What kind of dog do you think Mr. SK wants? (I think Husky).

What kind of dog do you think he should get? (Poodle/retriever mix).

I won't chime in until some other people comment...

It depends on what kind of activity level you want and how much you care about hair and barkin.

Hmmm ... I think he wants a little dog.

But I think he should get a boxer!

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hair and barkin

I think I'm the one who cares about hair and barkin.

Are boxers big beefy dogs? Need to google a pic...

They aren't huge. But the ones I've met are drooly.

Says the woman who used to live with a Newfoundland....

Not a fan of dogs with docked tails. No wags.

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the ones I've met are drooly.

Says the woman who used to live with a Newfoundland....

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docked tails. No wags.

Oh Mr SK wouldn't like that!

Boxers are 50 pounds, maybe a little more, I’d guess. But active. Not triathlete active like our Vizsla or a German shorthair pointer, but very active.

You can look up sizes on the AKC website. (My guess on boxers was a little low … it’s 65-80 pounds.)

Huskies are active, too.

It’s all a tradeoff between size, activity level, hair, friendliness, barking, etc.

And gender. There are big behavior differences between the genders in certain breeds.

Make sure, if you get a puppy, that you go to puppy training classes. It’s to train the owner as much as the dog.

Maybe a Japanese breed? Alita. Beautiful dogs but reputation isn’t good. Lots of shedding.

Or a Sheba Inu. Neighbor had one. Intensely focused on vermin eradication, less than focused on my neighbor. If your new place has rats, mice, lizards or stink bugs you’ll be very happy with a Shiba Inu.

Best you don’t get a hamster.

Maybe a dog that needs lots of grooming. I hear Mr. SK is good with the hedges…

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stink bugs

Wait, can a dog be a bug deterrent??

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I hear Mr. SK is good with the hedges…

He is indeed.

The only flavor dog I’ve lived with was a border collie. They are very intelligent and need a job. George was about 40 lbs. A manageable size.

small dog=small doo doo
Your husband probably knows what he wants. If he gets what he wants you can remind him of that when problems occur.

mr sk is getting a dog?? we get to have a dog shopping thread too?? oh goody!!

big advantage to adopting from the animal shelter--what you see is what you get. puppies are an unknown quantity. you can screen breeders and visit and research and study--and the puppy you get can still grow up to be a major disappointment and not at all what you were expecting from the breed.

i did the purebred thing for about 40 years. i had two great dogs that nevertheless had terrible health problems. And i had plenty of behavioral problems that were inherited. this was even with doing all the due diligence in the world.

after the last purebred dog i decided to go to the animal shelter. the dog i adopted there was the best dog i have ever had. right off we knew he didn't shed, didn't slobber, was quiet, was obedient, was a great running companion, was not aggressive, liked all people and other dogs, was tractable. he was five years old and long past needing training or housebreaking. there was an adjustment period, of course, as with any dog coming from a shelter, but it was a glorious thing to see him decide we were his forever people and our home was his forever home.

i still miss him.

i've got two shelter dogs right now. their dispositions were obvious from the moment we met them. this is a big part of the unknown when you get a puppy--you can't know ahead of time what their dispositions will be.

if you are first time dog owners, beware of thinking that getting a particular breed will result in a particular personality. they are individuals.

i'm a shelter convert. no more puppies for me!