Adopting a miniature pinscher, advice pls

In My Humble Opinion
1

It looks like I might be adopting or temporarily hosting a miniature pinscher. He is two-years-old, and he may have been a bit neglected by his previous owners. I haven’t met him yet, but he is coming over tonight for a visit.

I was told that he uses a litter box. Is this even possible? I didn’t know dogs did that.

I’ve never really had a dog of my own before, so I’m excited, but I have a lot of questions.
–What do I do with him during the day?
–Is he going to be hyper?
–Will he bark a lot?
–Will he get along with my cat?
–If he does use a litter box, will he try to use the same one as the cat?

Basically, is a mini-pinscher a good pet and will he be high maintenance? I really want to provide a good home for him, even if I can’t keep him myself. We’re saving him from a bad situation, so it’s going to be a trial basis for a while.

2

I’d recommend joining a MinPin mailing list/group and start learning the character, health issues and idiosyncrasies of the breed.

From my experience with MinPins (which was purely at a shelter dealing with rescues) they’re a big dog in a little body. Obedience training is a must! This will also help with bonding between you and the dog.

Some links I found that may give you an idea of what you’re in for ( :slight_smile: ):

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/minpin.html
http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/minpin.cfm
http://ri.essortment.com/miniaturepinsch_rqcx.htm
http://www.minpinrescue.org/#mp

Make sure you are setting the boundries for him so he won’t take over the household. You may want to look into crate training for when you’re out during the day. Is he fixed? If not, you may want to do so ASAP.

As for the cat, make sure that they’re never left alone and that the cat has safe spots to escape to if the dog is harassing her/him. Remember, this is a tough little breed! Introduce them with the dog on a leash and be alert to the signals that they’ll both be giving you.

Sorry I can’t give any specific help but I’m sure that someone will be along with much better advice. :slight_smile:

Best of luck to you! I hope the transition is smooth and painless for all involved. I hope the previous owners will be truthful about whatever issues he may be coming with.

3

To be brutally frank, my advice would be to pass on the dog altogether. MinPins are often high-strung, and without intensive socialization a high-strung dog tends to turn into a neurotic dog. Neurotic dogs, sad to say, are often biting dogs, and while minpins are small, they’re very strong and very tenacious. Minpins also tend to be very dominant little dogs, and dominant dogs also have a tendency to turn into biters if you don’t work with them a lot. If this dog is two and has a history of neglect, the odds of him having the sort of training he needs are really, really low, and it’s much, much harder to socialize and train an adult dog. Sometimes it’s even impossible.

All in all, this dog sounds likely to be a lot more work and a lot more liability than I would recommend for a first-time owner.

4

Absolutely!!

I am typing this post with an 8 year old minpin in my lap. I’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. She was the runt of the litter and she stands at about 8" high and weighs 5 pounds…she thinks that she is 150 pounds and steel plated.

They are a rather challenging breed. Those websites that Gulo gulo posted are really good, but they only tell you half the story. This dog is master of the house and only lets me live here because I buy the kibble.

That’s fantastic! I’ve heard of it, but my dog won’t.

Crate training is a really good idea. He will need to be locked in a room where he can’t hurt himself, if you don’t want to crate train. Minpins are inquisitive and energetic little dogs. They also have a tendency to jump on and off of things alot. It’s very easy for them to break a front leg. Mine did. :o

Yes. Very!

More than likely. Minpins are very vocal. Not only will he bark alot, he will “talk” almost constantly. I don’t have any experience with minpins who have been abused (Mine is Queen of all she surveys) so I don’t know if it makes them quiet. Mine vocalizes almost like she is speaking. She has different vocalizations depending on whether she wants food, to go p-o-t-t-y, she’s happy to see me or when she feels that she’s been mistreated (no extra cookie, told not to do something, been corrected in any way) She actually will bitch me out. The first time she ever did it, she was getting bored with a training session and she let out this string of snarky growls, snarls, sneezes and short yips. It lasted a good 5-6 minutes and it was strung together in almost sentence form. I thought to myself, “I think I’ve just been cussed out by a dog!” :eek:

Mine hates cats.

Everything in your house belongs to the minpin. Everything! The cat has no personal possessions anymore…and neither do you.

