advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

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doglover4ever
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Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:42 am

advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by doglover4ever »

Hello

I have found a lot of members on here are very helpful and I am ripping my hair out as my husband wont listen to me we were settled on the Shih Tzu and then he says he wants a bigger dog as he wants to take the dog with him on his morning run but im not sure as he wants a German Shepherd and he only runs twice a week. the problem is I will be the one looking after the dog as he will be out at his salon 5 days a week for 8hrs a day. I work from home but work for 3hrs a day on my laptop but I would do my work when my husband comes home. I am at home all day. I just keep thinking that as this is our first dog we should start small and then go large if we wanted to.

as I want to get a Shih Tzu but am not sure on a German shepherd and I also read this http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/pu ... ern-3.html. I have never heard of a puppy drawing blood is this true. it would not bother if this is normal but another reason why we should go small so we can get our feet wet as they say with dog ownership.

what are your thoughts. I know we will have to decide but I would be very greatful if you could give me your opinions or experience with either breeds or on the article about the German shepherd pup drawing blood.
JudyN
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by JudyN »

Yes, it can be normal for pups to draw blood. My arms used to be covered with both scratches and bruises. I'm not sure that's a reason for getting a smaller dog than a bigger one though. In a way, having a bigger 'land shark' can focus the mind more on overcoming the issue. The last thing you want is to ignore puppy biting because the dog is small and so it seems less important. (Size may be more of an issue if you have, or are planning to have, children though, as a big dog can do more damage even if only in play.) Just as with babies, there is going to be pain involved in the early stages but it's worth it in the end :wink:

Puppies can also have tantrums when it looks (to the inexperienced eye) like aggression, and again, this is something you don't want to be able to ignore.

German Shepherds are maybe not the easiest 'first dog', though it depends on the individual dog. There's been a lot of discussion about the breed recently - the forum's search facility should bring up some relevant threads.

You are going to be doing most of the dog care and so you should be happy with the breed chosen, but of course your husband needs to want the dog too. You may need to cast the net a little further and consider other breeds. What are your priorities?

Being a sighthound fan myself, I would suggest lurchers and greyhounds. They are often called '40mph couch potatoes'. They don't need a vast amount of walking (though maybe more than a shih tzu) and generally nap the rest of the day so are a good choice when you work from home - no soggy tennis balls dropped on your lap every 10 minutes. But they do, of course, love to run and should enjoy running with your OH.

I'm not an expert - but I am a first time dog owner with a very large dog who was definitely a land shark in his younger day!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
doglover4ever
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Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:42 am

Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by doglover4ever »

Hi JudyN

thanks for your reply.

again really good advice, well I have spoken with my husband and he has said he would like a bigger breed not only for running but he see's small dog 90% of the time in his salon and would like a different breed than what he see's at work and I was shocked that 70% are Shih Tzu's. I have read one post at the moment about the GSD and that was about if they were good first dogs or not and I have showed my Husband and we both agree maybe we should pass on the GSD and also small dog breeds. I know he secretly want a Golden Retriever as he was brought up around them and as a teen he had his own Goldie, so I think I shall surf the net for info on the Goldie.

funny enough I did find an article ages ago on best dogs for first time dog owners and the Goldie was number 1. it was on Vetstreet don't know if it is a good source of info though :)
delladooo
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by delladooo »

I agree with Judy here. Small isn't necessarily the way to go just because of the size and you do both need to be happy with any breed you get. It's possibly easier to get a feel for the type of dog by examining what you want and then finding breeds to fit. Whilst not always the best resource, the KC website has a tool that will do this for you and can give you quite the range of breeds to then consider. You'll probably look at the results and discount some straight off purely from personal preference but some of the suggestions could surprise you and make for an interesting point to build on if nothing else :D
doglover4ever
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by doglover4ever »

Hello

thank you for your reply Delladooo. I am always learning and understanding things on here so like to ask things.

