i have a 100 lb lab - i got him at 6 weeks and trained him myself. i was living in an apartment the first 4 months or so that i had him, but he did pretty good. having a couple roomates helped, as there was usually someone there. ive only lived in houses since then. dogs are like children that you can leave home alone for hours at a time. be ready for a long-term committment. im biased, but labs and retrievers are the absolute best dogs - loyal, smart, obedient, friendly, playfull and the cutest puppies. i would get a puppy so you can train it yourself. if you get an older dog it might already be pretty set in its ways. i bought a book on training dogs for hunting (even though i dont hunt) - called "water dog". really taught me how to think like a dog and what actually gets through to them. if you do get a puppy be ready for a few weeks of waking up a few times a night though. austin is a great town for dogs - so many parks and places to take them swimming. i go camping all the time and bring my dog w/ me whenever i can - enchanted rock, lost maples, pedernales.
www.petfinder.com Look at animal shelters. Look at mutts. Look at dogs with terrier in them. Terriers friggin' rule.
Heinz 57 is the best breed of dog you can get. Just keep checking at the shelters until you find the one that fits you best. I got Harp a little over a year ago form the SPCA.
Not chopped at all. I have a bench on that side of the yard that I'm sitting on and he's standing with his front paws on my legs. The eyes are a husky trait.
I heard greyhounds are great dogs. My neighbor had one when I was growing up, but I never really played with it or anything. Their pretty sweet looking dogs, they had a couple outside of a Petco on Red River for adoption. They just sat there and stared at everyone that walked by. I heard that they are very obedient because of the way they are trained, also, I read somewhere that a lot of them are abused sometimes so I'm sure a lot of them are real timid. Uprising- that's a good looking dog, he looks hilarious.
Just wanted to stress and re-iterate that owning a dog is indeed a big decision and a large commitment...if you do things right, you'll never regret it Anyways, here are some general tips (I'm assuming you are getting a pup): 1. When you first get your pup, spend as much time as you can with her/him. I bonded with my dog when she was a pup (I took like 4 days off of work). Also, make sure that your pup knows who's the boss, meaning that you are the alpha male dog (if this your first dog, I would not recommend picking an alpha male or female puppy). 2. After all the necessary vaccinations and stuff like that (and check with the vet on when would it be appropriate), make sure you socialize your dog with other people and other dogs. A good way to do this is through obedience training. 3. Bitter Apple is your friend. 4. Crate Training is a good way to train your pup. Dogs are naturally den animals, so a crate can become it's natural home and security place when you are away at work, and he/she is alone. 5. The approximate rule of thumb for puppy bladder control is this: The number of months old the pup is equates to approximately how long in hours a pups can hold his/her pee. So a 3 month old pup can hold it for about 3 hours, so schedule your days accordingly...and dont' be upset if he/she has an accident because you couldn't get home in time. Hope this helps.
Not an apartment dog. Needs a big yard with a high fence. Even older greyhounds are supremely athletic and can run fast and jump high. They also need constant exercise to keep them healthy.
Definitely, I think madmax was asking about greyhounds in general, they're definitely way too big for an apt.
Alright, alright...here's my shameless plug.... LABS RULEZ!!!! Here's my 2 1/2 year old, four-legged, hairy daughter, April: This is her as a puppy: This is her more grown up ( they grow so fast ):
how old is he? i've got a black lab too, but he's only 75 lbs. 3 years old. didn't think he'd get any bigger.
I have two beagles. We got the first one as a puppy when we lived in an apartment - BIG MISTAKE. Definitely do not get any dog from the Hound group if you're gonna be in an apartment. Now that we're in a house they're great though. We adopted our second beagle from the Houston Beagle Rescue, and it was so much easier than starting off with a puppy. We didn't have to potty train or anything. Here is a site I used a lot and it's a big help. There's even a section where it will help you decide what breeds are right for you given your situation: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/
It all depends on the parentage...if the parents were large, there's a good chance they will be large. IIRC, a healthy weight for labs is something from 60-80lbs range, and that's with both females and males being at opposite ends of the spectrum (ie males typically aren't near the 60lb side). If your dog is 3 years old, he's not gonna get much bigger unless you feed him. Labs are notorious for being pigs, they'll keep eating if you keep feeding. I had a friend once that owned a former guide dog lab that had flunked out with his previous blind owner. Apparently the dog figured out the guy was blind and would help himself to the guy's dinner (poor lab couldn't help himself). Anyways, just judging from that picture from jo mama, her black lab doesn't seem to be overweight, so maybe he's just had large-sized parents as such, which made him to a big (but not fat) boy.
Get a dog that barks really loud at night and move next to another person on Clutchfans. There can never be enough "My neigbor has a really loud dog, how can I secretly kill it without getting in trouble???" threads. But whatever you do, don't buy from a pet shop. That's like picking up hookers coming out of the hospital and overpaying for them.
Miniature longhaired dachshunds are great indoor dogs, especially in small places. Initially, they will be difficult to potty train, but if you properly do the crate training when they are puppies, then you shouldn't have any problems. Mine is pretty quiet - only time she barks is when strangers are coming to the door. I think this is probably a characteristic of the breed (longhairs). I have a red one, and people all the time are saying she looks like a tiny golden retriever. If you are interested in dachsunds, you should know there are all different kinds (normal size vs. miniature size, short haired, wired haired, and long haired). I would definitely go for the long haired ones. I think they look the best and have mild temperaments.
he's almost 6. he was easily the biggest of the litter (the owners of the mom called him "big country", which i hated b/c of the bryant reeves conotation) and has been around 100 lbs since he was 2. both his parents were in the 85-95 range (a golden retreiver and a black lab) he's not fat, just big. i take him out all the time so he gets his exercise. i just think of him as the warren sapp of dogs. i think 75 is about average for labs.
I concur... I've had quite a few labs in my life time. I'm in the market for a yellow lap pup (male), if anyone knows of a good breeder that isn't too expensive in Houston please let me know. I'm not interested in papers but want a full blooded yellow male... but would also pay for a registered one if the price is right.
