Another vote for a mutt. Petfinder.com is a fantastic resource. Find a good rescue group near you, and bookmark their Petfinder feed. Mutts are going to be everything you’re looking for. I was going to recommend starting at age 3 or so, but then I read “emptying nest” paragraph again - a puppy would be perfect for you. Lots and lots of work, but totally worth it.
I love Bassets but they can be a little on the nervous side, especially females. My sister’s beloved hound has been terrorized by such fiendish tormenters such as:
- Monkey noises
- People singing “Loving You”
- My sister’s head, if she had a ponytail
- Plastic bags
- People sneezing
- Her own reflection (this was particularly terrifying, and long-lasting)
She’s a sweet, loving dog, but definitely on the nervous side, and separation anxiety has been an issue at times. Though, I have heard that these problems are minimal or non-existent if you get two (or just have another dog). Nearly everyone we see who has bassets around here keeps multiple dogs.
Another vote for a lab. They are absolutely wonderful dogs who are happy to do whatever you want. I’ve never met a lab who wasn’t friendly and ‘happy’. And, although they’re not small, they’re really not too big either.
BTW, although a lab is a loyal friend, they’re not even close to being a guard dog, IMHO. I think that most labs don’t even know how to growl.
One great source for labs are those that “failed” seeing-eye-dog school. That’s not a mark against them, at all. Rather, it means they just didn’t have what it takes to be that type of doggie. In any case, by the time they flunk out they’re mature, more than house-trained, etc. A great source.
Another great source is your local Lab Rescue organization.
Good luck!
A male basset might not be bad. The boyfriend and I are currently taking care of his sister’s basset for the week and Nigel’s quite friendly and calm. He normally lives with a very active toddler and they play together very energetically. He likes to run and sniff everything, but at the moment is happily curled up on a blanket on the couch. The only problem with the cats is that he’d probably slobber them to death.
Bassets move extraordinarily fast for something with such stumpy legs, though.
Do you happen to know how I might go about finding one?
edit: nevermind, I think I found something about it
Our Basset is a real sissy, it’s true, but I wouldn’t call her the nervous, jittery type (I’m picturing a Chihuahua). She loves to play, and will roughhouse with our Lab, but she is afraid of such terrifying things as aluminum foil or the trash can lid. But she’s really cute when she high tails it. She’s a riot, we love her. Sometimes she runs under our Lab, through his legs, like he’s an Imperial Walker and she’s Luke Skywalker. They are well-suited to each other–Sammy, our Lab, lets her take food right out of his mouth. They are both VERY unaggressive dogs, which is just what we were looking for.
She is a pain in the ass to house train, though, for what it’s worth, which we learned was also an attribute of the Basset Hound. I keep telling her that this “cute” thing will only take her so far in life, and she better start obeying the house rules, but I think she knows I’m lying.
When I was really little we had a Basset. She was a littermate of the famous televised “Cleo” from the early sixties.
There’s a 6-year waiting list for Guide Dog rejects.
I really like what I’m seeing at Petfinder. I think a mutt is a great idea for me, but being aware of recommended/not recommended breeds is helping.
I’m really surprised to be finding a lot of Blue Heeler mixes. I’d never heard of the breed until this thread. I wonder if they’re really popular now, or if people are rejecting them often.
You should look at english bulldogs. They are not small dogs but they aren’t huge either, they are the happiest, friendliest dogs I have ever met in my entire life, and they are freaking adorable! They do have the occasional health problem just like all dogs (especially purebreds) but they are excellent indoor pets that would meet all of your dog needs.
I also want to point out that Petfinder and other similar organizations, while wonderful, do have a number of people trying to get rid of dogs with serious problems. We were looking for a dog before we discovered that I am really allergic to them and found a lot of people on Petfinder and through several local rescues who were trying to push dogs onto us and sort of hiding the fact that they were biters or didn’t get along with cats or had serious health problems. We really had to push to get them to tell us that the dog needs chemo or got placed with them because it bit somebody.
BEWARE!
I just really wanted to post a possible warning against a cat-like dog. Obviously it won’t be horrible in every situation, but it was awful for a couple friends of mine.
They’ve been cat people and had 3 cats. J wanted a dog and E wanted to make sure it was more cat-like. They wanted one that was more independent, intelligent, etc. and they got a Shiba Inu.
Oh.My.God. Absolute disaster.
They really would’ve been better off getting a more doggy-dog (ALSO getting an adult instead of a puppy). Eva was absolutely adorable but my GOD she was smart. And devious. And independent.
The end result was a dog that could try anyone’s patience because she was so stubborn and smart. She was just about potty trained at only 3 months, which is good. But she really didn’t pay attention to J and E. She liked 'em enough, sure, but the cat-like independence made her more indifferent to them.
I’m not saying to rule them out, but I’d definitely make sure you can spend a few lengthy visits with the dog before getting him/her. That way you can see if your personalities mesh and if the behavior seems fine to you.
