Recommend a dog breed for a city family pet [Archive]

econ21

07-17-2005, 13:06

My wife is thinking of getting a dog. I've never owned a dog before - anyone got any recommendations on as to the breed?

There are three of us - my wife and I both have full-time university jobs and our nine year old son. My wife has the idea of taking the dog to her office at work (it sounds strange to me but some of our colleagues do).

We'd be looking for something that has a non-aggressive temperament, is good with children and not overly energetic. I've always liked the idea of labradors - because they seem smart and good natured (used as guide dogs for the blind). Plus I like the idea of "real" dog that is big enough to give a burglar pause for thought. But we've been looking after a friend's young Daschund and it's been a delight.

I'm a little sceptical of having a dog at all, so if someone wants to convince us we should not have one, I'm all ears.

Thanks for any advice!

King Henry V

07-17-2005, 13:08

Borsois.....The Russian Wolf Hound, my grnadmother owned a Borsoi once and she lived in London

InsaneApache

07-17-2005, 13:13

Yorkies ...... great for catching rats as well ~;) well they were bred for it, and they have great personalities. Only drawback is that being terriers they arn't the sharpest pencils in the box.

Kaiser of Arabia

07-17-2005, 13:49

I kinda like German Shepards and Dobermans and Daschunds for family dogs.
Pittbulls are very nice but if you have small children I wouldn't go with one.

Strike For The South

07-17-2005, 14:38

i've had a black lab for two years now and he is great with neighbors children adults old pepole all around there probaly the best choice

Conqueror

07-17-2005, 14:40

Keep in mind that the bigger the dog, the more food it will consume daily. And the bigger the mess to clean up when it ***** on your carpet.

Having personal experience raising an Aussie Terrier, I can tell you that those little buggers are stubborn like hell. Once they've made up their mind about something, nothing (sort of bribing with food) will change it. So teaching them out of bad habits can be tricky.

Beirut

07-17-2005, 15:22

Labradors are incredible dogs (especially Lab mutts!), perhaps the zenith of Dogdom itself. But you really have to have a backyard of some sort to own one. They truly need an outdoor life at some level.

If you're in an apartment, a small dog is better for the both you and the dog. It will be happy where it is and will fit better into your lifestyle.

Forget pitbulls. The risk is simply not worth it. I had one, raised her to be a sweetie, and she still attacked my neighbours car and ruined a tire. Cost me $75. I very nearly shot her out in the field the next day, but ended up giving her to a guy on a farm who lived far away.

scooter_the_shooter

07-17-2005, 17:00

beagle/pitbull mix is great they are big and strong to keep burglars away and are very good natured (my uncles has one)

Steppe Merc

07-17-2005, 17:07

A mutt. There's a whole bunch of them in pounds. Bring your whole family, and try and get one that everyone likes and makes sure it likes you.

The_Doctor

07-17-2005, 17:41

I must make a small observation.

beagle/pitbull mix is great they are big and strong to keep burglars away and are very good natured (my uncles has one)

I kinda like German Shepards and Dobermans and Daschunds for family dogs.
Pittbulls are very nice but if you have small children I wouldn't go with one.

Conservatives like big dogs that can rip people apart.

I don't have much experience with dogs, so I cannot help much.

700th post :balloon2:

Gawain of Orkeny

07-17-2005, 17:46

Labradors are incredible dogs (especially Lab mutts!), perhaps the zenith of Dogdom itself. But you really have to have a backyard of some sort to own one. They truly need an outdoor life at some level.

Yup. I would say any retriever is the best breed for both kids and fun. But all of them love to run and swim also. Irish Setters are pretty much in the same league. A small collie might be a good idea.

scooter_the_shooter

07-17-2005, 18:13

I never had a blood hound but on tv all they do is sleep all day if that is true they might be a good house dog.

edyzmedieval

07-17-2005, 20:49

I like Labradors. Very intelligent dogs.....

My choices: German Shepherd(very loyal and beautiful dog), Labrador(very intelligent), Golden Retriever(very cute), Malamut of Alaska(similar to the husky, I like his cute face)

Mongoose

07-17-2005, 21:33

Some advice: Do not buy a "pure breed dog". Mutts are cheaper and better behaved.

Get a 6 month old german shepherd mutt...

1:House trained
2:You can make a good guess about how they will behave and look like
3:Much cheaper
4:Very friendly, but also good watch dogs.
5:About as smart as a dog gets

Don't buy a puppy, unless you have alot of free time.... :dizzy2:

Labradors are morons with hip problems(Like most "pure breed" dogs). avoid them.

