I want a dog, halp.

get a german shepherd or a golden retriever or any sort of husky mix. never been a huge fan of small dogs.

Rottwilers or Dobermans are dope too.

Corgis are quite active, so you won't want one if you don't have significant amounts of time to play with it (it will keep itself amused, of course, though probably by destroying your stuff). Being single and having a full-time job will only make it more difficult, especially if you get it as a puppy.

Are you living in a house or apartment? Yard size?

By PSYCH! Go To Postget a german shepherd or a golden retriever or any sort of husky mix. never been a huge fan of small dogs.

Rottwilers or Dobermans are dope too.

I have an unnatural dislike for Dobermans. Growing up my next door neighbor had a dog named Fear and would scare the ever loving shit out of me everything I took out the trash.

Golden Retrievers are really nice though.

By 33MillionDollarMen Go To PostAre you living in a house or apartment? Yard size?

Town house, but the yard is almost non existent. I mean there is one, it's just pretty small.

Black labs, any Bully are beautiful breeds with short hair

I'll never own another large dog. It's not their fault, but their size causes issues. They tear up a yard and bump into things in a house. I will also never own another Dog that sheds. I grew up with Labs and my parents currently have a 95 pound monster. He's sweet, but his shits are giant. He sheds. He tears up the yard and bumps into my mother all the time. (my mom's got a bumb back and isn't a spring chicken anymore)

I currently own a pound dog. A smaller terrier with long wire like hair and not fur. He doesn't shed. Doesn't tear up our yard or our house (hes mostly a house dog). Terriers are also smart as fuck and easily trained though sometimes stubborn.

Unless I'm looking for a specific breed with a specific trait I'll never get a dog that isn't a pound dog. Walking into a shelter made me want to rescue them all.

my better half wants a toy poodle

Corgi Corgi Corgi

Like, I can't gush enough about how great of a dog they are and they are great for apartment/townhouse living.

Just map out your wants/needs and go from there. Do you care about shedding? Do you want a running partner or a couch potato? Et cetera.

Then, decide if you want to adopt from a shelter or a breeder. If a shelter dog works, great. If not, find a reputable breeder who tests their dogs, keeps extensive health and pedigree records, and treats their dogs with respect. Visit them and check out their home and facilities.

How far do you live from work? If you're getting a puppy, you're going to need to go home at least twice during the work day for potty breaks for the first couple of months.

Also, CRATE TRAIN, CRATE TRAIN, CRATE TRAIN. Can't stress this enough.

By blackace Go To Postmy better half wants a toy poodle

If I ever have a large house with a sizable yard I would consider a labradoodle. Great hunting dogs with lots of instinct. Don't shed. Really smart. Until that happens I'm all aboard the terrier train.

My current guy looks like Toto from wizzard of oz.

EDIT: putting pictures in quotes doesn't reduce their size ... Reilo ... you know you gotta do it.

By BertramCooper Go To PostAlso, CRATE TRAIN, CRATE TRAIN, CRATE TRAIN. Can't stress this enough.

Yes ...

YES

Pics get resized down to the body of the post.

beautiful dog. 2nd pick is Mike Vick levels of dog abuse tho ;p

Toy Poodles are really good dogs too. I might go with it if we get a brown one.

I want a blue nose pit but she is a small woman and by year 3 the dog would be walking her

By reilo Go To PostPics get resized down to the body of the post.

Awwww ... ok cool.

By blackace Go To Postbeautiful dog. 2nd pick is Mike Vick levels of dog abuse tho ;p

Toy Poodles are really good dogs too. I might go with it if we get a brown one.

I want a blue nose pit but she is a small woman and by year 3 the dog would be walking her

Thanks ... he's ugly cute but we're happy with him

My father in law fucking hates when I bring him over wearing that jacket.

My friends have a poodle and love her. They give her a mowhawk though. They're great dogs. Really smart too.

By Fenderputty Go To PostAwwww … ok cool.

What I need to expand upon is the ability to click on the image to view full size.

