Gotta get a new dog
 

Ok, the family had a sad event over the weekend as we had to put down our 7 year old lab mix. Dexter had contracted an extremely aggressive cancer in his mouth. The tumor in his jaw was noticed around the 10th of January and by the 20th, it had already advanced past the point where treatment of any kind would have saved him while providing a good quality of life. So, on Saturday ... well, it was a really tough day.

The good thing is that my 5 and 3 year old have taken it well. A hell of a lot better than my wife, I'll say that.

So, we're on the look for a new family dog and I'm looking for one that is kid friendly, very light on the shedding with the max of being about 40 pounds. Outside of that, I'm pretty open to suggestions... well, I don't want a pit bull or anything of that nature. It's not that I don't like them, but that type of a dog won't be an option for various reasons.

We loved our black lab mix, but he was a shedder and about 75 pounds. I have a 5 year old, 3 year old and 7 month old - so the dog has to be kid friendly. I'm not looking for a guard or watch dog, so that's not important.

I definitely DO NOT want a yip yip pain in the ass type of dog, if you know what I mean. I've done some research on types of dogs, but thought I would ask the masses about your thoughts.

Lemme know and thanks in advance.

Theres a guy here who can get you a "great" fighting dog that doesnt kill anything but other dogs.

Well, if that were one of the things I was looking for... ummm, yeah.

I guess a wirehair pointer is too heavy for you. They run about 50 pounds, but they don't shed.

Go to the pound. There are gems there and you can save a life. I got my Corgi-Sheperd there and she is the best dog I've ever had. She's about 30lbs.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5808/zeuslslslpl6.png" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

Hmmm, the wirehire pointer just doesn't look right to me...

Pudel Pointers are nice, too.

58-4ever, that's a nice looking dog and I'm definitely a fan of going to the pound, SPCA or through one of these shelters that are around town. That's how we got our last dog.

I just want to narrow down the search before we make a trip somewhere, b/c it's really easy to fall for these dogs when you see them in the shelters.

We have a maltese and at first glace he looks like a "yip-yip" dog. But he's not.

They have only one layer of fur so there is no shedding and no dander. Essentially they are a hypo-allergenic. Plus he's fun and easy to train.

I've always been a "lab" guy but this little dog has been a lot of fun.

I'd guess he goes about 8 lbs. I've never had to pooper-scoop and never had it tracked into the house either. It's like he goes and the stuff is gone.

The two drawbacks are eyes and teeth. They have bad teeth so you have to have them cleaned frequently and they have seeping eyes - the brown crap in the corner of their eyes.

Other than that, awesome dog.

I've always liked Huskies but they shed like crazy so you probably wouldn't want one. They're pretty active too.

I couldn't stand that dog.

I have a 40lb Brittney. She is very friendly, doesn't bark, and doesn't shed excessively.

I saw one of those in Alabama at a friends house. It was really nice.

Yeah, he has something against fat people. He won't even hump a fat guy's leg.

Yeah, I love labs... had a husky when I was a kid, great dogs. My wife found a site that showed different 'mixes' of breeds, and there were some pretty cool options. The trick is finding them at the shelter. I like Boxers, but the wife isn't a fan as much.

I like Beagles, but they can be heavy barkers.

Can be? It's more like they "bray". I hate that. We used to have a beagle next door. Thankfully his family moved.

Doberman Pinscher = bestest dogs evar.

What about the Jack Russell Terrier? Pros or cons?

I just got a couple of boxers. Of course, that type of dog is over the weight limit you listed. But they are awesome dogs and I'm very happy with my decision. For something smaller, how about a rat terrier? They are good dogs. Very smart and not hard to train. Good with kids.

Those dogs can go a million miles an hour all the time. It could be a good thing. Your kids and dog will wear eachother out, leaving you time and peace.

i got a treeing walker pup from this guy. ive had him a week. smart,not yippy. seems like a good choice and gets along good w/ my pitbull.

if you interested you can use the search function to find something in your area.

http://www.coondawgs.com/forum/viewt...light=missouri

Jack Russell terriers seem like good dogs.

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

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

I have two Border Collies and they are great. They do need need to work though. Very smart and can be trained easily. Not much laying around and sleeping for them though.

how about a basenji? theyre cool little dogs that top out at about 24# and dont bark. ever.

