My mom wants a dog...ideas? (update: think she found one)

[slleipnir]

(UPDATE)
My mom is pretty sure she found the perfect pup. I'm surprised, as it's a 5 yr old saluki mix. I really thought she'd only want a puppy/poodle. He is such a sweety. Very laid back and calm, but also playful. He seemed ok with cats too. She's really excited and has him on hold until tomorrow...but she's pretty sure she wants him. I told her to think about it tonight and decide tomorrow for sure.

Here is his pic! He's got short hair...but you can really see the Saluki in his body esp. I'll keep you updated.

His "pound" name is Winston, but my mom wants to change it. He's a stray and doesn't know his name anyway. Any ideas? I was thinking something that would describe the breed or something that goes well with the breed might be nice...

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I think what my mom has in mind for a dog is going to be hard for her to find. I wanted to give her some other ideas for a dog she might like.

She'd prefer something that doesn't shed much. She'd like a dog that will bark at night if someone is near the house or make her feel safe. She also has a cat and is concerned for her safety. She wants a puppy. And not a really big dog. Something trainable as well...

She was thinking about a Miniature Poodle or something...But she doesn't want to spend the money on a purebred lol..

I suggested she find an older dog from the Humane Society that is already sorta trained and that she knows will like cats?? I figure a puppy will try and play with her cat and her cat will not be happy. (she really doesn't want to upset her cat) I figure she could find a mediumish sized dog there so she'd feel safe, but it wouldn't be too big for her either. She's pretty set on a puppy though...

What do you think? The HS almost always only has shepherds/lab/collie mixes which she doesn't seem interested in...

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Look on petfinder, craigslist and hoobly. Also check the local paper for dogs in need of adoption.

She probably wont find a small poodle PUPPY in a shelter, but hey, who knows?

I understand the feeling she has about an older dog. My cats are NOT dog friendly, and have HATED all of my doggie/puppy fosters. BUT they LOVE Joey and Dora.

She just needs to spend time on rescue sites. I always check my local Animal Controls web site, there are TONS of small breed puppies on there. Usually chihuahua or mixes like that. GOOD LUCK!

[Pam]

I

She was thinking about a Miniature Poodle or something...But she doesn't want to spend the money on a purebred lol..

I was going to suggest a miniature poodle (big surprise there! ). I whole-heartedly recommend looking at shelters. Poodles are there for sure. That is where I found my Ripley and he was house-trained and does not shed. What could be nicer? She might have to keep visiting the shelter sites but I promise several will come up. Tell her to go to Petfinder and click under 'breed' for poodle. If she is able to find a poodle that has been fostered (there are many) she will often be able to inquire about how they do with cats too.

All of the above said, I have to tell her the downside of owning a poodle and that is the need (not an option) for regular grooming. If she doesn't want to spend money on a professional groomer she can learn to do it herself. I do. It is not hard really. Of course there are mistakes to be made in the beginning but hair always grows back! Better to be chopped up than matted up. Please get back to us and let us know what happens.

[mruffruff]

There are a lot of small dogs in shelters that would fit your mother's needs. I wouldn't recommend a Shepherd/Lab/Collie. A poodle is good if you don't mind the grooming requirements. My choice would be an Australian Terrier, Norwich Terrier or similar mix. They are small but sturdy, don't require a lot of grooming and can be good with cats. Cats more readily accept a smaller dog, providing the dog isn't aggressive. I don't think I'd want to get a puppy.
I don't know how old your mother is, or if she has any health concerns. A puppy is a real handful for the first year and she may not want to put up with all the hassle.

Just my 2 cents.

[Freedom]

I was going to suggest a miniature poodle (big surprise there! ).

And I was going to suggest a bichon frise, big surprise there, huh?

I know bichons don't bark much, or often. When we had the 30 dogs for the filming for Animal Planet 2 weeks back, not a bark among them! But just let a car stop in the road in front of my house, or someone walk by, and the 4 of them are charging about barking their fool heads off! (And I haven't done anything about training them not to, as we want the "intruder alert.")

