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Did you choose a specific breed of dog?

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Etsy and Instagram are reeeeeaaaally good sources for SD gear/patches :whistling: :angelic:

And I love seeing all the creativity
 
I'm just wondering if you chose a certain type of dog. And why? Or did you just fall in love?
Absolutely chose a specific dog breed. Why? Many people get a dog without much knowledge of dogs, or that breed. This is how a majority of dogs end up abandoned. Owning a dog is literally like having a baby then infant for 15 or so years. Animals, beyond their birth years, are exactly like having an infant. You have to do everything for them. You have to care for them, feed them, pickup after them. They are not going to do any of these things themselves.

Why chose a breed based on your lifestyle and home? All of the above. If anyone is serious about buying a dog, you have to get one based on your capacity to care for it (time and financial), your home style. Whilst there are people who live with big dogs in apartments and such, is it really in the dogs best interest? No. Its not. Big dogs need room, ie. a yard to move within regularly. It is cruel to the animal leaving it alone in a small space if you are sick / go to work daily.

People do it, but its not in the dogs best interest. People are just thinking about themselves doing such things, even when circumstances may not be within their control, they chose a big dog and as such, the responsibilities that come with caring for that dog and what is in that dogs best interest.

We want to get a puppy so we can train him/her as we need to. I'm unsure if we will need a "service dog" (I can't see J taking a SD into a restaurant although stranger things have happened) or just a highly trained "pet".
Service dogs, emotional dogs, all over-rated nonsense unless you are truly disabled and 100% need that dog. Every country and state are different for both variations of these dogs. Service animals can go into food places, emotional dogs not so much. Again though... like you outline, do you really want to take your dog to dinner with you? Or just enjoy your dinner without the hassle? Dogs for comfort and emotional need are still fine, and healthy, to be at home whilst you go do things.

Again, back to the type of animal. If you go away, anywhere, the dog needs to be cared for. If you travel regularly then you need to allocate the expense for care. If you want to take them with you, then what are the rules in your country for travel with dogs, sizes, weight, breed, etc.

When we travel we have to allocate our dogs going into care whilst we are away. If they go with us, dog friendly accommodation is less available than regular accommodation. Often it is more expensive, isolated too, from say within a locations central district.

We're thinking a Labrador but I feel they might be too big because J will want him/her in bed with us to help with his nightmares. (They're considered a medium sized dog.)
This is important. We have cavoodles because they are tiny. We had to change from a queen size bed to king size, just because of the dogs. The breed just does not like being alone. They would rather be on you than beside you. So for bed, they will wait until you go to sleep then get on the bed... so you may as well just accept they will be on the bed. As such... two small dogs take up a whole bunch of room, thus the change in bed size.

This comes into hair type. A dog that sheds is a lot of work to keep your home clean. I mean a lot. Non-shedding dogs still shed a little, and they require daily vacuum let alone a shedding dog. My brother has two small dogs that shed, and OMG... they vacuum multiple times a day with them being inside. They are not aloud on any furniture as their hair sticks to it and is difficult to get off.

You must know your breed and size, then be honest about all these things in having a dog. If you can't honestly do all these things, don't get a dog.

Also, did you choose the sex of your dog? And why?
Yes. Being in an apartment, we wanted females. All dogs pee and poo as puppies in training. You have to prepare for the first six months having that. There is a massive difference between a dog squatting to pee vs spraying against any and every object. Cleaning that is a huge difference. When we have looked after the girls brother, he has sprayed on things the moment he comes into the apartment, putting his scent onto things as the male. Females don't typically do that. It is a male dog behaviour, not female. We rarely have a male dog allowed in our home for this reason, as its just a nightmare cleaning up after them. They want to scent themselves everywhere, and its difficult when you have adult dogs who don't have accidents any more, yet an adult male does it intentionally.

If we have outside dogs, then it would not matter. But because you have inside dogs... we have females, both desexed.

