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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:I tried telling my wife this. I just told her I'm not getting the puppy and shes livid. I keep flip flopping. Sure thats true, but I'm doing it because a dog is a huge commitment. It isn't fair to the dog that we get it just because it's cute and convenient, then have to get rid of it in a year because it's incompatible with the family. Stand your ground, man. Shelters are full of year-old impulse purchase dogs that people just haaaaad to have at the moment, only to realize later on that they're away from home 14 hours a day or that a protective breed isn't a great choice with their kids' friends coming and going all the time or because they just can't deal with an energetic border collie that resorts to tearing poo poo up because it didn't get to go for a 10 mile run. Get the dog your whole family wants, not the first cute thing that pops up. PRESIDENT GOKU posted:But, aren't hounds meant as hunting dogs? Doesn't that mean mega prey drive as they get a scent and chase it up a tree? I think she just means a lab mix, a mutty yellow thing.
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Feb 23, 2015 23:17
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Serella posted:Stand your ground, man. Shelters are full of year-old impulse purchase dogs that people just haaaaad to have at the moment, only to realize later on that they're away from home 14 hours a day or that a protective breed isn't a great choice with their kids' friends coming and going all the time or because they just can't deal with an energetic border collie that resorts to tearing poo poo up because it didn't get to go for a 10 mile run. Get the dog your whole family wants, not the first cute thing that pops up. I like the idea of a dumb, boring as poo poo yeller dawg who likes to chill out and sniff stuff.
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Feb 23, 2015 23:21
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Get an old chill dog man, they own and are real low effort. I recently ended up with a million year old German Shepherd and all she does is sleep, eat, and slowly trot after birds. She might as well be a throw pillow when compared to my 2 and 3 year old shepherds who are basically methed out balls of teeth and hair. The other cool thing about rescuing an older dog is that usually they have a hard time getting adopt because everyone wants a puppy so you can feel good about Helping Dogs.
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Feb 23, 2015 23:37
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That much is true. The shelter here puts all the puppies up front by the door and all the adults in the back. They had a 3 legged dog in there today in the last kennel. So far back the light in his kennel was flickering like some scene in SAW.
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Feb 23, 2015 23:51
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Nthing the old dog recommendation. If you want to go poodle route let me know and I can probably find a poodle rescue that will adopt out to you. I want a poodle puppy/youngster some day so I've done a ton of research on breeders and rescues and I live in KY so I've left no stone unturned in the south. You need to up your training knowledge though because I know for a fact poodle rescue ladies are all about positive training methods and you need to be able to show you can handle the smarts of a standard poodle. They're right under the border collie on dog smarts.
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Feb 23, 2015 23:53
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cheese eats mouse posted:Nthing the old dog recommendation. If you want to go poodle route let me know and I can probably find a poodle rescue that will adopt out to you. I want a poodle puppy/youngster some day so I've done a ton of research on breeders and rescues and I live in KY so I've left no stone unturned in the south. That means they're probably not the dog for me. A dog that smart would solve a Rubiks cube before chewing it, and I have a 50 hour a week job. I think a sort of hound is sound.
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Feb 24, 2015 00:26
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Dude what's that tripod's breed? Tripod dogs are cool as gently caress.
