Originally Posted By 4Disnee I am looking at getting a puppy for our family and really want a little dog but not sure what to get. Does anyone have any suggestions. I would love to have a lab but they are not little and I think that I want a small lap kind of a dog this time. Our last dog was a cattle dog, a red heeler and he was very sweet. What type of dog do you have?
Originally Posted By officerminnie We have a Dalmatian, our second one. The first one, Freckles, was a show dog (well, a family member first, show dog second) and so sweet and not at all hyper. We rescued our current dal, Pepper, and she is the anti-Freckles. She is also sweet but much more on the hyper side and alot more work! Luckily we have a huge yard and she can be in or out as she pleases. But a Dalmatian is definitely not for everyone . We have friends with a Cairn Terrier which is a small dog but very "sturdy" and he is a wonderful pet and awfully cute. You might want to look at one of those...
Originally Posted By TiggerPooh1973 I have a Papillon named Lilo. Here she is: <a href="http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?j=t&i=90170" target="_blank">http://www.dogster.com/pet_pag e.php?j=t&i=90170</a> She is a great little dog! If you have any questions just ask.
Originally Posted By DlandJB No dog at the moment, but we had pugs my whole life growing up. They are wonderful little dogs -- so funny and so friendly. Great with kids. The only downside to a pug is that they shed. But so do a lot of breeds. If we ever get a dog again, it will be a pug.
Originally Posted By beamerdog I have a rescued mixed breed of questionable origins as my service dog and a lab who was released from the program. As a rule labs have way too much energy for my family, but this dog has low thyroid and even with medicine is very sweet and mellow. My other dogs: puppy homed lots of labs - lots of energy and a great family dog. As a rule, they love kids. puppy homed for CPL an Australian Shepard mix - she was a wild child German Shorthaired Pointer (show dog/pet) who definitely is a one-man dog. Very smart, very active, but not for little kids. Great Danes (show/pet)- had a quite a few of these. Awesome dogs, wonderful around infants/kids, don't eat much, very loving and loyal. They are, however, very dumb. They don't need a lot of living space but do need to be exercised quite a bit on a regular basis. They also don't live very long :-( Little dogs can be frail, so try to analyze both the breed of dog and who the dog will be around and if they might accidentally hurt the pooch.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that every small dog is frail. Many of them are sturdy little tykes. That's why you need to research the breed.
Originally Posted By alexbook My mom's always had mutts. My favorite had some cocker spaniel and some poodle and probably some other breeds, too. She was fun and playful and friendly, even in her old age. She wasn't quite small enough to be a lap dog, though. Right now Mom's got a pair of chihuahua mixes. The smaller one looks like a typical chihuahua, but is much more mellow. He's a great lap-sitter. The bigger one has, I think, some pomeranian in her ancestry, and thinks she's a guard dog.
Originally Posted By jasmine7 I can't recommend Cocker spaniels highly enough. My parents got their first one about four years ago, and they now have three of them (they had four, but they gave one of the girls to me ). They are very devoted dogs, great watchdogs, wonderful with kids, and they (well, most of them) can be lapdogs, too. My Mia's laying on my lap right now. They're really wonderful dogs, and I don't know if I could have any other breed than a Cocker now.
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire I have a Belgian Sheepdog pup who just turned three months today! We got him from Norway a month ago (yea...all the way from there!) Anyways he will be BIG and VERY FURRY so not the dog you are looking for lol I highly suggest going to your local animal shelter and finding a pet there. There are soooooo many good pets out there who are in need of a loving home!!!
Originally Posted By agent We have always had Weimaraners. Great upland game dogs, nice dispositions, easy to train and no shedding. They are however, large. Large, lanky and they think they are lap dogs!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<We have always had Weimaraners>>> Just last year we had to have our sweet Weimaraner put down. She developed a bone cancer and that was that. While she was say under 5 years old, she was a great dog. Kids could lay on her, pull her ears, she was so sweet and gentle. However, it is very important to establish who is the alpha with this breed early. If you don't they get extremely territorial...so I am told. I think that is probably true with any non-lab and non-retreiver BIG breed. The dog never did shed and was a true family member. They do however need to live INDOORS and get LOTS of love. I now have a chihuahua and it's the loudest darn barking yip yip thing created. I love it, but wow, it's like a Doberman packed into a tiny body. Honestly, if you want a small dog, I would pass on both of these breeds. I hear the Boston Terrier is great for even small children. Just whatever you get, always remember its still a dog, and no matter how much you humanize it, it will ultimately behave like a dog.