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

Smooth Fox Terrier - tons of energy when you play with him, then he'll go lie down and be a lazy-Saturday dog if you're not playing with him. Short hair, med-low shedding. Smart, friendly.

Bigger version of a Jack Russell, with a off-button on the high energy 24/7 thing Jack Russell's have.

Why? He didn't like peanut butter?

I love this place... LMAO

I had one. They are definitely good with kids and good home defense dogs. They don't live too long though...

Whatever dog you decide to get, keep him away from the Skoal or it'll end up just like Dexter. I caught my hamsters dipping and ended up taking 'em to a hypnotist to get them off the stuff. Best thing I ever did in my life.

Weird.

Here's your site.

petfinder.com

You can search by breed, gender, size and location. It hooks into all the animal shelters in a given area. It'll even tell you if a pooch has problems with other animals, children, etc.

Thanks ck_IN ... I've actually been out to that site, lots of great info. I wanted to get some thoughts from you guys and then visit that site again.

I've typically only had big dogs, labs/huskies, etc... so I appreciate the responses from everyone, even from Phil and his yip yip.

My Fox Terrier 'Lazy-Saturdaying' it up.

I had only had big dogs too.

I'm telling you that you get all the benefits of pet ownership with half the headaches. I'm definitely going small next time around too.

Oh ok MHM, I missunderstood what you were after.

If you want a smart dog that's good with kids and is on the smallish side I'd look for some kind of collie/sheltie mix. My dog is a border collie/doberman mix. She's 40 pounds and loves everyone and everything (except cats and mailmen). She's high energy but not enough to be destructive.

You don't say if you have boys but a collie/sheltie mix would have enough energy that your boys could wear them out and get worn out. A win win for you!

Bigger version? You don't say.

That looks like Paul Bunyan's dog.

i picked up a stray my first year of college. I think thats the only dog i want is from the pound, reminds me of myself, from streets, kind of wierd, and gets hit by cars once a month running.

I have two beagles. One likes to bark a lot and the other barks about as much as the average dog. They're both great with kids but do shed a bit.

The Basenji is a Congolese hunting dog that rarely (if ever) barks (due to its unusually shaped larynx), but does produce an unusual yodel-like sound.

:spock:

I have two boys and a girl - the boys are the 5 year and 7 month old. So, yeah ... high energy is a great thing!

We feel for you. We had to put down our beloved scottie, Kylie, earlier this year. She had an aggressive bladder cancer that ended up bleeding, literally killing her in less than 72 hours from the time we first saw evidence of the tumor. She was 12, and the best dog I've ever had. I've always been a terrier person, and after owning scotties, I won't own anything else. They are a small dog (20-30#) with a lion heart and great personality. They do have a mind of thier own, so you do have to assert yourself as the dominant one, or they will take over your home. Despite being long haired, you actually have to strip thier coat, so shedding is not really an issue, especially if you just brush them down once a month.

Here is a pic of our girl:
http://bodytronics.com/pix/kylie.jpg

If you are interested, here is a link to more about the breed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Terrier

DT

If you like the lab temperament, but don't want to deal with the shedding, you might look into a labradoodle. The mediums and minis would be in your weight range. Just be careful, or you could end up with a standard. My mom's turned out to be a standard and it is gigantic.

I would advise against the Jack Russell Terror unless you have tons of spare time to devot to harnessing the energy those things have. They are super smart and that equals destructive when not properly occupied.

I know no one has mentioned it but I'm tossing this out as kinda of a PSA - Do not get a Dalmatian. Horrible shedders and not good with young kids as they have just as much enegry as the JR Terror but are at least three times as big.

Any of the long haired breeds (Malteese, Bichon, etc) are good as far as shedding goes, however, the grooming can be a bitch.

I've heard good things about Corgis (I'm not sure if they're bad shedders though).

You might look into an oversized Italian Greyhound (a normal IG is 8-15 lbs an oversized is 15-25 lbs) or possibly a Whippet.

Whippet resemble a Greyhound but are smaller - about 30lbs. They have short fine coats and hardly shed at all - supposed to be good with kids too.
Here is a link with more Whippet info

That's just the angle, the pic of my dog gives a better sense of scale. Usually run about 18-25 lbs. Mine's on the biggish size, because he's barrel chested [think Spuds McKenzie without the smushed mug].