I have had a big discussion with my husband as well as read all the posts on here on the GSD and have decided that the GSD is not for us and we then both researched the Goldie together but I really prefer the Labrador to the Goldie I don't know why but the seem to appeal more to me. but we have also researched the English Cocker spaniel as well and of all the dogs on our list we are know down to the English Cocker Spaniel and the Labrador Retriever.


today we went to a Labrador breeder to see the Lab in the home and get to know them and we stayed for about 4hrs and we also went to see ECS in the afternoon and cant decided between the tow. it was nice to have a lovely day after the trouble im having with next door.

dose anyone have any experice with either breed that may help with our desion
Erica
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by Erica »

Labs love everyone and can be very clumsy! They don't really remember personal space when they're running around - so in a puppy stage, you're in danger of tripping/being body slammed often. If either of you have delicate bones this could be an issue, lol.

Labs are lovely dogs, though. The two I take care of on a regular basis are very sweet, love to just be around people, and are easy to train to do things. Recall around distractions could be an issue, or if they're really fetch-obsessed they might ignore a herd of deer five feet away when you have a ball in hand (speaking from experience!).

So, while I won't be looking for a lab myself, they are pretty good dogs. They do like a lot of exercise when young (obviously, as a puppy, restricted to keep their joints healthy - joint issues can be a big problem). They shed a TON. Like, A. TON.

Pros and cons from my point of view (of a typical lab - there are always exceptions!):
Pros: dog and people friendly, easily toy and food motivated, easygoing once older, people aren't more afraid of labs than other dogs (ie no breed specific legislation issues), easy to amuse (fetch, food toys, walks, sniffing games, training)
Cons: very enthusiastic and clumsy, shed a lot, might think other people and dogs are more fun than you are and ignore recall to play with them, big enough that clumsiness can lead to human injury, get overweight easily

Not much experience with Cockers! Only ones I've known are badly bred and raised, so I make no assumptions on the breed based on those interactions. :P

Here's proof of Maddie not caring about the nearby deer:

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Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
ckranz
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by ckranz »

I think I will take a slightly different tack than everyone else. I would visit your local shelter and meet the dogs there of all ages and breed types. Read their descriptions and talk to local shelter personnel from the adoption councilors to behavior consultants/trainers they may employ.

If you do not find a dog you both could open your hearts to, you still will have gained valuable insight into multiple breed types, activity levels at a variety of ages and thus have perhaps a better idea of what will fit with your home and lifestyle. In general labs and goldens do make wonderful pets, but there those within those breeds that are highly driven that would perhaps not be the best "pet" dogs but excel if the household engages in agility, flyball or other sporting activity.

Once you have decided on a breed you can also check your local breed rescues for available dogs.
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Nettle
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by Nettle »

A caveat here is that IME most shelter staff are nothing like as experienced as you, Ckranz, and I have to pick up a lot of the fallout in my professional capacity from people who have been badly advised or downright lied to, especially in regard to breed traits and breed mix. Not all shelters are moral, and many here are no more than second-hand dog dealers. Frankly I would still recommend a well-raised pup from a good breeder for owners who are not experienced enough to read between the lines.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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doglover4ever
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by doglover4ever »

Hello all

thank you so much for all your replies.

thank you Erica for your experience of the Lab im very greatful for all the info you gave my husband also read it with me and I think we have decided on the lab. I don't know why but I seem to be drawn to the Lab. were both in our late 30's and are not planning on having children as I cant. my husband expressed that he prefers the Lab to cocker mainly because of size. the Lab dose sound like what we are looking for.

Nettle - we agree that a puppy from a good breeder would be better for us and the rescues near to us don't have a very good reputation and the nearest lab rescue to us is over 70miles away and the nearest Rspca is around 20miles from us so we don't have may rescues near to us.

for our first dog we have decided a lab and for a puppy but once we have owned a dog we would consider a rescue for our second once we have more hands on experience . :D
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Nettle
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by Nettle »

Sounds a good plan!
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Erica
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Re: advice please my husband wont listern to me regarding breed

Post by Erica »

Dr Dunbar has great advice for selecting a good breeder in his free pdf "Before You Get Your Puppy," if you want some ideas for finding the good ones!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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