Guess what, guess what UPDATE

[rajh08]

My husband told me that if I keep the house spotless for two months everyday that we can get a dog!! YAY! Today is the 1st day so I still have 61 more days to go lol But I'm super excited! My 2 1/2 and 4 yr. old human kids told me they want a dog and they'll keep there room clean for me lol. I know I can do this!

I'm trying to decided what breed would be best for us. I love Saint Bernards, Newfoundlands, Aussie's... and other types but those are my main choices b/c they are known to be great with kids and they match what we are looking for. But I'll keeps my heart open for other breeds. Hopefully, we can find a perfect match to our family when we start looking to adopt


I recently made a post about looking into other animals/pets to adopt here holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=dogs&action=display&thread=2638&page=1 just to update the people who replied to that post.

I have been begging my husband for a dog since we have known each other and he finally said yes so my heart is set on a dog and the decision is made for our next pet! YAY!! DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!!

Questions I have to other dog owners, do you keep you ferrets separated from your dog? If you do how do you do ferret play time and where are they kept? When you got your ferret(s) or dog(s) did you make sure your dog(s) or ferret(s) got along with each other? And what is your favotire breed of dog and why? Share pictures of your pups pwety pweas

Thanks

UPDATE:

I've been keeping the house clean and my husband even said that if we go camping 4 times that he will take 2 weeks off.. WELL GUESS WHAT.. My husbands job is moving up and we are making more money and he said that I have to choose between getting a dog or going to San Diego, CA.. Of course it wasn't much of a choice though even though he said it is. The boys kept talking about the ocean and how awesome Disney Land would be.. my husband kept going on about San Diego and how he really doesn't want a dog.. We couldn't even agree on a breed. I choose San Diego b/c I wanted everyone to be happy. I'm really disappointed about it. I was so excited to finally have a dog.. my husband keeps telling me you made the decision yada yada.. I really don't feel like I had a choice. I guess I'll have to wait another 5 yrs to start asking again.

On a some what positive note we settled on fish.. and bought a 29 gl. tank and we each picked our own. My 4 yr old son James got a Red Bellied Pacu and named him Big Fish, my almost 3 yr old pick out an Orange Cichlid and name him Orange, I picked a Tiger Oscar Cichlid and named him Charlie and my husband picked out a Blue Jeweled Cichlid. We also got a bottom feeder. We have had fish before and they were more exciting than we thought they would be. I don't know how long we will be able to keep the Pacu b/c we recently found out that he would need a 200-300 gallon tank for him and I'm pretty sure we can't get one that big in the next few months. My Charlie will get to 14 in. and grows kind of slow. He can live in a 75 gallon and I'm pretty sure I can find one when the time comes.

I'm kind of excited to see Charlie come out of his shell. They can recognize there owners and try to get attention from you. You can teach then tricks, pet them, hand feed them. They even will spit stuff out of there tank lol. I'm still sad about not getting a dog.. but I'm trying to see the positive about the fish.

[Heather]

Good luck. Might I make a suggestion....the Aussie...you've got small children, you don't want an Aussie or at least not your typical Aussie. They will herd them, and they bite when they herd (they were created to herd cattle, nipping is part of the deal). They are also a high drive animal (herding group tends to be that way). I hung out with an Aussie breeder, she wouldn't place her dogs with families with young children and usually required her dogs to be involved with fly ball or some other high energy activity. They can be destructive if bored. I also would be very cautious with them around ferrets. They're also notorious barkers
I like Saints and almost got a newf....my fault with them is lots of hair (high grooming, my elbows can do that much grooming any more...joys of getting old you can get short haired Saints though)and drool.....tons of goober...it sticks really well to your ceiling They are usually very good with children (they've been known to bowl over children, especially when dealing with smaller children) but then they get all guilty and mushy. I had a pyrenees (2 actually) who got along great with the ferrets, all children (was a therapy dog who was actually certified for the children's wards in hospitals). Shakespeare was very gentle and tolerant. Baby creatures and small children were allowed special privileges. Even baby Napoleon was given privileges


This is my pup, Mithrandir...he's not a pup any more. Little Pooka decided he was someone to play with. This was very stupid on my part to allow this type of playing between the two. Pooka is at high risk at this time and I know better. Mithrandir would never knowingly hurt her, but even here at 5 months he could have seriously hurt her.