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Feb 24, 2015 01:30
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For what its worth I adopted a 4 year old mutt and he was well past the puppy bullshit and just likes being chill and loving people. The shelter you linked to has one other generic yellow dog that is about two and a few little chi mixes. Can I suggest you check those out too? The size disparity between them and the cat would be ok and they can be fun little companions. https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31501911/ https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31468098/ Or if you want an even older dog, this girl looks sweet. https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/30999674/
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Feb 24, 2015 01:31
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that old lady looks sweet as hell 
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Feb 24, 2015 01:32
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Dude what's that tripod's breed? Tripod dogs are cool as gently caress. What is a tripod? e: oh you meant the three legged dog  Tripod for adoption near me. wtftastic posted:For what its worth I adopted a 4 year old mutt and he was well past the puppy bullshit and just likes being chill and loving people. The shelter you linked to has one other generic yellow dog that is about two and a few little chi mixes. Can I suggest you check those out too? The size disparity between them and the cat would be ok and they can be fun little companions. Mutthew McBarkahay What about Chihuahuas? Most Chi's I've been around where pretty chill, but I bet if I got one it would hide all the time. Also, my wife is being really aggravating with her dog sexism. She seems to think that if we get a boy dog he will lift his leg and piss on everything. Never mind the dog we just had pissed all over the house, but hers probably wasn't a territory marking thing. Do boy dogs do leg lifts inside to mark territory? Maybe I don't need a dog right now 
lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 01:36
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Triangulum posted:that old lady looks sweet as hell I'm not going to lie, I am increasingly developing a sweet spot for older dogs. If you don't have to deal with puppy bullshit, and get to enjoy cuddles and slow walks, having a dog is about 5000x cooler, especially if you are busy and/or lazy.
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Feb 24, 2015 01:37
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:I like the idea of a dumb, boring as poo poo yeller dawg who likes to chill out and sniff stuff. I wish my husband had gotten a dog like that. Instead, his dog was picked out for him by his roommate at the time. She's a nice dog, but has too much energy for my taste. I know he'll want another dog in the future, so I'll totally be steering him toward a slightly older, chilldog that would be more appropriate for our couch potato-ness. PRESIDENT GOKU posted:What about Chihuahuas? Most Chi's I've been around where pretty chill, but I bet if I got one it would hide all the time. Chis can be great dogs if they're treated like actual dogs. Some people forget and treat them like ~precious little bundles~ instead of dogs, and they can become horrid little shits if not managed correctly. As in, instead of training them in how they want the dog to behave, they just pick the dog up and remove it from the situation because it's so small that it's easy to do, but it resolves nothing. Good chi owners had great little dogs, though.
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Feb 24, 2015 02:00
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:
It reeeeeeeeeeeeeally depends on the dog, it's super individual. Most won't if neutered before sexual maturity. I've only ever had male dogs (as an adult anyway) and only one of them has ever had issues with marking, but he was neutered way late (around his 4th birthday) and he only started marking because I lived with my parents briefly while going through a divorce and he really, really hated one of their dogs and that triggered the behavior. A lot of things contribute to marking behavior and it's hard to tell without living with the dog, but it's usually not much of an issue after a dog is neutered. Usually.
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Feb 24, 2015 02:02
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:
I have a Chi. She was a rescue, originally a puppy milled pet store dog. She's not without her issues. Her biggest issue right now is that she is not made for the -32C weather we've been having these days. Basically any time it drops below freezing, she only goes in the briefest or spurts to pee/poo. In the winter she almost always backslides in her house training without improved management. Plus, she's fragile, quick to startle, slow to recover, and loud. They can be cool dogs, if you like that sort of thing. She's quiet, unobtrusive, cuddly and easy to miss at home. Not my type of dog, but my husband enjoys her. My tastes go more towards the crazy, pushy, smart, confident, crazy types.
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Feb 24, 2015 02:08
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:I like the idea of a dumb, boring as poo poo yeller dawg who likes to chill out and sniff stuff. I'm so glad. The shitbulls exhaust the gently caress out of me and sometimes I dream of a life where I just hang out with a normal, chill dog and do regular dog poo poo without Considerations or drama. re: hounds: A hound with low drive and the right temperament could be a good choice, HOWEVER, they are often super into ignoring you to follow their nose because ~smells~ and it can be really, really hard to get one to loving listen long enough to learn commands or even acknowledge that you exist because they're too busy thinking about a fart they smelled a month ago. I've been driven to tears trying to get hounds to listen to me before, and they're some of the only dogs that I just get frustrated and angry as hell at. Which sucks, because they're usually really chill and cool. They also can be incredibly loud which might be an issue depending on your landlord/neighbors. So like, a hound MAYBE, just one that isn't so scent driven and single minded that you can't train it without wanting to slit your wrists. Supercondescending fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 02:08
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So maybe a hound mix then. Something to dilute the sniff fixation. Maybe a lab hound mix if there is a thing. Picking a dog is more frustrating than any RPG ever. Each stat or perk has a negative drawback associated with it. Do you pick hound dog? This low energy dog grants you +50% on chill rolls, but sniffing causes a +10% to will save rolls per minute while training. Training more than 10 minutes results in a catastrophic failure and Horrifying Death found in table 2.1. No saves.
