Help with puppy!

DawnOf1969

So yesterday, my husband was at a very busy, high traffic, yet remote job site (gas drilling) and a puppy came up to him. He tried shooing it away and leaving but the puppy kept getting under his truck. He drove away finally but looked back and saw the puppy in the road and had to go back and pick her up. He was going to take her to the animal shelter but couldn't make himself do it so now we have this puppy. My husband (who normally does not have a soft spot for animals) took her to the vet yesterday to get her checked out. She is apparently healthy to the naked eye except for a possible small hernia. It appears she is about 3 months old, a shepherd mix. So he brought her home. We have to keep her quarantined from our 5-year-old dog, Hershey, for 2 weeks in case she's been exposed to a virus that has not yet manifested itself. However, prior to knowing that he introduced her to Hershey who is scared to death of her. So we kept the puppy in the bathroom most of the night after bathing her and taking her out every hour to potty (apparently she's pretty potty trained). She slept a lot yesterday evening but probably due to being dumped by her former owner and wandering around for a while in the heat with no water. (she had a flea collar on so SOMEONE owned her and she didn't just wander to where he found her).

Problems I need help with: She bites, and bites, and bites and bites and bites and bites.......I've read and read online how to stop her from biting and I've tried every method I can find, from making a loud noise, to yelping like a hurt puppy, to sternly saying "no bite" to putting her in the bathroom and ignoring her for a few minutes, to picking her up by her scruff like her mama would've done, to using Cesar Milan's method of "shush"ing her and poking her, to pinching her like her littermates would've done. I dont know what else to do. All she wants to do is BITE! your hands, your ankles, your shoes, whatever she can bite. I gave her three toys and try to redirect her to the toys but she just drops the toy and comes after you! I got her some little rawhide chews which haven't worked either. I am at my wits end! I don't know what else to do. She has to stop biting like this before we introduce her to Hershey. Which brings me to my next problem.
Hershey is terrified of her. Anytime he catches site of her his tail goes between his legs, his ears go down, and he runs. He is literally scared to death of her. Although I've read online about integrating your new puppy with your older dog, it scares me to death to think about doing it. It seems so unfair to Hershey to bring this new puppy into his very content life. and I'm afraid he will hurt her if she gets too nippy and annoying with him.

I'm not yet attached to this puppy, it's been less than 24 hours we've had her (and $50 later!). So another option might be to find her a better suited home. There's even more reasons I can think of not to keep her. My dogsitter is elderly and I dont know if she could handle another dog with this much energy. We were not in the market for another dog, we didn't even want one. I don't relish the thought of double the monetary expense, in this economy, although we could manage it and I don't begrudge a single dime we would spend. I just don't know if I can go through the puppy stages again. However, both my son and husband seem attached to her. I feel like God brought her into our lives for a reason, especially since my husband brought her home and it's very unlike him. I just don't know what to do. I'm very torn. I've never owned more than one dog at a time so I'm scared myself.

Please give me your thoughts and advice, especially you multi-dog owners! HELP!

TheMaidOfAstolat

Find an animal rescue. It's your best bet, since you have no time for the pup and you didn't really want one to begin with. Just make sure it's a rescue group that will not put the pup down if they have no room. You may be asked to donate some money to offset their costs (well worth it). Do not take it to the pound, animal control, or sell/give away online. By posting on sites like Craigslist you can get some weirdos that would actually kill it rather than love and take of it.
As for the biting...she's at a stage of teething...not much you can do.

karmasBFF

I firmly believe dogs learn by positive reinforcement. My son's dad used to hit our dog and it only scared him, not taught him. Now that he is gone, we never hit our dog. Sure, there are accidents and slip ups and yes, I do yell at him and make him lay down but I also "congratulate" him when I come home and there have not been any accidents. This also worked when he was chewing EVERYTHING! My shoes, CDs, DVD cases, clothes, EVERYTHING. now that he has correlated the good behavior with the reward, he's pretty weel behaved!

HonestOmnivore

IF she's biting in that spastic happy puppy way there's s fix - if she's biting in the leave me alone growling mean way there might not be...

Happy biting - is bad puppy play behavior. Hold her up by her upper body so she's dangling (your hands around her ribs under her front legs) and say NO! Stare at her mean and hold her till she stops squirming. Then set her down again and gently quietly pet her. You'll have to do this until your arms are about to fall off the first day but she WILL get it.

