For those with dogs - Where do they stay?

DVFlyer wrote: Ok, I'm trying to convince my wife to let me buy a dog. Since it will be part of the family, her approval is necessary (v.s. me buying myself a hammer... kwim?).

I'm slowly breaking down her defenses but she really wants an "outside" dog and I want an inside dog.

If you have a dog, where do they stay mostly? I am going to get a German Shepherd, so there will be issues with shedding, but other things like destructive behavior will have been trained/ bred out since this (first) dog will be a retired female from a breeding program.

Eventually, we will get two puppies, but we want to wait until our kids (17 mos and 1 mo) are old enough to participate in the purchase.

Right now we're working out a trade.... She gets a new kitchen, I get a dog.

PS- I thought I posted something like this before, but searched and didn't find anything.......

aspenblue1 replied: IMO a german shepherd needs to be in the house with the family! They bond very strong with their family and can become very destructive if just left outside.

Also all of my animals are inside they are a part of my family.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I think dogs are very healthy for children! But it does take a lot of work from everyone in the family. Our dog is an indoor dog. Don't tell your wife this, but we do find him sleeping on our bed and the couch a lot. It's a bad habit that we our guilty of teaching him. I like to cuddle with him in the morning! We live in Colorado, so I couldn't imagine leaving him outside. The neighbors have a dog run outside and keep their dogs out there all the time. I want to just sneak in their yard sometimes and let the dogs come inside our house. They must be cold. I recommend getting a dog crate for inside and teaching the dog to go in there while you're gone. We did this with Owen and he actually loved it. That was his "safe" place. A trainer told us that when dogs have the run of the house, they'll never learn where is right or the wrong place to be. It's confusing for them to have such a big big space. This may only work on puppies, but it made sense. So we started Owen off in the crate for both potty training and to just make him feel like he had his own place while we weren't there. We would just have to say "go to your cage" before we left anywhere and Owen would go in his crate. Now I stay home, so Owen definitely (lucky dog) has the run of the house.

Good luck! An older dog may be easier, yet you know the saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks...

MommyToAshley replied: Don't let DH see this post!

He wants a dog too. Besides the fact that I am still bit afraid of dogs (stemming from a childhood bite), I know that I would end up being the one to take care of it. I am sure DH and Ashley would show it lots of attention when it comes to playing, but I just don't have the time to deal with a dog or the mess that comes with it.

Although, a new kitchen does sound like a good bribe... err, compromise.

DVFlyer replied: Now how did you figure that (bribe) out?

You have a point, though, that she would be the one to take care of it mostly. I really hadn't thought of that. The dog will come with me to work now and then, but will mostly stay home.

Yes, a crate (although it seems kinda cruel to humans) is a good thing for a dog. It is their "den". They love it.

Older dog now and puppies later. Puppies have sharp little teeth and need LOTS of training time. We don't really have that kind of time now. An older/ trained dog would (hopefully) meld into our little home much easier.

DVFlyer replied: Dee Dee,

One item of note (as I do my research) is that it wouldn't be unusual for a dog to stay in his crate 8 hours at a time. This means for you, a simple (once trained) command of "go to your crate" would release you of your dog duties for a while- hmmmm I wonder if they have a command for kids like that? - and the dog will happily go to it's "den", as it feels safe there. Again, doesn't make sense to us (me) but the experts have spoken from that respect.

3xsthefun replied: Well both of our dogs are outdoor only. That was not my choice I'd much rather them be in here with us. But my husband believes that any dog bigger then a small dog belongs outside. It is just the way he grew up. He also is not a animal lover like I am. Don't get me wrong he does like them more then he lets on.

I do sneak the dogs inside from time to time to spend time with them. Which he has done few times also. He just don't want them inside all of the time.

Boys r us replied: we have one big dog, he's a mut..mixed between German shepard, collie & elk hound and he comes in sometimes, he goes outside sometimes..but most of the time he stays in the garage b/c it's heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer..lol..lazy old dog!

aspenblue1 replied:
As far as the crate goes my dogs loved their crate it is where they can go to be alone and not disturbed. When I took the crate down they would go to where it was and lay down.

TANNER'S MOM replied: I have a small housedog Miss Daisy and a large Great Pyrenese outside. My inside dog weighs around 5 lbs my outside dog weighs around 150lbs.

My inside dog is great. She is CRATE trained. She is very spoiled and pouts by doing bad things to the house i.e trash when she is left alone. She was very easy to train. And I think she likes her crate time. In the morning we have a routine, she gets up at the same time everyday..and she comes in when she isn't white trashing (LeaAnn will get that one..lol) and she knows she has to go to her crate. Today I forgot to put her in it..and when I got off work she had put herself in it.
It is not mean and it is fine. I don't make her go in it at night unless she has been bad and gotten in the trash. But she has no house accidents either. We feed her a good FOOD because the best food is important for alot of reasons. Her health and her bathroom habits are my most important. Cheap dog food runs thru her and Iams or Purina One have been the best.

And then there is Sheena she is a big DOG.. weighs more than me even. But she is a natural herd dog. She guards the place and has her place to lay and rarely moves unless she has to work. She has a nice barn to live in and fresh water and food and the run of acres and acres. We have actually tried to bring her in when it is below freezing to the utility room..but she hated it. She cried and cried and wanted to be outside so now she is.