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Feb 24, 2015 02:17
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I got a chill middle aged dog from the shelter as my first dog, he's a Good Dog. He'll do stuff when we feel like doing stuff but is otherwise content to just hang out. He's a heeler so he's a herding dog, but the world's laziest one (I did not know this at the time). Then I was like "I got this whole Having A Dog thing, I can totally handle a second! People just over-exaggerated the whole herding dogs have lots of energy thing!" when my friend needed to rehome a heeler mix and end up with a completely untrained 9 month old puppy going right into the gigantic rear end in a top hat stage and oh my god. I was SO CLOSE to giving him up, I wouldn't have him today if the person who responded to my craigslist ad hadn't stood me up when I went to go meet them. I love him to death and he's 3 now and sort of maybe figuring out this whole impulse control thing but if I'd gotten him first I'd never have two dogs. He literally chewed holes through my walls despite having more than enough appropriate things to chew on. Since I rent (and you rent! keep this in mind!) that was a terrible thing and I'm lucky my landlord didn't charge extra on top of keeping my entire deposit. He also went into my closet and chewed one half of all of my pairs of shoes. He's gotten better with the shoes thing but sometimes he can't resist ripping the insoles out of a pair of shoes I've worn all day and flip flops need to be kept under lock and key. I also support finding a good adult hound dawg thing for your new dog buddy. Maybe a beagle or beagle mix?
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Feb 24, 2015 02:50
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:So maybe a hound mix then. Something to dilute the sniff fixation. Maybe a lab hound mix if there is a thing. Man, YES. You get it. I'm not lying at all when I said I really did spend 2 years researching everything -- but I got a sweet sweet career out of it in addition to the best dog I ever could have hoped for. Memorizing the statbook/cheat codes gets you this:  bff 4 lyfe
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Feb 24, 2015 02:55
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ButWhatIf posted:Man, YES. You get it. I'm not lying at all when I said I really did spend 2 years researching everything -- but I got a sweet sweet career out of it in addition to the best dog I ever could have hoped for. Bullshit hax
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Feb 24, 2015 03:17
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:
This is such a good description of Choosing Dog that I'm stealing it for future use.
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Feb 24, 2015 03:57
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:So maybe a hound mix then. Something to dilute the sniff fixation. Maybe a lab hound mix if there is a thing. Life is a series of trade offs, its just when it comes to a living breathing thing interacting with your family you have to focus on the major draw backs. I grew up with little dogs and if you treat them like tiny princess doggies then they get to be spoiled gross little shits. If you treat them normally (but respect that their size and fragility can keep them from some stuff) then you get a fun, apartment sized companion with a shitload of personality. On the other hand if your 4 year old is not gentle, a chi might get hurt, and that would be a sand end.
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Feb 24, 2015 03:57
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Get an older, mellowed out standard pood, imo. They're amazing with kids and SO trainable and have the sweetest personalities :3
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Feb 24, 2015 03:59
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is...is this thread a PI success story? 
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Feb 24, 2015 04:10
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Beagles can get distracted by wanting to sniff every blade of grass but they're not stubborn or super intelligent so it's fairly easy to train them.