Pick up "The Other end of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell - it's a great read period and it is super helpful for dysfunctional puppies! I'm guessing she lost her litter mates young and didn't learn the rules of play (I yelp you back off).

If she's snarling mean and biting mean you have a problem and I would have her put down if it doesn't stop in the next 24 hours...

Edited to add - I own three dogs and we have my BFF's dog here while she's on vacation. The pack thing takes about two weeks to settle down when you add a new dog - just a few minutes to settle down when you add a dog they've met before. ((shhhh) your dog might not know it's a dog - so you might have to suggest it help the puppy as it's pet not pack member)

ALSO take the puppy outside (even if it's raining) and run her around lots! Roll balls and toss toys and get some of that puppy energy worked down! She is biting attacking feet to play and wants interaction of other person/dog because she was so alone. Dogs aren't meant to be alone! A tired puppy is a good puppy!

We had a nippy puppy and we did a combination of big roar NOOOO! (think Monster's Inc) and a flick on the nose to simulate pissed off Mamma dog. My sister says that if you NO a puppy (under 16 weeks) for nipping and they don't pee themselves you weren't loud enough (this is extream but funny coming from my very sweet sister with her very spoiled dog).

sharmo

when she bites, eberyone in the room get up and leave! shut the door behind you and leave her alone for a short time. we used to make a cup of tea, then go back in. if she does it again, leave. we did this with our springer pup and she soon got the message that biting means no company and no playing.

she is now officially the nicest, best tempered dog in all the world (well in my unbiased opinion anyway).

expressbug

Our dog chews everything and anything. He also has seperation anxiety which makes the chewing even worse when no one it home. I get rawhide chips, bones and stuffed animals. Everytime i catch him chewing on something I make him get in his bed and I give him something he is allowed to chew on. I also read that puppies that done exercise enough get bored and tend to chew on things to pass the time. Maybe puppy needs more exercise.

Resalyn

She will eventually outgrow the biting/chewing. MaidofAstolat is right, she's probably teething. Our puppy is 5 months old and still does the biting thing occasionally when he gets excited. I snap him on the nose with a finger and say "no bites" and sometimes "ow!" really loud - and he changes from biting to licking - almost as if to say "I'm sorry, let me soothe it."

It sounds like you're doing all the right things to stop the biting - it's just going to take time for those things to sink in. The best thing we bought was at a pet store - it's a hollow bone that has been filled with tasty stuff. The stuff inside is of a harder consistency, not gel, and our dogs literally lick and chew them for hours at a time.

As for Hershey - sounds like he might be more a passive personality, the puppy may overwhelm him initially. Or, seriously, Hershey will eventually assert himself and put the puppy in his place. It may be loud, and include a nip or a bite to the puppy - who may howl like the demons of hell are coming after her. As long as it is brief, it's important that you act like nothing happened, becuase it's just dogs being dogs, establishing a heirarchy. Scolding one or the other sends the wrong message.

As for keeping the puppy or not keeping the puppy - it sounds like you need to have a family meeting to discuss. I agree with MaidofAstolat - if you DO decide to rehome her, a rescue organization is a much better choice than "the pound." Most shelters have a 50% euthanasia rate. Puppies, especially young ones, are often placed quickly - unless she is rather large or, believe it or not - if she is all black, she may not be placed quickly.

We ended up with a shepherd mix almost this same way 5 years ago - he's part shep, part black lab, and all black. He was a handful, and bit and chewed incessantly! We almost took him to a shelter for the very same reasons you're considering it. I even called and went to the shelter - and they told me about the difficulty they face placing all black dogs. I did some research on it, and it is true - apparenlty the psychology of it is that people find them more intimidating for some reason.

We didn't take him in, we kept him - and he is the BEST dog. He's loving, completely enamaored with us and loyal - and he actually saved me last year when three dogs attacked me during one of our walks. He's only 60 pounds, but he held off those 3 BIG dogs until the owner heard me yelling and came and pulled them off. I wouldn't give him up for the world!

txcwgirl

For the biting give her hard chew toys, it sounds like she is teething. But I agree with Themaidofastolat that you need to find a rescue for the puppy, google shepard rescue for Texas, or you can go to the AKC website. www.akc.org to find a sanctioned rescue, please don't feel like you need to keep the puppy, especially if it will be a problem in the long run. There are people out there who really want puppies and your local rescue will help you find a good owner.