JAG

07-17-2005, 21:36

Yorkies ...... great for catching rats as well ~;) well they were bred for it, and they have great personalities. Only drawback is that being terriers they arn't the sharpest pencils in the box.

I agree with IA - get a Yorkshire terrier. My darling Jade is a Yorkie and she is both a tough girl and a beautiful one! Seriously they are brilliant dogs to have, loving and loyal.

And she is pretty smart, thank you very much!

Devastatin Dave

07-17-2005, 21:37

A pound dog. There are so many poor dogs that are destroyed daily because pet owners do not get their pets spayed or nuetered(sp?). They need love and will reward you with love and gratitude for saving them for years to come. Just got to your local Humane's Society and there will be a loving companion waiting for you and your family... ~:)

Mongoose

07-17-2005, 21:40

Ronin

07-17-2005, 21:46

i never had a pure breed dog....i had one that was a cross between a cocker spaniel and a portuguese hunting dog...and he was a great dog....

mutts are also generally less prone to disease.....like some people have said.....visit your local pound.

Sigurd

07-17-2005, 22:02

I agree with Beirut. If you are thinking of having a dog that will spend most of its time inside a big dog like a Lab is not the right choice. I grew up with a black lab and it needed a lot of outdoor activity. Luckily we lived on the country side and had a large property where it could roam free. It just loved outdoor play and would even jump into the ice-cold fjord just to fetch a stick mid winter.
Being locked indoors, it would grow insane of boredom and start chewing on everything.
I still remember the fond memories as a child with this purebred muscular black Labrador that was one of my best friends. It was completely loyal and saved my ass twice.
Once, I had played with matches in the basement and forgot all about it until the dog went haywire and barked at this invisible enemy down in the basement. When I opened the door down to the basement there was a lot of smoke down there. I ran down and put out the small fire that had started in some grain sacks. If the dog hadn’t reacted the whole house would have been burned to the ground.
Another time it saved me from drowning when I got a cramp swimming in the fjord by our property. It was freezing cold and the dog sensed that I had problems, it immediately swam up to my side and I could grab a hold on its collar. It dragged me to shore.

It was hard when it died of old age and a heart failure, but the dog was 14 years which is quite old for a big dog.

Moros

07-17-2005, 22:43

a teckle ofcourse I have one and they're great. No they don't listen all the time but they have lots of personality. You have three sizes and three types the ones with the short haires, those with the long hairs and ofcourse (like the one I have) those with the "wild hairs".

a nice toutch about them is lots of them are really cute and you know the chicks like those cute little doggys ~;).
Teckles can live for a long tiume too!

https://img348.imageshack.us/my.php?image=toobtest4va.jpg
this is my dog, Tobias.

Beirut

07-17-2005, 23:32

It was hard when it died of old age and a heart failure, but the dog was 14 years which is quite old for a big dog.

When a man cradles his dog in his arms, his best friend for years and years, and the dog breathes his last breath, there is a loneliness in the universe that is beyond all loneliness. An interspecies connection of more trust, and truth and familiarity than can ever be achieved between our own kind is lost.

But, as they say, t'is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

Azi Tohak

07-18-2005, 00:22

Thanks Beirut, very poetic. And I miss my first doggie.

But since you are in the city, how do you feel about the smaller dogs (or as I call them, the 'yippie dogs')? My mom got a Shih Tzu when I was little, I loved that dog, now she has a terrier (darned shedding all over!) and my sister has a Shih Tzu too. If you keep the Shih Tzus trimmed back (so they DON'T look like mops) they don't really shed hardly at all, and no eye infections. I highly recommend Shih Tzus if you want a pure breed. Ours have been great. The terrier is a spaz, but maybe that is just because it is younger than the Shih Tzu, I don't know.

Here is a link to my sister's Shih Tzu, right before it gets groomed:

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/fuhteng/Cleo.jpg

But a pound is always nice, maybe sad if you can't take home everybody though :embarassed:

Good luck,

Azi

Krauser

07-18-2005, 05:22

Retrievers are the tradional family dog. They can sometimes be wild but you can train it as a puppy to be calm. They are used for blind people all the time. I don't have one but I know just because they are very popular dogs. I do have a dog though and I think everyone would like a dog. It does take some work and some getting used to because dogs are basically babies only they never get older so you will always have to take care of them.

