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My big advice for cats is to either work with a rescue that can tell you that a dog has been cat proofed or start with a puppy. And, generally avoid continental pointing breeds (German Wirehair Pointers, GSP's, Weimariners...)
For you, I think you'd be a good fit with a medium terrier of sorts...Alert, working, but generally friendly, healthy and scrappy dogs.
Well, that is my current line of thinking, get a puppy and let the cats lay down the line to it. Who knows, I may finally have "one big happy cat family" if they team up because of the dog.
So what is "a medium terrier of sorts" (a tartar missile? sorry, couldn't resist).
As far as what I am looking for, think I am looking for, is a aussie shepherd size dog, large enough not to be bird of prey bait, small enough for my bed....or the cab of my truck. There are other considerations to my desires such as having the 10 acres, having the 2000+ sq ft house (both which I am finding it increasingly hard to leave when I don't HAVE to be elsewhere), a shift in my desire for companionship, a sizeable presence in the house in case someone decides to force something, .... and the ways I've been programmed over the decades. IE, https://i.pinimg.com/236x/b1/26/40/b...son-angels.jpg
.....but, mind you, I am not leaning toward long hairs too much for this is Texas....though one of my former students told me that his Husky does fine in this state, loves the water, of course......
........which is another thing to Project: DOG in my case which is to start having stock tanks around.
Since I will only do shelters, I am not looking for pure breeds but some breeds are probably better than others for what I have in mind. Unfortunately, better all down the line is not necessarily the case for most for I do have my concerns of health problems over the years as well.
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Originally Posted by OttoR
Holy crap - I just went through 20 pages of the center's available dogs and didn't see a one I would even consider. I see why they're giving them away. There are only a few I'd consider as safe pet options and they are geriatric! I would decide on a breed and go through a reputable breed specific rescue. I'd suggest a Wheaten but you'll have to wait a long time to get your hands on one of those. Actually, most of the desirable dog breeds will require patience to get. What about a brittney?https://brittanyrescueintexas.org/grady/ . Or a Springer spaniel? Judd is cute and is in Dallas -http://springerrescue.org/dogdocs/regions/available.php?reg=W . Beans is cute too but unfortunately, she is saddled with her pup as a "bonded pair" (totally stupid!) . "The Boss" is only 9 months old and he is in Austin. Unfortunately, his tail wasn't docked, but if that doesn't matter to you, he is sure cute. English Springer Rescue America . (scroll down for Tx)
REALLY? You can go on line and look at what they have to offer? Who would have thought!
The thing is that despite this being the "modern internet era", some of us look at pet adopting in the old ways, say a decade or two back which is the last time we went out looking for a new pet. When Mom lost her dog, we went out looking for the next, the one I inherited, by driving around to all the shelters in the area......a practice we continued in the first decade of this century with her next dog.
My parents started having two dogs at home always because they never wanted to come home to an empty house.
So A and B. A: Realize the time lag in appreciation of technology when it comes to pet searching. B: State the obvious.
All that said, I am trying to approach this weekend prepared, have a few breed books to tote around with me to research on the spot. I know the odds of a perfect match, of finding exactly what I desire is not likely. I am also approaching it from my Fatalist outlook that if I don't find what I want, it wasn't meant to be and to try another day.......but that, in this sphere, would be hard to realize, conclude.
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Originally Posted by Dashdog
I would say rather then just considering a specific breed go to the shelter and meet some of the dogs as there may be a dog or puppy that you meet and you feel that dog could be your new best friend or what you are calling your house dog. Some of the herding mixes are great pets. Back in this thread I posted a photo of my Chaos who is a herding dog mix but she really does not have the drive and she is a wonderful companion dog and she does not require endless hours of exercise. She enjoys playing, is a happy, friendly, loves to please me so is a well behaved dog. I know plenty of Aussies that really do not have the drive it takes to be a good herding dog thus are quite happy being companions.
