A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
|A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to get
| but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
| who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
| preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
| reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
| yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
| dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the
future.
| She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
| during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have
an
| extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
| (she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).
|

Are the only criteria that the dog be able to stay alone for a few hours,
and be accepting of kids later?

"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

There are many breeds that could be suggested based on size & shedding
alone. Only a handful would be suggested if things like trainability,
exercise needs (more specific than not extremely active or lazy),
vocal/non-vocal, socialization needs, etc were specified.

If she's looking for Lab-like qualities without the shedding she could
*consider* a Boxer, but only if playing retrieving games and reliability are
unimportant to her. IMO Boxers have more personality (slightly less in the
brain department) and they require more human-dog attention on a "be with me
and let me plaster myself to your side/lap/leg/face" level than a Lab which,
IME, requires more person-dog interaction for exercise needs. Boxers aren't
generally as destructive to the home as Labs are but they tend to be counter
cruisers & trash raiders. They don't generally get into the whole game
thing with toys & fetching that Labs do nor do they tend to require as much
physical exercise to be happy as a Lab does.

Boxer owners need a sense of humor, they need to be willing to have a dog
that acts much more like a 3yo child, they need to give their dogs lots of
attention time whether its just being home and sitting with the dog on the
sofa or taking the dog out with them. They need to be willing to deal with
a very physical dog who will bounce, jump, paw, mouth and box...not to
mention pull, ignore and be unreliable when either in public or in front of
an audience. Training is a must and I highly recommend starting with a dog
at least 2yo as they are hellions until then *but* coming from a shelter
provides the advantage of the dog being very obedient and trainable for the
first two weeks he/she is in a new home.

Boxers do shed but the hairs are close to invisible as they're small. This
could be a bad thing from some POVs because at least with Lab hair you can
see it & sweep it up whereas Boxer hair just manages to find its way to you,
weave itself into any fabric in the vicinity, and stay there. On the plus
side, they don't get that doggy smell that many dogs do and are almost
no-grooming-required. The females of the breed tend to be very quiet while
the males, for some odd reason, tend to be a bit more vocal but still not as
vocal as many Labs I've known.

There are so many Boxers in shelters and rescues and many are there for a
reason. They weren't trained, didn't receive proper attention and becamse
unruly in their homes. Taking on any dog should be an educated and
dedicated choice and taking on a Boxer should also include a very serious
Q&A about what the person truly wants in a dog and not just what they think
sounds good. IOW don't let her choose a breed on a few factors alone, drive
home the need for good research beforehand and realistic/honest
expectations.

--
Tara

MauiJNP wrote:
A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

I recommend that she take a look at the book, "The Right Dog for
You" by Daniel F. Tortora. It's not new, but it's pretty
comprehensive and helps someone match their preferences and
temperament with those of dogs that are typical of their breeds.

FurPaw
--
Born to live a life of leisure, still waiting for it to happen.

To reply, unleash the dog

"Tee" wrote in message
...
"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to
get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the
future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have
an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

There are many breeds that could be suggested based on size & shedding
alone. Only a handful would be suggested if things like trainability,
exercise needs (more specific than not extremely active or lazy),
vocal/non-vocal, socialization needs, etc were specified.

If she's looking for Lab-like qualities without the shedding she could
*consider* a Boxer, but only if playing retrieving games and reliability
are
unimportant to her. IMO Boxers have more personality (slightly less in
the
brain department) and they require more human-dog attention on a "be with
me
and let me plaster myself to your side/lap/leg/face" level than a Lab
which,
IME, requires more person-dog interaction for exercise needs. Boxers
aren't
generally as destructive to the home as Labs are but they tend to be
counter
cruisers & trash raiders. They don't generally get into the whole game
thing with toys & fetching that Labs do nor do they tend to require as
much
physical exercise to be happy as a Lab does.

Boxer owners need a sense of humor, they need to be willing to have a dog
that acts much more like a 3yo child, they need to give their dogs lots of
attention time whether its just being home and sitting with the dog on the
sofa or taking the dog out with them. They need to be willing to deal
with
a very physical dog who will bounce, jump, paw, mouth and box...not to
mention pull, ignore and be unreliable when either in public or in front
of
an audience. Training is a must and I highly recommend starting with a
dog
at least 2yo as they are hellions until then *but* coming from a shelter
provides the advantage of the dog being very obedient and trainable for
the
first two weeks he/she is in a new home.

Boxers do shed but the hairs are close to invisible as they're small.
This
could be a bad thing from some POVs because at least with Lab hair you can
see it & sweep it up whereas Boxer hair just manages to find its way to
you,
weave itself into any fabric in the vicinity, and stay there. On the plus
side, they don't get that doggy smell that many dogs do and are almost
no-grooming-required. The females of the breed tend to be very quiet
while
the males, for some odd reason, tend to be a bit more vocal but still not
as
vocal as many Labs I've known.

There are so many Boxers in shelters and rescues and many are there for a
reason. They weren't trained, didn't receive proper attention and becamse
unruly in their homes. Taking on any dog should be an educated and
dedicated choice and taking on a Boxer should also include a very serious
Q&A about what the person truly wants in a dog and not just what they
think
sounds good. IOW don't let her choose a breed on a few factors alone,
drive
home the need for good research beforehand and realistic/honest
expectations.

