Getting my first dog. Advice? Help?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I think a frat house can be a great place to have a dog. Got my first pup when I was living with the other members of my band, after which I moved to a house with 8 guys. Always someone to play with the dog, walk him, watch him, etc.

You do have to be pretty strict about commands and such. Concentrate on a couple of basic commands - sit, stay, No, drop it - whatever you choose - and work them until the dog is great at it.

One benefit of your situation is that if you get a laid back dog, it will be very comfortable around all kinds of people and all kinds of situations.

Be sure to figure out how your frat feels about damage. It is not at all unlikely that your dog will cause some - especially if you let your guard down and just figure “someone is watching the dog.”

And be very carfeful during parties. You’ll be astounded how many folk think it cute to feed your pup beer.

22

“Your dog pissed on my pillow.”
“No, he didn’t”
“Well it’s still wet and I can smell piss.”
“I didn’t say that your pillow didn’t get pissed on.”

Ah, yes. The answer to “weren’t you watching the dog” is always “no”. Even when someone has agreed to do so, they weren’t. How the person saw the dog eat their X-Box 360 will be an eternal mystery if they weren’t watching them do it, but they weren’t watching the dog.

Also, you will not sufficiently puppy-proof your place. Expect damages, but make sure that electrical cable (and powered speaker cable, and phone cable, and…) is never among them. Your $300 shoes are less valuable than your $4 extension cord. Treat it thusly.

23

The book The Dog Breed Bible is a very good resource.

I am personally thinking that a Brittany or a Standard Poodle will be my next dog.

In addition to the advice you have been given so far, make sure you get the dog to a groomer at its youngest possible age.

24

I’ll reiterate what others have said about raising a dog around a bunch of people.

You must train the people.

Most commands are basic and everyone will know them. Sit, stay, (lie) down. But “get off the couch” needs it’s own command. Most people will say “down.” But “down” means “lie down” to the dog. Gotta make sure everyone knows the command is “off.”

Make sure everyone knows whether or not the dog is allowed on the furniture. If he’s allowed on your bed that’s cool. If other guys don’t want him on their beds you probably need to make a “no furniture at all” rule. Doggy won’t know a bed from a couch, but he’ll know your bed.

Also, in the multi-person houses I’ve been in, people aren’t good about keeping their stuff locked in their room, or making sure they don’t leave food around. Gotta train the people to know that if they leave something around the dog most likely will get it. My dog likes shoes and paper, especially mail. She also chewed on my mom’s dining room chairs. Yes, you have to train that out of the dog but it will be a group effort.

My dog knows the command “leave it,” which we worked on in her school. None of my friends know this command. If she goes after something they have, they just sort of say “eep!” or “no!” or “Dolly!” That doesn’t work too well. Once I tell them she knows “leave it!” and to say “leave it!” everything works out better.

Another thought about the crate…while that will eventually become his space that he goes to for feeling safe, sometimes he’ll want a safe place where he can see all the action. If the crate is in your room but most of the socializing goes on in another room, make sure he has a bed there too so he always has somewhere to go to during parties but can still see everything.

Also don’t forget that frat houses have turnover so just because there were dogs there before doesn’t mean the new guys will know how to be with a dog. I’ll say it again - train the people :slight_smile:

25

I have a standard poodle. They’re great dogs, but a lot of coat care. I also have a doberman. They’re all-around wonderful. Smart without being border collie-driven, very trainable, calm and devoted. Minimal coat care. Personally, if I was goiong to create a designer breed, I’d probably do a standard poodle and dobe cross. I just got a giant schnauzer puppy, and so far she’s almost perfect.

But no dog is perfect, and it’s important to recognize there’ll be problems and accept that you’ll have to deal with them. I would recommend an adult dog, because they have already grown out of the teething and will be housebroken. Even though you want a dog now, I think it would be better to wait until you’re in a permanent living situation. As others have said, it’s often hard to rent an apartment that will accept pets. What’ll you do then? Unless you have a plan, I wouldn’t do it.

StG

26

Beagles can be hard to live with. Oh, they look all cute & innocent but don’t believe it. I know we have some beagle fans on the board - and they do have their charms. But they’re a whole lot of dog for such a little package. For a first time owner, I’d make sure the puppy was more laidback-lab than bossy-beagle.

Poodles are terrific dogs, and they bring a lot to the crossbreeds, like labradoodles and cockapoos. Labs are the classic ‘starter’ dog. They’re a great choice but young labs will have more energy than you might expect.

