Thinking about a Dog, help from Pit?

 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3079
Registered: Mar-07
Or anyone else knowledgeable about k9s.

I will be moving into an apartment soon, really nice and really cheap as far as dogs go. I was originally thinking french mastiff, but they are so much more expensive now than they used to be,and because I used to have one. Best dog I've ever owned.

I am now thinking about getting a blue or red healer. I would prefer to have a dog that is active but not hyperactive, laid back when it's time to relax. Smart and protective. I would also prefer to have them smart enough to be fairly easy to train.

that being said, any comments or suggestions?
 

Gold Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

I compensate...

Post Number: 8475
Registered: Jul-06
Sounds like a German Shepard is the way to go in this case :-) Oh yea, I realize I'm not Pit but hey, I offer advice when I can.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3081
Registered: Mar-07
yes you do, but I've never liked german shepards for some reason
 

Gold Member
Username: The_image_dynamic

San Diego, California

Post Number: 4447
Registered: Dec-06
Black Lab
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3083
Registered: Mar-07
bump
 

Gold Member
Username: Bernymac

Cambodia

Post Number: 4178
Registered: Sep-04
I really love Rottweilers. Their just so muscular. They have like no fat at all. Slap them on a bbq grill with some a1 sauce at the end. Delicious.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jkidder

Worlds gunna end, In 2012

Post Number: 3725
Registered: Nov-05
weimaraner


the cisco kid
 

Gold Member
Username: Philly306

Laziness and ignorance...

Post Number: 1255
Registered: Apr-07
Doberman.

If the dog will have access to outdoors alot then Catahoula.

;)
 

Gold Member
Username: Rideredder

Cornell, IL USA

Post Number: 1458
Registered: Sep-05
x2 on the black lab.
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3428
Registered: Oct-06
First and foremost I recommend going to local animal shelters to check out some dogs and seriously consider adopting. Any recommendations I give on breed selection is really just general guidelines. Dogs are just dogs before they are their breed. Therefore I highly recommend mixed breed dogs, besides, mutts tend to live healthier lives and have less social/behavioral problems.


In deciding what breeds to steer towards, a big consideration is how much exercise the dog is REALLY going to get. Is the dog going to get a casual walk several days a week? That would be very minimal, however, there are plenty of dogs that can live very happily in that environment. Or is the dog going to consistently get 25+mins/day of vigorous exercise?

Also how many hours/day on average will the dog be home alone? Some dogs are more (in)dependent than others.


Of the breeds mentioned so far, I'd probably not recommend a weimaraner or a heeler for this apartment situation. The australian cattle dogs are one of my FAVORITE breeds, but both they and the weimaraners were bred to run for hours on end every day, herding and hunting respectively.


The Shepherd and Domberman are two more breeds I LOVE! They give you great security and a great companion, both very intelligent and trainable. My concern would be that they both need a fair amount of activity, physical AND mental. That's why these dogs do well being police dogs and scent dogs, they want to be involved and engaged with what you're doing all the time.

Black Lab seems like the most appropriate suggestion so far. All the retreivers (golden, lab, chesapeake bay, curly coat etc.) have shown over the years that they have an amazing ability to adapt to their packs' lifestyle.

Hope this helps, give more info about exercise/alone time, and I can give more suggestions.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3084
Registered: Mar-07
Wow I'm really glad you brought the time alone situation to my attention, I completely forgot about that. However, I do plan on running with my dog, as well as playing frisbee as ultimate is one of my favorite sports. so yes the dog will/should be getting at least 25min of exercise a day.

I was also considering a schauzer, due to the fact that my sister has a miniature and that dog is extremely smart! and loves to run around and play.

As I said earlier, I've never liked shepherds, I don't know why. But besides the fact that I don't like long haired dogs, there is just something about them I dislike. I'd love to get a lab, but as you mentioned earlier about a heeler not being a good apartment pet, I don't think a lab would be appropriate either, as they are prone to tear everything up as puppies.

But to give you an idea of alone time, I will probably have a 15 hour course load, I always have fridays off from school, and plan to work 25-30 hours a week.

Thanks Pit
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3432
Registered: Oct-06
"I don't think a lab would be appropriate either, as they are prone to tear everything up as puppies."

That's something you should prepare for regardless of breed if you are thinking of getting a puppy. In my years working at a puppy store as a teenager (bittersweet experience), I've found there isn't much difference from breed to breed when it comes to that sort of thing. That is more a characteristic of puppies in general, rather than specific breeds. The VAST majority of puppies are going to have a ton of energy, which will be put into something. If a dog owner puts in a good effort to ensure that the energy goes towards exercise, socialization, and training, they won't run into many problematic behaviors with their dog.


Puppy problems are more reasons to consider adoption, and looking at a more mature dog. Consider some of the advantages of adopting a dog around the time they're entering adulthood, say 18 months and older. You can get a dog that has a nice foundation of basic training. You can get a dog who's housebroken already (this is huge, for obvious reasons). And maybe most importantly, you can get a MUCH better idea of what the dog's personality is going to be like in the long haul.


