should i get a dog?

so...we are going to north shore thursday to find our family dog. i win, but i probably won't get laid for the next month.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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so...we are going to north shore thursday to find our family dog. i win, but i probably won't get laid for the next month.

So...my roommate's dog has been ******** blood, diarrhea and puking all day after his dog food was changed. I'm glad he's not my responsibility, but I do feel bad for the poor bastard.

^you're a big help.

Get a personality pup.....good with the children.

Did he change the food suddenly? All of Food A one day, next day all of food B? If so that can cause severe reactions in dogs. It is best to change the food over a week at the least, starting with a 90/10 ratio of old to new food and working your way to 100 new food.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I've always wanted a cat so I could walk it.

Our village has a leash law for dogs. A neighbor dutifully walks her dog AND cat - the dog is on a leash, but since there is no law restricting the cat, she is free to scamper back and forth (mostly to piss off the dog, it seems).

We've got a big cat with the temperment of a lab (minus the energy). Pets are great, but watch out for those vet bills....

I had a pitbull for 9yrs she died of cancer...then i bought a yellow lab had him for a yr now hes still a pup ....Here is the scoop on things in their lifetime you will probably visit the vet once a yr on the average.....dogs need to go out about 5 times a day to the bathroom...included in these 5 are about 20min in morning or lunch hr and between 30-45 min around supper time to exercise. THe bigger the dog the more exercise they need.. So thats 5 trips outside....2 of them about half hr average to run around and poop. Having a late day exercise session helps them sleep at nite and thats what you want. Normally once your dog is 6months or older it should go the nite without waking you up for the bathroom. Not only will you be training the dog you have to train your kids to take him out otherwise you will be doing all the work. Now I dont know about your wife so you will have to figure that out yourself. And last they dont call dogs man's best friend for nothing... the love and joy you get from dogs will surpass the headaches you get from it. Im also hoping you are an okay type of person. Some ppl should never be allowed to have dogs dogs are just too good for them.

Chris

Originally Posted by throw19

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I had a pitbull for 9yrs she died of cancer...then i bought a yellow lab had him for a yr now hes still a pup ....Here is the scoop on things in their lifetime you will probably visit the vet once a yr on the average.....dogs need to go out about 5 times a day to the bathroom...included in these 5 are about 20min in morning or lunch hr and between 30-45 min around supper time to exercise. THe bigger the dog the more exercise they need.. So thats 5 trips outside....2 of them about half hr average to run around and poop. Having a late day exercise session helps them sleep at nite and thats what you want. Normally once your dog is 6months or older it should go the nite without waking you up for the bathroom. Not only will you be training the dog you have to train your kids to take him out otherwise you will be doing all the work. Now I dont know about your wife so you will have to figure that out yourself. And last they dont call dogs man's best friend for nothing... the love and joy you get from dogs will surpass the headaches you get from it. Im also hoping you are an okay type of person. Some ppl should never be allowed to have dogs dogs are just too good for them.

Chris
Great points, especially that a good dog is a tired dog. I tried doggy daycare from the time my dog was 4 months old until 7 months. It tired him out sufficiently, but the downside is that it increased my vet bills significantly. He was constantly ill, requiring multiple visits to the vet. Unfortunately, dog parks are also havens for illness, too.

Originally Posted by lefty

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"Dog fan" is probably a more accurate descriptor of me.

Jan's points about heath are bang on. There are a lot of poorly bred animals out there and even the best of lines can go terribly wrong. And when your kid looks at you with teary eyes because you're debating whether or not to drop 3K on Fluffy's torn ACL, you're more or less screwed.

But there will come a moment, kunk, when you glance out your kitchen window and see your son and his dog sitting quietly side-by-side, their heads cocked at the same angle staring off into space. That moment will be worth all the heartache.

There are hundreds of thousands dogs out there and most are great and healthy companions. There's a dog for you and your son.

lefty

My mother's dog just had an operation for a slipped disc. Guess who had to loan her the money? The thing is pretty old too, but I think I prefer for her to have the dog than a human male companion.

thanks, and i like to think i'm an okay guy. have always been a dog lover and had one from the day i was born until age 10. my son will be great. however, i fear my wife will never be a dog person as she's been the holdout but i think once he's here, she'll like him better than me.

Originally Posted by throw19

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I had a pitbull for 9yrs she died of cancer...then i bought a yellow lab had him for a yr now hes still a pup ....Here is the scoop on things in their lifetime you will probably visit the vet once a yr on the average.....dogs need to go out about 5 times a day to the bathroom...included in these 5 are about 20min in morning or lunch hr and between 30-45 min around supper time to exercise. THe bigger the dog the more exercise they need.. So thats 5 trips outside....2 of them about half hr average to run around and poop. Having a late day exercise session helps them sleep at nite and thats what you want. Normally once your dog is 6months or older it should go the nite without waking you up for the bathroom. Not only will you be training the dog you have to train your kids to take him out otherwise you will be doing all the work. Now I dont know about your wife so you will have to figure that out yourself. And last they dont call dogs man's best friend for nothing... the love and joy you get from dogs will surpass the headaches you get from it. Im also hoping you are an okay type of person. Some ppl should never be allowed to have dogs dogs are just too good for them.

Chris

Make sure you go out and meet other dogs & dog owners. A dog that is good with other dogs is a balanced dog. And yes, your wife might still become a dog-person.

Originally Posted by JLibourel

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In addition to all these health problems, the costs of veterinary treatment have just gone through the roof in recent years. This has become a real concern. It is much more of a deterrent to me than the cost of dog food. Back when I had my first Tosa (1995-8), a typical vet visit would run $60 or $70. In later years, anytime I got out of the vet's office for less than $200, I felt lucky. I really get a very dark and creepy feeling anytime I even see a vet's office these days. My dog Dempsey cost me about $5,500 in the last 16 months of his life, most of that going for treatment of an infected paw.


This is really something to be aware of - the vet business has evolved into a total racket. In addition to which many of the vets are just not very good and tend to overtreat as well as overcharge. A bad vet did in my buddy Napo with a dental vaccine and then months of misdiagnoses and misguided treatment, including at the end prescribing an antibiotic on the same day as blood test results showed that the medication was contraindicated. For the sake of your pup, yourself and your budget, choose your vet very carefully. And if anything at all puts you off, even just a vague feeling the vet is not up to it (or up to something) run as fast as you can.

It is simple= can the kids take care of themselves because if they cannot, that dog is going to be left fending for its own life. haha. That is my only advice.

Originally Posted by JoelF

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This is really something to be aware of - the vet business has evolved into a total racket. In addition to which many of the vets are just not very good and tend to overtreat as well as overcharge. A bad vet did in my buddy Napo with a dental vaccine and then months of misdiagnoses and misguided treatment, including at the end prescribing an antibiotic on the same day as blood test results showed that the medication was contraindicated. For the sake of your pup, yourself and your budget, choose your vet very carefully. And if anything at all puts you off, even just a vague feeling the vet is not up to it (or up to something) run as fast as you can.
Good advice about selecting a vet. There are some who will suggest every test under the sun, even when the results won't be too useful. I'm reminded of how during the last days of both my 16 and 17 year old dogs the vet wanted all sorts of very expensive test conducted, even though it was obvious that the dogs were at the end. In both cases, I had to insist upon meds to provide comfort rather than expensive rounds of testing.

Who let the dogs out...?! Ugh...ugh...ugh...