puppy love

Just like our next President, I want a dog.

We kept our neighbor’s Italian Greyhound for the day when we found him on our front porch, shivering, and they weren’t home. His name is Simon, and he’s so sweet and darling. (And fragile, so not the breed for us.) We’re not strangers to dogs – we used to have a Toy Fox Terrier named Gabe. Gabe was my dog when I met Sean, but he never adjusted to the kids. He got weirder and weirder with every added child and now he lives with my parents and their poodle, Monet. We see him at least once a week and he is a much happier little dude over there.

Anyway.

We need someone

  1. friendly
  2. sturdy
  3. healthy

Side benefits that would be nice

  1. minimal stinkage (no hound dogs please, you are cute but you are so smelly)
  2. smart but not utterly obsessed (no border collies *sob*)
  3. easy care coat, washing and brushing only preferred

Of course, all of this is hypothetical since our lease prohibits pets, but we’ll be moving soon. I don’t want a little puppy but I don’t mind an older one, at least 6 months. I think I most want an adult dog though. My first thought is breed rescue then shelter dogs – the only reason those aren’t reversed is because rescue dogs have usually been in a foster home long enough to get a good idea of their temperament.

So what breeds should I look for, in your humble opinions?

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9 thoughts on “puppy love

  1. I’m not sure if the shelters near you have this, but ours has foster volunteers (which we do). We keep the dog/cat while it recovers from illness/surgery or if it is too young to be adopted. Then we usually write something up about the animal, and are available to talk to potential owners. Some foster parents keep the animals until they are adopted out, rather than returning them to the shelter.

  2. Basset Hounds are very sturdy and self-reliant dogs. They are extremely hard to rile up and are just fabulous with kids. They don’t need much beyond a wash cloth rubbed inside their ears every couple of weeks. (They love the ear rubs, so it’s easy to do.) They really don’t even need brushing all that much because they’ve got very short coats. We had an indoor/outdoor Basset when I was a young girl, and she wasn’t smelly at all. A big bucket of melancholy, sleepy love.

    Just my 2 cents. I’d steer clear of smaller breeds like Chins, Shih Tzus, etc. They’re not delicate really, but they’re not good small child dogs.

  3. I can tell you about breeds we have had. Mutts are prefered for the health and long life. Bostons tiny fragile legs and snorty problems. pugs, ok I’ve had Frankie to the doctor more than all my kids put together…Very expensive dog to maintain. Poodle, Sam is not trainable, can’t hold anything long, I suppose because he’s so tiny, and most of all is only partial to 1 person. He follows me so close that I can turn in circles and never see him, so in other words he doesn’t play with others well. I would shy away from the German shepards as they can get way to protective. I had a pup when I was pg with Jonathan and although he never did or hinted at doing anything to Jonathan, he would rip a new ass on anyone who came within 5 feet of me…..you know what? I’m just going to stick with my mutt selection.

  4. Anything mixed with poodle will not shed. Poodles have hair not fur making them hypo-allergenic.

    We are getting a miniature schnauzer. He comes home in 2 weeks. They’re pretty study and friendly, but they bark. A lot. So if you want quiet they may not be right for you, but if you want friendly, playful, and affectionate…we may have to loan you Bullet for the day and let you take him for a “test-drive”.

    I also know that AKC has a quiz on their website to help you select the right breed for you. There is also an organization that trains dogs for interaction with autistic children. You might contact them for a recommendation. http://autismservicedogsofamerica.com/

  5. Labs are great! If you prefer an adult dog, you might look into getting a dog that doesn’t make the final cut for being a service dog. They are impeccably trained, well socialized and have wonderful temperaments. They are just a tad bit shy of perfect, which is what they have to be to graduate from a service training program. Check your local service dog trainers for info. They make great family dogs!

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