Thinking about adopting a Large Dog.....and......

[angeleyes]

I haven't owned one in a long time. I think this may give me piece of mind after the break in and the insomnia it has caused... but I have a few questions:

1) I don't want it to eat my cat (how hard is it to make them get along?

2) I live in an apt. It's almost 1000 sq feet so it's big(ish) but I have it so crammed with furniture that the poor dog wouldn't have a ton of space.

Is this fair to a dog to leave him/her trapped all day in a small apt?

The pet would be spoiled rotten when I'm home and I would adopt from a shelter but I also can't afford to have the dog rip up my furniture and crap all over the place. (I work long hours, so I can't walk him/her during the day and I don't know if they have "dog walkers" in my area).

ok........your thoughts?

[baddog]

1. have an aggressive cat
2. not really, would it be fair to keep you cramped in an apartment all day?

[Sly_RJ]

Skip the dog. Buy a Louisville. An apartment for large dogs isn't fair, IMO. Plus your cat and dog will drive each other crazy while you're away.

[Ice]

Im house-broken

[Bulldog-Johnnie]

Jennifer I have some puppies if you prefer to start with one you can train. I come with a HUGE list of references and all my dogs are guaranteed in terms of their health, genetic soundness, and disposition. Hit me up sometime when you get a chance and let's talk.

[ztik]

get a greyhound

[DoubleD]

I'd watch how big of a dog you get, with a small space you dont want everything knocked over when you leave the room. I have a large breed puppy and 2 cats...one cat gets along with the dog great, they sleep together sometimes..doh. But the other is a little siamese and will attack the dog at a moments notice...

I usually just tell the dog "No" if it is rough with the cat, and at 8 months old they are good...
Has your cat been around dogs before...even at the vet? as a test....

[angeleyes]

Originally posted by Bulldog-Johnnie
Jennifer I have some puppies if you prefer to start with one you can train. I come with a HUGE list of references and all my dogs are guaranteed in terms of their health, genetic soundness, and disposition. Hit me up sometime when you get a chance and let's talk.

That is very sweet but I would really rather save a dog or puppie from a shelter, I'm not concerned with breeding.

[Loryn]

Please NO WAY!! Do not put a dog in a tiny apartment all day long while you are at work. Then you come home walk the dog so it can use the bathroom, then the dog goes back in the apartment all night long while you sleep. I mean thats 10 hours alone during the day, plus 8 hours alone while you sleep. 18 hours a day alone with no attention is like being in prison. It's just cruel.
The dog would better to stay at the adoption place until someone with a big yard, or someone that works at home could adopt him.

Love you bunches, just think it's a very bad idea!!

[SoundMan]

wait till you get a house.

I have 3 dogs and it is CrAzy.........

they have plenty of room.

cant imagine a cat in the picture..

[wyldblyss]

Get a Chihuahua, seriously. We have had large dogs and Chihuahuas and we much prefer the Chihuahua. They love to be spoiled, they barely if ever shed, they eat very little and need very little in the line of grooming. They don't require large spaces, don't need to go for long walks and can be litter box trained which means you won't come home to shit all over.

They are not the mean rats people make them out to be, they come in a variety of colors and coats and they have a long life span. They travel easy, are a true lap dog and are easy to bring out with you on errands. What more could you want?

[Gemini]

With that small of a place, you shouldn't go more than 20-25 lbs in size max... Yappers keep burglars away but could irritate your neighbors. And you probably should check your lease first. Some of them are pretty explicit on pets - sizes - breeds etc. They also cna cost some serious bucks in extra deposits.

If you can find one that won't get too big and it's young, sometimes they can be broken to a box. ;-) Older ones will go to a paper sometimes. Larger dawgs are usually the chewers too. We go through 4-5 of those HUGE chew things a week sometimes!!! The neighbors got tired of us letting our dawg chew on them and their cars.

[Z]

SAVE YOURSELF NOW! I made the mistake about 9 months ago of buying a large pure-breed puppy. I live in a 1900 sq. ft., 2 story condo with a huge patio and it's not big enough. I also work from home, so he doesn't go long periods of time alone and IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH!

