So Im thinking of getting a dog

[HBecwithFn7 296]

Very interesting thread.  And considering what I discovered recently in re: a different forum to which I belong.

 

First, I know most won't agree, but my family has always been a "doberman" family. My grandparents had a pair, "Duke & Duchess."  And all throughout my growing up, we had dobies. We never had a problem with them being in the family or any issues with visitors. The only exception being the "service/delivery/meter reader" folks that had to visit. They couldn't stand our dobies, but it never caused them any troubles.  Certainly, they aren't for everyone, but we love them, as do many others.

So much so, that I found a "doberman lovers" forum a while back. And what makes that interesting is that I discovered by accident that a majority of the doberman forum members are, as it turns out, "Pro-2A!"  We're having quite a few "pro-2A" discussion on that forum!!! 

 

Go figure....

[StriderTB 10]

My wife started working from home a few years ago, which gave us a good opportunity to get a puppy to train, since she would be home all day from the start.  I also liked the idea of a dog in the house with her home alone, since a solid bark is usually enough to dissuade casual idiots.  Ended up with an 8 week old Bloodhound - Anatolian Shepherd mix.  3.5 years and 150lbs later, couldn't ask for a better companion.  Low key around the house, loves going for long walks, and he scares the living shit out of strangers.  

 

He also loves going camping.  Anatolian Shepherds are excellent family dogs, but probably a lot larger than you're looking for.

 

[Golf battery 1,223]

Basically everyone has their own opnion. But true. If you have a dog It ties you down. You just cant decide fri night. Im gonna go away until sunday night. Its another child and responsibility. If you dont have the time to spend with them. Dont do it. Theres nothing worse than an owner that leaves for work at 7 am Crates or leaves his dog alone all day. Then comes home at 7 pm. Does it fit your lifestyle?

[fishnut 2,358]

Op- you have already heard the rescue/adopt/mutt thing from everyone elce so I'll spare you my speech,but I agree with it all. With that said I do understand if your set on a breed and want a puppy for the kids to grow up with. If I were to choose between the 2 breeds you have chosen I'd choose the Belgian but I would never even think about buying one breed in the US. Just look at the European bloodlines vrs American bloodlines. American breeders have ruined the.bloodlines with sooooo much inbreeding. It's even worse with GSD. So if I were you I would buy a Belgian Malinois from an accredited breeder in Europe. Yes it's going to cost allot, but they will cost allot from a reputable breeder in the US also and you get what you pay for. If your not willing to shell out the dough for a good quality dog from a reputable breeder and are thinking about getting a dog from some add on Craigslist or something I beg you to reconsider you will probably buy a dog that will cost you thousands in medical bills over the life of the dog. also if you don't listen to another thing I say DO NOT BUY A DOG FROM A PET STORE OR THE AMISH!!!!!!!!! Do not fund puppy mills, the Amish are some of the worst offenders in running puppy mills. Do not "rescue" a dog from a pet store it creates a demand for another dog and continues the cycle. With all that said if you were to ask me of either of those breeds are good for a family that's new (I understand you said you have some experience buy it sounds like the rest of your family does not) to dogs I would recommend looking for other breeds such as border collies or Australian cattle dogs if you want a more active dog and your ok with longer hair, pitbulls if you would rather short hair and a little less active. If your looking for a medium energy dog get a golden retriver and as long as your willing to exercise them you cant go wrong with any of the labs. All the breeds i juat recomended and a little better suited for a family envoroment that's new to dog ownership. Whatever you choose make sure to get some sort of professional obedience training preferably one where you bring your dog to a training class. This traines you how to train your dog. That's the key in most cases the owners need training just as much as the dogs. Trainers where you send your dog to don't teach the owners. Also the most important thing with any dog SOCALIZE!!!!!!!! With as many other people and other animals as possible. Bring your puppy everywhere you are allowed to, an unsocalized dog it the worst kind of dog!

[Golf battery 1,223]

Agreed. My two hang outside alot. My customers bring their dogs to play with them while they shop. Social interaction is key. And as fishnut wrote pleeeease do not look to buy from puppy barns and the amish. You can get some pretty f'd up animals.

