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

[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!

[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...

[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!