So, I am on the hunt for a doggie. I have a cat and I have always wanted a dog could never have one where I lived. I will not buy from a breeder or a petstore I want a shelter or rescue dog. The thing is DH has had dogs his whole life but, I have never had one. Do you think it is better to get a older dog say 2 or 3 years old or am I better off with a pup?
Browneyesncute
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Re: Girls with doggies
hmmm thats hard to say, I think it really depends on the nature of the dog, we have had shelter dogs for years and sometimes an older dog can be set in there ways and hard to train, or it can go the other way and they are so grateful that they make the best dogs!!!
i think you should look at both ages and see what you click with best.
sorry if i was no help lol
Snick n Nick
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Re: Girls with doggies
Do you have a lot of time to spend with the Puppy, like going home for walkings mid-day and such? If not you may be better off with a dog that's a little older, but it may have baggage....DH's mom has a dog from a shelter and she LOVES 'her people' (MIL & FIL, SIL, BIL, DH, me...) but is deathly afraid of strangers and other dogs....she had a bit of a rough puppy-hood. She is a very happy dog now in her everyday life, and is much loved, but I think you just need to be prepared that the doggie may have something bad in its past that you will need to help it overcome
MikeandJess
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Re: Girls with doggies
IMO I think it's better to go with an older dog but it really depends on the dog. My reasoning is that you can find an older dog that is already house trained and spayed and then you've got it made. When we got our puppy I cried everyday because of the stress. I always tell DH that if we ever got a 2nd dog it won't be a puppy
shcole08
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Re: Girls with doggies
yes that is what i am scared of. I work in the city so i cant go home to walk the dog. I was going to crate train him especially since my cat might attack him. But, i heard shelter pups are used to pooping in the crate cause that is the only thing they know so that might be hard.
jessnstu08
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Re: Girls with doggies
I would go for a shelter dog in your situation. You would have to see how they interact with other animals ( the shelter should know) . Your cat my freak out though too... I moved home with my dog for a little under a year and my dad had three cats, and one cat HATED my dog with a passion , they would fight constantly ( my dog is smaller then the cat ) it was bad.
I had a shelter dog for awhile, he was a good boy who never went in the house but he had his moments ( food agression ect) and when i broke up with my ex i let him keep him since the dog liked him better anyway and he was a pit bull .
Has your cat ever been around dogs ? plus if you get a bigger dog you might want to section of a room for him/her instead of a crate so the dog has room. A lot of older dogs are house trained already , so they won't poop everywhere.
Joette_Terese
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Re: Girls with doggies
Posted by shcole08
So, I am on the hunt for a doggie. I have a cat and I have always wanted a dog could never have one where I lived. I will not buy from a breeder or a petstore I want a shelter or rescue dog. The thing is DH has had dogs his whole life but, I have never had one. Do you think it is better to get a older dog say 2 or 3 years old or am I better off with a pup?
Be sure that if you go with an older dog that it is good with cats. In this sense, a puppy may be easier. However, the dog my parents adopted from Kimbalina's uncle is great with cats and he's 6.
Personally I think adopting an older dog is great as fewer people want them.
MikeandJess
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Re: Girls with doggies
Posted by shcole08
yes that is what i am scared of. I work in the city so i cant go home to walk the dog. I was going to crate train him especially since my cat might attack him. But, i heard shelter pups are used to pooping in the crate cause that is the only thing they know so that might be hard.
It depends on how long they've been at the shelter. Some shelter pups have come from good homes but for whatever reason, the owner had to give up the dog. It shouldn't be too hard to get them back into a daily schedule where they learn to not go to the bathroom in the house. If you get a young puppy, they were most likely never trained at all so it'll be a little harder. It's hard because all dogs are different so you don't really know how they'll behave
shcole08
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Re: Girls with doggies
well i would like to section him off but, im afraid my cat is going to like climb over the gate and attack the dog or something. The cat has never been around a dog I showed him the downstairs neighbors dog but that dog was smaller than him so he hissed maybe if the dog is bigger he will back off.
08JulyBride
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Re: Girls with doggies
If you can't get home for mid-day walks, I would recommend NOT getting a puppy, as they need LOTS of attention and training.
I had been looking into adopting a shelter dog as well recently but a major stipulation for me was that it needed to be good with kids since I have little nieces and we plan to have kids in the next few years... I had a really hard time finding any, though I know they're out there. Most ads said 'home without kids please'.
I ended up adopting a little dog that needed a home off craigslist last month & I couldn't be happier! The family just couldn't keep her anymore. I am a huge supporter of adopting shelter dogs as opposed to 'buying', but for my situation, I needed to know the history for aggression purposes. My last dog was a shelter dog and was a fear biter and I never would have been able to have trusted him around kids. (he died suddenly at age 7 last year).
So whether you adopt from a shelter, or from a family on craigslist, etc.. just make sure you have some history or accurate info on the dogs personality since you have a cat and if you plan to have kids.
sorry, this was longer than I anticipated..
bettybcafe82
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Re: Girls with doggies
That is a great question! I have two dogs (small) one is 4yrs and the other 3 yrs. I got them when they were 2mths old. THEY WERE A LOT OF WORK! I was stuck on getting puppies I refused to get an older dog. Im glad I had my mom and sis to help me because they require lots of supervision. Its seriously like having to care for a young baby. They get into everything and pee every where! and you cant go out and have fun (if you live alone) because you have to care and feed them. If I were to get another dog now (it being just me and DH) I would get an older dog. They are less work and more calm. Dont get me wrong..I wouldnt change my decision for anything..but I am def. more open to getting an older dog now then I was 4yrs again. Now, my dogs are calm, trained and relaxed. :)
bettybcafe82
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Re: Girls with doggies
ETA: My sis adopted a german shep/rotti mix she was about 10mths old..still a puppy but a bit older then 2mths...and she is perfect! she was already trained and very calm. It also depends on what breed you are looking into getting. HTH
shcole08
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Re: Girls with doggies
thanks! I have been researching breeds to see what is best for me. I figure a year old maybe good because they aren't babies but, still considered pups. I filled out a few applications I don't want to go through North Shore because i want to make sure the people there know the dogs and if we are a right fit for each other.
