Which Dog For Me?

I'm a 26 year old male who works in an office from 9 am to 6 pm roughly. 3 times a week I get back home at 9:30 pm and I'm free from 9:30 pm till 8:30 am in the morning (but ofcourse I have to sleep some at night) and 4 days a week I return at 6:30 pm and am free from 6:30 pm till 8:30 am (ofcourse night sleep in between) so my concern is:

I live with my parents; healthy in their 50's and my sister in law with her 4 year old daughter and a maid.

I want to buy a big and strong dog; I reckon a German Shepherd or a Doberman. I'll be able to give my dog atleast an hour to maximum 2 hours at late evening or at night for walk and play (everyday). I'll give enough food too. I'm concerned if this be sufficent time on daily basis for such dogs. I really hope so it is manageable. I'm also concerned if other people in my house look after my dog when I'm in the office he might love someone else more than me which I can not accept. I want to be his favourite person. Is Doberman a one man dog or is German Shepherd a one man dog? What should I do? What should be my routine and how should I manage? and which dog should I buy for the time table and scenario I have. I really hope there is a way. Thank You!

Hello ,and first off welcome... I would have to say that any dog would really need more time for you to spend with him especially if you lpan on adopting a puppy... just my 2 cents, LOL.. Good luck with whatever happens!

IMO, it's too long for a pup to be alone, unless your family is also actively involved in training.

So should I buy an adult dog? and if someone else looks after him in the morning how will i make sure he's my best friend not his or her who looks in the morning? What else can I do? Dober or German Shepherd?

Are your other family members going to take care of him when you are gone? Just wondering. If not, then I agree with Puppyluver, that woud be too much time without human contact and care. If they are, then that's great, and I don't think he would care what time it was when you took him for walks and played with him. I had a German Shepherd when I was growing up and absolutely loved him! He was a wonderful family dog, and an excellent protector. I would do PLENTY of research on different breeds though instead of just jumping and impulse buying. Personal experience talking there.

well, it's always nice to adopt an older dog, but I do have to say(sorry if this is bad news) that you really shouldn't adopt a dog if you can only spend a few hours with him each day

I just retired and prior to that my hours at work were something like yours. There is no way I could give a dog that little time each day and expect the dog to be happy, in my opinion.

So 1 hour in the morning by someone and 2 hours at the evening by me? That's the maximun I can arranage. Any good?

In my opinion, that's not enough time for a dog at all. They don't need just exercise; they need hours of companionship too.

To be honest, no, not really.

While a dog does not need constant companionship (human) it does need some good quality time. An hour here, an hour there... doens't seem adequate, for a puppy or an adult.

You should probably wait until you have time to spend with the dog. It sounds like you really want a dog, and good for you for asking how much time they need. You want this dog to be your best friend, respect you, and trust you. This means having time to spend w/ it. It does not have to be by your side 24/7, but it will need more then a few hours a day.

I have always had German Shepherds, of all the ones I've had/have, and I've had a couple of couch potatoes, even those, require much more exercise than 1-2 hours per day. My 11 yr old, bad knees old girl, is still alotta dog to keep up with but I have the luxury of being home alot.

I agree with the others, in that, any dog or atleast young dog that tend to have alot of energy to burn wouldn't be a good idea.

How about an older more mellow GSD? There are plenty in need of rescuing out there and what you see is what you get. Most GSD rescues are very reputable and will match a dog suited to your lifestyle.

Since you do have parents/family that are home during the day, don't be surprised if any dog bonds more to them than you. Doesn't mean he'd love you less tho. But I do find with GSD's anyhow, they are going to bond to their caretakers, and the ones who are around them most.
Diane

Jynx... I was going to post along those lines too ...it seems to me with both parents, a sister-in-law and a maid ...there are plenty of people to socialize a FAMILY dog . I would however stay clear of making it YOUR dog ....especially with a 4 year old in the home . I can't see a one man Dob or GS in that situation when you aren't home.

So you say it is possible and manageable if i come in the evening then other people can look after the dog for few hours in the morning but it would cost me the luxiry of being the Dog's best friend. Well in this situation I guess this is the only choice I have got. Won't it affect the dog's training and persnaility if they will train him in a certain way most likely I can guess they will sit with him give him food and talk with him and make him a bit cheesy while I would want to be agressive with the dog; play with him walk and run and do wild stuff; make him a bit agressive. So how will it work? and no one told me if a Dob or a GS better for my scenario?

1: I don't think it's enough time being spent with the dog.

2: I don't think that trying to make the dog aggresive with (or without) a young child in the house is a good idea at all.

I also agree that if that's all the amount of time that you can give to your dog that unfortunately that isn't enough. Now, if your parent's would be involved with play time, attention and maybe some exercise then it would work, that is until you move out on your own.

I have two dogs, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and a Dachshund. My husband works from 7-3:30 and I work from 9:30-6:00. My husband or myself always come home on our lunch time so the dogs are really only alone from 9:00am - 12:00 pm and then again from 1:00pm - 3:30 pm. They really do require alot of time....just like any other family member. Good luck to you!

