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We have a mixed breed (Chow, shepherd, lab, ?) who is a 6 year old female, easy going and laid back. We want to adopt another dog. When we go to the humane society, all the dogs, mostly lab and terrier mixes of all sizes, are just over the top in wildness and energy. I know that being cooped up can drive some of this. They probably have at least 60 dogs, some inside and some outside and I just become overwhelmed. Many of the dogs seem much more interested in the other dogs and ignore us which does not seem like a good sign. Our dog, although I expect some jealousy, is good with every living thing, but I am thinking excessive energy would drive her a little batty. We considered taking her to the humane society but she would be so excited trying to get people to pet her that she would just ignore the dogs. I am thinking of giving up the idea of adopting and looking at purchasing (I usually adopt) a specific breed known for being lower energy. Because we have an adult son with Down syndrome who lives at home, I need a dog that is obedient and listens to me rather than running off to seek the company of the neighbor's dogs. I have been looking for about a year since we have to drive a ways to actually be in contact with the dogs. I like bigger dogs but that probably would not be a good match and female which probably isn't the best match either. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
You could go to petsmart/Petco adoption events where the number of dogs wouldn't be so overwhelming. There would be people there distracting her but you could take her away from the store to walk with other dogs one at a time, away from the confusion, to get a better idea of how they're hitting it off.
given your looking for a good match for your child with downs id avoid lab and lab mixes under 3 yrs old, labs tend to be in the "puppy stage" untill about 3 yrs old, after that they do tend to calm down.
a golden over 2 yrs old might be another good choice.
a sheperd or shep mix.
id avoid the terrier group completly, while often smaller in size they make up for it in big personality and i dont think a terrier personality would match well with the chow mix or your little one.
the same goes for the hound group, they tend to be very indepednant and might not be a good mix (they also tend to be a little stubborn)
some of the spaniels might work...cockers seem to have a bad rep here in the usa, probably from bad breeding, but i, my brother and sister grew up wiht english cockers and they are supposed to be happy go lucky sweet natured dogs, and ours always were.
if you were going the breeder route id suggest a rotty from a wonderfull breeder, but im not so sure id go that route if your planning on doing a rescue...(check out redyre.com she has amazing dogs)
id probably avoid anything in the toy group, again little dogs with big personaities and fairly breakable might not do too well with a chow mix and a child.
i think though given your current dog and child, id look for a slightly older sheperd mix, 2+ yrs old, preferably with at least some obedience training and socilization (also look into good breeders they often have older dogs that didnt make the show ring, but are otherwise wonderful dogs looking for good famiy homes)
go with male (chows can be prone to same sex agression, and maes in general tend to be a little mellower as they mature)
How about a breed specific rescue, ie golden retriever rescue or grayhound rescue or shepherd rescue or...whatever you think would be a good fit for your family.
Some of them do take mixed breeds if the predominant breed seems to be what they specialize in.
There are also "all breed" rescues that include mixed breeds...often their adoption requirements are not as strict and there is less red tape when working with these groups as opposed to many breed specific rescues.
I agree with those who said look for a dog who is past the wild puppy stage.
Whatever you decide I would also advise going with a male since you already have a female who is possibly a chow mix.
Usually if you go to a shelter or a rescue they make you bring your current dog along to make sure the dog you choose gets along with it. Even within a breed there can be a lot of variation so the best thing to do is actually have the dogs meet.
I agree with looking at rescues, especially the PetsMart, etc. ones that aren't at the shelter. The shelter environment is indeed stressful. However, a majority of shelter dogs (where I live at least) are young, high-energy adolescents. People surrender them because they don't know how to handle or train them. So you might not find what you're looking for at a shelter.
Foxy has good advice (as usual.) When at the shelter, I'd look at older (4-5 years) dogs. They're more likely to be past that hyper teenage phase. Another option might be to look for an older dog from a breeder. Often they have retired show or breeding dogs that go to pet homes, or young dogs, past the puppy stage, that they kept as show prospects but ended up not being show quality. A family member of mine got a wonderful, calm, sweet 18 month old Lab this way. Often breeders will know of dogs in private rescue also.
Basset hounds are very low energy. Sweet dogs too.
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