Originally Posted By agent DVC dad, really good advice. We have had no dominance problems but we take all of our dogs through puppy kindergarten and obedience classes. (our kids attend too!) My husband is very good with dogs and is by far the "leader of the pack", which may have taken care of the issue. I'm sorry to hear about your dog passing away. We are very close to our animals and always find it hard when one dies. My kid's still get upset when we lose a chicken! Everytime we are considering a new puppy I always remember what our breeder tells us, "A puppy is like having a 2 year old for 4 years.". I sometimes forget that since I am around our adult dog so much!
Originally Posted By 4Disnee DVC_dad, I am so sorry to hear about your dog passing. Weimaraners are wonderful dogs our friends had two and they were awesome. TiggerPooh1973, Oh my goodness your pup is so darn cute. I just saw one of those puppys the other day and it was a real love. Are they good with kids? We have a son who is 10 and very good with animals. He is holding Mickeynewes bunny right now as I type. LOL But no bunny for us. LOL I have been thinking about a chihuahua and even went and looked at a puppy I fell in love with it but I really wanted a female and they only had two males. I just dont know what to get cause everyone says you dont want a chihuahua they bite and bark. Our friend has one and she is so sweet and just wants to lick you and lots of love. Im so confused. I grew up with a cockapoo and she was a great dog. That is not out of the question if I could find one. Maybe we will just go to the local shelter and see what they have to adopt I have been looking in the paper but our area does not have much. Thanks everyone for your great suggestions it all really helps. Delena
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Each dog breed has unique characteristics that have been brought about through thousands of years of human tinkering. But all dogs can be trained; it's really humans who determine if a dog is a good pet and companion or not. It's just that some might require more training effort than others. If you want a Chihuahua, get one. Don't listen to those who say they bite and bark. They don't bite and bark because they are Chihauhau's, they bite and bark because their owners don't have control of their dog. I have had three Chow Chows, which is supposedly an aggressive breed. My current Chow is three months old. He's been around people and other dogs since I got him, and I take every opportunity to socialize him. He won't wag his tail and run up to a stranger to lick their face, but he won't run up and snarl at one either. Aside from some less-than-desirable behavior around the house (he wants to chew everything except his toys!), he's been a great dog, and its been fun and rewarding training him. <a href="http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4401709&a=32329167&f=" target="_blank">http://albums.photo.epson.com/ j/AlbumIndex?u=4401709&a=32329167&f=</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdBrbMN7lzc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =MdBrbMN7lzc</a>
Originally Posted By LadyKluck I currently have a Rottweiler and an English Springer Spaniel. I probably am not any help as I've always had big dogs. I do have a friend (besides Tammy) that has a Papillon and she is just adorable and fun. The other little dog I have always wanted is a French Bulldog. I too have heard that Boston Terriers are good with kids. I might recommend steering away from Jack Russel's if you don't want a high strung little thing! My aunt has a Jack Russel and that thing is constantly on a sugar high!!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I might recommend steering away from Jack Russel's if you don't want a high strung little thing!>> That is one of those breed characteristics that you definitely want to be mindful of when selecting a dog. If you are and active person who enjoys running and being outdoors, an active dog is fine. But if you are laid back, you want to choose a dog who is more predisposed to that same lifestyle.
Originally Posted By LadyKluck ^^We made that mistake with getting the Springer Spaniel. Of course now that he's older he's much more laid back and well, lazy. When we first got him though, he would tear up the house on a daily basis!!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<My kid's still get upset when we lose a chicken!>>> This portion belongs in the LP Post Hall of Fame! LOLOLOLOL
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<But all dogs can be trained; it's really humans who determine if a dog is a good pet and companion or not.>>> I couldn't agree more!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad My cousin's Jack Russell killed the neighbor's Chihuahua two week ago. It was quick and fast...a grab and shake and walk away sort of thing. The Jack Russell had NEVER displayed ANY agressive behavior prior to this. I don't think this is common to any breed, just saying it, cause again, you never want to forget that a dog is a dog is a dog and you have to be wise to that. Also, my daughter was attacked by a pure bred Blue Heeler two years ago, and again it was a situation where that dog had never displayed any agression.
