New Puppy!

[aluebcke]

Monique....there are some great dog breeds that don't require exercise. One is the french bulldog. They're smaller dogs, and pretty calm (at least from what I read). Not sure about them as puppies, though.

Our neighbors got an 8 month old poodle/spaniel mix. She's the sweetest dog, and she was already over the hyper puppy stage when they got her (and potty trained, too).

I think if you get a dog over 8-12 months, or select a breed that is not high energy, you should be fine.

I know how you feel missing having a pet. My daughter is very allergic to cats, and somewhat allergic to dogs. We waited for quite some time to get a pet, and only after we found a "hypoallergenic" breed that didn't cause her problems. I really missed having a pet, as we always had both cats and dogs while I was growing up.

[Monique]

I love bull dogs. I grew up with boxers and consider them the best but I've developed allergies now so can only tolerate a non-shedding dog. We had cats but then developed an allergy to cats too. We still miss our cats. I hope we can get an older dog. Thanks.

[Jane A]

Monique, one potential option for you is to contact the rescue organizations for the breeds you are interested in to see what nice adult dogs might be available for adoption. A good breed rescue should be very careful to place a dog with you that is a good fit, making everyone happy all the way around!

[organic_smallhome]

Hi Everyone. Thanks so much for all of the wonderful advice. First, Bubba, I'm so sorry for the loss of your pup, but how wonderful that you were willing to take over his care. One of ours (who has now passed) lost his elderly owner and her family wanted nothing to do with him. He, 9 years old and diabetic, was kept in a cage at the vet for 2 months, until the vet said they could no longer afford to keep him, so they called a rescue and said come and get him in 24 hours or he's gone. He eventually found his way to our home. So many abandoned senior dogs are euthanized because everyone wants a puppy. Which brings me to Monique's problem: Monique, have you considered adopting a senior dog? It might be just the ticket. I once met a man in the park with his dog. We started to chat and it turned out that he had recently adopted the dog, who was about 10 years old. He said that he had adopted several senior dogs over the years and had never regretted it--they were so happy--and grateful-- to find a loving home in which to end their days.

Johnston: What a dog! Wow. Not sure what ours would do if confronted with a bear. Charlie (our puppy) somehow found his way at the top of the stairs the other day and he suddenly started screaming (he loves going up the stairs and is hesitant to try going down by himself). I ran to his rescue. He had been "attacked" by our cat: she hissed at him. When we took him to get his last set of vacs, we could hear him screaming from the waiting room. Our vet brought him out and she had this big grin on her face. When she handed him to us, she said: "Well, he's not the bravest little guy in the world." So, yeah, not sure we can depend on him to protect us from bears.

As for an update: We never went back to the crate. The behaviorist told us that not all dogs do well kept in a crate. But it turned out okay. We still pen him in the kitchen during the day with our other dogs, and he appears (happily for us) to have grown out of the separation issue. We had to postpone puppy kindergarten, as it turned out that he had giardia, which took forever to get rid of. Vet said he probably got it at the breeder's. But we will start puppy kindergarten in two weeks. Next week, he gets neutered (he's now 6 months). In short, he's costing us a fortune!

Anyway, many thanks to everyone for your support in my mini-crisis.

[juliepooch]

I'm enjoying reading about the trials and tribulations of puppy-hood as a reminder not to get a puppy any time soon. Right now we are dealing with the loss of our 13 yo mix dog from pancreatitis on December 31. She was a rescue dog and already house trained which was a BIG deal for us. Her picture, taken a year ago, is my avatar.

[organic_smallhome]

Juliepooch: I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful pup. She was gorgeous. Blessings on you.

[drcollie]

Our Westie pup survived to 2 years old now - barely! It was touch n' go there for a bit, as he ate holes in everything from the carpet to the drywall to the car in the garage. Oh, and he FINALLY figured out he's not supposed to poop n' pee in the house.

New motto at our place: "Just say no to puppies". lol

[aluebcke]

Our Shih-Tzu is now 2 years old, too. I did tons of research before we got him....deciding on the breed, how to train, etc. (I'm OCD, remember.)

He's a great dog, and wasn't too hard to potty train. We were very lucky.

My only pet peeve with him is that he constantly searches the floor for stuff to eat, even 5 minutes after he's been fed. We definitely feed him enough, as the vet says he's a bit overweight. We have hardwoods (Brazilian cumaru...pretty dark), and he leaves smudges wherever he licks the floor. The worst part, though, is that if he finds something and eats it, he then pukes on my wool rug a few minutes later. We sweep the floor every day, but with two kids....

My husband says that's just the way dogs are, but I'm not so sure.

[organic_smallhome]

I think I'll adopt that new motto, Duane--lol. Got any recent photos???

[organic_smallhome]

Aluebcke, I read somewhere that when dogs do that it's because there's a nutritional deficiency of some kind. Have you tried a slow transitioning to a different food to see if it makes any difference? Two of our dogs have allergies and we discovered that the chicken-based food we were feeding them was probably the culprit. Sure enough, when we switched to beef or fish, the problem went away. A couple of good brands you could slowly transition him to, to see if it makes a difference: California Naturals or Earthborn (we've met other dog owners who swear by Earthborn). Also, Merrick is pretty good. They're not sold at Petco or Petsmart--you'd have to go to one of the smaller, specialized pet supply stores. In any case, good luck!