Originally Posted By 4Disnee Our neighbor has 3 Jack Russells and they are wild little beasts. LOL They tear up everything in their back yard and bark all night long when the wife is not home. GRRR LOL When we had a Red Heeler he was very nice. But I know that the breed can be agressive. My moms Blue Heeler bit our son when he was 3 because he walked by her after she got in trouble for getting into the garbage can. My parents had her put down because she then became very nasty and they did not want to have a dog like that when they had our son at there house everyday. It was very hard for them to do but it was not worth someone else getting hurt again or worse than he did. Is spring one of the best times to look for a dog or is it anytime I wonder? trekkeruss, I love your new baby he is so darn cute. I have always loved chows. I grew up with Dogs and horses. My dog used to ride on the back of my horse with me. LOL Right now I do not have either and a horse it out of the question right now so thank you so much for all of our help with a puppy I really appreciate it lots!
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Well, I'll have to promote Boxers! Our Boxer Sammy is the BEST god we've ever had and we've had some great dogs. She is just the most sensitive, intuitive, loyal, fun-loving, awesome with kids, smart and well behaved doggie ever! They are a handful when they are pups as they are very high energy but with proper training they are just excellent excellent dogs.
Originally Posted By 4Disnee Lisa, That is what my son has been begging us to get. Everytime he sees a boxer he says mom can I use my money to get one. Gosh what to do I want a little dog and he wants his boxer. Maybe we will have to take a peek at some puppys.
Originally Posted By TiggerPooh1973 Lilo loves kids and is very good with them. She is tiny so I have to be careful of people handing her. She is a very smart dog too.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I hate to be the bearer of doomsday type news but I wanted to pass this along just for the sake of awareness. Warning: It's a little harsh, no photos, just news... <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yc9c7v" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/yc9c7v</a>
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I hate to be the bearer of doomsday type news but I wanted to pass this along just for the sake of awareness.>> This is not uncommon, and it can happen with any kind of dog. The dog(s) may have been afraid of the baby, felt threatened by it because the parents were suddenly giving more attention to the newborn, or just saw the wiggling thing as prey. All new parents should be carefully and slowly introduce pets to the baby, and _never_ leave the two unattended.
Originally Posted By leemac Until two weeks ago I had a Golden Retriever (who sadly passed away) and a Bernese Mountain Dog. I honestly can't promote goldies enough. They are the most affectionate and friendly dogs. Generally calm. Hugely adoring. I am totally bias as I have had them my whole life (with a few Flat Coat Retrievers chucked in) but we have never once had a problem with them. Plus they actually tend to breed them a little smaller in the US than we get in the UK (although still not a small dog). Ollie would happily sit on my lap and he wasn't a big dog per se. The Bernese (Ziggy) is a totally different story. Absolutely gigantic. Built like a Shetland pony. Very strong too. Equally adoring and thankfully he gets very tired quickly. I think we will eventually get another goldie. Usually I try to "replace" (wrong term really) them as quickly as possible for the other dog (we always have two) but Ollie's death hit me pretty hard so I'm going to take a little time before buying the next one. That said I already have the name.... Ernie. )
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I understand, sorry to hear that LeeMac. I just had to put down one of my doggies a few weeks ago too. We will surely find us another pup to keep our Boxer Sammy company.
Originally Posted By leemac Thanks Lisann22. It is always terrible but Ollie's death hit me pretty hard. He was only 9 and had seemed healthy. He had heart surgery earlier in the year and the surgeon thought he would be okay for a long while. The thing that frustrates me is that my family have always doted on our dogs and they never seem to live as long as others (my sister's boyfriend's parents had a goldie that lived to 16 and he was penned up in a 7'x7' utility room all day!). I'm sorry to hear about your loss too. I guess getting another puppy pretty soon helps us get over the pain.
Originally Posted By Stacers76 Can I just say that bassett hounds are great dogs ) We had one when I was a teen and OH my gosh, she's still my baby even though we had to put her down several years ago because of a back problem. I currently have a Basenji/Lab mix, we think. She's a great dog, but has her quirks as do all dogs. I fully agree with training if possible. We got our princess as a 8 mos old and we've had some struggles....she recently bit a friend of ours. Nothing that caused injury and he was reaching over the top of her from behind (a no go with this dog) and yelling at and reaching for his little son, so she was protecting the baby. Right now she's chewing on a bone looking at me like I'm keeping her from bedtime aka the middle of my bed. Good luck on whatever choice you make, I bet you'll see that if you go looking, the dog will find you guys instead of the other way around!! )
Originally Posted By LadyKluck Lisann22, I don't think anyone can really understand the true adorableness (a word I made up) of Sammy until they see the picture of the little rockstar in the Doggles!! SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!