"So you say it is possible and manageable if i come in the evening then other people can look after the dog for few hours in the morning but it would cost me the luxiry of being the Dog's best friend. Well in this situation I guess this is the only choice I have got."

I say:
With the situation you describe, the dog, (and dog) is going to bond with whomever spends the most time with it, caters to it, plays with it, feeds it etc. Can't ever predict "who" a dog is going to favor when it comes down to it. But I can predict if you spend the amount of time you describe, the dog may "love" you, but you probably won't be it's favorite person.

you said:

"Won't it affect the dog's training and persnaility if they will train him in a certain way most likely I can guess they will sit with him give him food and talk with him and make him a bit cheesy while I would want to be agressive with the dog; play with him walk and run and do wild stuff; make him a bit agressive. So how will it work? and no one told me if a Dob or a GS better for my scenario?


No it won't affect training ability, when you get a dog/puppy within a household, the WHOLE household has to be on board with training and adapt a schedule and be consistent. As for wanting to be "aggressive" and make him "a bit aggressive",,you are playing with dynamite especially with a 4yr old in the house.
EXAMPLE: and this is a simple one: you allow your dog to jump on you, the dog learns it's ok to jump on anybody he feels like, he jumps on an 80yr old woman, knocks her over and she breaks a leg, who pays? Why YOU do, financially, but ya know what? The dog will end up paying in the end, like possibly with it's life.

You can't expect to own a dog like a GSD or Dobie, without knowing the bad rap they can get , most homeowners insurance will NOT cover those breeds of dogs. Both breeds require ALOT of training, consistent training, ALOT of socialization, and "should" be brought up to be friendly, loving dogs, vs wanting a "little bit" aggressive.

Personally, after reading your last post, which really bothers me, especially the "bit aggressive" part, you should probably not get a dog at this point.
I spend HOURS daily with my dogs, not just a couple, I train, we hike, we play, exercise, walk, I do different things with the 4 dogs I have, but I have that luxury. To own one of these breeds of dogs (or any dog) requires alot of time and committment which doesn't really sound like you have right now.

If you've never lived with one of these breeds before, and insist on having one, I highly recommend you rescue an older dog who is more on the "go with the flow" kind of temperament.
Good luck
Diane

Hi Jynx,
Thanks a lot for your very kind and meaningful message but I don't understand why so many guys are moved when they read that I want a dog to be agressive. I do fully understand what you said and with your examples of a dog jumping on a woman. I really do get you but let me also explain exactly what i want with an example. I guess I didn't really mean agressive like agressive in nature or agressive in his approach on regular or normal basis.

I would want him to be very loyal and calm; he shouldn't lay on the grass and cuddle like a toy (specially when he's an adult). I would want the Doberman to show class and standards. He should definitely play and exercise but shouldn't act stupid. He should socialize but what I want from this dog is that he should let every visitor feel they are being watched and that no matter if they come to my home every week the dog has rock solid eyes on their behaviour and I want my dog not to be very friendly with the visitors unless it's my top 3 favourite people for example. I would want the dog to be mean to them by not really welcoming them and by showing a mean and stubborn face. The dog should know these people are probably ok but my boss wants me to keep them on their feet and to make them realize this is one hell of a Dobie who is not free and frank eith everyone. The dog message would be, "Come to the house; enjoy your time; but know your role and get out from here without changing your role"

The dog should immediately respond and if required consult me on something wrong and if I ask him or signal him to attack or be violent/agressive then he should take immediate actions.

I hope now you understand what I really want? So is it alright to have this expectation? I don't have any wrong intentions. Can I train him in this way? Thanks!

Wow...IMO any good dog is going to protect his/her owner. That does NOT mean it has to be aggressive or uptight around other people. Dogs can usually "sense" what there owners are feeling, and if you are comfortable w/ a person, then usually your dog will be too. Dogs also have personalities believe it or not. Some dogs are not going to be "people doggies", and be slightly more standoffish. Some are going to be the biggest lovers in the world. It doesnt matter whether its a GSD or Golden Retriever. I could go on but I'll stop now...

Are you serious

Why get a dog if you dont have the time for one.

Why get a dog if all your going to do is train it to be mean

So say.. if someone you didnt like approached you, and you didn't like them.. you would signal the dog to attack... very responsible there.

No, I dont understand why you would want to train a dog like that. Your taking a beautiful breed and turning it into a nightmare to be around.


What do you think?

Im sure....

Sure you can... but who's going to want be around your dog if its trained to scare and possibly attack people? I know wouldn't want to be around your dog.

When you said a big dog.. I was going to suggest an Irish Wolfhound... but in my honest opinion... you dont deserve a dog if your going to raise it like that.

However, if you do decide to get a dog, I would hate to see it attack a child because of an irresponsible owner's acts.