We researched every single breed. Yes... every breed. We looked at each one and obviously, quickly rules a lot out. What was left we then read their traits, behaviour, needs, etc, per dog, based on our lifestyle and living, then creating our short list. We then had a handful of breeds that we scrutinised, narrowing further to a few dogs. It was then personal preference over which we liked best, but all met our lifestyle choices and plans.

We travel many times within a year, and we like to take our dogs with us. Some of our planning is thus done 6 and 9 months ahead, to ensure we have accommodation that suits us with the dogs. When we have to have them cared for, we ensure they have that booked months in advance. You have to be honest about family and friends. People think they are ok with looking after a dog, but when doing do, they get a different reality of what it really takes. You can quickly find yourself without dog carers and thus need to pay for professional care.

We wanted small dogs that can run within an apartment, that are good with a big walk each day, that did not shed hair, that are quiet and didn't destroy stuff. We then had to accept traits of the dogs that we didn't want, but we knew we had to accept, if we wanted those dogs. You won't change those in a dog. Dog traits are pretty firm, so its give and take to find the right one for you.

A Labrador sheds lots, they are big, they need running room, they have issues with eating too much, so you need to regulate that and exercise them for their lifetime to keep them healthy. They are loyal, but they will accept food from anyone.

You have regular health checks, all the other trips to the vet with their health needs. Cavoodles, for example, are pretty sensitive dogs and thus get some issues more so than say a Labrador, but all dogs get issues. They need regular grooming, nails, teeth brushed daily, so forth. Brushing a dogs teeth daily avoids them having later expensive surgery. Some dogs have no teeth issues, others have significant and require more care.

When we accepted our dogs breed, we then got two opposing books on the breed to understand all the pros and cons. We needed to fully grasp our breed and what we were getting ourselves into.

The largest issue is that people want a dog, but have no idea about the time and money required to really give that dog the care it deserves, requires. Research and choose carefully to ensure you don't become a statistic for dumping your dog.
 
I've been thinking LOL

SD is to big to be in bed with us so he sleeps on the floor next to me. If I have nightmares he just paws me till I wake up and when he lays back down I can still reach him. This turned out to be important (who knew?!) because him laying on me during a nightmare was not ideal.
Again though... like you outline, do you really want to take your dog to dinner with you?
This is a really good question because yes - it is a hassle. Next time you are in a restaurant look at how close the tables are and ask yourself - where are you going to park the dog? I've learned to ask for a booth or a table in the corner, but that often means waiting until one is clear. I've also had to leave a restaurant because they had tiny tables and no matter where I put him his tail was gonna get stepped on - or he would trip the wait staff

which leads to grooming - a weekly thing. More if the weather is bad. He has to always been clean because we are always in public.

Basically you are looking for a smart, adaptable, mid size, mid energy, easy to care for breed that can handle all of that. Easy Peasy! :laugh:

training. If you go with a group, they will train the dog and then train you
If you go with doing self training then hiring a trainer to work with you is a must. Trying to juggle teaching your dog and yourself at the same time is tough without someone to guide you thru it. I met with mine once a week for an hour, got homework, reviewed last week, etc. She also was able to get us into places around town to practice because she knew the dog friendly places. It wasn't cheap but it was totally worth it.

I mean think about it. I didn't like being in public as it was, now I'm dragging a dog and trying to train him while I don't freak out. If he's going for a service dog that's going to be tough.
 
I love this thread :)

Family dog was a lab, shed hair everywhere but as only ever wore black it bothered me not a jot. If I were staying in one place for longer and if my working hours were different I’d get another.

Fell in love with a staffie terrier bitch in q8 that I would have rescued from the centre if I didn’t live in a flat at the time. Big regret from not taking her home.

Hope you get sorted. And yeah - dogs never take as much space in bed as a cat. Best thing for my nightmares as a teen too, for sure
 
My husband and I still get people who like to talk about how we're filling up the shelters by not getting a dog from the shelter,

^Omg - I cannot handle the judgy stuff. Just tell them to stfu.

My first dog was a Mareema. He was super big, extremely hard to train, but loyal to the death. I had him 16 wonderful years. He was a pure bred, 1st generation from imported Italian parents. His gene pool was so pure and he did exactly what I expected him to do.