Here much older, well ok, he's about 2 yrs old in this pic with Napoleon, he's much more comfortable and allows the ferrets, Napoleon in particular to sleep with him on the dog bed

To attain this level of care around the ferrets took a lot of patience and training. Mithrandir in particular as he is a sight hound and they are notorious hunters. He's been trained to be called off deer (something they have been used to hunt down through the centuries as well as wolves hence the name...wolfhound) The breeder had grave misgivings as she had concerns about him hunting the ferrets. I had to turn down the offer of his brother as he had never been taught not to hunt the inside pets.
I wish you luck, both with your cleaning and your research in choosing your special family companion.
ciao
ciao

[Sherry]

As silly as it may sound, if you want a dog good around kids and small animals, check out with your local pit bull rescue. These are absolutely amazing animals who have been given a very bad name by a few people.
And yes, I'm very familiar with the breed. Mia is, as you can see, very old here:

She was also fantastic with little kids, even though she was seldom around them.

[Deleted]

whare to start....... ok, got it...... I am a dog groomer. I would stay away from MOST of the terriers like westys, carin, fox, scottys, jack rustle, (any breed that has terrier as part of their name). I would also stay away from herding dogs. I have a toy and minature poodle who have unlimited supervised playtime with the ferrets and a standard poodle 1 1/2 yr old who only has interaction through a gate (she is not mean but being still puppy she would pounce on them to play and hurt them. won't take that chance.) then I have one that I normally wouldn't recommend. that is my 3 1/2 yr pit bull. he has been with me and constantly socialized to all animals since birth. he gets to play with them as long as he is on a leash. in another month or two, he should be ready for off leash SUPERVISED play. he knows not to chase the cat, our pot belly pig, or our 4# poodle. he loves to visit 5 wk kittens at the vet and gives them kisses. I never worried about letting them meet before bringing the ferrets home, but that is because I'm always bringing animals home and are used to it. as far as a dog comming into the family, I would defiantly introduce in nutural aera. you need to make sure that dog will do good with small creatures. so far my favorite breed is the poodle. as for pictures, just look on my banner. good luck and have a great day.

[Deleted]

Ah and then there is the good ol Lab mix.....I have not met one yet that is not a complete love>>>>>

[Heather]

Around here that lab mix is usually border collie...a herding breed which makes it touchy around small animals or at least my friends little sweety who thinks that cats and ferrets are of the same category...."chase"
ciao

[Deleted]

I grew up with a shepherd lab mix, who was a mother hen of a dog. My sisters lab mutt was black lab/collie, and she also watched the children and was a calm motherly presence. My girl, that just passed in November, was a yellow Lab mix, not sure what with, and always was a steady calm gentle soul. Gotta have the right people to raise them up, though no matter what the breed. Get a rescue, where the staff has already evaluated the dog's "personality"

[rajh08]

I read that pyrenees can be very stubborn so I'm kind of shying away from them. My mother in-law had Assuies growing up and she has an aussie lab mix right now named Rio. After Rio passes she plans to gets a full Aussie. I thought you could teach them not to herd children and people?

What do you guys think about the Bernese Mountain dog, Collies, Boxer, English Springer Spaniel, Alaskan Malamute, Australian Bulldog, Great Dane and Boston terrier?

I think my 1st 3 choices would be the 1st St. Bernard, 2nd Bernese Mountain dog, 3rd Newfoundland. I love big fluffy dogs lol and they make good dogs.

I've been trying to get my hubs to talk about breeds and what he wants in a dog and he says he'll talk about it a the end of this month lol.

I'm looking for a great family dog that will be a mixture of laid backness and energy. As our kids get older we will become more and more active. We like to go camping, hiking, fishing, playgrounds, walks, bike rides, hang out at home in the yard, my husband plays softball, go to family events.. The older my human kids get the more active we will become and we will do those things more often and we already do those things quite a bit. We will even add on some like cross county skiing..

[Heather]

Pyrenees aren't stubborn :-[much. They're a dog that was raised to think for itself. If it doesn't see a purpose for your request, it won't do it. Pyrs don't have a name, they don't necessarily come when called and when they do it's on their own time....rather like owning very large furry ferrets ;D ;D ;D
Saints a very good dog, short lifespan, some lines have aggression issues, be careful. Be prepared to teach your little ones about death at an early age for all 3 of your chosen dogs. I love all 3. Saints and newfs are working dogs. Big, loving goofs. The Bernese.....is a guard dog, just like a pyr. with the same mentality (not as lazy though). They are easier to train but....they are every inch as stubborn, do not recall well and if they get the upper hand...you loose. According to a friend who breeds them they're also a high energy dog who can get destructive if not trained and given a job (I don't know I always saw hers sleeping and barking ;D but I do know she used to take them out and walk the whole pack 2 miles every day) They're not a dog to make training mistakes with. Don't get me wrong...I love them. Properly trained they are an awesome dog. Saints and News once you get passed their terrible teens (this occurs about 18 months as they're both breeds that grow for a full 3 yrs) they're an awesome dog. Newfs, don't do well in the heat (dark heavy coat) and are not an active breed. They love the water though, and will make sure your kids never get in it. They will rescue them all day ;D ;D I researched all 3 of these breeds for myself
I've had an alaskan malamute...high, high energy dog (hooked him to a harness and my bike 5 miles a day, he could have kept going...I was bushed :(oh, if you cross country ski...awesome dog...skiijoiring a blast), leans toward the dominance end of dogs (like the pyr,they're always pushing their people to see if you will drop your guard). Has a tendency toward dog on dog aggression and has a high prey drive. I taught my boy not to hunt my cats inside...but could never get him to not hunt them outside. He could have easily fed himself with rabbits, moles, mice, rats and unfortunately a few cats that he tagged himself. I wish I had known about diets back then, he could have been a fantastic dog (died of cancer at an early age). He loved his children and would have given his life for them.
Talk to breeders, check out shelters there are a lot of lovely mixed breeds in there and a lot of purebreds but get them to answer why those purebreds are in there. Any breeder worth anything will not allow their puppies or dogs to be in shelters (accidents happen) but if their dog is properly identified (tats) and registered the shelter can find the breeder of that dog without any problems. We arranged for shipment of a pyr who got dumped in a shelter in BC. The breeder that I got my pyr from arranged for her return (she had been one if his puppies, she lived out the rest of her days at the home where she was born)
Just some ideas for you to turn around in your brain
ciao

[katt]

Terriers were bred for hunting small animals (esp rodents) so I would veer away from any terrier breeds. Pit Bulls have a great reputation for being amazing with kids, and small animals. They are great dogs who have a bad rep because of some bad people. I would Love to get a pit one day. (And Heather I am so jealous of your Mithrandr - that's my dream dog right there! ). I suggest checking local shelters and rescues.

Good luck and congrats on getting hubby to cave!

[Deleted]

I have two terrier's. Yorkie's to be exact. One is pure bread and one we found on the street and shes a mutt. My purebread Jack use to love to play with my Maxwell when we first brought him to my parents now he could care less, and Ginger my mutt never really liked him. She growls at him when he gets close to her but she never bites/attacks him.

[Deleted]

My yorkshire terrier/teacup poodle cross adores the ferrets, but she's also a super sweetheart and not your typical "terrier" hunting type.

My other two dogs are huge and as gentle and good-natured as they are, I won't let them see the ferrets unless I'm holding the ferrets and they are on the other side of the baby gate.

My one large dog does have some Aussie in her, and she is the sweetest most obedient dog in the entire world, yet she still has a hard time resisting the urge to "herd" people when they first come to the house by grabbing their hands. So yes Aussie's definitely will always have that hearding behaviour.

[Deleted]

Another thing to consider is that a larger the dog is - will require more medicine which means big bills at the vets.

[Deleted]

I love pits - they're great with kids. Beautiful dogs and very sweet and loyal.

[Deleted]

I would stay away from the terriers since you own ferrets, generally the combo together is not good lol

I love the newfoundlands, but the grooming is ALOT of work, you will have alot of up keep at home and if you take them to a professional groomer, its expensive!! And the drool, slobber and slim is just not something I'd personally want to deal with.

I'm not fond of the St. Bernards, too much drool and slime. (I'm a dog groomer), we groom alot of pyreneese, and know a lady well who has them and shows them, I've not had a good impression with them at all. I think I've only met one nice one, generally they all seem to be aggressive, recently the one went after the bather and pinned her into the crates (mind you this dog has bit his owner too).

The burnese always seem to be really nice dogs with good temperaments, I can see them being really good with kids, but they often dont seem to be the smartest dogs though lol But if I was choosing out of the bernard/bernese/newfie... I would for sure go with the Bernese cause they are not near as drooly/slimmy, and grooming is easier.