Good advice. The thing I am mostly looking at when considering breeds is what they will grow up into such as coat size, intelligence, and health problems. I think, in the latter, I am more acceptable to deafness/blindness than hip problems.
More my friend and less my house dog because.....being alone SUCKS!
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When I volunteered a week at Best Friends there were dogs I spent time with that were not breeds I had ever considered but after spending time with the individual dog had I been looking for a new dog at the time I would have happily taken home with me as that individual dog would have fit my life .
That sounds like me at parties!
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Growing up the dogs my family had either were shelter dogs, or strays that showed up and we were unable to find their owners and I can not think of a bad one in the group, as we had some great dogs.
My family was like that, sort of. At first, I guess because of influences of the generation before them, there were pure breed dogs around the house. Then when my parents were in retirement, the dogs were pound and shelter dogs. Strays we would gladly accept, set them up with bedding, food, water in the garage, and always we found their owners. My philosophy here on the ranch has been that we (ie, the cats and me) will have a dog when the Angels send us one. That is, if a stray finds the ranch and we can't find his home, we will keep him.
Well, I am not getting any younger in years, so I have realized that I need to reconsider that a little....and maybe the Angels are suggesting with the affair this weekend that it is time.
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I have nothing against purebred dogs from good breeders as one of mine is such a dog but every other dog I have had has been a rescue or shelter dog and just like the dogs I grew up with. I have been happy with them. One puppy was a difficult dog with issues but hard work and she became my once in a life time dog and I am thankful I had the chance to spend 14.5 yrs with her in my life.
Mom's philosophy when we said good bye to a pet was to immediately go out and find the next one for there are always those out there who need love. Hence, we went to the shelters.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 08-16-2018 at 08:14 AM..
You keep asking for breed recomendations, yet you won't get a dog anyplace but a shelter.
Then you talk about wanting specific size, coat, temperament, yet you won't get a dog anyplace but a shelter.
Your chances of getting a healthy sane purebred puppy from a shelter are just about zip.
From a shelter, you will get a mystery mixed breed with an unknown background and not a clue about how it was raised or the health and temperament of both parents.
There are some great dogs in shelters, but if you are set on a shelter dog, what is the point of all the breed research? You wouldn't get a purebred. The shelter doesnt know what the mix is; they are just guessing. The people who dumped an unwanted litter of pups at the shelter don't know what the mix is. You won't know what the mix is.
You can get a good dog from the shelter, but if you want a puppy where you know what size it will be, what coat it will have, what breed characteristics it is likely to have, then you need to buy a purebred from an ethical show and hobby ( or working line) breeder. That's the whole point of purebred dogs, to know what you are getting.
Mystery mutts from the shelter are just that. They are a mystery. Most can be trained to be good dogs, but they aren't going to meet a laundry list of everything your dog should be.
If you want a dog from a shelter, go in and look for your personality match. Just get the one that appeals to you.
You keep asking for breed recomendations, yet you won't get a dog anyplace but a shelter.
Then you talk about wanting specific size, coat, temperament, yet you won't get a dog anyplace but a shelter.
Your chances of getting a healthy sane purebred puppy from a shelter are just about zip.
From a shelter, you will get a mystery mixed breed with an unknown background and not a clue about how it was raised or the health and temperament of both parents.
There are some great dogs in shelters, but if you are set on a shelter dog, what is the point of all the breed research? You wouldn't get a purebred. The shelter doesnt know what the mix is; they are just guessing. The people who dumped an unwanted litter of pups at the shelter don't know what the mix is. You won't know what the mix is.
You can get a good dog from the shelter, but if you want a puppy where you know what size it will be, what coat it will have, what breed characteristics it is likely to have, then you need to buy a purebred from an ethical show and hobby ( or working line) breeder. That's the whole point of purebred dogs, to know what you are getting.
Mystery mutts from the shelter are just that. They are a mystery. Most can be trained to be good dogs, but they aren't going to meet a laundry list of everything your dog should be.
If you want a dog from a shelter, go in and look for your personality match. Just get the one that appeals to you.