Think about a rescue dog. There are rescues for all breeds. The one I am with for bichons is www.smallpawsrescue.org

In a rescue, the dog is in a foster home, and the foster parent can tell you about the dog. I made sure that my first one was OK with cats as I had 6 cats when I adopted Sugar. The foster home HAD 2 cats. If they don't, they usually know someone who owns a cat and they arrange a visit for a half hour or so, make sure that works alright for your mom. Bichons, like poodles, Havanese, and Maltese, need regular grooming, so you get to know your groomer quite well. Even if you learn to do it yourself (I do, as Pam does), now and then you just need someone to get them back into tip top shape. (Pam has been doing grooming lots longer than I have, I need mine at the professional's about twice per year).

And bichons are white, so they need baths. Mine get a bath every 10 to 14 days. I walk them regularly. A dog that is more in the house may not need a bath as often. Poodles are available in other colors. Maltese are white; Havanese I think are other colors. These are all dogs with hair not fur, and they need brushing regularly to keep the hair from matting.

Now a puppy: I don't know your mom's age, health etc. Is she able to cope with a high activity puppy, take it for walks and play dates to get it properly socialized, be up at night for the first month or so until it is trained to let her know it has to go and all the other puppy issues? Just something to consider. My 6 year old (the youngest here) and a LOT more high energy than the other 3, have to walk her and play ball with her more every day than what the other 3 require.

Hope this gives you more ideas!

[Suki Wingy]

My cats are NOT dog friendly, and have HATED all of my doggie/puppy fosters. BUT they LOVE Joey and Dora.

You actually hated your fosters? That's a little much.

[finn's mom]

You actually hated your fosters? That's a little much.

The sentence reads that her cats hated her fosters, but maybe you know more background story than I do. But, grammatically speaking, she didn't say that she hated her fosters.





I say take your ma to some shelters and rescues and have her meet the dogs. Chances are, even if she's set on a puppy, she may fall in love with an older dog upon meeting one that fits her needs.

[pitc9]

You actually hated your fosters? That's a little much.

She did not say that, she said her cat's did.


I echo the rest, take your mom to a shelter.
You never know what is out there ready to be adopted!

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Why on earth would I foster, if I HATED them

I loved them, my kitties did not! Sorry if I confused you!

My kitties hated all of my fosters, but then again, all of my fosters were VERY large puppies compared to Joey and Dora. I have fostered pits, and St. bernard pups! They come large

[Seravieve]

I, too, vote for simply taking your mom to shelters/etc to see what kinds of dogs she's drawn to. You never know really.

My mom -thought- she wanted an Airedale... for YEARS. We previously had a Dalmatian (RB Pepper) and she shed like none other.. so my mom wanted the opposite of her. So she thought she'd get a curly coated dog. Last year she decided she was ready for another dog, went and met with a family who was trying to rehome their Airedale and she totally changed her mind.

No way would she ever get one. Too much grooming, too big and this one in particular was too high strung.

She now wants a dog like my Bunny, but without the aggression issues, of course. Medium sized, short but thick haired and cuddly. But she's also decided that they're not home enough for a dog to live with them happily, and since she doesnt agree with crating, that's not an option.

So you never really know what you want until you meet it. =)

[slleipnir]

She's had problems around her house lately. Some kids broke into her barn and stole her bike one night. Another night they broke stuff around her house. So she's scared being alone. She's wanted a dog for a while but hasn't had the time. She is now off work for disability, so she has a lot of free time. She's suppose to walk regularly so a dog would be great motivation.

She thinks a puppy will be less likely to hurt/kill her cat and can be more likely to be trained to like her cat? And an older dog would be more likely to hurt the cat. I told her to look for a dog that is known to like cats and is pretrained but she is set on a puppy I guess. I told her I'd help her train it, but I'm hoping she'll go to obedience classes to learn for herself.

She's now thinking she wants a medium sized dog that she will feel safe with. Are Miniature Poodles good guard dogs? Our shelter really does only seem to have Shephards, collies or labs though. They certainly are the majority. I'm not sure if those breeds have high prey drives or not..I've heard husky's are bad for it.