DawnOf1969

The animal shelter or craigslist is not an option. I would find her a good home on my own if we decide not to keep her. I never said I dont have time for her, I just said we didn't want another dog, we were not in the market for another dog. I know that sometimes you don't choose your pets, your pets choose you. That's how we got our Hershey. We went through the puppy stages with him so I know what I'm getting into. I just don't want to be unfair to Hershey, which is my biggest concern. I will definitely invest in some Bitter Apple spray, although we used that with Hershey and it did not deter him, I will most definitely try it with her. Thank you for all your adivce, I am taking it ALL under consideration. I knew I could get some good advice here. I probably just haven't given the no-bite techniques long enough to work

TheMaidOfAstolat

The animal shelter or craigslist is not an option. I would find her a good home on my own if we decide not to keep her. I never said I dont have time for her, I just said we didn't want another dog, we were not in the market for another dog. I know that sometimes you don't choose your pets, your pets choose you. That's how we got our Hershey. We went through the puppy stages with him so I know what I'm getting into. I just don't want to be unfair to Hershey, which is my biggest concern. I will definitely invest in some Bitter Apple spray, although we used that with Hershey and it did not deter him, I will most definitely try it with her. Thank you for all your adivce, I am taking it ALL under consideration. I knew I could get some good advice here. I probably just haven't given the no-bite techniques long enough to work

I've worked in rescue a long time and I understand that you didn't plan on a new dog and as you said sometimes we don't have a choice...they make it for us. But if you honestly think that keeping her might cause issues later on...now is the time to get her to a rescue group. Dogs that will be in the large to x-large catagory and are black, brown, or tan are much harder to place expecially when fully grown. We have several dogs at my local humane society that I pulled out of animal control over a year ago and they still haven't found a home...but it's better living as a foster than being put to death.
With that being said my dog Grace still occasionally bites when playing (she'll be two next month). Our other two dogs are just fine with the nipping (one does get food aggressive but it's due to her living on the streets for over 3 months when she was a puppy). The Bitter Apple spray didn't work with any of ours either...we just use commands "no bite" and "stop" and these seem to work well (these are the same commands I use when we foster and are also used at the shelters I work with). I'm sorry if I came off as harsh but I've been working in the rescue/foster area since I was 10 (so over half my life has been dedicated to animal welfare) and I would hate to think that you might resent taking this dog in. Anyways, good luck.

HonestOmnivore

If you look at my pictures you'll see Mrs. Fig - she's our cat-lady re-born as a Neapolitan Mastiff. They're too big to be mouthy but Mrs. Fig, at 18 months, will still 'gum' your hand when she's all wound up! It's just lips (and goo- yuck!) but she can't seem to over-ride her mouthy urges when she's excited. That being said, she's as nice a dog as you could hope for. When she catches the cats they get a very tender ear cleaning. We often find one or both cats sleeping on her by the fire place.

The picture of her "sad face" was taken at the end of a weekend with friends, when people started leaving. Dogs make new pack mates pretty quickly and she was SOOO SAD to see her pack-mates leaving

Our oldest dog, Betsy is a princess beagle who is NOT a dog. She's not interested in dogs and doesn't know why we have any at all! She would me no more likely to sleep on the rug by the fire, than to sleep in the mud! She prefers couches and the cabin in the back yard *coughDOGHOUSEcough*. Hershey will always be the elder member of the family, with all the privileges that go with that!

AS for teething - we try to keep a target rich environment so our teething pups have a GREAT chance of finding "legal" chew toys rather than "found" chew toys. When Mrs. Fig was young she would come galloping up to us with her "found" toy as if to say "LOOK WHAT I FOUND - CAN I KEEP IT?" quite helpful as we were able to save various slippers from destruction!

TheMaidOfAstolat

If you look at my pictures you'll see Mrs. Fig - she's our cat-lady re-born as a Neapolitan Mastiff. They're too big to be mouthy but Mrs. Fig, at 18 months, will still 'gum' your hand when she's all wound up! It's just lips (and goo- yuck!) but she can't seem to over-ride her mouthy urges when she's excited. That being said, she's as nice a dog as you could hope for. When she catches the cats they get a very tender ear cleaning. We often find one or both cats sleeping on her by the fire place.

