So i'm thinking about getting a dog this summer...
i live by myself, yadda yadda, i'm pretty sure i can take care of it but don't know that i can spend like 6 hours out running every day. So, hopefully a more laid-back dog would be good, no Border Collie or anything...
However, i do want to get a big dog, not a little yappy one, and i'd like to get one that would be add some element of safety.
i don't want a doberman or anything, but it'd be nice to have something that could be a bit of a guard dog.
Sounds weird, but my whole city is powered by crack...
Anyone have any thoughts / suggestions / words of advice/warning/whatever?
i've thought about maybe looking for a greyhound shepherd mix, but i'm planning to adopt an adult dog.
i'll probably just end up going to the shelters and finding one, but i'd like a basic gameplan, i don't want to come out with a pomeranian or anything.
just remember long haired dogs require grooming. at some points during the year LOTS of grooming. growing up i had a 40lb. border collie/retreiver mix. she actually was very mellow. the grooming was horrible. i had to brush her daily and would get so much hair i could fill up pillows.
i now have a big american bulldog. great for protection. loyal to the family. GREAT with kids. She has short hair so i just comb her to make sure there are no flees hiding and wipe her down with babywipes every once in a while so she smells good and get's a bath about once a month. she looks kind of pitbullish so people are intimidated sometimes when they first meet her (as american bulldogs do...they say pitbulls are like american bulldogs with 25% terrier added...don't know the whole truth in that..) but she's huge. she's 5 and a half months and 60lbs. so far. she only requires one good walk a day and chills out with a chew toy or sleeps most of the day. she's also pretty smart and has a silly personality. all american bulldogs i've ever met have silly personalities actually.
i say go with american bulldog. easy care. loving and loyal and protective of family. ( also, mine is not protective to the point where she immediately attacks someone. she will bark or growl until i tell her "it's ok" and makes sure the stranger keeps their space. if they stay at the house for a bit she sits and stares at them until she gets comfy)
hunting dogs are known to be runners...if you are talking hunting dog like beagle, bloodhound....those kind in general. you have to make sure they are on a leash ALWAYS or have fun trying to catch them after they take off on a "scent".
my parents had a pit bull that was the most people-loving dog ever. they love love loved him but he was a roamer and killed sheep (they live on a ranch).
i live in the city and i'd always keep him/her on a leash no matter what. i just wouldn't want to take the chances.
don't bother paying for a purebred. go adopt one from the shelter. if you're set on a breed, you can usually find a rescue group that caters to a particular breed -- and you'll be able to adopt one for much cheaper than buying an AKC puppy.
greyhounds are not mellow, really. they're bred for hunting. german shepherds aren't really the best dog to take on as your first pet -- they have high maintenance personalities. same goes for rottweilers & dobermans.
mastiffs are gigantic and very mellow, as are bullmastiffs, and other bulldog breeds. keep in mind that bulldogs are prone to obsessive behaviors. mastiffs make great family dogs and are very protective of children.
golden/labrador retrievers -- at least when they're middle aged -- are fairly laid back and very friendly, and they can get fairly large as well. goldens are amazing.
stay away from terriers, hounds (noise), and any herding breeds (border collies, aussies, cattle dogs, etc) and sled dogs (huskies, malamutes, chowchows) because they're bred for work and they'll drive you insane.
Here in Iraq We use a hybrid dog half Wolf/German Shepherd "Wolf Dog"
My trained Attack Wolf Dog "Frodo"
Other Wolf Dog Trained in the Detection of UXO (Unexploded Ordnance)
"Ryiah" Bomb Sniffing Dog
Ryiah schooling me at Pool
Ryiah beating me at Tug-oh-War, 4 legs definitely have an advantage .
