[Abyss]

Actually Cause, if you want a dog that will require you to get up and move, a lot, may i suggest the Caucasian Ovcharka.

Go ahead... google them...

[Vengeance]

If you are going to go that route get a Leonberger. One of my neighbors has one and it is the largest sweetest dog.

Any dog will need at the minimum 2 walks a day and then longer walks on the weekend.

[amphibian]

Leonbergers are terrific dogs.

Do not get a bulldog unless you can set fire to several thousand dollars in medical bills later in its life. Currently dealing with a sweet yet very fucked up bulldog that has six separate medical issues right now, two of which are going to be fatal within a couple months. Bulldogs are sweet, but just about every breeder has ensured the dogs will suffer horrible things in their lives. My SO rescued this one from a shelter ten years ago and is very attached to it, but it's so much work and money now that it's extremely stressful for us.

So avoid the small/medium hounds, consider a leonberger, do not get a Weimaraner unless you want to be joined at the hip by a slightly dim canine, and you gonna be walking more than two short ones a day.

[Aptorian]

I love that you guys are suggesting Cause get a dog that is about the size of a small pony and probably eats a couple tons of kibble a year.

[Abyss]

Gross generalisation, but typically bigger dogs require less attention and exercise than the 'medium' size breeds and are less aggressive loud irritating needy rats-in-dogs-clothing something than the small breeds.
Tho big dogs still require 2+ walks plus attention and exercise daily.

[Cause]

Chihuahua/Yorkie is rat size

Poodle is small

Beagle is medium

Labrador is large size

Leonberger are xxl

I don't want to give the impression I won't walk my dog. I just don't want a breed that is hyperactive or will destroy things if it misses one walk or doesn't get 5 in a day. It will have a pretty decent garden and house to roam in Otherwise.

I love dogs. I want one. I want to throw the ball. Throw it again. Give belly rubs. Take it swimming if it likes it. Then throw the ball. Give it a treat because it's a good boy! Even though it might be a girl! Give belly rub. Repeat forever.

[worry]

[Stormcat]

German Shepherd. Hands down. Little dogs are cute but they are notoriously stubborn and kind of stupid. I have two big dogs and a little dog. The big dogs taught themselves to potty outside and would burst their bladders before going in the house. The little dog, no matter what I do... he can walk two miles and will come home and piss on something. Drives me crazy.

[amphibian]

Apt, on 10 April 2017 - 05:26 PM, said:

I love that you guys are suggesting Cause get a dog that is about the size of a small pony and probably eats a couple tons of kibble a year.

Small dogs are much higher maintenance than you'd think and need more frequent trips outdoors on top of mostly being barky and not well trained or bred. Plus dog feed costs are not high, even for a big dog.

I will say that I know people who've bought a purebred great Dane and another who got a purebred large mastiff from bad breeders. The Dane needed internal gut surgery in order to live and the mastiff had to have elbow surgery to even bend its front legs, as well as several other health issues.

Getting a large mutt is probably the best course of action for health and cost reasons, so if you can find one with leonberger blood in it, it'll go well. My SO's mother did this and the dog is perfect for her in a situation similar to Cause's, although she can often work from home.

[EmperorMagus]

amphibian, on 10 April 2017 - 08:09 PM, said:

Apt, on 10 April 2017 - 05:26 PM, said:

I love that you guys are suggesting Cause get a dog that is about the size of a small pony and probably eats a couple tons of kibble a year.

Small dogs are much higher maintenance than you'd think and need more frequent trips outdoors on top of mostly being barky and not well trained or bred. Plus dog feed costs are not high, even for a big dog.

I will say that I know people who've bought a purebred great Dane and another who got a purebred large mastiff from bad breeders. The Dane needed internal gut surgery in order to live and the mastiff had to have elbow surgery to even bend its front legs, as well as several other health issues.

Getting a large mutt is probably the best course of action for health and cost reasons, so if you can find one with leonberger blood in it, it'll go well. My SO's mother did this and the dog is perfect for her in a situation similar to Cause's, although she can often work from home.

I'm not knowledgeable about dogs so correct my if I'm wrong, but from your posts I'm getting the idea that people pay a shit ton of money for purebreed dogs (I know purebreed cats cost a fortune) in order to have animals that are likely to be sick all their lives and die early?

Like ... why?

[worry]

Are you familiar with the works of Thorstein Veblen?

[EmperorMagus]

worry, on 10 April 2017 - 09:19 PM, said:

Are you familiar with the works of Thorstein Veblen?

No, not really.

I mean I did a quick wikipedia search to read his entry upon seeing the name but that's it...

Although I can already envision his response (and probably the response) to my question:

capitalism

[amphibian]

EmperorMagus, on 10 April 2017 - 08:59 PM, said:

I'm not knowledgeable about dogs so correct my if I'm wrong, but from your posts I'm getting the idea that people pay a shit ton of money for purebreed dogs (I know purebreed cats cost a fortune) in order to have animals that are likely to be sick all their lives and die early?