The picture of her "sad face" was taken at the end of a weekend with friends, when people started leaving. Dogs make new pack mates pretty quickly and she was SOOO SAD to see her pack-mates leaving

Our oldest dog, Betsy is a princess beagle who is NOT a dog. She's not interested in dogs and doesn't know why we have any at all! She would me no more likely to sleep on the rug by the fire, than to sleep in the mud! She prefers couches and the cabin in the back yard *coughDOGHOUSEcough*. Hershey will always be the elder member of the family, with all the privileges that go with that!

AS for teething - we try to keep a target rich environment so our teething pups have a GREAT chance of finding "legal" chew toys rather than "found" chew toys. When Mrs. Fig was young she would come galloping up to us with her "found" toy as if to say "LOOK WHAT I FOUND - CAN I KEEP IT?" quite helpful as we were able to save various slippers from destruction!

Mrs. Fig is totally adorable (I'll assume HP reference). LOL.

DawnOf1969

If you look at my pictures you'll see Mrs. Fig - she's our cat-lady re-born as a Neapolitan Mastiff. They're too big to be mouthy but Mrs. Fig, at 18 months, will still 'gum' your hand when she's all wound up! It's just lips (and goo- yuck!) but she can't seem to over-ride her mouthy urges when she's excited. That being said, she's as nice a dog as you could hope for. When she catches the cats they get a very tender ear cleaning. We often find one or both cats sleeping on her by the fire place.

The picture of her "sad face" was taken at the end of a weekend with friends, when people started leaving. Dogs make new pack mates pretty quickly and she was SOOO SAD to see her pack-mates leaving

Our oldest dog, Betsy is a princess beagle who is NOT a dog. She's not interested in dogs and doesn't know why we have any at all! She would me no more likely to sleep on the rug by the fire, than to sleep in the mud! She prefers couches and the cabin in the back yard *coughDOGHOUSEcough*. Hershey will always be the elder member of the family, with all the privileges that go with that!

AS for teething - we try to keep a target rich environment so our teething pups have a GREAT chance of finding "legal" chew toys rather than "found" chew toys. When Mrs. Fig was young she would come galloping up to us with her "found" toy as if to say "LOOK WHAT I FOUND - CAN I KEEP IT?" quite helpful as we were able to save various slippers from destruction!

Oh, precious! Thanks for your advice. and I love your profile and all your comments about yourself

toots99

What kind of dog is it? A male or female? Is it loud and barky? About how old is it?

I want a dog really bad. I refuse to go to a shop and buy a dog, I'd much rather save one. And I'm not that far from you in Texas...near DFW.

However, I live in an apartment. I wouldn't be able to just take any dog. I don't think it'd be fair to take a huge dog while I live in a one bedroom apartment. And also, though I know dogs bark, I'd rather not have one that is excessively loud and barky. That'd be disruptive to my neighboring apartments, and could get me into trouble. I've been looking for the right dog for a while. I live near a big park with long trails to walk and my complex even has a "puppy corral" for doggies to run around playing with each other.

If you'd like, you can send me an email with some pictures and more info. If the details match up, and you'd still like to find a home for the puppy, maybe we can set up a day where I can come and play with him for a bit, see if we're a match! My email address is sgmahle@ymail.com.

Resalyn

The animal shelter or craigslist is not an option. I would find her a good home on my own if we decide not to keep her. I never said I dont have time for her, I just said we didn't want another dog, we were not in the market for another dog. I know that sometimes you don't choose your pets, your pets choose you. That's how we got our Hershey. We went through the puppy stages with him so I know what I'm getting into. I just don't want to be unfair to Hershey, which is my biggest concern. I will definitely invest in some Bitter Apple spray, although we used that with Hershey and it did not deter him, I will most definitely try it with her. Thank you for all your adivce, I am taking it ALL under consideration. I knew I could get some good advice here. I probably just haven't given the no-bite techniques long enough to work

Ohmigosh, the bitter apple spray.... We've been "dogsitting" my parents' chocolate lab for the last four months, and he's been a handful - not to mention that Brego (the black lab/shep mix) doesn't like him much. We also have a 5-mo mini Aussie puppy.

Anyway, Cody, the choc lab, was chewing, so we tried Bitter Apple spray. Hmmmm, not so much. I came down stairs and Cody was licking the woodwork in loonnngggg strokes of his tongue - and come to find out, Hubby had sprayed the Bitter Apple. Well, I guess it's good that he's licking instead of chewing, right? LOL!