Ryiah and enough dog biscuits (That green tube by the Wall is a Rocket Launcher AT4)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfdog
A wolf-dog hybrid (also called a wolf hybrid or wolfdog) is a canid hybrid resulting from the mating of a wolf (Canis lupus) and a dog (Canis lupus familiaris). The term "wolfdog" is preferred by most wolfdog proponents and breeders since the domestic dog was recently taxonomically recategorized as a subspecies of wolf. Professional organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and government agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture refer to the animals as wolf-dog hybrids.[1] Rescue organizations consider any animal with wolf heritage within the last five generations to be a wolfdog, including some established wolfdog breeds.[2]
In 1998, the USDA estimated an approximate population of 300,000 wolfdogs in the United States (the highest of any country world-wide), with some other sources giving a population possibly as high as 500,000.[3] In first generation hybrids, gray wolves are most often crossed with wolf-like dogs (such as German Shepherd Dogs, Siberian Huskies, and Alaskan Malamutes) for an appearance most appealing to owners desiring to own an exotic pet.[4] Since wolf hybrids are genetic mixtures of wolves and dogs, their physical and behaviorial characteristics cannot be predicted with any certainty.[5]
Cats are the most useless animals might as well have Fish.
Dogs at least can tag along for an afternoon stroll
I disagree, one of my cats likes to take walks with me.
People are impressed/possibly weirded out that I not only have a cat leash and harness but I use them, too. (:
I love my cats-they are very much people cats. they foloowing me around the backyard and lay in bed with me. I love my dogs too-its like a zoo at my house.
if you want something laid back dont get a greyhound-theyre 'sight' hounds and will want to runa nd chase everything they can.
Golden retrievers are very nice dogs, pretty mellow from my experience but they still love to get out for a walk and play. I had an alaskan malamute and she was great. not too hyper once out of the puppy stage, took direction well, larger so she atleast looked intimidating-though really she was super sweet and could only lick you to death
and what morta said-look for a shelter dog. they have shelters for every breed nowadays if you want specifics, and most SPCAs have well trained staff members that can give you insight on the dogs temperament(like if they could even get along with a cat if you wanted!). also, some have trial periods, so if you decide the dog isnt going to fit in your life theres no harm in taking him back.
Yeah I agree with Heather too - save a dog from a shelter and give it a home. Ive always wanted a greyhound simply because after they use them for dog racing and they get too old theyre often "put down" just for not being able to run anymore. They have greyhound shelters where you can adopt them but it doesnt matter what you get as long as you take care of it :)
I was going to adopt a greyhound, but the shelter that rescues them charged over $100 plus some other fees to register it and whatnot. I then started looking into other breeds from the SPCA where its $40 w/ all its shots. dogs are expensive as it is, I had to cut costs somewhere
i was planning to go to the shelter, i couldn't buy some puppy-mill pet or pay $700 for papers i don't care about.
My mom was actually a dog breeder when i was little, and i've handled goats, horses, etc. my whole life, so it's hardly my first animal, i just am not a long-distance runner or anything, and am not okay with getting a dog with way more energy than me.
i love cats, but that's not what i want in my life right now.
i need something big and solid and slobbery that can growl at cracked-out potential rapists if necessary.
i'm looking into boxers, rottweilers and other big, sweet, smart, non-hyper but protective dogs.
get a rott. they are beautiful, fun, loyal and probably the best guard dog you could ask for. i have a german rott named lolla that is the love of my life. she's a little stupid though.
of course i'm going to suggest a golden.
my parents had goldens and mike and i have one now. we rescued him. before we got him he was running free on about twenty acres with nine other dogs. i don't think they ever let him inside or groomed him. he had ticks all over him. so sad. and before that he bleonged to a teenage girl who really did try to take care of him, but when she turned 16 she got her car and would go out and leave him locked in his crate for whole days at a time. he broke out of his crate one day so they gave him up.
the benefit in rescuing a dog (even from the spca) is that as long as you love the dog s/he is going to love you back unconditionally. i swear jack is so grateful that we take good care of him. and it really makes us feel good we were able to give him a good home. he's a very loyal dog.