Like ... why?

Most of it is the results of a chase after some specific visual thing. The smushed-in snout of bulldogs/pugs gives them late life breathing problems. The slanted downwards back of a German Shepherd gives them hip problems. Great Danes are so big and skinny that they get "gastric torsion", which is when their stomach gets all twisted up and kills them if they don't get immediate surgery. The list of maladies purebreds can have goes on and on in horrible ways.

The root cause is that the shitty breeder (which is most of them because dog breeding isn't a widely regulated thing) gets that visual thing they're looking for and all the other delayed onset problems caused by frequent inbreeding and non-selecting of the healthy ones only. Some of the breeders offload their "failures" onto shelters, where they get adopted or get lucky by selling them to people who don't know any better. There's sometimes a "fix" in getting a dog from a registered breeder - although the integrity of the organization certifies which breeder can be a crapshoot - but there's often a price increase associated with that.

Mutts are cheaper and usually healthy (although some of them can rack up veterinarian bills with the best of the sickly purebreds too).

I will say that I know a person with a very expensive purebred sphinx cat and another person with a very expensive pharoah hound and neither have had health issues (cat has been healthy for 10 years and the dog for 5+ years). So breeders can be good. But they're also usually correspondingly expensive.

[Vengeance]

I had several akita's growing up. Very smart and like to hang out also needed to be taken for long walks. I would ride my bike for 5 mile and take him for a run once or twice a week. On top of the daily walks.

[Morgoth]

As Amphibian said, if you buy a purebred dog it's very important to be aware of their pedigree. To know that their parents and grandparents didn't suffer from the main illnesses associated with the breed. In the case of Irish Setters for instance (which I do not suggest you get mind you, it was a joke if that wasn't obvious) hip dysplasia is the main cause of suffering, and it's hereditary.

[Cause]

You guys don't seem to agree on anything.

Yeah I def know to avoid some problem dogs. And will try be carefull. Wouldn't want a bulldog because I know there whole skull structure is messed up and they suffer.

[WinterPhoenix]

Always wanted a Great Dane, they have always been my favourite dogs, even though I've only seen a couple in real life. I was sort of peripherally aware of all the problems that can happen with purebreeds, but it was quite informative reading this thread, thanks guys. It'll be years before I can get a dog of my own I imagine, living situation and money will be issues for some time to come, but damn do I wanna get a Great Dane someday, like seriously I can't look at pictures of them any more, I get sad I don't have one.

That Caucasian Shepherd dog looked incredible, led to me spending abut 20 minutes looking at different giant dog breeds. Saw one I'd never seen before, a Komondor, or 'mop' dog, it needs to be seen to be believed, awesome on so many levels.

I'm not much help in what you should go for though Cause, though from my limited experience I think it's true that smaller dogs tend to be very yappy, harder to train and require more attention, this is of course a generalisation and my own experience based on friends and family is really too small a sample. Personally I'd rather go for a cat than anything too small. We always had dogs (and cats actually) growing up, but they were generally on the larger side, a Boxer, a Greyhound, we moved alot when I was younger though so we had to rehome a few pets. Our one long time family dog, Kane, was a Staff, the loveliest dog ever, wouldn't hurt a fly. He died a couple of years ago now, we had him for just over 15 years, which is a little bit longer than the average lifespan. Was so sad when he died, my dad was genuinely inconsolable.

[LadyMTL]

Vengeance, on 10 April 2017 - 11:50 PM, said:

I had several akita's growing up. Very smart and like to hang out also needed to be taken for long walks. I would ride my bike for 5 mile and take him for a run once or twice a week. On top of the daily walks.

Oh, I am jealous! Akita is my favorite breed, I've been wanting to get one for years - I even have names picked out and everything - but I know that it wouldn't be a good match for me, at least not right now. Heck, it's been almost a year and a half since my cat died and I'm still debating getting another one, let alone a dog.

Cause, at the end of the day I think you basically need to research the breeds that interest you and then speak to a reputable breeder in your area. There are tons of medium sized breeds out there and if you do have a nice back yard and have had dogs before, I don't see why you would have any major concerns. Heck, start with a good perusal of the AKC website and go from there, or unleash the power of Google!

http://iheartdogs.co...per-dog-breeds/

http://www.dogguide....-small-dogs.php

This post has been edited by LadyMTL: 11 April 2017 - 11:16 AM

[Abyss]

Cause, on 11 April 2017 - 08:06 AM, said:

You guys don't seem to agree on anything.

Cats. We all agree on cats.

[amphibian]

Cause, on 09 April 2017 - 10:56 PM, said:

Allergic to cats!

Why is nobody reading that he's allergic to cats? This dang board exists because we supposedly have really good reading comprehension.