TheMaidOfAstolat

The animal shelter or craigslist is not an option. I would find her a good home on my own if we decide not to keep her. I never said I dont have time for her, I just said we didn't want another dog, we were not in the market for another dog. I know that sometimes you don't choose your pets, your pets choose you. That's how we got our Hershey. We went through the puppy stages with him so I know what I'm getting into. I just don't want to be unfair to Hershey, which is my biggest concern. I will definitely invest in some Bitter Apple spray, although we used that with Hershey and it did not deter him, I will most definitely try it with her. Thank you for all your adivce, I am taking it ALL under consideration. I knew I could get some good advice here. I probably just haven't given the no-bite techniques long enough to work

Ohmigosh, the bitter apple spray.... We've been "dogsitting" my parents' chocolate lab for the last four months, and he's been a handful - not to mention that Brego (the black lab/shep mix) doesn't like him much. We also have a 5-mo mini Aussie puppy.

Anyway, Cody, the choc lab, was chewing, so we tried Bitter Apple spray. Hmmmm, not so much. I came down stairs and Cody was licking the woodwork in loonnngggg strokes of his tongue - and come to find out, Hubby had sprayed the Bitter Apple. Well, I guess it's good that he's licking instead of chewing, right? LOL!

That's what ours have done, LOL. I gave up on that...they eventually grew out of it. We give them sweet potato chews everyday and that seems to get rid of the 'chew cravings'. I get them from Foster & Smith online...great site.

HonestOmnivore

Yes - Mrs. Fig is named after the cat lady in the Harry Potter books - we named her before we realized she actually IS a cat lady! She could also be "Mrs. O'Leary" a reference from the Percy Jackson series

Resalyn - An active dog that's big would dislike being cooped up but there are big LAZY dogs that want no more exercise than the trip from your couch to their food dish. Also most dogs really don't bounce around in the house - they use their energy for walks and romps in a dog park. The biggest challenge with a puppy in an apartment is the time it takes to get them outside to a place they can potty!

We've had luck using the green Mexican hot sauce diluted with a little water and sprayed onto "no chew" stuff. Lucky for us only a rocker has been chewed in the last ten or so years of dogs!

TheMaidOfAstolat

Yes - Mrs. Fig is named after the cat lady in the Harry Potter books - we named her before we realized she actually IS a cat lady! She could also be "Mrs. O'Leary" a reference from the Percy Jackson series

Resalyn - An active dog that's big would dislike being cooped up but there are big LAZY dogs that want no more exercise than the trip from your couch to their food dish. Also most dogs really don't bounce around in the house - they use their energy for walks and romps in a dog park. The biggest challenge with a puppy in an apartment is the time it takes to get them outside to a place they can potty!

We've had luck using the green Mexican hot sauce diluted with a little water and sprayed onto "no chew" stuff. Lucky for us only a rocker has been chewed in the last ten or so years of dogs!

I really want a cat that looks like Crookshanks (that's not my main reason for getting a cat though) but we just can't have one right now...can't afford the vet bills and our dachshund wouldn't like it very much. Our JRT would be just fine with one and so would our JRT/Chihuahua mix would love to have another fuzzy friend in the house (no matter the species).

Agree about the big dogs...we've had greyhounds in the past...and the nickname for them to so true (45 mph couch potatos). They want nothing more that to sleep on a couch and be petted.

paddlemom

What kind of dog is it? A male or female? Is it loud and barky? About how old is it?

I want a dog really bad. I refuse to go to a shop and buy a dog, I'd much rather save one. And I'm not that far from you in Texas...near DFW.

However, I live in an apartment. I wouldn't be able to just take any dog. I don't think it'd be fair to take a huge dog while I live in a one bedroom apartment. And also, though I know dogs bark, I'd rather not have one that is excessively loud and barky. That'd be disruptive to my neighboring apartments, and could get me into trouble. I've been looking for the right dog for a while. I live near a big park with long trails to walk and my complex even has a "puppy corral" for doggies to run around playing with each other.

If you'd like, you can send me an email with some pictures and more info. If the details match up, and you'd still like to find a home for the puppy, maybe we can set up a day where I can come and play with him for a bit, see if we're a match! My email address is sgmahle@ymail.com.

toots, if you are wanting a large dog and living in an apartment, check out a greyhound rescue! Best large apartment dogs EVER!!! Especially if you do have a great area to walk and a dog run area. My daughter adopted one and she is the sweetest thing - they call them 75mph couch potatoes because while they can run FAST and they NEVER should be off a leash unless in a fenced dog park, they really and truly sleep all day. A half hour in the dog park and she is looking for her nice soft bed! Read up on them alot though - like all dog breeds they have their idiosyncracies that need to mesh with your dog style.

