DS wants his 'own' dog

[zebra15]

I feel bad for my DS and I'm not sure what to do about it. Last October our roommate got a Bernerse Mtn Dog. She already had a large dog but always wanted a Berner so she got 'Willow'. Willow has been a handful from the start and our roommate is a less than stellar trainer etc. The older dog she had died a couple weeks ago and it seems Willow is saddened by this. Roomie also likes the dog show aspect and tries to 'show' Willow every 1-2 months.

I feel like my son is getting jipped on the deal. While this is not our dog by any means, my son HATES willow. Willow needs training and I've been told its not my place to train her. She needs special training because of the dog show??

Anyway my son is begging for his own dog. *IF* I agree to get DS his own dog, I need to get a dog that can pretty much stay inside, more of a companion dog. I've been around dogs before and I really dont want another 100lb+ dog

So in this situation would you get DS a dog? He is 9, almost 10 and has no problem walking the dog, washing HIS dog... We were thinking possibly french bulldog? we need something 'sturdy' because of Willow but I DONT WANT A LARGE DOG.

HELP...

[lonegirl]

Know that if you get a dog it will be "your dog". At 9/10 yes I am sure he will walk/feed/play with....but there will be days when he wont want to do any of that and well someone has to Frenchies are sturdy little dogs as are Scotties, Westies, Min Schnauzers, Shelties, Beagles....any of those I would own.

Oh I had to comment on the roomies idea that the dog has to be trained a certain way....well properly trained show dogs are some of the best behaved dogs I have come across. They should all know "sit, stay, down, off, heel etc" They are generally able to sit patiently to be groomed and handled.

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

Know that if you get a dog it will be "your dog". At 9/10 yes I am sure he will walk/feed/play with....but there will be days when he wont want to do any of that and well someone has to Frenchies are sturdy little dogs as are Scotties, Westies, Min Schnauzers, Shelties, Beagles....any of those I would own.

Oh I had to comment on the roomies idea that the dog has to be trained a certain way....well properly trained show dogs are some of the best behaved dogs I have come across. They should all know "sit, stay, down, off, heel etc" They are generally able to sit patiently to be groomed and handled.

Yes I know that in the end this is still 'our/my' dog and honestly I'm just beginning to consider it. Well yes in an ideal world a properly trained show dog is well behaved... Willow isnt. End of discussion LOL.

DS and I are thinking about it. Still looking for suggestions. "our" dog will not be a show dog .

[Sarah W]

We just babysat a French Bulldog and let me tell you, he was awesome. Greatest little guy ever!

Someone mentioned Westies and while they are great dogs, you've got to be ready to deal with a terrier. They have a lot of energy and are endlessly stubborn. They also like to kill things. I think they're completely different than any other type dog. I love my Westie and DH is absolutely enthralled with them. I think it's the breed we'll continue to get in the future.

We also have a Bichon and they are great family dogs. They're smaller (a little less than 20lbs) but sturdy. He loves big dogs.

And really, you can't beat a mutt most times.

[dachshundqueen]

Please do take into consideration that dogs aren't cheap and that you will be the one with this dog when your child flies the nest.

I know cost depends on your area. I'm in a fairly large metro area.

I just paid $250 for my dog's annual with all his shots, and that didn't include the 3 year rabies.

A dental cleaning is around $320 (my dog's is closer to $465-$550 because it broke some of its teeth and needs them removed).

Then there's food and kenneling.

Liz

[Ola_]

Hmm, a show dog that can't be trained. The only thing I know that's different is that they often aren't taught to "sit" as their default behaviour (or at all) because in the show ring you want them to stay standing instead of sitting.

Honestly I would probably go with a medium-sized mixed breed that's at least a couple years old. Something with no terrier or working drive should work well. Keep in mind that you'll need to be involved in a lot of the dog work, even your DS doing a lot of the fun stuff. The dog will likely need work on basic training and leash manners, so you'll probably need to be involved to maintain consistency there.

I have much younger siblings and they were taking care of our dogs (under my mom's supervision of course) when DH and I went away. They are excellent with the dogs, learned the rules quickly, very reliable at taking them out. But they'd let them do things that encouraged bad habits at times too. So I think it can work well, but still with a lot of involvement from you.

BTW if you're looking at adopting I liked the book Successful Dog Adoptions by Sue Sternberg. One of the things it talks about how to get a second dog to work well with the first, which is sort of the situation you have.

[SoulCakes]

I'm surprised she's already showing the dog if she isn't properly trained. That said, regarding a dog-in-training (as opposed to a dog that's already well-trained)... it's pretty easy to confuse a dog that's just learning. My husband, for all the wonderful qualities that he has, doesn't get dog training. He'll stand there and repeat "sit" over and over and wonders why nothing happens. Our pup used to sit beautifully, but now he's not really sure that "sit" is a command at all! And of course I'm the one who has to go back over and undo all the bad habits and retrain all the good ones... three times the work. So don't take it personally if your roomie asks you not to train her dog.

[samy23]

Originally Posted by Sarah W

We just babysat a French Bulldog and let me tell you, he was awesome. Greatest little guy ever!

Aren't they really stubborn and difficult to train though? -I've heard/seen that on tv shows with bulldogs, and I mean even with very basic commands like "sit". Other than that their, personality looks good.

I agree with pp you will be the one who needs to train the dog more and socialise it.

I wouldn't get a terrier breed as they have a reputation for being snappy, and that has definately been my experience with all except one of them.

I'd also look at the Bichon breed as someone else mentioned.