I got an email about a dog that needed adopting at the county animal shelter. Since we've been thinking about a dog in our future (with 6- and 8-YO) girls, I took a look. That dog (Benny) has been spoken for but I looked around at the hundred or so other dogs and found two I like better (Oreo and Jet). Jet is great but Oreo is the one I want. I took my 21-YO daughter out to double-check with me on my second visit and she was drawn to Oreo too. It's a sign. I had an invisible fence guy come out and give us an estimate-- a cheap dog suddenly got expensive! What are your experiences with dog adoption and invisible fence-- separately or together...
We have 1.8 acres that are just open. We are out in the country. I'm more concerned about him wandering off than getting run over. I work out of the house but do leave for hours at a time almost every day. I want to be able to leave the dog outside when the weather is nice and not leave him/her inside to chew up furniture etc.
Dog adoption is awesome -- I've never known someone to regret it. As for invisible fences, I have the following useless story for ya. When my parents got their Boston Terrier, I was home for Xmas and we took him for a walk. Some nearby neighbors had just installed an invisible fence for their two mutty dogs. Those dogs came running full speed to meet the new Boston puppy who just stood their looking in their direction. Then POW they hit the invisible fence and went flying, yelping up into the air. They landed, blinked a few times and ran back to their house. Now, every time we walk the Boston by their house, they run away like crazy, because they think the Boston has some sort of magic pain ray coming out of his eyes! LOL dogz
I used to be a proponent against invisible fences but they are a great thing...they dont hurt the dog and the dog can learn to stay within a certain boundary. Dogs are investments, their love and companionship far outweigh whatever price it takes to ensure their safety. Honestly I think dogs are better than kids...you can raise a child perfectly in the home and then some b*stard friend of his or hers will throw all those years of sacrifice out the window. A dog wont ever let you down.
Hey, B-Bob that's a hilarious story. I hope that the Boston Terrier is enjoying his dominating reputation. pippendagimp: give some fleeting thought to that. Are cats any kind of company for dogs; I have three cats.. I bought a dog for my older kids in the early 90's and brought it into a cat-infested house. After a few days, everyone got along. That was a chihuahua; this dog is bigger. Will that be an issue? wink2moochie07: dogs are much more of a commitment than cats... but they are much more satisfying I think. This started out as a treat for my daughters, but I'm getting kind of excited about it. Mrs. G and I are going over to the shelter today to introduce her to Oreo. She may want a smaller dog...
Two dogs will most definitely be braver and wander further. I lived on 8 acres in college station in college. My dog would just wander around my property and not get too far away. I think dogs that have more freedom are better dogs. An invisible fence is an ok idea, but unless your dog is r****ded, he will stay close.
Adopted dogs are the best dogs on the planet. They might be really shy and skittish when you first bring them home, but once they get acclimated, they're incredible. My family has 3 of them, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Also, my family didn't do an invisible fence, they got an electrified fence. Though our situation was different - somebody was purposely kicking in our fenceboards and letting our dogs out - so we just wired the fenceline so that the next time the [expletive] tried to do it again, he(or she) got a nice little surprise. Our dogs don't come within a foot of the fenceline either - I've never seen them get zapped - the second we turned it on, they came up to it, checked it out, and turned the other way - they've stayed far away from it ever since.
my friend lives on alotta acres and what he did was build a x by x pen for his dogs. it's plenty enough room for them to run around.
We are huge into pet adoption. In fact, we are fostering two of the cutest puppies in the world right now (in addition to the 2 we have for good), so if anyone is looking for a puppy, please email me through the board. We've fostered and successfully adopted out five since December. In either case, the wife is big into it, volunteers and works with groups around the city all the time, is regularly pulling dogs at BARC, etc. As an fyi for people in Houston who don't know, BARC is the city pound and you can go adopt dogs there. BARC is a KILL shelter. Houston is one of, if not the top killer of pets in the country. Houston and San Antonio. We've got a lot of adoption groups around town, but still, they keep coming into BARC and depending on if they are sick, how they make it in, how long they are there, etc. the pet is killed. My wife was there the other day when a lady actually brought her dog in...she was moving out of state, for some reason couldn't take her dog, brought it to the SPCA, who told her they didn't have any room and to take it to BARC where it could get adopted. She was about to leave it at BARC. Fortunately, my wife was there, because owner turn-in's at BARC are killed immediately. The lady's dog would have been dead before she got home. Houston needs to radically change its pet shelter policies. Adopting some of these methods would be a start. Los Angeles just adopted new breeding laws in an effort to turn the city completely no-kill. Houston needs to catch up. Anyway, with that in mind, my advice would be as follows. Obviously, good for you. Adoption dogs are great. Second, in my experience, dogs are pack animals. If you feel you can handle two, I would definitely recommend it. Now, sometimes one dog just won't like another. So you definitely want to look for two dogs that get along. But if you can find that, they will definitely be happier. Third, I find invisible fences to be hit or miss. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much. Keep in mind that you are adopting this dog. The adoption place may know its specific history, but there's a reason its up for adoption (and that reason could be because it's gotten loose in the past). Like someone else mentioned, I know I'd have much better peace of mind if I could guarantee my dog wouldn't get loose...which would mean some kind of actual, physical fence. given the high price of the invisible fence, hopefully a physical fence shouldn't be that much more. best of luck.
We got our dog from www.petfinder.com and he's the best. No reason to pay big dollars for dogs when so many of them already need homes. I encourage anyone looking to get a dog to adopt.
Not really directed at you, but if you live in the country, around anyone who has livestock/poultry, this is a real good way to get your dogs shot.
We adopted Oreo this afternoon. He gets neutered in the morning and we pick him up Saturday after 4 PM. He's about 4 MO, kind of a skinny black lab with white front feet and a white chest.... and beautiful eyes. Just a great dog. We looked at some older dogs around a year old and had temptation to get one of them instead (as they are harder to adopt out) but went with the younger dog who has less of a history to deal with-- with two little girls at home.
