going that route. And those of you that commented to get an adult dog have my attention... so if anyone wants to make the "no, get a puppy!" argument, please do so now. :)

I'm thinking we might wait until summer to get a dog when we have more time to dedicate to it... although it's now the beginning of our outdoor season (I know most of the country finds that thought insane right now), so maybe now is the time, IDK.

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted. :)

I am so happy to read this!

Adults are generally a bit more sedate but it really depends on breed and how well they've been handled, etc. Molly is a puppy and there are times that you wouldn't know it except for when she does something (like chew on Mommy's shoe) that reminds you of the fact that she's a puppy. But we're in the "Get an adult!" camp. Our cats we got as adults and our dog would have been too if we hadn't of found Molly. They already come house trained so you don't have to fuss with that.

Do you know what breed you are going to get? We did a lot of research on training and breeds before we jumped- leaning heavily on the AKC and breeders for information. But I'm sure you know that b/c you strike me as the type who probably researches things to death before jumping! !

I think your girls are going to be happy! And I'm so happy that you're going through PetFinder or a rescue.

isalandak · Senior Member

I'm so glad you guys started this thread. At Christmas time DH wanted to get the kids a dog. But I put my foot down since it was winter and our back fence needs fixed. So now Braxton is on a dog kick. He is constantly telling me he wants his own pet a baby dog, or pretends he is holding somthing and comes up to wisper this is my baby dog.

So now I have broken down and told him he could have one for his birthday. So now it is all about I'm getting a baby dog on my birthday.

I'm so not looking forward to the poop in the back yard. I love (Now that I have a backyard) just walking out in bare feet and not having to worry about steping in anything.

I really am thinking about a lab or Retriever. But just don't knowI really LOVE Rotwillers(SP?) I know they have such a bad rep but I just love them and every one I have ever meet was just a sweet heart.

When I was younger I had a rot/LAb mix and she was the best dog ever. We ended up having her over half of my life when she died. I wish I could find one of those mixes but thats probably not going to happen.

Jennie · Guru

isalandak wrote:

I'm so glad you guys started this thread. At Christmas time DH wanted to get the kids a dog. But I put my foot down since it was winter and our back fence needs fixed. So now Braxton is on a dog kick. He is constantly telling me he wants his own pet a baby dog, or pretends he is holding somthing and comes up to wisper this is my baby dog.

So now I have broken down and told him he could have one for his birthday. So now it is all about I'm getting a baby dog on my birthday.

I'm so not looking forward to the poop in the back yard. I love (Now that I have a backyard) just walking out in bare feet and not having to worry about steping in anything.

I really am thinking about a lab or Retriever. But just don't knowI really LOVE Rotwillers(SP?) I know they have such a bad rep but I just love them and every one I have ever meet was just a sweet heart.

When I was younger I had a rot/LAb mix and she was the best dog ever. We ended up having her over half of my life when she died. I wish I could find one of those mixes but thats probably not going to happen.

Where Molly toilets is picked up. Well, it will be when its warmer b/c its too darn cold and windy to stand outside and pick-up poo. I, like you, like to run around in bare feet in the summer and don't want poop on my feet!

And I heard that raised right, rottweilers were actually good dogs. I'm terrified of "aggressive breed" dogs. I clam up and freeze if I see one. I don't do them..Or pits, dobermans, or german shepherds b/c of my own silly fears and a bad, bad experience growing up. :(

Love labs! Had them growing up! I had a lab/samoyed mix, a lab/vizla mix, and a lab mix of sorts. my labs. Excellent dogs. We would have gotten a lab if we hadn't of gotten Molly.