My old man has a JRT.

Small, yippy, neurotic as all hell and not terribly trustworthy. She's a smart dog and can be quite a bit of fun, but she can be a demon when she gets the idea in her head. Just your standard Napoleonic terrier.

She's older now (13) and she's pretty nippy, so that's a definite negative. She doesn't give much warning, she'll just whip around and snap on some people. That'd scare me a little with a young kid


This is also the best JRT I've been exposed to. A friend of mine had one and you literally couldn't make it sit still. If you told it to sat, it would go down to about 3 inches from the ground and hover/tremble. The dog was a high strung, worthless piece of crap. He gave it to his grandpa and it just runs around his farm at 100 mph now.

So, in short, even a good JRT is pretty spastic and a bad one is a disaster.

I found my dog on petfinder. He is a Cairn Terrier. He is very friendly and a real Chick magnet. He is a chewing machine and has a very high energy level (kind of a pain in the ass at times).

He looks awesome.

I'm kinda liking this one...

http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/...=6830798&mtf=1

http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/TX885...830798-1-x.jpg

I feel for your loss MHM, I just had to put my wifes dog down.

Paul Bunyan had a dog?

Yeah, he was blue and looked like an ox. Went by Babe, I believe.

GoCheifs only likes dogs that lick peanut butter.

Welcome to four hours ago...

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...4&postcount=26

Nice dog MHM. Goldens have the best dispositions.

I don't think you want a Jack Russel with small kids.

Get a boarder collie.

Smart, not big, extremely loyal and intelligent.

I would recommend a Border Collie, but they shed. Mine is GREAT with all kids though.

I completely agree. Get a pound puppy. We happened to find a Border at a rescue.

Or an Australian Shepherd, which is very similar to a Border Collie, but a little lower energy.

Border Collie's are smart. Get a good brush.

Oops.

When I first read you post, I thought you said "I just had to put my wife down".

Hell, I put her down everyday, the ole lazy *****

Sorry for your loss, MHM. It always sucks to lose a pet. :(


I saw a dog at the vet's office a couple of weeks ago that was a mix between a border collie and a german shepard. Absolutely beautiful animal.

It must have not jumped on you. LMAO

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, but no, it didn't. It was very well behaved and friendly.

What you don't remember bitching about your friends dogs that jump on you? I'm just jerking your chain dog.

Oh, yeah. No, it wasn't big, stupid and improperly disciplined.

It was a good little bitch, NICE!!!

Yeah, i had to have my cat put down about a week and a half ago. She was 8 pounds of pure terror.

Bob 2002-2007 RIP
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5100/img0028qt7.jpg

the only thing with them is you never really "know" what you are going to get. The wife and I picked up a terrier mix and was told that she would "not be more than 20-25lbs"......at a year old she was 45+ and too big for where we lived.

I've had westie's my whole life. They're great family dogs.

http://www.nbc6.net/2006/0613/9363865_400X300.jpg

Thanks for all the replies... we're still looking at options, but I appreciate the advice. Our last dog was from the SPCA and they also said he wouldn't be bigger than 40 lbs... well, he was 75 lbs. I can't fault them too much since he was a mix breed and they had no idea what the parents really were - no harm no foul.

The little beagle mix is a sharp lookin' pup.

My only warning on Border collies is that they're freakin' brilliant dogs. If you don't keep its mind and body in constant motion, it'll get destructive or mischevious.

Great dogs if you have the time, but there is next to 0 margin for error with them.

Just go to Wayside Waifs and pick a dog from there. Not only will you be able to find a dog that fits your family's lifestyle and activity level, it's cheap and you get to save its life and open up a kennel spot for them to save another dog's life.

You don't have to get a puppy. My wife and I got a dog that was 1.5 years old and no one would ever know from our interaction that we hadn't raised her since she was a puppy. It doesn't matter when you get your dog, really, because they'll easily integrate themselves into your family at any age.

I had a Boykin Spaniel, about the right size and a very friendly and obedient dog. Probably my favorite, out of about 6 different kinds of dogs I owned dogs. They are beautiful as well.


http://www.boykinspaniel.org/article.html