Help me pick out a dog...

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Lab, Border Collie, Australian Cattle Dog....mixes from local shelter

With mixes you're more likely to be able to stay within your desired weight range. Adopt a well tested adult dog and s/he'll probably already be house trained. Just be prepared to have to train out the separation anxiety when you're away at work.

doesn't shed

LOL, good luck with that.

without a fence the herding dogs are bad choices save for those willing to spend a good 2 hours exercising their dog.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: IGBT
many of the local shelters are full of pitbulls. people realize the litigation hazard and get rid of em. check with your homeowner insurance co. to see if they list high litigation risk dogs in their language (Allstate). Don't end up with dog that will raise your rates.

Yeah that's the bullshit of various factions - insurance, HOAs, other shared communities like apartments, and rentals.
They go off the naive media outlets to determine what breeds cannot be allowed.

Any breed, in the hands of the terrible owner, can be just as aggressive as the media popular breeds. Pit Bulls in the hands of a good owner, can be just as family-friendly as a lab or retriever, the two most commonly seen as docile family dogs.

I have a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix, who at times will show signs of complete loyalty and submission, or be head-strong and show signs of wanting to be the alpha-female. We've raised her from a pup, got her from family that has a farm when she was 8 weeks old.
If we slacked, she'd probably be pretty fierce - she's had times where she already does this at times. Tell you what though, we allow you in the house, she'll likely bark for awhile unless you're good with dogs, and then she'll slowly grow welcome to your presence. Anyone she knows well enough she welcomes the same way she welcomes us. But in the end, if you come into the house and she doesn't like you, and we didn't let you in ?... nobody's coming into our house. Not sure if she'll bite, but her actions, aggressive stance (looks like a damn lion, her neck and back fur stand), and loudness - you're gonna leave I'd reckon.

 

[SoulAssassin]

My buddies has two boxers, they are 60+ lbs each, 5+ years old and still energetic as hell, drool everywhere and are dumb as rocks. Definitely don't want a boxer.

Wikipedia shows female dobes as 60-90lbs which even on the small end is bigger than I want.

 

[Mide]

Rottie/Shepard mix

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I like Dobes but I think they are a little bigger than I want. I read up on miniature ones and they seemed like a good fit but the wikipedia article makes it seem like they are on red bull all the time and require a ridiculous amount of exercise. Says something about daily walks not being enough exercise. I plan on walking the dog and playing with it, etc but it sounds like they need a real yard to run in.

Boston Terriers, as well as English Bulldogs, are in the 'maybe' pile. The bulldog seems like a good fit but I hear they have a lot of health problems and are kinda dumb.

'dumb' doesn't mean untrainable. Almost any dog will pick up the basic commands.

The intelligent dogs just expand that 'vocabulary' and react faster to a command at first iteration.

A boston terrier or french bulldog is a man's dog and a great companion. They can have high energy levels.

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: nerdress
Vizsla!

great dog, but it needs a lot of exercise.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: Gibsons
Look for a poodle (standard, not toy) or mix at the shelter. Poodles don't shed and are usually smart.

For lack of better words I don't want anything gay

Standard poodles aren't ankle-biters, can make good watchdogs.

 

[JDub02]

schnauzer

they're masculine (they have a beard!), very intelligent, don't bark alot, don't shed at all, great guard dogs, and can be really funny

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
A boston terrier [...] is a man's dog.

Does not compute...

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Lab, Border Collie, Australian Cattle Dog....mixes from local shelter

With mixes you're more likely to be able to stay within your desired weight range. Adopt a well tested adult dog and s/he'll probably already be house trained. Just be prepared to have to train out the separation anxiety when you're away at work.

doesn't shed

LOL, good luck with that.

without a fence the herding dogs are bad choices save for those willing to spend a good 2 hours exercising their dog.

yep. Our Lab/Aussie mix needs our fenced yard. And regardless, also craves a roomy home. Our dog runs laps around our living room and dining room table. :laugh:

 

[Perknose]

Poodles, standard (full) size or otherwise, are highly intelligent and extremely tractable dogs.

