Getting A Dog

[Deleted]

Beagles! Or chocolate lab's, they're great

[Kaldaim]

German Shorthaired Pointer or a Vizsla if you are looking for an intelligent, kid friendly, little shedding dog that love to be outside. Both breeds are medium sized with pointer and retriever in them.

I've never owned one, but from what ive seen and heard from people vizslas NEED like an hour or more of exercise (running in a big yard or open space) every day or they won't be a great house pet. German shorthaired pointers need it too but they're not usually as athletic as vizslas so a jog and a smaller space to run will probably be ok. If you're looking for a smaller dog, look at females instead of males and maybe try to get a runt.

Whatever you do, research breeders in your state and buy from someone reputable or adopt from a shelter. Stay away from pet stores. GSPs are popular hunting dogs so there are a lot of good breeders in most states.

[Dânce]

I suggest a Boxer because they are amazing animals. They are smart, absolutely amazing with children (it really is incredible), and have very unique characteristics such as the boxer burn and kidney-beaning to name a couple. They are also clowns and do things like play with treats for 10 minutes before eating them. Boxers are also extremely athletic, powerful dogs who are very protective of their family, especially children, require very little grooming and they exude energy. I have two boxers, a deaf white boxer named Jase (knows sign language), and a flashy brindle named Zeus. I would never own another kind of dog again, and there is never a day that goes by when I don't laugh at something they do. You can find a lot of Boxer videos on youtube.

Of course there are some negative things too. Drooling, farting, running 100 miles an hour back and forth the house for no reason, they can be stubborn, they try to be 80 pound lap dogs, and they love to hog the pillow. I guess that's why I love them too though. Good luck with whatever breed you decide on!

[Palmz]

I've never owned one, but from what ive seen and heard from people vizslas NEED like an hour or more of exercise (running in a big yard or open space) every day or they won't be a great house pet. German shorthaired pointers need it too but they're not usually as athletic as vizslas so a jog and a smaller space to run will probably be ok. If you're looking for a smaller dog, look at females instead of males and maybe try to get a runt.

Whatever you do, research breeders in your state and buy from someone reputable or adopt from a shelter. Stay away from pet stores. GSPs are popular hunting dogs so there are a lot of good breeders in most states.

You bring up good points. Female is a sure thing. They are much smaller typically and only weight about 40 pounds.

If you live in an apartment or don't have open spaces all over the place like here in Colorado, these dogs aren't for you. We've had a couple GSP's in the past that are total couch potatoes and would actually rather be in the house instead, but it's pretty rare. Because you're 23 I would suggest a GSP.

[Dânce]

Good video on the breed, although I do hate cropped ears.

[Lbueno]

Why are the tails of quite a few breeds of dogs docked not long after they are born? When I buy a dog, I would rather the tail not be docked. I read that for some herding dogs, the tails were docked because they would often be stepped on buy livestock and such.

[superstarz]

jack russell

[Arkenaw]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_Schnauzer

Hypoallergenic and don't shed at all.

We've had a bunch of these dogs over the years. They can have wildly different personalities. We've had one that would pee if she got excited, one that would bark at the doorbell and strangers and our current who is very shy and scared, but very obedient and loyal. I would highly recommend this breed.

(There are regular sized Schnauzers too, but I don't know anything about them)

[Felicia]

I have German Shepherds. But that's not what you want :P But they're an awesome breed!

I have been around a lot of pit bulls. The actual American Pit Bull terrier is medium sized, and super affectionate and friendly! You could also look into the American Staffordshire Terrier, it's smaller. Males don't get much bigger then 40 pounds The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is the main face of 'pit bull', those are the BIG ASS ones. I like all 3.

I have also been around Jack Russell Terriers, I hope you have a lot of energy :P my parents have one, and he's... a bit energetic. That's putting it mildly. They also have shih'tzus, which I adore. They're hypoallergenic, and my mom keeps their coats short. They don't shed at all, rather surprising! The terrier is named Wilfred (after the show.) and she names her shih'tzus after stuff from Star Wars. She has a Chewie, Ewok, and Roger-Roger. Her german shepherds are named after hurricanes. Mitch and Isabel! Mine are Hugo and Jack.

[Pitkanen]

Just know what you are looking for.
Energy Level - see apartment dogs if you are looking for something that needs less excercise.
Size - Big dogs make behavioral issues into big issues. So you need better training.
Socialization - If you want your dog to play well with others you basically have to get them at the start of the puppy socialization period. Unless the prior owner socialized them well.
Allergies and Shedding - Duh

Just things to keep in mind.

[galluk]

If you don;t mind small dogs, I recommend a Havanese. We do keep his hair shorter though, enough to be fluffy, but not enough he needs brushed everyday

[Deleted]

I'm hoping and planning to get a dog within the next month or two. I would love to get a golden retriever, but can't. It has to be around medium size and one that doesn't shed much. I was looking at a lab retriever/jack russell terrier mix, beagle/border collie mix (if I can find a short-haired one). I looked at a goldendoodle as well, but I don't like their hair (poodles). There's a couple others that I've found. But, anybody with dogs (or w/o) have any suggestions?

Whippets, they are medium height basically. Don't shed a lot of hait. Are very calm and non stressful dogs. You'd think because they're racedogs you have to walk 30757205km everyday with them but that isn't true at all.

Super easy to keep, super easy to handle and super chill dogs. I have 4 of em so.

[Krekko]

Some of the pit labs look exactly like pitbulls, some of them look exactly like labradors. When you strike a good balance you'll have a great looking dog.