Did someone mention doodles?

Here's some pics of my goldendood:



And one without all of the hair:

^^^ awesome dog.

In a lot of places you can rescue a greyhound. While you don't have a large place they're chill and happy to lounge around after all they've been through.

get a swedish vallhund

do you enjoy binge watching on Netflix?

By Yurt Go To Postdo you enjoy binge watching on Netflix?

Yurt, you're a human being. I don't think he wants you lounging around his house all day, chewing on the furniture, and pissing on the rug.

I'm a vet tech and most dogs are not worth the trouble.....but only because it's a lot of hard work. You really have to break their will to adventure and misbehave at an early age.

Personally, I think you can find a great dog at the local shelter. You just have to make sure they're okay if things don't workout and you have to make an exchange.

Nothing wrong with breeders (they all seem to be in Pennsylvania for me) but it can be expensive and time consuming if you want a specific breed.

Speaking of expense, expect to add anywhere from $1500 to $2000 in the first year of owning a puppy. This is going cover food, vaccines, vet visits and the spay or neutering. This is also another reason to go with a shelter because these dogs are typically up to date with shots and already fixed which is a big plus.

A dog is still considered a puppy until it's two years old. At that point they'll likely need a dental cleaning and will be eating about half of what they were while growing during their puppy years.

I lean towards bigger breeds that are obedient, don't shed a ton or require a lot of space.

1. Great Dane
2. Doberman Pinscher
3. American or English Mastiff
4. Standard Poodle

Little breeds I like:

1. Dachshund wire hair
2. French Bulldog
3. Italian Greyhound

Here's a French bulldog I work with, Nico.

Here's an albino Doberman, Sally.

Here's me with a clients Great Dane, Bishop.

By flabber Go To PostYurt, you're a human being. I don't think he wants you lounging around his house all day, chewing on the furniture, and pissing on the rug.

lol

Thanks for the responses everyone! That Swedish Vallhund is beautiful.

I kno BertramCooper and FenderPutty mentioned the importance of crate training, but can you explain why it's so valuable? In what situations would you use this in? Like I said, cat owner my whole life so no clue.

Crate training is teaching them about space and boundaries. This is their space. This is your space. Once they recognize that their space is theirs they won't piss all over the house when you let them roam. They'll learn to get on a schedule and go when you let or take them out.

you want them comfortable in a crate. Like GQ said, it needs to be their space. If you travel you'll crate them. If you stay at someone's house you'll crate them. If I go for long drives I crate my dog. He sleeps in his crate every night. Sometimes a drive stresses my dog, but not in a crate.

If you want a big dog, German Shepard no contest. Mine is damn near my best friend. He's 14 though and on his way out :(. They are fiercely loyal and amazing dogs.

Man, Great Danes are beautiful dogs, but I just couldn't deal with the short lifespan.

Having to say goodbye to a dog after only about 6-8 years would be too much for me to bear.

That's the biggest reason why I'll never get one of the giant dog breeds.

Go Samoyed or go home.
My best friend has one, her dog is the smartest dog I've seen and doesn't annoys people with stupid shit. Super cute, smart, and great companion. If I ever buy a dog, it would be a Samoyed.

OP: My only advice is to be completely honest with yourself when you're evaluating what kind of dog you want and what kind you can handle.

If you adopt a dog that doesn't work for your lifestyle, it'll be miserable for both yourself and your dog.

As a longtime cat owner myself, I adopted a (large) dog briefly in late 2014. While there were aspects that were great, such as going for walks and playing in the back yard, overall it caused a lot of stress. He was extremely territorial (a trait of Pyrenees mixes) so my cats perpetually lived upstairs when he was out and about. He was so big he couldn't help but bump into things. He licked *everything*. He was also big enough that if he didn't want to do something, there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

We ended up giving him back to the rescue, and while it was sad at the time it was absolutely the right thing to do.

If we ever get a dog again, it'll probably be a small dog. But even then it's a lot more expensive and labor-intensive than owning a cat.

https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/default