Don't be misled by the frou-frou female poodle owners. I've known poodles with sane owners that were just as cool as could be, and if you're worried about your image, OP, there's no law saying you HAVE to get their coat cut into that pepe le poodle 'do' -- just let it grow, let it grow, let it grow.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: IGBT
many of the local shelters are full of pitbulls. people realize the litigation hazard and get rid of em. check with your homeowner insurance co. to see if they list high litigation risk dogs in their language (Allstate). Don't end up with dog that will raise your rates.

Yeah that's the bullshit of various factions - insurance, HOAs, other shared communities like apartments, and rentals.
They go off the naive media outlets to determine what breeds cannot be allowed.

Any breed, in the hands of the terrible owner, can be just as aggressive as the media popular breeds. Pit Bulls in the hands of a good owner, can be just as family-friendly as a lab or retriever, the two most commonly seen as docile family dogs.

I have a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix, who at times will show signs of complete loyalty and submission, or be head-strong and show signs of wanting to be the alpha-female. We've raised her from a pup, got her from family that has a farm when she was 8 weeks old.
If we slacked, she'd probably be pretty fierce - she's had times where she already does this at times. Tell you what though, we allow you in the house, she'll likely bark for awhile unless you're good with dogs, and then she'll slowly grow welcome to your presence. Anyone she knows well enough she welcomes the same way she welcomes us. But in the end, if you come into the house and she doesn't like you, and we didn't let you in ?... nobody's coming into our house. Not sure if she'll bite, but her actions, aggressive stance (looks like a damn lion, her neck and back fur stand), and loudness - you're gonna leave I'd reckon.

the world has changed. we now live in a litigious predatory inviroment. Insurance co. know this and reflect that risk in policy language and enhanced rates or cancelled policies if they discover an undeclared risk. Based on accumulated stats over decades of observation and claims against homeowner policies, some breeds are clearly higher risk then others. And that risk is now reflected in policy language.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: IGBT
many of the local shelters are full of pitbulls. people realize the litigation hazard and get rid of em. check with your homeowner insurance co. to see if they list high litigation risk dogs in their language (Allstate). Don't end up with dog that will raise your rates.

Yeah that's the bullshit of various factions - insurance, HOAs, other shared communities like apartments, and rentals.
They go off the naive media outlets to determine what breeds cannot be allowed.

They use actuaries - guys who can do the math. Guys who figure out that heyyyyyy, the little chihuahua is 3 times as likely to bite someone as a pitbull, but a pitbull attack costs our firm 40 times more money. Statistics determine which dogs, not hype. If chihuahua attacks were costing the insurance companies a lot of money, you can bet your ass that they would do something about it. I know several nice, friendly pitbulls. I've been around one particular pitbull dozens, if not hundreds of times. But, as friendly as it is, and as family oriented as it is, and raised by a good family - I'd rather be attacked by 20 chihuahuas than that 1 pitbull.

I know it's an ATOT tradition for people to post more news stories about pitbull attacks & have people crawl out of the woodwork to claim it's the particular owner's fault, but christ, can't people comprehend statistics? Even if it's the owner's fault, unlike the majority of breeds of animals, they are significantly dangerous as well. Siegfried and Roy had "pet" tigers. They went for years without a problem. Look what happened in the end - did they expect it would happen? No. And, they have expert knowledge of what they were doing, not casual pet owner knowledge.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I like Dobes but I think they are a little bigger than I want. I read up on miniature ones and they seemed like a good fit but the wikipedia article makes it seem like they are on red bull all the time and require a ridiculous amount of exercise. Says something about daily walks not being enough exercise. I plan on walking the dog and playing with it, etc but it sounds like they need a real yard to run in.

They might actually be a little smaller than what you wanted, but definitely are a cool dog. Yard space doesn't need to be that big for them (they're small dogs.)

