[Breed] First dog as an adult in an apartmentDog Talks

I've been wanting to get a dog for a long time since I left my family home, but only just now have really had the financial/lifestyle freedom to do it. I thought about waiting until I moved to a slightly larger unit, but since realizing this is the only time in my life I can guarantee I'd be at home nearly 24/7 to take care of a puppy properly, I want to start on the process sooner than later. So more or less I'm looking for recommendations as to what kind of breeds/other ideas I should look into.

Introduction

1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

• Yes*, my family had a Chow-mix growing up, and then some poodle-terrier mutt blob, but I was not really involved in any part of their care. I did volunteer at a local animal rescue for several years and through that have learned much of the behavioral training basics for things like biting/jumping/etc, but minimal experience in tricks or command based training. Other pet experience would be with cats.

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?

• I used to fantasize about the rescue experience, but have accepted that ultimately it is a lot of "no ethical consumption under capitalism" due to the systems often being a roundabout support for mills or backyard breeding. So I'm happy with either, and have accepted my dog preferences are very unrealistic to find in a shelter/rescue locally as a young dog or puppy which I prefer.

3) Describe your ideal dog.

• A true companion. Gentle and cuddly, friendly in general. I appreciate both mellowness and a bit of energy in different ways.

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

• I like toy dogs and terriers. I've been reading into certain breeds on recommendation of some friends like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (which I fell briefly in love with but the common health issues for bad breeders are heartbreaking, but with my ability to pay for a well bred one in mind I haven't written it off yet), and some dogs I've loved from a distance forever like poms and yorkies.

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

• Basic fetch, sit, rollover kinda stuff. Nothing complicated.

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

• Purely a companion.

Care Commitments

7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

• I am home all day every day and will be for the foreseeable future. So mostly continuous passive interaction, dedicated activity time for playing I imagine at least an hour in the morning and another hour or two in the evening.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

• I myself go running for about an hour every day, would happily break this up should that be too much for a specific breed, or add in an extra hour for just walking time and do my own run separately. I like the idea of going to dog parks eventually, but I would wait until after the covid times for safety's sake.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

• Whatever is required. I did the regular brushing/nails for long haired cats, so I don't think a bit more would be too much adaptation, but I have the means to pay for professional grooming should that be needed.

Personal Preferences

10) What size dog are you looking for?

• My upper limit is about knee height. Limit is 55 lbs for my apartment.

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

• Shedding and slobber is mostly fine, barking needs to not be too bad with the apartment in mind.

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

• A perk but not gamebreaking.

Dog Personality and Behavior

13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?

• Snuggles.

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

• Eager-to-please.

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

• I like dogs running up to the door as long as they don't make a run for it once opened. Being at least moderately interested in strangers is something I'd appreciate, but ultimately I think I value my own closeness more than having a butterfly. Both would be wonderful though.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

• I very much would prefer an animal that is not aggressive.

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

• I have relatively low tolerance for aggression behaviors, due to having grown up around people who both don't train their (large) dogs to not jump on people, and having seen people like my dad actively encourage play biting. I know a lot of this is training, but yeah.

Lifestyle

18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?

• Almost never for the foreseeable future. Given my industry (software engineering) it is likely no matter where I go in the next several years, WFH will be a pretty large part of the gig. I think the most likely thing is in the realm of 1.5-2 years from now, I'm expected to start going to the office one or two days a week. In which case there could be 8~ hour windows of me being out a couple of those days, but my partner is not a full time standard work hours employee, so these windows should be shrank or non existent depending on schedule match-ups.

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

• My partner prefers smaller end of size, non hyper-active dogs (they grew up with a neglected neurotic collie mix that was pretty destructive and very, very loud), and will be as involved in care as I wish, but since I want the dog to be primarily "mine", the ball would be in my court there for asking for help as needed.

20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

• I have a ball python in a secure tank.

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

• No, only incidentally in public settings.

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

• Currently live in an 1 bedroom apartment, and probably will for another couple years. Currently planning on moving this coming summer to a place with larger sq. footage. Current lease restriction is 55 lbs upper limit, and none of the stereotypically stigmatized breeds (pits, rottweilers, amstaffs, etc).

23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

• USA, California, Bay Area, none afaik.

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

• 90 in summer, 55 in winter. I am very liberal with running heating/ac indoor temps should be stable year round.

Additional Information and Questions

25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.

• I get pet insurance through my work.

Submitted October 30, 2020 at 07:19PM by OavatosDK https://ift.tt/3jEpv6J