We're going to the shelter tomorrow to look around. I heard they have a lot of dogs right now. It's always nice to see a shelter dog find a home too. You never know, she might just find a perfect "older" dog too.

Out of the bigger breeds, are some known to be better with cats then others?? My Josie (lab) really didn't like my cats but she learned to live with them and gets along with them now. Zeke (shep mix) has always seemed to get along well with cats and will even play with them.


Here is the adoptables up on their site http://peihumanesociety.com/dogs.html

I'm assuming it will be best to stay away from anything with Husky in it? (for the cats safety. That is her #1 priority)

[Giselle]

I would disagree. You can raise a puppy up to a certain point, but if that puppy has a high prey drive, that puppy is going to grow into a high-prey-drive adult dog no matter what you raise it with. It may perhaps be more familiar with the cats and the rules of the household, but all bets are off if you place the dog and cat outside. IMO, no matter how impeccably one raises a puppy, it is still a shot in the dark.

I'd say you're far better off with a stable adult who either does or does not show interest in cats. Adult dogs are more reliable because their temperaments and drives have pretty much settled. All you need to do is find an adult who doesn't show interest in cats (and you'd be amazed by how many dogs just don't care about cats!). I say, don't go for breed. Go for the individual There are a LOT of greyhounds who live peacefully with cats. If ex-racers can do it, any breed can!

[Pam]

Are Miniature Poodles good guard dogs?

As to barking and alerting your mom to strangers - miniature poodles will do the job! Ripley excels in that area!


Ripley is a miniature poodle and, before him, I had a miniature poodle named Ashley. Both live/lived with cats. They both have/had an interest in the cats but not in a bad way. Ripley will play bite at the air around Andy and Andy, in turn, will bat at him, usually from position of lying down on his back so he obviously doesn't feel threatened. The other day they had a session where Andy puffed up and hissed. Ripley sort of didn't know what to do and make a growling sound in return. Ashley was raised from a puppy around cats and Ripley was older when I got him but really there have been no problems. Bella, on the other hand, completely ignores cats. Each dog is probably different, though, even within the same breed.


I would suggest that you mom select a dog (whatever breed she decides on) who has been fostered around cats. I think that is the only way to really know for sure. At the shelter where I got Ripley there are many dogs being fostered at any given time. She could start e-mailing folks and set up a meeting that way. That is what my daughter did when she was looking for a second cat. She wound up e-mailing a woman who was fostering Guinness and very much liked what she was hearing about him even before laying eyes on him. Good luck!

[slleipnir]

I would disagree. You can raise a puppy up to a certain point, but if that puppy has a high prey drive, that puppy is going to grow into a high-prey-drive adult dog no matter what you raise it with. It may perhaps be more familiar with the cats and the rules of the household, but all bets are off if you place the dog and cat outside. IMO, no matter how impeccably one raises a puppy, it is still a shot in the dark.

I'd say you're far better off with a stable adult who either does or does not show interest in cats. Adult dogs are more reliable because their temperaments and drives have pretty much settled. All you need to do is find an adult who doesn't show interest in cats (and you'd be amazed by how many dogs just don't care about cats!). I say, don't go for breed. Go for the individual There are a LOT of greyhounds who live peacefully with cats. If ex-racers can do it, any breed can!

Yeah that's what I've been telling her...but for some reason she really wants a puppy.

Thanks for the input everyone

[Husky_mom]

in my experience I would say stay away from Huskies for the cat´s sake.... but as you can also see Glacier has Huskies and cats living together... although and she can confirm that, they have to be supervised.... and also as they may follow indoor rules...indoor cats being out are fair game...sad but true...

Huskies to have prey drive which can be subdued or very high.. but it can be triggered anytime... so I agree with Giselle... an older dog know to tolerate or even like company of cats is your mom´s best bet....

a pup might be what she wants and can be "trained" to live with cats peacefully.. but it will take time and effort and sometimes frustration... so she might consider that too...