LOL...MofA....clearly you were posting as I was typing!!!:laugh:

bratgrr, it's tough having a puppy sprung on you! its hard to keep your head when all the others about you are losing theirs! I'd say that unless you a really opposed to a new puppy, see if you can have a family concensus to give it a week or two to see how this new one settles in. One day is not long enough to see how either dog is going to behave, so I just don't want that to be what makes a pivotal decision for you. The puppy will still be as cute and adoptable in a week or two - in fact, probably moreso because you will have fostered him enough to know what she is really like rather than trying to adopt out an unknown quantity - important when you would be looking for a home on your own, and not dropping her at a shelter.

On the other hand, if you need to be the realist about work, expense, commitment and knowing who will do the lion's share and in your heart you know that you just can't manage it then check out petfinder.com. I think that private individuals can post there as well as rescue groups and it's a great resource for matching people with pets. That's how we found our rescue dog.

DawnOf1969

What kind of dog is it? A male or female? Is it loud and barky? About how old is it?

I want a dog really bad. I refuse to go to a shop and buy a dog, I'd much rather save one. And I'm not that far from you in Texas...near DFW.

However, I live in an apartment. I wouldn't be able to just take any dog. I don't think it'd be fair to take a huge dog while I live in a one bedroom apartment. And also, though I know dogs bark, I'd rather not have one that is excessively loud and barky. That'd be disruptive to my neighboring apartments, and could get me into trouble. I've been looking for the right dog for a while. I live near a big park with long trails to walk and my complex even has a "puppy corral" for doggies to run around playing with each other.

If you'd like, you can send me an email with some pictures and more info. If the details match up, and you'd still like to find a home for the puppy, maybe we can set up a day where I can come and play with him for a bit, see if we're a match! My email address is sgmahle@ymail.com.

toots, if you are wanting a large dog and living in an apartment, check out a greyhound rescue! Best large apartment dogs EVER!!! Especially if you do have a great area to walk and a dog run area. My daughter adopted one and she is the sweetest thing - they call them 75mph couch potatoes because while they can run FAST and they NEVER should be off a leash unless in a fenced dog park, they really and truly sleep all day. A half hour in the dog park and she is looking for her nice soft bed! Read up on them alot though - like all dog breeds they have their idiosyncracies that need to mesh with your dog style.

LOL...MofA....clearly you were posting as I was typing!!!:laugh:

bratgrr, it's tough having a puppy sprung on you! its hard to keep your head when all the others about you are losing theirs! I'd say that unless you a really opposed to a new puppy, see if you can have a family concensus to give it a week or two to see how this new one settles in. One day is not long enough to see how either dog is going to behave, so I just don't want that to be what makes a pivotal decision for you. The puppy will still be as cute and adoptable in a week or two - in fact, probably moreso because you will have fostered him enough to know what she is really like rather than trying to adopt out an unknown quantity - important when you would be looking for a home on your own, and not dropping her at a shelter.

On the other hand, if you need to be the realist about work, expense, commitment and knowing who will do the lion's share and in your heart you know that you just can't manage it then check out petfinder.com. I think that private individuals can post there as well as rescue groups and it's a great resource for matching people with pets. That's how we found our rescue dog.

I definitely agree about the greyhounds! We used to have a greyhound and boy was she a couch potato!!! We're having a family discussion tonight about all of the issues (cost, responsibilities, how long to give her). We wont even know about integrating her with Hershey until the 2 week quarantine is up so we have to be willing to be in it for the long haul. Right now she is 3 months old and only weighs 8 pounds but the vet feels she will be large since she is a shepherd mix and her paws are large. She doesn't really bark right now, she's so young, she really just squeals.

I really appreciate all suggestions and ideas. People on MFP are so wonderful.

toots99

toots, if you are wanting a large dog and living in an apartment, check out a greyhound rescue! Best large apartment dogs EVER!!!

I'd rather not have a large apartment dog. I'd feel bad having a big dog in a one bedroom apartment, like he wouldn't have enough room and feel caged in. I'd think a small-ish dog would be better.

I'll find the right dog...just takes time.