[fishnut 2,358]

Basically everyone has their own opnion. But true. If you have a dog It ties you down. You just cant decide fri night. Im gonna go away until sunday night. Its another child and responsibility. If you dont have the time to spend with them. Dont do it. Theres nothing worse than an owner that leaves for work at 7 am Crates or leaves his dog alone all day. Then comes home at 7 pm. Does it fit your lifestyle?

these are words of wisdom........the past few years my wife and I both have worked full time but were both dog lovers so we have 2 mini daschunds (yes gay yippie little hotdogs make fun all you want) because a larger more active dog dident fit our lifestyle aka both of us working full time. Now that my wife is a stay at home mom, next year it's time for me to get a bird dog. I've wanted one for years but it wasn't fair to the dog because we dident have the time to devote to it.

[silverado427 10,713]

GSD   Three years old  

 

[NJJoe22 5]

this:

http://www.ehrdogs.org/animals/browse?Species=Dog

 

rescue a pup-you wont regret it.

[voyager9 3,434]

Kids vs dogs. Such a Sophie's choice. On one hand, you can crate-train a dog. On the on hand, you can put diapers on babies.

 

We had two fantastic dogs: a black lab named Quint and a Golden named Abbey. Both died two summers ago within a month of each other. Fuck cancer.

 

We now are back to two. A few months after those two passed the breader in NY where we got Abbey had one left from a litter. My wife and I talked and we ended up getting Abbeys great grand niece: Luna. Along the way we also adopted a shepherd/??(whippet?) from Texas named Indiana. They're great dogs too. Fantastic with the infants.

[70gto 142]

Some good advice and good looking dogs here. I wouldnt do the puppy mill or pet store thing. I would do a reputable breeder or would consider a rescue.

 

A guy I know, that lives in PA bought himself a female german shepard puppy from some kind of pet store up there. It grew up to be a very large angular pointy whacked out of its mind dog. Where I wonder if I have to shoot it one day when it comes after me kind of dog. Very scary and  un socialized. Im thinking genetic defect kind of dog. The dog has him trained not the other way around.

 

Home alone for the dog average time would be 5 hours 3 days a week with my schedule.

 

I was always for a dog, my wife was bitten pretty badly as a kid and wouldn't even look at a dog for 15 years. It took years of her being around friends with good dogs to even consider one.  I didn't want my kids to grow up fearing dogs I want them to respect dogs, and to know what its like to have a good one add to your life.

 

Thanks for all the input,  love the pooch pics.

[GRIZ 3,369]

Need for a trainer depends on the dog. I mentioned my dog Tramp. Dumber than a bag of hammers. Took him to a well qualified trainer. Tramp became a dog school dropout.

 

My wife's dog Lady was a genius. She only had to be told (by my wife) once and she would listen. That included setting limits in the yard. Lady knew family members by name. She was always calm as long as my wife was. If my wife was upset Lady knew something was wrong. She could have been a movie dog with little training. She was a mutt. Some Jack Russell in her and only God knows what else.

[capt14k 2,052]

Some good advice and good looking dogs here. I wouldnt do the puppy mill or pet store thing. I would do a reputable breeder or would consider a rescue.

 

A guy I know, that lives in PA bought himself a female german shepard puppy from some kind of pet store up there. It grew up to be a very large angular pointy whacked out of its mind dog. Where I wonder if I have to shoot it one day when it comes after me kind of dog. Very scary and un socialized. Im thinking genetic defect kind of dog. The dog has him trained not the other way around.

 

Home alone for the dog average time would be 5 hours 3 days a week with my schedule.

 

I was always for a dog, my wife was bitten pretty badly as a kid and wouldn't even look at a dog for 15 years. It took years of her being around friends with good dogs to even consider one. I didn't want my kids to grow up fearing dogs I want them to respect dogs, and to know what its like to have a good one add to your life.

 

Thanks for all the input, love the pooch pics.

Go with the Lab from a reliable breeder. Labs are big enough to be scary to most intruder types but the kids are perfectly safe around one.

 

http://www.ontheblufflabradors.com/#nav-mobile

 

The breeder I referenced earlier is linked above.