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Feb 24, 2015 04:22
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:Bullshit hax You are a cool good dude, GOKU. I am excited to one day start adopting older dogs just so old unwanted dogs can have a nice soft bed until they shuffle off this mortal coil ;_; I also really want a black lab. Labs are great dogs after 2 years when they start growing a brain 
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Feb 24, 2015 04:52
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In my extremely limited to my childhood dogs' experience, bassets are pretty chill. My mom's more or less eat, go for 3-5 short (apox. 10-15 min) walks daily, and then lump around and cuddle. You have to monitor their food intake carefully though and they have the same scent fixation all scent hounds do. And they're rather stubborn. I don't know how good they are with super young kids, but my family's first one (who was actual a basset/beagle/god knows what else mix) tolerated a six year old me just fine. But yeah, a hound mutt is a good idea.
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Feb 24, 2015 04:59
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Nth'ing going through a private adoption agency that has their dogs in foster care situations. That way, each dog has had tested in the home (often times with cats!) and can give you an accurate description of their needs and personalities. (This is especially true with adult animals because their personalities are fully formed.) The adoption fee may cost a little bit more, but I'd say it would be very worth it as you'll have this animal for many years to come. Breed research is still important as animals in each breed overall with have repeating themes but individuals can be different. Telling an agency all your criteria may introduce you to a variety of dogs you may not have been drawn to but may be the awesome-est for your family. Either way, kudos for doing research and learning from other people's experiences! P.S. I grew up with the dumbest, sweetest, most kid and cat friendly black lab/basset mix. She stunk like hell (dog smell may be another consideration) but was the most easy going and friendliest dog I've ever met.
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Feb 24, 2015 05:25
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thatbastardken posted:is...is this thread a PI success story? I don't think we're allowed to have those.
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Feb 24, 2015 06:29
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Superconsndar posted:Well I mean Boot?
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Feb 24, 2015 06:43
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Go for the old lady tripod lab OP. But don't call her loving Mrs Beasley seriously shelter people wtf. PI, name this dog
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Feb 24, 2015 07:08
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all tripod dogs should be called Oolah
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Feb 24, 2015 07:15
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Tamarillo posted:Go for the old lady tripod lab OP. But don't call her loving Mrs Beasley seriously shelter people wtf. PI, name this dog I think we need an expert to chime in for the finest in dog names.
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Feb 24, 2015 07:45
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PartyCrown posted:I think we need an expert to chime in for the finest in dog names. Expert dog name suggestion: Olive, but the l is silent
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Feb 24, 2015 07:57
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A couple people I know had to return an animal to the shelter within a short period of time of the of adoption because the new animal exhibited dangerous behavior towards a family member or another pet in the household. They all complained that the shelter got snippy about it. My friend was told she was unfit to own a cat after she returned a cat that ran out from under a bed and bit her three-year old daughter for no loving reason. She had to go to the hospital for antibiotics. Sheesh just mark it down as no kids and stop with the attitude. Another friend adopted a pit mix from a different shelter because it was friendly and supposed to be dog-friendly and got along with their dog at very first. It started beating up on their dog and they tried to manage it but after a week or two it ended up ripping off part of their dog's ear! The shelter found some way to blame them for being too impatient to help a new dog acclimate to a new home. So OP don't take the shelter's guilt trip seriously. This is another reason I'm leery about shelter adoptions. They don't seem to listen to anyone who tells them anything they don't want to hear. Pixelated Dragon fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 14:21
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luscious posted:Boot? Big Toot
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Feb 24, 2015 14:36
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:my wife is being really aggravating with her dog sexism. She seems to think that if we get a boy dog he will lift his leg and piss on everything. Never mind the dog we just had pissed all over the house, but hers probably wasn't a territory marking thing. Do boy dogs do leg lifts inside to mark territory? Two of my male dogs were neutered late and do mark outside, but we've never had trouble with them marking inside. The first few times I took them somewhere like Petsmart that's big and full of smells and not the kind of "inside" they were used to I had to watch really carefully and stop them before they lifted a leg, but they figured it out well enough. It can be a little aggravating on walks but even there it's easy to discourage. Mine love to mark but they only really do it if we're on a sniffy long-leash walk and I stop to let them really smell something interesting. Or at the dog park. They spend the first half hour we're there ignoring all the other dogs and running around peeing on everything. And yeah, my other male was neutered young and he's never marked. And just nthing the suggestion for an older dog. When I was 5 or 6 my family adopted an 8-year-old Lab that we had until I was 10. Best dog ever. I know some people worry that they won't have the dog long or think it's better for kids to grow up with puppies but that was not my experience. Us kids were able to take the dog on walks ourselves and play safely with him and leave our toys around without him chewing them up. It was sad when he died but I think we had a much better experience with him than we would have with a younger dog that would have needed more parental supervision at all times.