Another vote for whippet or basset.
Whippets are gorgeous dogs and sound like good house-dogs, but since I’m probably not up to dealing with puppyhood, a mature dog would have to have been raised around cats. Otherwise, I can just see the chases up and down the stairs of our split-level home!
Don’t get me wrong - they’re great dogs, but it’s better to have them in a multi-dog house where they feel more at ease (because they are so often submissive, especially females). Daisy the Basset is a wonderful, loving, playful dog, but she also has lots of separation issues. On holidays, when we visited my parents, they don’t allow dogs to roam free, and it was just terrible isolating her in the “dog-OK” area of the house where we couldn’t be with her every minute – think constant howling – until my other sister got a pug. Now it’s manageable, and I think she’d be a lot less nervous overall if she lived with another dog. There’s still some anxiety if a human leaves the room (even with other humans present) but she seems mostly happy since she’s never actually left alone.
Then again, I’m sure it’s partially an act. We left her outside on seasonable, clear days and she acted like she was dying every time… but when I parked my car down the street, snuck back, and watched what she was doing while we were gone, I saw her happily napping in the middle of the grass in the backyard, all 4 legs in the air, in a sunbeam. (This also explained her mysterious case of pink-belly.) As soon as I made a sound, she ran over, making pathetic and terrified noises.
I have had collies, shepherds, huskies, elkhounds, dachshunds and mutts. Once I got a beagle, I quit changing. I have my 4th and 5th now.
Beagles are nearly immortal. They seem to be impossible to kill. A very hardy and healthy breed.
I personally love labs. The first two years are spaztic and then they settle down to merely rambunctuous.
I think the barker next door is a beagle. Are they all that way?
The Animal Planet video of whippets really got to me. What amazing creatures! We live next to an elementary school with a large grassy area perfect for running and frisbee tossing. I just wish there weren’t a cat issue with whippets.
If you decide to get an adult dog, rather than a puppy, be careful to find out how it is with cats.
It’s much easier to train a puppy to leave the cats alone than it is to train an adult dog who was previously allowed to chase cats.
Whippets would concern me from the cat angle and also because what I’ve read about them makes me believe they are maybe not great beginner dogs, simply because they are more sensitive than many breeds. I’ve read that punishment or anything but positive reinforcement is a very bad idea with whippets.
I love sight hounds, so I find whippets enormously appealing, as I do all of the others in the category, like Salukis, Wolfhounds, Deerhounds, Greyhounds, Borzois, etc.
I fervently agree with all of the above, including adopting older dogs, as I have done it twice and have the two most wonderful corgis in the world. But I will caution the OP, as I caution everyone looking into corgi ownership, that they shed. They shed like drug dealers dumping dope before a checkpoint. The tumbleweeds blow through our house like it’s the set for a John Ford western. I sweep every day. I could make an extra corgi with the hair I pick up off the baseboards. Regular brushing will help, and they don’t need any fancy grooming. No trimming or detangling or shaping. They stay very clean so they rarely need baths. But holy crap, you’ve never seen anything like the hair.
Corgis are the best dogs in the world and they may be just what the OP is looking for. I encourage the OP to look into fostering a rescue dog before deciding to adopt – that’s what we did with our second dog, and she has been with us more than two years now, having decided immediately that she lived here forever, and who are we to argue? Just get a broom and a Furminator and you’ll be in heaven.
Scent hounds (i.e. all the hound breeds that are not sight hounds) tend to be barkers.
I once worked for a kennel that bred whippets and fox terriers. There were house dogs, kennel dogs, and outside dogs. The outside dog were all whippets (the terriers fought too much to be left unattended). They did fine with the local critters - cats and ducks.
No doubt if some little creature ran they’d chase it, but just about any dog breed of dog will.
If you do decide on a whippet, do not go with a rescue. In searchiing petfinders - any skinny, short coated dog is called a whippet cross, none of the ones I saw actually look like purebreds or even close.
If you’re not opposed to having a bit larger dog, retired racing greyhounds are wonderful! Mr Johnson and I have 4 of them and we do a little volunteering at the local adoption kennel. Ours are 10, 9, 5 and 3 years old and between 65 and 83lbs… I’ve seen a few tiny ones that were about 45lbs.
One great thing is that they’re past the puppy stage so we didn’t have to worry about destructive chewing or most of the typical puppy challenges. They’re also crate-trained so it didn’t take long to get them house-trained.
They’re mellow dogs; about a 10 minute burst of energy every day. The rest of the day they’re usually sleeping or following us around the house. They’re very affectionate, lovable and great with people.
Most adoption groups cat test the dogs prior to adoption and determined the dog to be cat-safe, cat-workable or a cat-zapper.
Here’s some videos of our greyhounds if you’d like to see them.
I love these dogs, if you can’t tell. 