What kind of dog should I get?

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Replies

  • kellyrice
    kellyrice Posts: 1
    I would recommend a Boston Terrier because they are very people friendly, smart, smaller size and always ready to go when you are! I would strongly advise visiting a breed's rescue site and/or petfinder.com when you're ready to adopt. There are SO many wonderful dogs out there hoping for loving homes and the adoption fees are really affordable plus you can look for one that is a couple months to a year old and already house trained. Catch a dog show on Animal Planet if you have time and do a little research from that as well!
  • Nipha
    Nipha Posts: 12
    I have a beagle and live in an apartment and she goes running with me no problem. She does sniff all the time on walks, but when we are running she is really excited and jogs right along with me. Sure, if a small animal darts in front of us she gets distracted but that is pretty normal for any dog. Right now I just have her on a neck collar, but I have used head collers in the past with sniffing/pulling problems with great success.
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    both Border Collies and Beagles have herding/hunting instincts. I can't speak for beagles but I know that Border Collies don't do well in apartments. They need a lot of freedom and a lot of room. They have herding instincts and need some serious socialization. My dogs are Border Collie/Sheltie mixes and they bark a lot, not good for apartments.

    I would look at the terrier class. They are small enough for an apartment but have a lot of energy if you want to run with them.

    Just my opinion.

    Oh....and my dogs definitely try to herd small children and anyone in a car or on a bike. Very strong herding instincts.
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
    Thanks Kelynn! Do they bark a lot though? Oh and I'm starting gluten free today!

    ~Leash :heart:

    By nature, yes, but I've read that if you teach them to bark on command then you can also teach them to STOP barking on command.

    Good luck with the GF. It's really starting to exhaust me... :ohwell: Keep me updated on how it's going... send me a message if you want- we're both pretty much at the same point with it, so maybe we can help each other out! :flowerforyou:
  • mmnichol
    mmnichol Posts: 208 Member
    Greyhounds are AWESOME apartment dogs! They don't need a lot of exercise and are really content to sleep about 20 hours a day if necessary. They can be *great* running partners if their stamina is built up (my retired racers were built and trained for sprinting). I've been building my guys up slowly. They can go a good 2.5 miles now if the temp isn't too high.
    Greyhounds vary in size from about 40 pounds to about 100 pounds and come in something like 160 different color combinations. :tongue: Retired racers don't have a lot of genetic health problems like a lot of dogs because they're bred for *health* and athletic ability. Plus, if you adopt a retired racer, they'll probably already be trained pretty well to heel on lead and house trained.

    Fantastic dogs (I have 2)!

    Hey!! I have two as well, they are good in apartments, don't generally bark, and are very easy to take out for a walk or short run.

    I second the adoption option!! There's so much over breeding. Do some research, all dogs were originally bred for a job and have particular traits as such.

    good luck on a smart decision.!!
  • stef_e_b
    stef_e_b Posts: 593
    I have a malti-poo and before him I had a yorkie. My malti-poo is bossy and very smart. If I tell him we'll go out in ten minutes he'll go chew on something for a bit then come back and ask to go out again. He's high energy enough that he can go out for long walks and not get too tired. We live in a townhouse and before that an apartment so he's ok with small spaces and shorter walks when we have less time. He's also hypo-allergenic. My yorkie was second hand, so she was older when we got her so I'm not as good of a judge of what they are like.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    So, did you get your pup??
  • April0815
    April0815 Posts: 780 Member
    Mini daschunds are ridiculously cute...I don't know how fast their short little legs could go though. :laugh:

    I've always wanted a daschund but yea they can't run far enough! lol

    Believe it or not daschunds can run far and fast. We were at my mother in laws for the holidays and my daschund(min) that lives there now, she has 70 acres loves to run. We were in her rhino racing Buster, he was running 12 mph. Good luck on your search.
  • AnneElise
    AnneElise Posts: 4,206 Member
    :heart: Go to the humane society and ask to meet some medium sized dogs! We got our pup at the humane society and he is perfect. He came potty trained, he loved to run, but he was happy living in an apartment (just think about how hard his life was before). He is 35 lbs.
  • lose100
    lose100 Posts: 54
    We have a Boston Terrier, and he's the love of our life. He's 26 lbs, and they aren't supposed to get any bigger than that, or they are considered overweight. Boston's are not barkers, and don't shed. Love people, but are protective as well. Tucker loves to go for walks and rides. He has lots of energy, but will snuggle with you and fall asleep at any time of the day. The best way to find a good match for you, is to find a "Dog Finder" website, and it will allow you to put in all the things you are looking for in a dog, and it will then give you the best matches. That's how we found our boy! Good lucK!

    Mandi
  • jessicajoy87
    jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
    Beagles are barkers, and I'm not sure how well a Border Collie would do in an apartment. They need a lot of exercise and probably need to keep busy since they're a "working" breed.

    I agree about beagle and barking. I used to have one and not only did it bark alot they just have a weird bark. But they are so cute. They have the puppy face for forever!
  • courtneylynn0889
    courtneylynn0889 Posts: 17
    i have a pembroke welsh corgi.... they love to run because they were orginally herding dogs... they have short little legs so the aren't big.... ..but they are very loving and intellengent we have to and they are balls of energy they love running around the yard with me... they are also very loyal and intellegent..i would recommend these to anyone! :bigsmile:
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
    Check out petfinder.com as well, it's the best option out there! They list all the local shelters near you and have the option of searching the classifieds as well.
    Let us know how the search is going.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    Beagles are barkers, and I'm not sure how well a Border Collie would do in an apartment. They need a lot of exercise and probably need to keep busy since they're a "working" breed.

    I agree about beagle and barking. I used to have one and not only did it bark alot they just have a weird bark. But they are so cute. They have the puppy face for forever!


    There is a beagle 2 doors down from my house and it does make the weirdest noise! We call it the devil dog. When they first moved in it took me a while to figure out what that noise was!! :laugh:
  • VballLeash
    VballLeash Posts: 2,456 Member
    Beagles are barkers, and I'm not sure how well a Border Collie would do in an apartment. They need a lot of exercise and probably need to keep busy since they're a "working" breed.

    I agree about beagle and barking. I used to have one and not only did it bark alot they just have a weird bark. But they are so cute. They have the puppy face for forever!


    There is a beagle 2 doors down from my house and it does make the weirdest noise! We call it the devil dog. When they first moved in it took me a while to figure out what that noise was!! :laugh:

    O NO! I don't think I'm going to go with a beagle anyways... I'm not going to get one for a month or so anyways... thanks for all your help! :)

    Leash :heart:
  • cerdmann
    cerdmann Posts: 60
    OMG! Who knew there were so many of us MFP'ers who are also dog crazy!!! We've had several different dogs over the years and loved them all. Our current dog, a chocolate lab, is a wonderful, loving pet and is always ready for a walk (sometimes more than me)! The only problem is that she is rather large and she sheds like there's no tomorrow. We've had both a cocker spaniel and springer spaniel. Both were wonderful dogs, but I'd say the springer, as a general rule is more likely to be adaptable to running with you. Both our cocker and springer spaniels were very content to be inside dogs so would be no problem in an apartment. The cocker does have longer hair but we kept her shaved down most of the year because she was too warm. Our springer didn't shed at all and we kept her in a "field cut" so that her hair didn't get matted. We now have 3 grand-dogs - two springer/lab mixes(about 35-45 lbs), and a full-bred springer puppy. None of them are ultra-high energy but they all love to get out and run. None of them are big barkers and all are lovers. Have fun choosing a puppy. They'll love you unconditionally every single day!
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