I’m interested in seeing how it goes. Keep us posted, okay?

Gulo gulo is right about the obedience training. Minpins need structure and training. They aren’t good at dealing with change to routine. Unfortunately, he may regress in his house training when he first moves in with you. Be kind, but firm. Also, they don’t tend to chew on chew toys (chewing your belongings out of spite is a different story) so they don’t keep their teeth very clean. We take ours to the vet for an annual cleaning.

You’ll want to buy him a blankie. Minpins love to be all covered up. I don’t know why, but they love their blankies. Mine has a woven throw that she crawls under all the time.

You either love mins or you hate them. They are non-stop, always on the go, frenetic energy machines. They jump very high. They get into everything. They are escape artists. Don’t open the front door too wide, he’ll be a mile away in the blink of an eye. They get snappy and grumpy if they are over-stimulated. They get over-stimulated alot. Their bark could break glass. They take a long time to warm up to people.

On the plus side, the don’t need to be groomed much. If you brush him once or twice a week, he will only need to be bathed if he gets fleas. They do shed quite a bit. 5 pounds of dog, 20 pounds of hair. I don’t understand, either.

I love minpins and don’t want to be too negative, but they are not the breed for everybody. They also live a very long time, so you have to be serious in your commitment. You might want to take the dog overnight before you decide to keep him.

5

I think the other posters have hit the major points. They are high energy. They demand attention. They do talk. They also really like to play from what I’ve seen and it’s good exercise for them.

My mom had one that would come to visit quite often when she traveled. He loved to chase a ping pong ball all around. He hated my cat, and the feeling was mutual. However, the two of them would put their differences aside and have a good play time every now and then. It usually involved chasing each other around the bed while I was trying to sleep. This minpin was terribly affectionate once he realized you were in charge. He was never good with strangers, but he was very sweet to me and my family. Most defnitely a lap dog!

Definitely agree on the crate training (it is not cruel). They have too much energy to be let loose while you’re out and can’t watch them. Plus, as I mentioned, they’re not good with strangers. It’s a blessing when a repair person comes over to be able to put the dog in the crate and know he’s happy and not kvetching over a stranger in the house.

And do sign up for obedience training. The good news is that obedience training can be really fun for you and the dog. You do have to put in some time to work with the dog (like 20 minutes a day or so), but it is a lot of fun.

I’m not sure whether they’re a good first dog or not. It really depends on your personality. They can be dominant little tyrants. Then again, I’m not a particularly dominant personality and I’ve had no problem establishing myself as the alpha bitch with them! You just have to be consistent and firm. If you’re at all scared of or intimidated by dogs or if you don’t plan to spend a lot of time working with the dog, they’re probably not the breed for you. But if you are reasonably assertive, able to give the dog attention, and willing to work at obedience training, they can be awfully loyal little critters!

They’re also incredibly cute when they get all full of themselves and think they can take on the big rottweiler walking their way (don’t let them interact and squabble, just smile as they get all puffed up with pride walking past the lesser canine).

6

Well Indygrrl how did the visit go?

We take our border collie to a local dog park and the ONLY dog that can keep up with her is a min-pin … it’s amazing to watch the two of them tear around. I cannot believe a dog that little can move THAT fast with those tiny legs. :slight_smile:

7

These questions almost sound like you want to know: will he be like a cat?

If so, the answer is definitely “NO”.

Maybe that’s not your intention, but I do know a woman who was getting a small dog thinking it would be like a cat, like if it was litter-trained, she could leave it for the weekend. (The answer to that is “no way”).

If that’s not your intention, well, everyone else said it better than I could.

A dog takes a lot more committment than a cat. If you’re not somewhat settled into a regular routine with a place to live and a good place to exercise the dog, you’re probably better off without him.

8

Sorry for the bump. Indygrrrl how did the initial meeting go and what did you decide?

Minpins aren’t for everybody, but I really love them and it makes me sad to think that a min was in a bad situation. However, I can understand (completely) if you felt that you had to decline.

9

Well, the doggie got adopted by someone else. My friend was worried that he’d be nippy and bite my daughter or something. I never got to meet him though, so I’m disappointed. I wanted to dress him in doggie sweaters and stuff. :smiley: