Getting a dog

billwill

Hey all.

So a little over four months ago, my dog passed away. She was a sweetie and I'd had her for almost fourteen years, since I was in the first grade. It was very tough, and I'm still not over it (not sure if I ever fully will be), but I think I'm ready to get another dog now. I've had the house to myself for the last month and it has been depressingly empty and only exacerbated this need.

I'm not sure where to start, though. My mother and I got Bud from the pound, so I guess I'd start there?

Should I go in looking for a specific breed? I'm not even sure which breed I'd like, to be quite honest.. I just know it has be medium sized (Bud was ~25 pounds, no more than ~40-ish pounds for this dog). But I'd imagine going in with a specific breed would make finding a suitable dog substantially more difficult?

As you can probably tell, I'm not sure where to start at all. Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mulletude

I feel strongly that adopting from the pound is the kindest thing you could do. I have no opinion on specific breeds...But go in and see which are friendly and come up to be petted and lick your hands, etc

There are a lot of friendly dogs looking for a loving home.

Officer 1BDI

If you do opt to go for a specific breed and can't find what you're looking for in the pound, there might also be rescue organizations in your area that are looking to rehome dogs of said breed.

Manda

Mulletude wrote: »

I feel strongly that adopting from the pound is the kindest thing you could do. I have no opinion on specific breeds...But go in and see which are friendly and come up to be petted and lick your hands, etc

There are a lot of friendly dogs looking for a loving home.

This. My mom went to the pound expecting to get a black lab and ended up taking home a Jack Russell terrier. You should go in with some ideas about what you want (small or large? active or laid back? independent or loves people?) but beyond that, just be open to what your animal shelter has to offer.

MushroomStick

Try to read a pound/rescue's fine print before you go and fall in love with one of their animals. Some places have really odd contracts they have you sign - I've seen places that insist on random inspections of your home for the life of the pet and some places say you have to return the animal to them if you move. I once went through the interview process with a dog rescue place and things seemed to be going really well until it came up that I'm a single guy and suddenly I was worse than Hitler.

Lord Palington

Yeah, don't fixate too much on breed, and rescues or the pound can be the way to go. We got one of our dogs from an alley in the city, and the other from the pound. They are pretty awesome dogs!

Lankysean

If you have the space I would highly suggest looking into a German Shepherd. They are extremely protective but also very friendly if they are introduced to people correctly. They also then to be very smart which makes them easy to train and makes them extremely sensitive to things like injuries and illnesses. They tend to shed a lot but you can find short hair breeds that help with that. Also, they love to play outside so I would suggest taking them for long walks or at least letting them out into a fenced in yard. Oh, and I know some Shepherd can grow to be 75 pounds but mine is only about 35-40 pounds (Island dog, they tend to run small).

My story of how my Shepherd tried to save my life...

One time I was laying on the floor playing video games and she jumped off the couch, where she was laying next to my wife who was studying, the dog landed on my head slamming it into the hard wood floor knocking me unconscious. My wife says the dog was so distort about injuring me that she was pawing at me trying to wake me, barking, licked my face and when she couldn't wake me she laid across me in an attempt to keep me safe. She was so protective of my body she would growl at anyone who got close to me, even my wife and EMT people. When I eventually woke up she jumped up and down barking and waging her tail. Even after I woke up was still wary about letting the EMT people check me out. She wouldn't leave my side for days after.

Casual

Manda wrote: »

Mulletude wrote: »

I feel strongly that adopting from the pound is the kindest thing you could do. I have no opinion on specific breeds...But go in and see which are friendly and come up to be petted and lick your hands, etc

There are a lot of friendly dogs looking for a loving home.

This. My mom went to the pound expecting to get a black lab and ended up taking home a Jack Russell terrier. You should go in with some ideas about what you want (small or large? active or laid back? independent or loves people?) but beyond that, just be open to what your animal shelter has to offer.

Funny, the exact opposite happened to me! I would always say go to the pound for the simple reason I think pedegree animals are a total waste of money. They cost hundreds (or thousands even) to buy and are so inbred (a practice you should NOT be supporting) you'll be facing lots of vets bills down the line. In my experience cross breeds and mutts live healthier lives and you often end up with something that has the traits of more than one breed.

Be careful of going to pounds and shelters that ask too many questions though, they can be a pain. Some won't let you adopt a dog if you're away from the house for a full working day and will insist on check up visits after you've adopted the dog.

MushroomStick

Chow chows are known for being aggressive, especially to other dogs. Supposedly they make pretty good apartment dogs, but are restricted in some areas due to the aggressive rep they have. The only time I've ever met a chow chow it wasn't on a leash and bolted for me and my dog, was in the air with its teeth bared when I kicked it in the throat as hard as I could and yelled impolite things at its owner. That's just one account that clearly involved a bad owner, but still, just make sure you know what you'd be getting into if that's a breed you'd be interested in.