Subject: puppy or older?
From: (David Ananas)
Date: 9/7/03 2:37 PM Pacific

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter.

If you get a puppy, probably not without headaches. But why not contact your
local rescues? They always have dogs, have a good idea of what the dogs'
social/obedience level might be as well as whether or not they like cats! And
you can pick from different age/breeds. Rescues can be a terrific source of
loving pets and most will allow you to return if for some reason it doesn't
work out.


Deb
Shilo, Georgie & Hank

Subject: puppy or older?
From: (David Ananas)
Date: 9/7/03 2:37 PM Pacific

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter.

If you get a puppy, probably not without headaches. But why not contact your
local rescues? They always have dogs, have a good idea of what the dogs'
social/obedience level might be as well as whether or not they like cats! And
you can pick from different age/breeds. Rescues can be a terrific source of
loving pets and most will allow you to return if for some reason it doesn't
work out.


Deb
Shilo, Georgie & Hank

(David Ananas) wrote in message news:

An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

A puppy will not learn to house (or anything else) trained in the
basement and being stuck there with a bored puppy pretty much sounds
like cat torture to me. The rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold it
2 hours for every month old he/she is. That means that a 2 month old
pup simply has to go to the bathroom every 4 hours. If he/she has to
do so on the basement floor, you have effectively trained that dog to
go on the floor, undermining all other housetraining attempts. The
secret to housetraining is to be there to make sure the pup gets
outside to the designated potty place each and every time he/she has
to. You can't do that if you aren't there.
Get an older dog.

Lynn K.

(David Ananas) wrote in message news:

An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

A puppy will not learn to house (or anything else) trained in the
basement and being stuck there with a bored puppy pretty much sounds
like cat torture to me. The rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold it
2 hours for every month old he/she is. That means that a 2 month old
pup simply has to go to the bathroom every 4 hours. If he/she has to
do so on the basement floor, you have effectively trained that dog to
go on the floor, undermining all other housetraining attempts. The
secret to housetraining is to be there to make sure the pup gets
outside to the designated potty place each and every time he/she has
to. You can't do that if you aren't there.
Get an older dog.

Lynn K.

David Ananas wrote:

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

I would definitely go adult dog from rescue. Puppies are a lot of work
and a lot of trouble even if you don't have cat and work issues. The
beauty of an adult dog from a rescue is that it has already been in a
foster home for some time. You can get a dog that is already
housebroken and has proven to be fine with cats. Then your question of
whether your hours are good enough to housetrain a dog (which they
probably are not for a puppy unless you can get someone like a pet
sitter or dog walker to come in during the day to exercise and potty the
dog) is no longer an issue. It has been done for you! All you have to
do is teach the dog how the whole things works at your house (doggy
door, where to go in yard, etc.). You will also be aware of any habits
noted by the foster home so you can decide whether they are bad habits
or not for you to live with. In addition, I would never leave a cat and
a dog alone for that many hours at a time without having spent quite a
bit of time with the two of them to ensure no disasters would happen.
If you check sites like petfinder.com, you will see that they have
already figured out for you whether the dogs like cats, hate cats or are
indifferent to cats. If the foster home had no cats so they don't know
one way or another, the rescue will tell you that, too. Shepherd and
lab rescue can also help you to figure out whether their breed is right
for your you and your wife since they know their breeds very well, as
well as what dogs within that breed would be best for you. Check the
local rescues out and let us know what you find out!

--
Paula
"Where would Science be if every new idea that came along
were greeted with "That won't work", instead of "Let's
TRY it!" You first." -- Doctroid Holmes

David Ananas wrote:

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

I would definitely go adult dog from rescue. Puppies are a lot of work
and a lot of trouble even if you don't have cat and work issues. The
beauty of an adult dog from a rescue is that it has already been in a
foster home for some time. You can get a dog that is already
housebroken and has proven to be fine with cats. Then your question of
whether your hours are good enough to housetrain a dog (which they
probably are not for a puppy unless you can get someone like a pet
sitter or dog walker to come in during the day to exercise and potty the
dog) is no longer an issue. It has been done for you! All you have to
do is teach the dog how the whole things works at your house (doggy
door, where to go in yard, etc.). You will also be aware of any habits
noted by the foster home so you can decide whether they are bad habits
or not for you to live with. In addition, I would never leave a cat and
a dog alone for that many hours at a time without having spent quite a
bit of time with the two of them to ensure no disasters would happen.
If you check sites like petfinder.com, you will see that they have
already figured out for you whether the dogs like cats, hate cats or are
indifferent to cats. If the foster home had no cats so they don't know
one way or another, the rescue will tell you that, too. Shepherd and
lab rescue can also help you to figure out whether their breed is right
for your you and your wife since they know their breeds very well, as
well as what dogs within that breed would be best for you. Check the
local rescues out and let us know what you find out!

--
Paula
"Where would Science be if every new idea that came along
were greeted with "That won't work", instead of "Let's
TRY it!" You first." -- Doctroid Holmes

Ditto to Paula and Lynn--definitely an older dog. To determine which breed
would suit you better check out Michel Lowell's "Your Purebred Puppy, a
Buyer's Guide" there is a questionnaire in it that matches the various
breeds to your lifestyle.

--
Kristen &
Kali CD, CGC, TDI, TT
http://www.kristenandkali.com




"David Ananas" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

Thanks for any comment,

David

Ditto to Paula and Lynn--definitely an older dog. To determine which breed
would suit you better check out Michel Lowell's "Your Purebred Puppy, a
Buyer's Guide" there is a questionnaire in it that matches the various
breeds to your lifestyle.

--
Kristen &
Kali CD, CGC, TDI, TT
http://www.kristenandkali.com




"David Ananas" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

Thanks for any comment,

David

Hi ,
Does 8-5 include travel time ? Even with out travel time , thats 9
hours and that's a long time for an adult dog to go with out a break
let alone a puupy .There's a possiblity it will bark from boredom
and/or loneliness . Having someone call in at lunch time to walk your
dog will make a big difference.
I'm a bit concerned about the cat though , why does he have to stay
in the basement , what if the dog doesn't like cats or he is scared of
the dog . ???
Alison


"David Ananas" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would
appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the
work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will
probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat
and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the
basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

Thanks for any comment,

David

Hi ,
Does 8-5 include travel time ? Even with out travel time , thats 9
hours and that's a long time for an adult dog to go with out a break
let alone a puupy .There's a possiblity it will bark from boredom
and/or loneliness . Having someone call in at lunch time to walk your
dog will make a big difference.
I'm a bit concerned about the cat though , why does he have to stay
in the basement , what if the dog doesn't like cats or he is scared of
the dog . ???
Alison


"David Ananas" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

My wife and I (no kid) are planning to get a dog and would
appreciate
some advice. We both work 8-5 and at least one of us will be able to
spend time with the dog before or after work. Just not during the
work
hours.

The question is whether these off-work hours are enough for house
training the dog. We are thinking of getting either a lab or a
shepherd mix from a dog shelter. An older dog (1 year) will
probably
work better for us, but how about a puppy? We currently have a cat
and
during the work hours the dog/puppy will need to stay in the
basement
(plenty of windows to outside), with the cat to keep him company,
until he is house trained.

We could also need some comments whether a lab or shepherd will work
better for us.

Thanks for any comment,

David