He guarded my children and I. We lived in many & varied locations. He was around 58 kg (127 pounds) and he was the smarted dog ever. I'll never forget him. I researched the crap out of that breed. They were not well known or understood here in Aus at the time so I sought information from breeders o/seas. There were no surprises except pleasant ones because I understood what I was getting in that breed and I was super careful what breeder I bought from.

Then a long wait & I have just been gifted my SD. :)

I was interviewed extensively & completed many questionnaires about my capabilities to care and cater for a SD. And also what I needed. She is smart & just what I need. Easy to train but also prone to exploit but that goes with being smart??

I don't have to worry about her sleeping with me because she sleeps beside my bed. There are very specific rules about where she is allowed to be and that makes for a happier dog and me. She can and is permitted to jump on the bed to wake me in certain well defined situations. So all of this stuff about having the dog sleep in the bed with you - isn't necessary. Dogs like their place. Give them well defined boundaries and they thrive. .

So it's a case of research & being brutally honest about what will suit your lifestyle and needs in the longer term. And also what you can and cannot do to provide for the dog.

Aside from all of the health, food and exercise issues; certainly getting a trainer or going to a trainer is absolutely necessary if you want the dog to perform certain tasks & help with the little things that can develop into big problems.

Good luck @LuckiLee - I think once you have made your decision, selected the breed & finally brought your new family member home - you'll love the fantastic dimension that a dog brings to your family. :)
 
Roomba don't actually do a great job. We have one. Yes... they do vacuum stuff up, however, they are noisy, they do a less than adequate overall job, and they still do stupid shit, even with all the great technology in them. Bagless vacuums are also not recommended for pet hair. It clogs them up much faster than dust alone. Don't believe Dyson claims. Bagless vacuums slowly lose suction and become useless.

We learnt this, and hence after having it pointed out to us by a vacuum professional, we now have a good bagged vacuum which does the whole place super fast. If you have carpet, you need a really good vacuum to get hair out of carpet. You also need a steamer to steam the carpet weekly to remove pet odour.

After having two dogs inside, we learnt. We have a $2k vacuum that costs about $100 per annum to service. It is the buy once type, keep it a lifetime vacuum. It has an amazing powerhead for carpet, and every tool for all surfaces. We have a cheap steamer that goes across the carpet weekly to keep it clean and fresh. This keeps odour removed and we only need to get the carpets professionally cleaned once a year.

Roomba suck if you actually care for clean floors.
 
Both our multi-cat as well as my parents’ multi-(longhaired-shedding-)dog households are very happy with our Roombas and bagless (dyson) vacuums and have been for many years ??‍♀️

Aka: Probably just personal preference.

But then again, I don’t expect to live in a hospital-grade-sterile home. Clean, yes. But not cleanroom sterile. If that’s my expectation, I probably shouldn’t have pets to begin with... or stick to fish...

ETA: obviously Roomba is not in lieu of proper vacuuming/mobbing, but it does keep the daily shedding in check and helps with a base cleanliness. Roomba does its job when we’re at work with a timer - we don’t care about the noise and it saves our personal time having to vacuum each single day. My husband has dust allergies, so it is important and helps him a lot. And I’m surprised every single time how much dust and hair it pulls out from the carpet.

@blackemerald1 our cats are afraid of the normal vacuum, but don’t care about the Roomba
 
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I'm ripping up my carpets once I've painted!! :hilarious: No true! I am! :wtf:

Putting down polished floor boards yay!

Cos I hate carpet like crazy. I'd have pulled them up already but just want to use the carpet to mop up paint slops. :)

It's too much... it stinks and always did even after being 'professionally cleaned'?? It's murky brown & disgusting.

So.. a Roomba it is, it can zip around on tiles & floor boards, under the bed & everywhere - I've seen my sisters in action (2 cats & 1 dog) .

And my bag less Dyson does a dam good job - fills up a cannister with my long hair & my dogs short hair in no time at all.

I must do it once a week for the horrible carpet for now.

Thanks @anthony - maybe your dogs or the carpet complicated the cleaning? Idk...
 
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