My advice:
let him sleep with you and share the last bite of your meals with him (because family sleeps together and shares its food).
Consistency and routine are the keys to training.
Never be too busy to rub his belly.
If he’s not already, get him fixed asap.
Stay on top of his flea & heartworm meds (whatever your vet recommends).
Also, get your vet to teach you how to trim his nails

Also, and not to be a downer but because this is part of being a good pet owner:
When the day comes for him to leave you, kiss him and do the right thing.

Come back and tell us all about it once you get your dog!

27

I’m a big fan of Standard Poodles, but they are quite different from Brittanies in many respects. Every Brit I’ve known needs TONS of exercise. I’d only recommend them to someone who hunted, had a really big yard, and intended on spending a lot of time working it. And several Brits I’ve known (including the one I owned) really only seemed to care for the owner when being worked. Not consistently affectionate at-home pets.

28

Thanks for the replies! This is exactly what I’m looking for… There’s a lot to cover and respond to here so I’ll try to get to it all.

@LVBoPeep: I certainly hope he’s not a crazy barker. His adoption ad said he was 95% house trained, and the description said: "Chewing is now minimal, as is barking. He’s still a little jumpy when he greets, but has finally started to calm down some and not be on “Puppy Freakout” mode ALL the time. He is a PUPPY tho, so he does still act like one. If you’re wanting a nice, chill dog - he’s not there yet. " I will try to schedule an opportunity to meet him before I adopt for sure, and I don’t really even have my heart set on this dog in particular, he’s just one that happened to stand out for me.

As far as my living situation, It’s fairly likely I’ll get a good job after graduation (I have one now), and finding pet friendly housing here in Atlanta shouldn’t be bad at all. Definitely something to consider as far as moving though, as I did want to try to find a tech job in california, and finding pet-friendly housing over there might be difficult. I would rather have a dog though, to be honest.

I definitely want to crate train it. How hard is it crate training an older (~1 year old) dog vs. a puppy. I just feel bad if its not used to the crate to suddenly be sticking it in there. I will do it anyhow probably, but I’m just wondering what additional considerations (if any) there are.

@AuntiePam: And tennis balls get really soggy and gross. Good to know.

@redtail: 2 of those dogs were “new” dogs. They were both pretty friendly, and one was extremely well trained (the other one’s owner was too lazy to properly train it, so hes the sweetest dog ever but barely listened. I saw him the other day, his owner graduated almost 3 years ago, and he’s much better trained). As far as the rest of the house mis-training him goes, I had planned to talk to the whole chapter about the dog, but now I know that I’ll take it a step further and point out exactly what commands I want to teach it (off vs. down, etc.) I will stress that its very important that the dog gets trained and isnt a fuckup. I know some people will probably do things behind my back, but I think I have enough good friends in the house, I’ll be around enough, and there are enough dog people around to prevent it from becoming a serious problem. I’ll ask the owner about the test run, and I think I got to the rest of your post in the reply to LVBBoPeep

@Markxxx: thanks. i’ll remember that.

@Jack Batty: I heard from someone that the Dog Whisperer’s tactics are not the best way to train a dog? Anyone know anything about this?

@BigNik: Good to know, I’ll definitely stress not giving it mixed messages about things, and of course it’ll happen a little bit, but hopefully I can curb it.

Any ideas on how to puppy-proof all the cords and stuff behind the TV? Most of our stuff is hidden behind a footlocker under the entertainment system, but I’m scared he’d get back there.

@ZipperJJ: Train the people. Got it. I’ll make sure to do that. So, they’ll all know the commands, and what the dog is allowed/not allowed to do. I know people are going to try to feed it beer. I’ve talked to a lot of people and really tried to emphasize that if they see anyone trying to do that or something like it, stop them!!

@StGermain: Lots of apartments around here accept dogs. Atlanta’s a really good pet city.

@Merneith: Good advice. Can’t let him sleep in my bed (or any bed for that matter), considering our beds are lofted and you need to climb a ladder to get up there. Everything else sounds good and totally doable.

29

Separate question entirely: How does riding in the car with a dog work? I assume it has to be pretty well trained before it can ride in a car without a crate? How/when can I make that determination? The reason I ask, is because the only way for me to get to the dog park is with a car. Lots of parks within walking distance, but not the official off-leash dog park.

30

In my personal experience, most dogs are just fine in the car without a crate from the get-go, no training necessary. And most rescued dogs are going to have some experience with being driven. A small minority have anxiety issues, bark hysterically, vomit, etc. When you get the dog I would take a friend with you just in case he goes nuts, load him in the car, drive around the block, and see how he does. If he has a bad reaction, you’ll know you should crate him.