--
Tara



Heh, we had a boxer here on the farm for a while. Male, about 1, and so
active. Sweet dog, but he did need more attention and training. And if he
was outside at night, he seemed to forget everyone. He would threaten
everyone. But, that's the only boxer I've ever known, and dogs vary like
people. YMMV

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 20:21:06 -0500, "MauiJNP" wrote:

A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

Unless there are a whole lot more differences between yellow and black
lab fur than color, she doesn't want a yellow lab if she doesn't want
shedding. There's a reason I have bought so many pairs of black pants
since I got a black lab.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy, so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

"Child" wrote in message
...

"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
|A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to
get
| but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding
dog
| who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many
other
| preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
| reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
| yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
| dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the
future.
| She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
| during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have
an
| extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
| (she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).
|

Are the only criteria that the dog be able to stay alone for a few hours,
and be accepting of kids later?



that and low to no shedding and also not toy size

"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
MauiJNP wrote:
A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to
get but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding
dog who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many
other preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the
shedding reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She
thought a yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there
any other dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in
the future. She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few
hours a day during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't
want to have an extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I
can pass along (she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the
group).
I recommend that she take a look at the book, "The Right Dog for You" by
Daniel F. Tortora. It's not new, but it's pretty comprehensive and helps
someone match their preferences and temperament with those of dogs that
are typical of their breeds.



thanks for the book recommendation. since access to the internet is out,
I'm sure she'll love the book idea.

"Paula" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 20:21:06 -0500, "MauiJNP" wrote:

A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to
get
but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding dog
who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many other
preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the shedding
reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She thought a
yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there any other
dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in the
future.
She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few hours a day
during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't want to have
an
extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I can pass along
(she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the group).

Unless there are a whole lot more differences between yellow and black
lab fur than color, she doesn't want a yellow lab if she doesn't want
shedding. There's a reason I have bought so many pairs of black pants
since I got a black lab.



that's what I thought, thanks for reassuring me about the shedding, I'll
pass it along

"Tee" wrote in message
...
"MauiJNP" wrote in message
...
A friend of mine has decided to get a dog. She isn't sure what kind to
get but has some things in mind. She is looking for a low to no shedding
dog who is medium to large size (no toy breeds). She doesn't have many
other preferences though. I told her to look into poodles due to the
shedding reason but she is not sure that's what she wants to do. She
thought a yellow lab but I told her I thought they shed alot. Are there
any other dogs that she should consider. She has no kids but plans to in
the future. She lives alone so the dog would need to be alone for a few
hours a day during the week, either crated or in one room. She doesn't
want to have an extremely active or lazy dog. Thanks for any help that I
can pass along (she doesn't have a computer so she can't access the
group).

There are many breeds that could be suggested based on size & shedding
alone. Only a handful would be suggested if things like trainability,
exercise needs (more specific than not extremely active or lazy),
vocal/non-vocal, socialization needs, etc were specified.

If she's looking for Lab-like qualities without the shedding she could
*consider* a Boxer, but only if playing retrieving games and reliability
are unimportant to her. IMO Boxers have more personality (slightly less
in the brain department) and they require more human-dog attention on a
"be with me and let me plaster myself to your side/lap/leg/face" level
than a Lab which, IME, requires more person-dog interaction for exercise
needs. Boxers aren't generally as destructive to the home as Labs are but
they tend to be counter cruisers & trash raiders. They don't generally
get into the whole game thing with toys & fetching that Labs do nor do
they tend to require as much physical exercise to be happy as a Lab does.

Boxer owners need a sense of humor, they need to be willing to have a dog
that acts much more like a 3yo child, they need to give their dogs lots of
attention time whether its just being home and sitting with the dog on the
sofa or taking the dog out with them. They need to be willing to deal
with a very physical dog who will bounce, jump, paw, mouth and box...not
to mention pull, ignore and be unreliable when either in public or in
front of an audience. Training is a must and I highly recommend starting
with a dog at least 2yo as they are hellions until then *but* coming from
a shelter provides the advantage of the dog being very obedient and
trainable for the first two weeks he/she is in a new home.

Boxers do shed but the hairs are close to invisible as they're small.
This could be a bad thing from some POVs because at least with Lab hair
you can see it & sweep it up whereas Boxer hair just manages to find its
way to you, weave itself into any fabric in the vicinity, and stay there.
On the plus side, they don't get that doggy smell that many dogs do and
are almost no-grooming-required. The females of the breed tend to be very
quiet while the males, for some odd reason, tend to be a bit more vocal
but still not as vocal as many Labs I've known.

There are so many Boxers in shelters and rescues and many are there for a
reason. They weren't trained, didn't receive proper attention and becamse
unruly in their homes. Taking on any dog should be an educated and
dedicated choice and taking on a Boxer should also include a very serious
Q&A about what the person truly wants in a dog and not just what they
think sounds good. IOW don't let her choose a breed on a few factors
alone, drive home the need for good research beforehand and
realistic/honest expectations.

--

thanks for all that great info, I printed it out so I am sure she'll check
out a boxer book to see how that would or wouldn't suit her.