Samurai Waki

07-18-2005, 06:12

I agree Shih Tzus are great little dogs, my Mom has one now, They are just loaded with personality, and as long as you keep em' trimmed down they aren't much of a hassle. They are also easily paper trained, or for out doors and for the most part, are people friendly, but also very very loyal. The only problem with Shi Tzus is that many of them have weak stomachs, including my mom's, who was born with a permanent ulcer. Just don't feed em' Human Food and they should have no problems.

On another note for small dogs; if you have the time get a Pug, one of the most hilarious and cutest dogs in the world, I had one for 13 years until she died. They do however need a lot of attention, because they are very head strong and prissy when it comes needing to deficate... they won't go on anything that isn't soft at first, so you have to train them constantly, and then remind them from time to time, NOT TO GO ON YOUR FREAKING BED!

English assassin

07-18-2005, 12:05

IMHO anything bigger that a terrier sized dog is too big for city living. We had a border collie when I was growing up, my brother keeps them still, and they are great dogs bit need a LOT of exercise. And a border collie isn't even a particularly large dog (although it is very active). Strongly recommended but only if you have time to exercise them.

My wife had highland terriers, perfectly fine for a flat dwelling dog though personally I always found them rather annoying. We did also briefly have a labrador. I say briefly, because every night he would escape and go off looking for laydee dogs. We soon found a farmer who wanted him and he was much happier there.

You could try a Staffordshire as a small dog that would still give a burglar PFT (Pause for Thought), or the dog I would get, when I've thought about it, would be an Airedale. Big for a terrier but still manageable, nonshedding for the most part, and according to the owners club "fearless, but not aggressive". Ideal.

But personally I wouldn't have a dog in a city at all, since it would clearly involve 10-14 years of picking up a piece of dog poo at least once a day and frankly nothing the dog can bring to the relationship is going to make up for that. I wouldn't even do that for my wife, and you can't have sex with a dog can you?

drone

07-18-2005, 16:32

I got a husky puppy a few months ago. They are great dogs, don't bark much, and are very good with kids and other people. They get to be 50-60 lbs. Mine crate-trained fairly easily. Probably too big and energetic for the city though, and they can be stubborn and destructive if they don't get enough exercise and attention. Not very good at security, either. They may look like wolves, but they are more likely to lick an intruder to death than to attack him.

If you decide on a pure-breed, do not get the dog from a pet store. Go to a respected breeder (or maybe the breed's rescue organization). A good breeder will charge more for a puppy, but the dog should have fewer health issues and you will pay less in vet bills later on. Breeders look for health problems in their lines, and try to eliminate or minimize the eye/hip issues that you see with puppy-mill dogs. A good place to start looking for breeders can be found in the US at http://www.akc.org/, or in the UK, I think http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/. Most breeds have their own clubs and websites, with contact info for breeders and rescue groups.

EDIT -> Gratuitous photo links to cute puppy!
http://dbaskin.photosite.com/~photos/tn/96_1024.ts1117496878000.jpg
http://dbaskin.photosite.com/~photos/tn/107_1024.ts1117561004000.jpg

Drisos

07-18-2005, 17:54

we have a german dog. ~:)

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.joca.co.nz/Joca/friends/week6/dutch.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.joca.co.nz/Joca/HTML/friends_gallery13.htm&h=203&w=200&sz=15&tbnid=Wfg7qRc1eJAJ:&tbnh=99&tbnw=97&hl=nl&start=8&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dduitse%2Bdog%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dnl%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.acantus.be/datamanager/afbeeldingen_producten/ddog1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acantus.be/draaiboek.cfm%3FId%3D26%26draaiboek_Id%3D93%26Rubr%3D5&h=383&w=350&sz=54&tbnid=HtjLTGqoPcUJ:&tbnh=119&tbnw=108&hl=nl&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dduitse%2Bdog%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dnl%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dessie.be/images/honden/duitse_dog.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dessie.be/honden/ras/duitse_dog.htm&h=363&w=400&sz=64&tbnid=lXhUXyinCnIJ:&tbnh=108&tbnw=120&hl=nl&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dduitse%2Bdog%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dnl%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

ain't they lovely? they're irresistable!

only bad point with them is they're huge! they're about the biggest dogs there are. they're very nice to anyone except total strangers or people who are acting weird. those they bark at but when they come close the dog steps back. ~D (only when outside, when at home he really guards the house. ~:) )

if the height isn't making it impossible I'd say: get yours today! :yes:

EDIT: images not working. too bad. just click the links for three nice pics. when really intrested look at google and you'll find much info about them.

they're really great! ~:cheers: