I'm getting a dog! Advise me!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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In two or three weeks, I will be ready to adopt a dog. Here’s what I know: I know I want a medium-sized adult dog that is not hyper, but has enough energy to accompany me on long walks. I know that the dog will need to be walked at least twice a day. I know I want to crate-train the dog, mostly for times when I might want to bring it on car trips. I know I want to buy a harness for walking the dog, though a collar will be necessary for dog tags. I know I need to register for a dog license at my local town hall. And I know I need to choose a veterinarian and buy dog supplies before I bring it home. Supplies I know I need are collar, harness, dog bed, crate, leash, brush, food and toys.

Here’s what I don’t know: Are there other supplies I should get? Is it possible to teach an adult dog a new name, or am I stuck with whatever name someone else has given it? How much do those microchip implant things cost? How do I crate train a dog so that the crate becomes a happy, comforting place? Are there questions I should ask prospective veterinarians, or can I just go with whoever’s closest?

It’s also entirely possible that I’ll adopt an adult dog who has received little or no training. Can some of our animal-saavy Dopers recommend dog training books?

Thanks for all your advice! I can’t wait to have a furry friend, but I’m suddenly a little overwhelmed by everything I need to do.

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Thisbook helped me immensly. It’s an easy read and makes sense.

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If you are getting your dog from a shelter, avail yourself of their resources (if they are the kind of shelter that’s lucky enough to have them). They can recommend books and an obedience school for you. Our local shelter sells books themselves and they also have obedience training you can sign up for which is very good and reasonably priced. They can also give tips on crate training. Very basically, you need to make the crate a fun and enjoyable place to be (food and/or toys are usually involved - you can start off by feeding the dog in the crate so they learn that good things happen when they are in there).

You can re-name an adult dog if you want to. They can learn new names pretty easily.

Ask friends and co-workers for recommendations on veterinarians. Take your pup in for an exam and see how the vet treats you and your pet. You’ll want someone who both loves animals and is willing to take the time to explain things to you and answer your questions. You and your vet should be a team whose goal is a healthy and happy pet.

Your supply list sounds like a good start - make sure you get food and water bowls too. If there’s anything else you need, it’ll occur to you along the way.

Microchipping in this area costs about $50 if you go to the vet to do it. If you can find a doggie-related event that has a microchipping clinic, you can often have it done there for half the price. I personally prefer the Home Again chip (we’ve had both Home Again and AVID).

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You should probably wait to get food until you find out what they’ve been feeding the dog at the shelter. To avoid stomach upset, you will want to feed the dog the same food at first, and gradually mix it with a different kind of food if you want to feed the dog something else.

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As far as toys go, buy one toy each of a few different types. Dogs can have strong preferences for one type of toy over another. I used to live with a family that had four dogs. One of the dogs loved plush squeakie toys, but wouldn’t touch a rubber squeakie toy that I bought for her.

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Have you taken a look at these cutie-pies yet?

7

Buy a rug shampooer.

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sigh Yes, and they’re adorable, but they’re in Memphis and I’m in Boston. Also, I don’t want a puppy. I’m looking for a grown dog.

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Verdammt.

Hardwood floors :smiley:

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Firstly speaking from a lot of doggie experience I think you shouldn’t rule out pups unless you are just really set on getting a dog from a shelter for moral reasons.

I find that with a grown dog there’s a lot of benefits but can be an enormous number of problems as well. If you get a dog that is several years old and has little training it’s going to be much harder to train that dog than it would a pup. I’ve successfully trained out some really bad habits out of adult dogs that I’ve gotten, but it is definitely without a doubt way more time intensive and frustrating than training a puppy.

I will say that there’s at least a moderately good chance an adult dog bought at a shelter will be somewhat averse to voiding inside. But not necessarily.

With a puppy you have the following advantages:

-Much easier to train
-10x easier to socialize to other humans and other dogs

Cons would be:

-Puppies will not be born potty trained, so you’ll be cleaning up after him for awhile til he/she becomes house trained.

-Puppies can sometimes sadly contract medical problems and die, this can be very emotionally distressing. A grown dog can obviously get sick and die too, but with lots of genetic disorders you can be fairly sure the dog doesn’t have it if you see the dog at a few years of age.

-Puppies, like babies, go through a teething stage and if you’re not very watchful you will have furniture chewed.

Benefits of a grown dog:

-If you’re lucky you can find a mild mannered dog that is already well trained.

-You have a solid idea as to what the dog is going to look like, as it’s full grown (some pups change dramatically from puppyhood to adulthood.)

-Better chance of coming into the situation knowing what type of medical problems are/are not present or have been present.

Cons:

-If the dog wasn’t socialized and trained then you will have a hard time doing it (it’s possible, and you can definitely do it but it’s going to be time consuming. Don’t think you can just throw money at the problem via obedience school, even if you have someone train the dog you have to work with it too.)

-Dog is a bit older, and thus you will have less time with them.

Those are really the only cons. Personally when I get new dogs I typically go to a breeder, however everytime I’ve decided to get a new dog I’ve always gone by the shelter first to see if any one dog just really catches my eye, and a few times they have and I’ve had good experiences taking such dogs.

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All my new-dog advice involves puppies. I’ve never brought home an adult dog before. Two things that haven’t been mentioned might carry over, though…

A baby gate is useful, especially if you have a big house. It’s the most flexible means of controlling where a dog can and can’t get, at least until he proves his non-peeing non-chewing skills.

A potty-bell is wonderful. I don’t know if it’s easier or harder with a pre-potty-trained dog, but it’s just a good thing to train for in general, and amazingly easy for most dogs to pick up. The basic idea is to hang a bell at dog-nose-height by the appropriate door, and get the dog to ring it EVERY time you take them out to go. very quickly they get the idea, and ring to ask to go out. Two links, though these seem written for un-potty-trained puppies:
http://salvatore.f2o.org/sdo/archives/000040.html
http://www.doggiebagonline.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-731.html

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This is not a helpful statement. Who really wants a “hyper” dog, and just what does “hyper” mean to you? What level of lumpitude are you looking for? (Active and/or excitable != “hyper”)

Unless you have a particular breed in mind, you’ll probably be just as well going to your local pound (humane society, whatever you have near you) and saying: “Hello my good person, I am looking for a mid-sized dog. What do you currently have in stock?” and then they’ll ask you about what you want and they can help you out. The people who work in the pounds don’t do it for the money or the glamour, but because they just have to (not in the legal sense like “community service”), so they know what their dogs are like. Talk to the workers and they’ll probably be able to set you up with a good doggy friend.

Bonus from getting a non-puppy pound dog: you know what you’re getting. (Like Martin said, it is harder, but not impossible, to properly socialize an adult dog. But they won’t make you get that dog, so no worries.)

Bonus from getting a puppy: they are cuter.

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The “!=” in “(Active and/or excitable != “hyper”)” was supposed to be the “does not equal” sign. I was getting fancy and it bit be in the butt. You’d think I’d learn.

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That’s basically what I’m planning on doing. I’ve been researching local shelters, and I’ve found one that has a lot of adult dogs available and looks like it takes good care of them. I’m not asking for breed specifics because I’d rather get a mutt anyway.

We have a large house (three floors) and a dog park less than a block away, but no yard. My roommates have agreed to walk the dog in the morning because they have later schedules than I do, and I’ll walk it for about 30-45 minutes in the evening. I also like to take a long walk – usually about two hours – on Saturday or Sunday. I’m looking for a dog that’s active enough to accompany me on my long walks but can be satisfied with the amount of outdoor time I can give it during the week. Once the dog is house-trained, it can wander all over the house, and my roommates’ schedules are such that at least one of them is home for much of the day most days.

15

Well, you better read this thread…