Everybody tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen and went ahead and got him anyway. $2000 for the puppy and $1600 in obedience training later, I've got a wonderful dog who's too big for my BMW (which I just had to sell to get a Tahoe that was big enough for him) and now I'm looking for a house. My whole life's upside down over a dog that I shouldn't have gotten until I had everything else in place. To make it worse, I live on the fourth floor of the building. So, every time he has to take a shit or piss, I have to get bundled up and take him down to the lot next door and stand in the freezing cold while he does his deal.

Don't do it. Everyone really is trying to help.

[reynold]

Get a small but TOUGH dog breed.

[TurboAngel]

Originally posted by Loryn-Adult.com
Please NO WAY!! Do not put a dog in a tiny apartment all day long while you are at work. Then you come home walk the dog so it can use the bathroom, then the dog goes back in the apartment all night long while you sleep. I mean thats 10 hours alone during the day, plus 8 hours alone while you sleep. 18 hours a day alone with no attention is like being in prison. It's just cruel.
The dog would better to stay at the adoption place until someone with a big yard, or someone that works at home could adopt him.

Love you bunches, just think it's a very bad idea!!

You and I are on the same page on this one.

[arg]

Add me to the no-voters. Even if you worked normal hours, 8 hours of aloneness is too long for a couped-up dog on a regular basis, in my opinion, and you said you work long hours. Dogs like to be around people or other dogs, and to have space to run around. Wait until you have a house with a back yard, or until you think you're done working outside your home.

[FastAdultTraffic]

Originally posted by angeleyes
I haven't owned one in a long time. I think this may give me piece of mind after the break in and the insomnia it has caused... but I have a few questions:

Do it! You'll love it and I really think it will help.

1) I don't want it to eat my cat (how hard is it to make them get along?

It is very unlikely that a dog will injure a cat. It is far more likely a cat will injure a dog - assuming your cat is not declawed. If you have an adult cat, and a puppy dog, the cat will assert authority immediately. Additionally, dogs are very afraid of a cat's nails. The nails could cut an eye and dogs learn very quickly to be
cautious.

We got a dog at 10 weeks, then a month later, a 6 month old cat. Worked perfectly. Cat was older more mature, bigger. Puppy was new and learned. They didn't really get along, but 2 years later they're starting to get along, chase each other *yes both ways* and play together. Goofus and Gallant kinda action. Clumsy and Conniving.

Best analogy is if you had stepchildren and they had to deal with natural children. Territorial, etc, negotiated truce.

But it does work.

Cats are manipulative little bitches though.

2) I live in an apt. It's almost 1000 sq feet so it's big(ish) but I have it so crammed with furniture that the poor dog wouldn't have a ton of space.

You don't want your dog running around inside, so don't worry about space. He needs a place to lie down with you while you are on the computer or watching TV. Cross off Boxer. They need constant exercise. A German Schephard or Rottweiler could be okay. Surprisingly, Great Danes and Greyhounds are great couch potato dogs, but not super defensive. Look on AKCs website for characteristics of breeds.

If your apartment has access to a backyard patio you can easily put in a doggie door and he can have exercise in the yard if it's fenced.

Is this fair to a dog to leave him/her trapped all day in a small apt?

8-10 hours a day, inside, is not cruel in my opionion, as long as you walk him in the morning and spend 30 minutes playing with him at night.

The pet would be spoiled rotten when I'm home and I would adopt from a shelter but I also can't afford to have the dog rip up my furniture and crap all over the place. (I work long hours, so I can't walk him/her during the day and I don't know if they have "dog walkers" in my area).

You don't need to hire a dogwalker. You'll have to put 5-15 hours/week into training your dog for the first 3-6 months. It's just like a kid - only you don't go to jail if it dies.

You'll be fine. Think of how happy that dog will be compared to living w/ white trash family tied up in the sun next to a Chevy Nove on blocks with primer, or getting the death needle from the humane society doctor.

ok........your thoughts?

Get one!

[Nysus]

Find a low excercise dog that's already lived with cats previously. Older dogs don't need as much excercise, and some larger dogs can wait to go out once a day, but for a minimum of 1 hours moving around, preferably able to socialize/play with other dogs.

Hope you can figure something out.

Cheers,
Matt

[chowda]

large dogs are big and scary.