31

Never was an issue with me and my dogs. Many folk will tell you in cars dogs should be in crates or at least secured. Plenty of good reasons for that - but I never have. A simple (tho by no means optimal) way to secure the dog is to attach a leash to the seatbelt. And be careful about opening the window all the way, as dogs have frequently been known to jump out, even while the car is moving.

The only problem I ever had was when I was a kid, the only time our dog was allowed in the car was when he was going to the vet’s - which he hated. So he was terrified of the car.

So basically I’d say just get the dog used to it - same way you ought to try to expose it to as many different people and situations as possible. Maybe have someone go with you the first couple of times, so they can drive while you take care of the dog - or vice versa. Once the dog realizes a dog park or something else fun is at the end of the ride, he’ll be happy in the car.

What kind of car do you have? I ask, because IME it works best to have the dogs in the back seat. My newest car is a 62 Corvair - the rear seat flips down to create a carpeted area, and the 2 rear windws roll down so one dog can stick its head out each window, but the windows are too small for them to easily jump out. Works great! A modern hatchback or wagon could be quite similar.

Folk will tell you dogs shouldn’t be allowed to stick their heads out the windows, as they could get stuff in their eyes. I guess it could happen, but never has for me, and I guess that’s yet another way I’ll continue to be an irresponsible dog owner.

Dogs differ in terms of how much they like the car. My previous dog loved to go in the car, just because it meant she’d be with us - even if it meant she’d be waiting for us in parking lots and such while we ran errands. Of my current 2 dogs, one really likes going for rides, and the other seems pretty ambivalent.

32

UPDATE: I have picked out my dog and am bringing her home immediately after new years (i’ll be out of town on new years and theres no reason to get a dog and then immediately leave it somewhere).

I’m getting a 2 year old Pit/Shepherd mix. Specifically, this 2 year old Pit/Shepherd mix.

I met her at the rescue shelter and she is absolutely the most loving, sweet, playful dog I’ve seen. She’s pretty smart, already housetrained, crate trained, and slightly obedience trained (she listened to me at least tell her to sit, down, and stay). She let me rub her belly even though I’d just met her, which I thought was pretty sweet. She’s 65lbs and is way stronger than that weight lets on.

33

I think a pound of puppy equals two or three pounds of person. Our puppy is only 40 pounds and she can pull me off my feet if I’m not braced for the lunge.

Dolly looks awesome! Good kisser too!! Congratulations! :smiley:

34

She looks like a sweety. Good luck! :slight_smile:

35

Thank you for rescuing!

Dolly looks great! We have a pit mix and a full pit bull, both girls, and we really like them. They are indeed great kissers – one pit bull bumper-sticker says “Changing opinions, one licky-face at a time!”

You’ve gotten lots of great advice. Two things I’ll stress. First, make sure she gets a walk in the middle of the day, if you can. My wife works close to the home and comes home for lunch.

Second, there are certain considerations you ought to bear in mind because of the pit bull side of her heritage. People who see that head shape may think “pit bull” no matter what. Sometimes people respond differently to pit bulls than other dogs. Read up on the web and educate yourself for her benefit and protection.

There’s a ton of pit bull sites and forums out there – stay away from the gangsta backyard breeders, but otherwise you’re best advised to look at a lot of them and make up your own mind which ones you want to bookmark.

A major consideration is possible dog aggression – sometimes it develops as the dog matures. Socialize her around other dogs under controlled conditions (i.e., you’re present and not on a cell phone) but also make SURE the frat house roomies ALL know not to leave her unsupervised with other dogs, and everyone takes door-discipline seriously. Most of the bad stories I read about dogs start with “somehow he got out.” She may never develop dog aggression – our full pit bull, Simone, is a dog-lover who rushes over to any dog in distress and starts licking him or her – but you should keep alert to the possibility pretty much through her whole life.

The best ally any animal can have is a motivated, emotionally-involved human who wants to learn. My experiences with animals have consistently showed me that the more attention, learning, and time I spend with the animal, the more rewarding the entire relationship is for everyone concerned.

Lastly, I urge you to motivate your dog with positive leadership, as opposed to deterrence or punishment. Dogs are looking for someone to show them, to lead. Remember the post about the dog who peed outside after seeing the humans dribble water? Show, teach, reward! You will both be rewarded. :slight_smile:

Please keep us updated!
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36

Dolly - a great name for a dog :slight_smile:

ZipperJJ
Dolly’s mommy

37

Looks like a great dog - hope you’ll have a good time together.