Well, the calculation shifted this evening. It has now been decided to focus on an older dog, say 9 months or there abouts. The primary reason for a puppy was for the protection of the cats......but the cats have a demonstrated history of laying down the law with an older dog already, so with that reason neutralized, an older dog moves into place in the "equation".
If such is there this weekend (need to start visiting shelters sometime), so be it, if not, then the research will continue.
As far as only visiting shelters, that is the way I have been raised.
Well, the calculation shifted this evening. It has now been decided to focus on an older dog, say 9 months or there abouts. The primary reason for a puppy was for the protection of the cats......but the cats have a demonstrated history of laying down the law with an older dog already, so with that reason neutralized, an older dog moves into place in the "equation".
If such is there this weekend (need to start visiting shelters sometime), so be it, if not, then the research will continue.
As far as only visiting shelters, that is the way I have been raised.
My sons have all been raised with purebred dogs - I hope that sticks with them too! One has a mix that got dumped at their place as a puppy but I know for his next dog he wants a GSP he can hunt with and has already asked me about good breeders for when the time comes. The other is thinking about a Corgi for him and his gf (she loves that breed) but they can’t afford one yet. They’ve seen some of my fosters at first and I think that was enough to put them off ever buying a secondhand dog! It’s funny though, growing up we always had somebody else’s unwanted dog. We only got one from the pound after we moved to a town; all the rest were strays/dumped dogs. Any dog that showed up usually got a chance unless it growled as us or went after livestock or chickens, in which case it caught lead poisoning. My mom has a house full of dogs still gotten the same way. That never stuck with me though. My whole life as a kid I wanted a “fancy” dog (meaning purebred) and used to read dog books and Dog Fancy. My cousin had a Poodle and I was so green with envy over her dog. Once I became an adult and could choose and buy my own dogs, I’ve only had beautiful purebreds. I did used to foster for years but got out of that, mainly because breed specific rescues have more volunteers than available dogs and the other have mainly one breed or mix thereof and I refuse to support those in any way.
My sons have all been raised with purebred dogs - I hope that sticks with them too! One has a mix that got dumped at their place as a puppy but I know for his next dog he wants a GSP he can hunt with and has already asked me about good breeders for when the time comes. The other is thinking about a Corgi for him and his gf (she loves that breed) but they can’t afford one yet. They’ve seen some of my fosters at first and I think that was enough to put them off ever buying a secondhand dog! It’s funny though, growing up we always had somebody else’s unwanted dog. We only got one from the pound after we moved to a town; all the rest were strays/dumped dogs. Any dog that showed up usually got a chance unless it growled as us or went after livestock or chickens, in which case it caught lead poisoning. My mom has a house full of dogs still gotten the same way. That never stuck with me though. My whole life as a kid I wanted a “fancy” dog (meaning purebred) and used to read dog books and Dog Fancy. My cousin had a Poodle and I was so green with envy over her dog. Once I became an adult and could choose and buy my own dogs, I’ve only had beautiful purebreds. I did used to foster for years but got out of that, mainly because breed specific rescues have more volunteers than available dogs and the other have mainly one breed or mix thereof and I refuse to support those in any way.
That's very funny - "fancy" dog. When I was growing up my dad came home with a Scotch collie pup he had paid $50 for. We didn't even know what to say - it was so uncharacteristic of that time and place we thought he'd lost his mind. I think he had wanted a "fancy" dog.
Ok. Since it's been a couple years since you started the thread, you may want to update us on your current thinking about priorities. We've talked about farm dogs, herding dogs, livestock guardian dogs, shelter dogs, and purebred dogs. And I guess terriers have been brought into the conversation. In addition to figuring out what you WANT, you might do well to be clear about what you don't want.
BTW, just an FYI, I used to go to pounds and shelters to adopt dogs - just like you say you were raised. I was raised that way. But it ain't the same anymore. What with the large cultural focus on rescues, you don't find the variety of dogs in a big pound that you used to. You might still find a useful dog, but your chances of that are smaller.
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