You're going to be moving into an apartment alone, correct? You didn't specify, but it sounded that way in the OP. More people living there would change some things also.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3097
Registered: Mar-07
I've never had any problems with my mastiffs tearing things up as puppies, neither did my sister with her miniature schnauzer. I've only heard about Labs being prone to tearing things up as puppies, which is why I mentioned that.

I have thought about adoption but really haven't had much time to go out and look. What are my guarantees when going to a pound? I'd also really like to do a lot of training with this dog, and through my experience, it only gets harder to do as they get older. I've had to re train my family dogs in the past few months, due to some territorial issues they were having.

As for the apartment situation, I will be moving into an apartment that has an adult (don't know quite how old) golden retriever, and his master, who is 22 or 24 I believe. So socialization would be rather easy, although I know it's not good if puppies get attached to one dog too quickly.
 

Gold Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

I compensate...

Post Number: 8550
Registered: Jul-06
Lol at the ads on this page, I'm looking at "300 Puppy Pads" which almost look like something from Kotex lol.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3187
Registered: Mar-07
bump. after living in my new apartment for about a month, I was wondering if labs are as full of energy or worse than a golden retriever. If so, I'm going to go ahead and rule that one out. I'm still thinking about the schnauzer, but was also considering a Bull Mastiff. I don't have any exp with the Bull, but I do with the french and english. Unfortunately I can't afford a French Mastiff as that is my prime choice over everything, and was wondering if anyone knew their level of intelligence, as the english mastiffs aren't that smart.....at least compared to the French.

Thanks guys. It's kinda late, but Ehren, you mind answering these as well as my questions in my previous post?
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3495
Registered: Oct-06
Sorry I kind of forgot about this thread when everyone kind of stopped frequenting the OT section for a couple weeks.


"What are my guarantees when going to a pound?"

I'm just not the right guy to ask on this one, that isn't a concern of mine if/when adopting a dog. I'm not sure what type of guarantees you have in mind, but I'm sure you could call up a local shelter and get the info you're looking for.



Regarding the intelligence level of mastiffs. In GENERAL there isn't a great deal of difference between french, english and bull mastiffs as they are obviously so closely related. Mastiffs tend to have a reputation for being difficult to train, and damn near impossible to get to do things they don't WANT to do. At the same time you've clearly had good experiences with the french mastiffs, which goes to show you how overrated breed generalizations are. It could be that while others struggle to train mastiffs, they may suit your personality and style very well.

Ultimately it comes down to the specific dog, not what breed the dog happens to be a member of. The generalizations should be used to help narrow things down, then you really make a good decision by spending a few minutes interacting with the dog to get a feel for what they're like.



Based on your general circumstances, I'd also recommend looking at great danes (notoriously good apartment dogs despite their size), boxers, staffordshire bull terriers, english/irish setters, fox/coon hounds etc.

Keep the questions coming if you have more or if i missed any, hope this helps!
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3198
Registered: Mar-07
haha, believe me, if I could afford a staffordshire that would be the next in line behind a french mastiff.

my only question not answered so far, was the question about labs vs golden retrievers, my roommate has a golden and that dog never runs out of energy. I could drop her in the ocean about a mile from shore, she would swim back and want to play fetch for a few hours until I get sleepy...lol. are labs as filled with energy as golden retrievers (generally speaking) or worse?

same thing with boxers, I find they are just a bit too energetic for my living situation right now.

great danes, I'd love to have one, but seem to be too much maintenance with their size, what with bloat always being a risk, as well as their joint issues. I live on the third floor btw. plus I don't think I could afford feeding that size of a dog.

when it comes to mastiffs I definitely know what you mean when you say it's hard to get them to do something they don't want to do, but I think with early training and constant discipline, I could conquer that problem.

Right now I seem to be really set on a regular sized schnauzer or a bull mastiff. I don't know why...lol
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3496
Registered: Oct-06
"haha, believe me, if I could afford a staffordshire that would be the next in line behind a french mastiff."


Well again I encourage adoption, but that's your decision. That is another nice advantage though. When you adopt you're gonna go home with your new pet having spent probably $100-$300 for adoption fee/shots/vet etc. As opposed to about $600-$2000 + shots/vet $ from a breeder or pet store.




"the question about labs vs golden retrievers"

Same as the mastiffs, generally very similar dogs. Labs will generally have a little less prey drive than goldens, and may be a little more mellow. I don't know that either a lab or golden is a great choice for an apartment though unless you're really prepared to give them lots of daily exercise.
 

Gold Member
Username: Denali_on_22s

I get Bucks like Milwa...

Post Number: 6136
Registered: Feb-06
We just got a beautiful baby boxer.
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3497
Registered: Oct-06
"We just got a beautiful baby boxer."

Pics or it didn't happen.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jtown

Texas

Post Number: 3204
Registered: Mar-07
I see your point now on the price of adoption vs from a breeder. last time I checked my local pounds that didn't have any breeds that we've talked about here besides the lab and blue/red healer and most were mixed. I'll check again soon.
 

Gold Member
Username: Pitbullguy

The Chicago area

Post Number: 3499
Registered: Oct-06
"most were mixed"

That's not a bad thing. "Pure-breeding" (which isn't always what people think it is), doesn't guarantee GOOD breeding.
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