We just got one about 2 weeks ago. That description is pretty accurate. Two modes: Super-duper-hyper-active and narcolepsy. 10 minutes ago, it was chasing a ball, attacking all 5 kittens one at a time, destroying a toilet paper tube, destroying a paper towel tube, attacking the kittens, BALL!, and attacking the kittens. Now, he's sound asleep.

I wish I had video of this though: he pounced on one kitten, the same size he is, the kitten rolled over onto its back submissively, he looked at it for a moment, grabbed it by the junk and flung it around in circles. RARRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRR!!! But guess who is Mr. Submissive puppy when the BIG dogs come in the house to visit... lol. I don't think our Great Pyrenese has even figured out that he's a dog yet - she's never seen one so small, not even a puppy.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I like Dobes but I think they are a little bigger than I want. I read up on miniature ones and they seemed like a good fit but the wikipedia article makes it seem like they are on red bull all the time and require a ridiculous amount of exercise. Says something about daily walks not being enough exercise. I plan on walking the dog and playing with it, etc but it sounds like they need a real yard to run in.

They might actually be a little smaller than what you wanted, but definitely are a cool dog. Yard space doesn't need to be that big for them (they're small dogs.)

We just got one about 2 weeks ago. That description is pretty accurate. Two modes: Super-duper-hyper-active and narcolepsy. 10 minutes ago, it was chasing a ball, attacking all 5 kittens one at a time, destroying a toilet paper tube, destroying a paper towel tube, attacking the kittens, BALL!, and attacking the kittens. Now, he's sound asleep.

I wish I had video of this though: he pounced on one kitten, the same size he is, the kitten rolled over onto its back submissively, he looked at it for a moment, grabbed it by the junk and flung it around in circles. RARRRRRRRWWWWWRRRRR!!! But guess who is Mr. Submissive puppy when the BIG dogs come in the house to visit... lol. I don't think our Great Pyrenese has even figured out that he's a dog yet - she's never seen one so small, not even a puppy.

You just described my rhodesian ridgeback puppy to a T. Hyper hyper hyper! then passed out like a drunk. It's awesome...he plays non stop with our youngest pug and then collapses. Is still kinda scared with other big dogs at the dog park, but he's getting better. He's not quite 50 pounds yet though, and will be 4 months next week.

 

[Oceandevi]

Originally posted by: dougp
Get a Basenji ...

Don't be mean.

 

[Quasmo]

Get a German Shorthaired Pointer. They are awesome. I had never seen one until I met my fiancee, but this dog is awesome. It's incredibly smart playful and loyal. They're mostly used for bird hunting, but we dont.

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

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Perknose
Spend some time at your local SPCA and your dog, a resilient mutt with the crossbred dominant genes to better resist disease and a deep gratitude that his master has come at last, will pick you.

Definitely this.

KT

 

[SphinxnihpS]

The dog will be inside most of the time? I recommend that you do not get one then, even if it is small.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
The dog will be inside most of the time? I recommend that you do not get one then, even if it is small.

This as well.

KT

 

[Oceandevi]

Or get a water dog. http://www.aquamojo.com/managuense/Jumbo%2090b.jpg

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
The dog will be inside most of the time? I recommend that you do not get one then, even if it is small.

This as well.

KT

How many people can really leave their dog outside all the time? Unless you have a huge fenced in yard it's going to be inside all the time. Many dogs are perfectly happy spending >90% of their time inside and the point of the thread is to help identify them. I'm not saying I'm going to lock it in the basement and not let it see the sun.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: Oceandevi
Or get a water dog. http://www.aquamojo.com/managuense/Jumbo%2090b.jpg

I dunno about that but I think I need a Dogfish or 12 right about now.

 

[TridenT]

Boxer, Border Collie, Golden Retriever, Dalmatian, Siberian Husky(Really pretty I think)... Idk, I like medium to large dogs generally.

 

[DougK62]

Don't laugh...a puggle. They aren't too energetic - a great lap dog. Women will love them, too. I think they're a manly looking dog with their pug-ish build - nice broad shoulders. I got mine on petfinder.com from a place that rescues from puppy mills.