New Dog, Need Help

[Xandra]

Originally Posted by Locke

Puppies are HARD!!

I will never have a puppy again. Near perfect adult dogs exist, you just have to find them. Take your time, and not fall in love with the first cute face you see.

this this this! If you are looking for a nice pet get a grown animal not a puppy, you really can find perfectly nice dogs in shelters. Being set in their ways is good lol you just have to work at finding one that is set in ways that you like. And of course that doesn't mean they're untrainable or anything.

Puppies, ugh, messy nippy, harder to know what you've got (dog aggression, noise phobias apparently), tiny attention span etc. I'd get a proper dog.

[Laurelin]

Puppies are a lot more difficult than adults in general. Raising Mia, my 'clean slate' puppy, was so much harder than adding Summer in most ways. She screamed in her crate all night, she chewed everything, needed TONS of exercise, wouldn't walk on a leash, had no idea about potty training and took forever to learn, needed lots of socialization because she was a little nervous as a pup, lots of training. Worth it but hard and I have always lived with lots of dogs and lived with lots of puppies. Mia was my first 'on my own' puppy and it was definitely an experience.

There are several options if you want an adult.

1) Shelters

2) Rescue- you usually can get more background if it's a rescue that fosters dogs in a home

3) Breeders. Yes, you can often get adult dogs that washed out of a breeder's program for whatever reason. I got Summer this way when she was four. Another good way to get a dog with some background on it.

If it were me, I would just sit back a little while and think on if we can afford a dog and what to do differently. Get a plan together and take your time to find a dog that is a good fit for you. IF I were renting, I would definitely not be looking at a dog over 50 lbs and probably preferably 35 lbs or less. Just in my experience 35 lbs is the typical cutoff especially in the area you're in since you're pretty close to where I lived. Honestly, I have two papillons now because of renting in apartments in college. It's a lot easier to do with small dogs.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

You know, it sounds like the shedding/dander really is an issue.

Do you want an extremely affectionate dog? One that will be engaged with you, play, be personable, easy care and easy to keep when you're renting?

Check into Hairless Terriers. Seriously.

I've looked into some hairless breeds and aside from the needing protection from the sun they seem like fun little guys to own.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by yoko

Look into a standard poodle. They are larger, the allergy issue would be solved, and they are easy to train and that sounds like what you need now.

They are spiffy too because you can groom a black one to look superficially like a schnauzer, if having a "tough" looking dog is a factor.

[lizzybeth727]

I agree that puppies are super irritating. I have a 1 1/2 year old "puppy" that I've been raising from 8 weeks old, and he's JUST NOW becoming tolerable. LOL. I would absolutely NOT get a puppy while living in an apartment: puppies bark/whine, have potty accidents, chew stuff up, require frequent trips outside, etc.

I agree with the suggestion of getting a poodle or poodle mix. I live near Austin and spend a lot of time in the shelters due to my job, and I see tons of poodle mixes in shelters, particularly the Austin shelter.

[Laurelin]

Yeah I raised Mia in an apartment. Looking back it wasn't the smartest idea, she was a rough puppy.

ETA: And I'm still dealing with some fallout from worrying so much about her screaming and bothering the neighbors.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by Romy

They are spiffy too because you can groom a black one to look superficially like a schnauzer, if having a "tough" looking dog is a factor.

What's more tough than a teenage mutant ninja turtle??


Or a pirate?

[Renee750il]

Originally Posted by yoko

I've looked into some hairless breeds and aside from the needing protection from the sun they seem like fun little guys to own.

I got to dogsit for one last week. I'd met a few before at weight pulls and got to talk to a few people who knew the breed but honestly, it didn't begin to compare with actually spending time with one, so incredibly playful, fearless (they ARE Terriers) and the best way I can describe Stryker's affectionate nature is it's most like an APBT.

What really surprises you is how soft they are. Like velvet!

[yoko]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

I got to dogsit for one last week. I'd met a few before at weight pulls and got to talk to a few people who knew the breed but honestly, it didn't begin to compare with actually spending time with one, so incredibly playful, fearless (they ARE Terriers) and the best way I can describe Stryker's affectionate nature is it's most like an APBT.

What really surprises you is how soft they are. Like velvet!

Super jealous :X I've never met one face to face I've always wanted to pet one!!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by yoko

Or a pirate?

For spending so much time colouring and grooming the dog, they could really spend more time on those nails