My girlfriend's family has a pit lab and it looks exactly like a lab, until it turns it's head a certain way then you see the sparkle of pitbull shine through. She's a beautiful dog.

Hate the water and hates playing fetch though. She DOES love to run around in open field, loves to chase things and LOVESSSS to sniff things.

[draganid]

Anyone own a German Shepherd? Say you brush them everyday, are outside 3+ hours daily, how much do they shed in the house?

they shed a fuckton, or at least the ones ive owned do. but you get used to it.

honestly, i would recommend a shepard. amazing dog to own, super smart, protective of children and your home. if my dad wasnt home, he would usually sit at the front window and bark at literally everyone that would walk by the house. the last pure bred shepard we had was never trained as a guard dog but he fucked up a couple people good in his lifetime as well as a few pitbulls at the dog park with misguided ideas as to who was the alpha dog at the park. he never started fights or went looking for trouble but he didnt hesitate to finish it. even when he was old, he could still put dogs bigger than him in their place.
there was this one dog that was some sort of mutt, looked like a hundred pound pitbull and around 4 years old, and it made a run at me and my dog at the old age of 12 came to the rescue and totally fucked him up.

that dog put FEAR in the hearts of a few undesirable type people as well. i remember one time there was a junkie sitting on my front lawn smoking (probably) crack and my dad came out once and kicked him in the head and told him to fuck off and the defiant little shit came back like 5 minutes later so we sent the dog out. dont think i ever saw someone run that fast in my life lol. didnt matter though, olly put that fucker down and had him screaming mercy. wish i was recording it, trust me it was fucking epic.

i know he sounds like a vicious killer but in the house he was one of the most loving dogs you could ever have. he used to sleep in my bed with me sometimes and wed snuggle all night. and he loved licking your face if you let him. and like my neices and nephews could poke him in the eye and pull his tail and do all the other shit little kids do to dogs and hed just take it. and we had a small beagle who would always chew on his ears or the fur on the side of his face and he didnt seem to mind. the only thing he was scared of was our cat lol. she used to always get him running away from her whimpering with his tail between his legs. which was weird because he used to always chase the neighbors cats.

currently we have a shepard mastiff cross and although hes gigantic and insanely strong, and pretty dam fast when he chooses to be, hes generally pretty fucking lazy. spends the majority of the day laying down staring into space. but he did chase one crack head out of my back yard one time. however he didnt pursue or take the guy down or anything which was kind of disappointing. although the junkie yelling "you should have a sign for that dog" as he ran was funny. hes a huge baby in the house, loves to cuddle with small dogs and cats and when your petting him he likes to rub his face into yours. its so adorable!

[Lbueno]

Whippets, they are medium height basically. Don't shed a lot of hait. Are very calm and non stressful dogs. You'd think because they're racedogs you have to walk 30757205km everyday with them but that isn't true at all.

Do you let them off the leash at all if they're not in a fenced yard? I've been reading about them and they do seem like a great dog. Some people have said don't let them off the leash if they're not fenced in because if they see something (small game for example), they'll run after them and not come back to you even if they're trained to come when called. I'd love to have a dog that I can take to the park and if there's nobody over there, I could let her the leash and play fetch or something like that once they're trained well enough. Also, what's the weather like where you're from? I live in Western NY, so for a good part of the year, it's quite cold. I read that they don't like the cold weather. Is putting on a dog sweater or something like that good enough?

[Deleted]

Most every breed of dog sheds, there's just no way around it unless you go for one specifically bred for not shedding. Some more than others, and some kinds of hair are worse than others. If shedding is a problem, don't get a Jack Russell. I have one and he's a walking fur factory. And the strains of fur are small, point and gets in every goddamn crack in your house. Longer fur is a lot easier to clean up than short.

And there's no real correlation between the size of your house and the size of your dog. What matters is how much it gets to run and exercise when it's out.
It's perfectly fine to have a large dog in a small house, as long as it's out and gets to run daily.

[Deleted]

Do you let them off the leash at all if they're not in a fenced yard? I've been reading about them and they do seem like a great dog. Some people have said don't let them off the leash if they're not fenced in because if they see something (small game for example), they'll run after them and not come back to you even if they're trained to come when called. I'd love to have a dog that I can take to the park and if there's nobody over there, I could let her the leash and play fetch or something like that once they're trained well enough. Also, what's the weather like where you're from? I live in Western NY, so for a good part of the year, it's quite cold. I read that they don't like the cold weather. Is putting on a dog sweater or something like that good enough?

No we don't. Our house is surrounded by fences and nearly every place we go for walks has surroundings so they can't escape when being loose. On the other hand, when my sister and her ex lived near the sea they basically trained them to run loose and it wasn't much of a problem. But you do have to invest lots and lots of time in it from the moment they're a puppy. Even though they're made for hunting, if you train them not to run after every little thing, they won't. They don't really care about joggers or other dogs either.

And I live in Belgium, which means we have 2 months of summer if we're lucky, good spring, cold to damn cold winters (this year was -10° C for example, though it was extreme) and then you need special sweaters or coats if you want to walk with them since their lungs could get infected quite fast. But overall that equipment isn't too expensive. I'm guessing indoors it's warm enough for them, and like I said, they don't HAVE to run or walk 5km everyday.

[Themius]

One of my favorite dogs is a long haired Weimaraner.

[Lbueno]

I did look at them, too. They look gorgeous. Those are in the thought as well. Lab Retriever, Whippet, and Weimaraner are the three that I'm looking at at the moment. So, hopefully, I'll have one of them by the end of the month.

[breadisfunny]

get a poodle. they are fun dogs to have.