Originally Posted By 4Disnee Bump I am going to look at a puppy tomorrow and I am so darn excited. I got a number of a breeder in our town who has AKC Chihuahauas and Chinese Crested. She has some older pups that are 5 and 10 months old so I will have to wait and see what happens. She said that she usually sells them for $700 but since they are older she will sell the regular Chihuahuas for $300. Wish me luck.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Good luck 4Disnee! Remember to register the little doggie here. LOL LadyKluck, here she is: <a href="http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=44708" target="_blank">http://www.dogster.com/pet_pag e.php?i=44708</a>
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I hope you find what you are looking for I had miniature poodles growing up. They weren't frou frou, we kept them in puppy cuts and I might like to have another one when I am in retirement Now we have a beagle. My daughter calls them travel size. Very playful and adorable, sturdy engough to gently wrestle with our almost 3 year old grandson. We trained her as a lapdog, she was only allowed on the couch if invited and on our lap. Now we have a 30 lb lapdog and have created a special place on the couch for her but her head or some body part always seems to be on one of us She needs and gets lots of exercise and playtime and then conks out or patrols the yard
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess We have a lab, a golden retriever mix and a queensland heeler. The best dogs I've ever had were labs and golden retrievers. I've never had little dogs, but have had a medium sized terrier mix. Great dog UNTIL I had kids. Then very jealous, and I didn't totally trust her around the kids after that. I'm just a big dog kind of person, I guess. Littler dogs seem snappier and more high strung to me (and have more inside potty accidents), but maybe that's because I haven't been around them as much... Good luck whatever you decide!
Originally Posted By Big Thunder Leemac; So sorry to hear about your Golden. I am a big fan of Golden Retrievers, had one as a kid and our past beloved family dog was a GR. As mentioned... goldens are the most loving, easily trained, friendly non aggressive dogs in the world. It hurt so bad when we learned ours had bone cancer and rapidly declined. We were in the process of moving and i actually based part of my decision of our new home on what I thought would be good for "Sport" too. I was bummed that he didn't make it to the new house However we just got a new GR puppy and he is the most adorable, fun, lovable thing. My level of serenity and happiness has doubled since we got him 7 weeks ago. I cant wait till the weather warms up a bit and we swim together, true to Golden's nature, he LOVES water. [man now I'm sitting in a hotel lobby missing my "Puki"] That said, I too promote Golden Retrievers but they are definitely not a small dog. [except in their first six months when they are at their cutest]
Originally Posted By Big Thunder I worked for veterinarians and dog kennels in my youth, I know a teeny bit about certain breeds. I do NOT recommend Jack Russel Terriers unless you will be there with them 24/7, they are destructive, defiant, temperamental. Chows are very temperamental and do not get along with other dogs as well as other breeds. Beagles are cute, fun, and good with kids but they are a hound and they will make some noise. My neighbors had one and I loved her, I liked to play old Elmore James and other old whinney blues songs, because she would howl along to the music, I liked it, but nobody elese did A neat, cute, fun lil dog is the miniature schnauzer, a vet I worked with got one, she trained border collies but got the min schnauzer on a whim. On weekends I played almost the whole work day with that dog, he was so fun. I since met others who had min schnauzers and they were the same way. They are great with kids, very affectionate, EASY to train. They are much less tempermental than most terriers. I've never cared much for the looks of the breed, but various poodle breeds are generally easily trained, good natured family dogs, particulary the Standard Poodle but that's a large dog. Again I dont care for their looks, but Miniature Poodles are great small family dogs. One thing to consider is that because they have a long coatt, they need constant grooming, more than say a beagle or boxer that have short hair. I worked for the breeder of the original first AKC recognized champion Bichon Frise. Bichons are good family dogs, but need constant groomng. Again not a breed I personally want, but they are good with children, well behaved and if your into the cute fluffy foo foo look, this is your dog. Cocker Spaniels are very good family dogs, they have a sweet dispostion, loyal, love children, very similr to a Golden Retriver. I call them a small-medium size dog. Be aware that Cockers are suseptical to ear problems, eye problems and I knew of 4 Cockers that suffered from epiliepsy.
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess >>My level of serenity and happiness has doubled since we got him 7 weeks ago.<< That's how I feel with our new yellow lab puppy, too! I didn't know I could instantly LOVE and adore a dog so much! (And I've had dogs my whole life, but very few from puppyhood on.) Goldens are AMAZING dogs.