 

Durango was my dog's Father and Luna his Mom. You can see pics and pedigree of both under retired boys and retired girls.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Rob0115 1,105]

When my kids were young we had Boxers. They are fanststic with kids, endlessly playful and can protect in a bad situation. One of my boxers took on one of my bullmastiffs years ago and lets say more than held her own. .

[JackDaWack 2,895]

When my kids were young we had Boxers. They are fanststic with kids, endlessly playful and can protect in a bad situation. One of my boxers took on one of my bullmastiffs years ago and lets say more than held her own. .

Go to any dog park with a boxer and it will run circles around 99% of the other dogs.

[AlDente67 563]

We've been doing Chow rescue for over 20 years.  These are always mixes, but they can get pretty large.but still don't have the potential difficult temperments of purebreds.  The center takes them from down south, boards them for at least 3 months for observation and any shots or treatments they need (many people in The Carolinas and parts south should never be allowed to have dogs.   And the adoption fee is a small fraction of a breeder price.  My 90 pounder loves everyone who is 'approved' to enter the house when we are present.  We just have to be careful when the young rambunctios niece and nephew come over, because he gets excited to play with them by tackling them.

 

Our choice of breed initially stemmed from our first adoption from a pound.  They had 2 dogs up for adoption that day, and they told us nobody will take the Chow mix because of the huge amount of shedding fur, so we took him.  The rest is history.

 

Perfinder has a handy rating system which tells you which ones are not suitable for households with children or other dogs which is handy.  Puppies are hard to find because everyone wants a puppy, so the older dogs tend to languish in the no-kill shelters much, much longer, which is never good for a dog to be stuck in for socialization purposes.

 

I can't allow other dogs in the house, or go to a dog park, because he sees anything as if it were a rabbitt and will attack.  But people are fine.

[AlDente67 563]

Edit to above...the temperment of purebred Chows is somewhat risky unless you socialize them before 6 months of age.  I have no experience with other purebreds.  Our neighbor had a massive Dane named Tina, who was a gentle giant (130 pounds), but she suffered from hip displasia and died at age 10 after massive vet bills to treat her.

[T Bill 649]

Aunt Mary's Dog House.  Ours came from there.  Great bunch of people does great things to help man's best friend.

[Purple Patrick 638]

Edit to above...the temperment of purebred Chows is somewhat risky unless you socialize them before 6 months of age. I have no experience with other purebreds. Our neighbor had a massive Dane named Tina, who was a gentle giant (130 pounds), but she suffered from hip displasia and died at age 10 after massive vet bills to treat her.

I haven't met a Dane who isn't a complete lap dog

 

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[varna 9]

On my second yellow lab golden retriever mixed mutts. I will only have a female. Most loyal, playful, obedient, easy to housebreak, smart dogs I ever had. First was an SPCA find and second was a coworker's dog's puppy. Only downfall is they shed.......... a lot. Loves kids. Took to my new grandson on first day visiting. Grandson is 9 months old now and can poke eyes, pull tail, pull ears, grab food or bones out of her mouth....... all she does is smile, really she does smile, and wags her tail. She's about 60 pounds. Sweetest dog you would ever meet....... but..... the FedEx guy will not leave the truck. Her bark and aggressive looks keep most folks at bay. I assure you, She will only lick someone to death, but you would never know it. I guarantee you if you pulled into my driveway, opened your door and said "want to go for a ride" you would have a new partner.  When ever folks ask "does she bite" my answer is always "as long as my wife, kids, or myself are here your OK, if not you are on your own". Works every time.

Buy a collar with bells, similar to one you would see on a reindeer or something, hang from your door knob straight down so they can reach and ring it every time you take them out. Less than a week, ringing bell to go out. Invisible fence is awesome. Also, my wife and I work and unfortunately my in laws passed away so dog is home all day by herself. Installed dog door so now she has free reign on 5 acres anytime she wants. Usually she is sitting outside on front step waiting for my wife to get home.

She lives for fetch, going for a hike, and swimming in the pool........... sometimes right before we get home........I need to teach her how to dry herself before coming in the house.