goldens are very smart. they are quick learners too. in the short time we've had him (since november) he already knows sit, wait, lay down, here, and he knows to go to his crate when we tell him to. he was supposedly not house trained when we got him, but he has only made one mess in the house, and that's cause the vacuum scared him. he's sixteen months old now. and i'm surprised at how mellow he is. we take him for a long walk once or twice a day, other than that when he's inside (we live in an apartment) he like to lay around with us and chew on his toys. occasionally he does like to get rowdy so we take him outside on a long lead and run and play with him.
the downside about a golden, though, is that he won't make a very good guard dog. goldens love everyone. so if there's an intruder, he's most likely to lick them to death! ha.
of course a lot of this is going to be trye with any dog you get. for your situation i'd def recommend an older dog, not a puppy. i'm just so partial to goldens. they're great.
My cousin's golden (Mac) was pretty wild as a puppy, but now that he is a few years older he is very mellow. He is also really affectionate and protective without being overly aggressive. He is best friends with my brother's little Australian Shepherd, and when this huge whatsit dog tried to eat my brother's dog while my uncle was walking the two of them, Mac was all "nuh uh, bitch" and bodyshielded my brother's dog until the other one left. He is like a big blond surfer dude in dog form.
i need something big and solid and slobbery that can growl at cracked-out potential rapists if necessary.
i'm looking into boxers, rottweilers and other big, sweet, smart, non-hyper but protective dogs.
boxers, in my experience, are very high energy and high maintenance dogs.
if you want something huge, slobbery, and somewhat stupid, seriously check into a rottie or a mastiff/bullmastiff. just keep in mind that if you don't put in the time with obedience training/walks/give them a job, you run the risk of them getting very hard to manage. being that rotties and mastiffs can get upwards of 100 pounds, hard to manage is kind of a worrisome thing.
when you go to the shelter to pick one out, keep an eye out for warning signs -- if you're used to socializing animals, you know what i mean. stiff back, rigid ears, pointed tail are all signs of dominance/aggression. notice whether or not they invade your space, as this is also a telltale sign of whether the dog thinks they are dominant or not. of course, these issues can be addressed and fixed, but if you're not too sure of what you're getting into and not working with a trainer, it's definitely something you need to take into consideration -- as it will turn into a full time job.
mastiffs smell so fucking bad :(
they are the most depressive dogs in the entire world if you go away for long periods of time
if they had thumbs they would probably shoot themselves
GO WITH A LAB/MUTT. (I LOST A CHOCOLATE LAB IN THE DIVORCE - HE WAS HERS TO BEGIN WITH, BUT HE WAS KINDA MY BRO). MUTT'S ARE A LOT HEALTHIER: THE TECHNICAL TERM IS HYBRID VIGOR. PURE BRED IS IS A EUPHEMISM FOR INBRED.
GO WITH A LAB/MUTT. (I LOST A CHOCOLATE LAB IN THE DIVORCE - HE WAS HERS TO BEGIN WITH, BUT HE WAS KINDA MY BRO). MUTT'S ARE A LOT HEALTHIER: THE TECHNICAL TERM IS HYBRID VIGOR. PURE BRED IS IS A EUPHEMISM FOR INBRED.
Such good sense.
hopefully i could get a mutt of a bigger more traditional 'protection' dog and a chiller 'pet' dog. good good.
Big protection dogs in many ways are the most chill anyway. I mean even a lab, the nicest dog ever, would freak the fuck out on someone if they actually tried to hurt you.
weimaraners are great dogs, by far my favorite. super cute puppies, too.
i grew up with one (and miss him very much
)
they are pretty high energy though. they're hunting dogs i believe, and love to run around. at least storm did.
but i guess it depends on how you raise them.
They're fucking apeshit if you don't get them exercise frequently though. My friend has one that is neurotic and freaks out all the time because she lives in an apartment.
Smaller dogs can be easily trained not to be noisy, my retarded chihuahua almost never barks, and only out of anticipating of meeting someone new.
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