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Feb 24, 2015 15:47
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Abutiu posted:
The best dog I've ever had was a bulldog mutt from animal control who was at least 6, possibly older when we got him. He required expensive HW treatment in 2001 but lived till 2009. I don't think I'd do it now just because I need too specific of a temperament to be able to successfully integrate with my dogs, but as just a regular pet, older adopted dogs can be amazing. He def set the bar for me as to what constitutes "best dog."
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Feb 24, 2015 15:56
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Good work GOKU! Old doggies are loving treasures. A few years ago I got my first dog as a grown up and it would have been so easy for me to just pick up some farm collie (they're pretty, they learn good, etc.) but I had to be honest with myself. I'm suited to low-management not up-my-rear end-velcro-dog. It took a while, because your RPG analogy is true. After a year of visiting a bunch of dogs in fosters, shelters, etc. I found a 5 year old big ol' goof who is now 8 and he's everything I wanted in a dog buddy. The negative is that he's a dick to most dogs so dog parks are out of the question and he can never be trusted off-leash. The trade-off was definitely worth it, I have a chill friend who enjoys slow and long walks, lazily follows me around the property, and passes out after just 5 minutes of tug. I have two male dogs (neutered) and they love marking anything vertical outside, but there was never an issue inside.
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Feb 24, 2015 16:18
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I'm still flabbergasted at the turnaround in your attitude, OP. Thank you for setting aside your initial preconceptions and starting down the path of learning! Personally, I think you should get a moluccan cockatoo. They're extremely friendly and great with kids and cats.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:13
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Pixelated Dragon posted:A couple people I know had to return an animal to the shelter within a short period of time of the of adoption because the new animal exhibited dangerous behavior towards a family member or another pet in the household. They all complained that the shelter got snippy about it. I was worried about this too, but I've been blamed for tons of things in my life and it comes natural. To my great relief, however, the shelter people more or less shrugged and said it happens. The kindly old kennel lady who wears woodland camo overalls and is in the shelter every day was delighted her favorite dog came back. Everyone was also thrilled that she got her shots for heartworm, thanked us for giving them her whole bag of dog food, and were stunned I brought the follow up medicine back. They even gave me the $35 back because they hadn't given it to the contract vet yet. This shelter was good about it, but others can be lovely. They are staffed by volunteers who know as little about dogs as I do. They're only there because they like dogs, and that's fine, but they have no business belittling people who return an animal. After all, shelters encourage hair trigger impulse adoptions without ever even asking about your living conditions, kids, other animals, or your lifestyle. They can be like sleazy used car dealership: get you to snatch up the cutest thing you find and get you out the door. "Sure, champ, take that collie mix of unknown history home with you to your 1 bedroom apartment and two rabbits." Not necessarily for as malicious a reason, but for the fact everyone wants puppies to have loving homes, even it means no history or considerations are given and results in heartache all around when the time comes to return the incompatible dog. In the future, if we can't go get Tia from Idaho, I'll look into a foster home with a 4yr+ lab/mutt mix who is currently living with a cat and/or a kid. Grown dogs need a chance too. A tripod would be a plus. PartyCrown posted:I think we need an expert to chime in for the finest in dog names. Tripod would be a great name too. Pile of Kittens posted:
lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 18:33
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