I can't imagine our family w/out a dog. They are work. And the number one thing I can do tell is CRATE..it is the number one thing we use in our house to train Daisy.

Picture attached!

gr33n3y3z replied: German Shepherds are wonderful dogs ..... they are smart and easy to train.
very lovable and VERY protective to the family
And a GREAT watch dog.
But they are known to get Hip Dysplasia out of the 4 we owned 1 got it.
I was raised with them all my life.
I'm still trying to talk Ed into a german shepherd puppy or husky type Its not working

Good Luck DV I hope you get your dog and your wife gets her new kitchen.

MomToJade&Jordan replied: Our lab mix is a kennel or crate trained dog. We got her when she was about 6 months old from the Hawaiian Humane Society. At the time I had a part-time job which meant she was alone in the house at certain times of the day. Well after she ate some carpet, a couch, some of a wall (That's right we have a large storage closet in the laundry room that we tried to keep her in. In responce she ate the wall). Needless to say we needed to find a way to save her from herself. I actually got her kennel for 10 dollars from someone who was moving away. She took to it right away. We put her in there when we leave the house for any period of time, and if we forget to we find her in there when we get home. She is a very good dog and she is well loved. Dog and Heidi were some of my daugher's first real words. She is actually glued to my side right no tyring to figure out why we haven't gone to bed yet. She sleeps on a blanket on the floor of our bedroom, and sometimes on the bed when DH is working the night shift. She is an indoor dog and since I am a SAHM she gets lots of attention. I think getting an adult dog to start with is a great idea. A lot less work.

kel replied: we have 2 labradors and they are inside 90 percent of the time..they have a kennel outside which they rarely go in to.neither of them have ever slept outside at night..they are no bother ..
if im home they are inside..i let them out every 2 hours to do their "business" and they are very much apart of the family..i dont see the point of having a dog if it has to live outside ..
they are useless guarddogs and in south africa we have alarms and electric fences on almost every house so thats far better protection..
both dogs are fabulous with kira..we have never had any problems.
i think for us it wasnt such a big deal to train 2 pup's..if your house is kiddy proof it should be puppy proof..also a bonus we do not have carpets..i would die if my house was carpeted..

mammag replied: Lots of great advice here. I just wanted to add that if you do get it, and since you are the one who wants the dog not the wife, please take over when you get home from work. Especially if the dog is sick and has accidents or vomits in the house, don't make your wife do all the cleaning. Also, don't leave her with yard clean up duty.

My biggest issue with a dog is the mess he makes. Of course, I've got 4 kids and a husband to take care of on top of it but anytime it is rainy he tracks in mud (he has taken to digging along the house and gets covered in it).

He used to have access to the entire house but he suddenly took to peeing all over the place and then got sick at one time and had diarrhea all over the carpet along with vomitting....... Now he gets to be in the kitchen and family room or outside. (we have a lab btw)

mom21kid2dogs replied: It is really great plan to get an adult dog now and a puppy later for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is established temperment~so important with little kids and a busy family. Adding a puppy is as much work as adding a baby, an established dog is not nearly the work. If I had my druthers, I'd never get a puppy again just for that reason. Not sure why God keeps dropping puppies on me?
All dogs (size doen't matter, breed does) need exercise to some extent or another, so work that into your plan. Shepards are working dogs and are great if they have a job. Oftentimes, they see their kids as a job so that works. If not, you might enjoy agility training or higher level obedience. Obedience classes are much more for the owner than the dog!
We don't crate, never have and we've had dogs weighing from 8lbs to 74lbs. It's all personal preference. I have no objection to it, just never did it personally. We gated an area off for them when they were little and we were gone. Gating is pretty funny here~the 28lb cocker could scale two of those babies in his youth but the 74lb lab mix, who could walk over them, never tries!! Otherwise they have run of the house, sleep on our furniture (all slipcovered) and on our beds. We live in town so outside dogs who bark all day/night are not feasible.
Lastly, be sure to check with your homeowners insurance company re: coverage. Some have restrictions, some not due to breed. Shepards are in that categoey for some companies.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied:
This is a very good point! Now that I stay home with our dog, my DH does not feed, bathe, or even take the dog for walks anymore. It's tough to be taking care of a little one and a whining dog all day. It is like having two kids in the house. I am mopping the floor constantly from his little dirty paw prints on the wood floors. Plus it's hard to take the dog walking with a stroller in tow. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE our dog, but if you want the dog more than your wife, you need to take full responsibility even when you're not home with it.

I really don't think crate training is mean. Like someone else said, now that we don't use the crate anymore, our dog still goes to his comfort place. Let us know how it goes!! GS are great dogs!

My2Beauties replied:
Hee Hee Mel you are so funny!

Mel my dad has a Great Pyrenese and I don't see how he keeps him inside but he does, that dog loves it outside though - it's in their genes, they are herd dogs like you said and perfer the outdoors. But dad lives in Alabama and it gets smoldering hot so it's better for him to be in the air since Pyrenese's actually prefer the cold weather, they are mountain dogs as well!!!! He is absolutely huge, he is a little over a year old and already at around 110 pounds, they said he won't be fully grown until he's 2 and weighing in at around 150-175!

BTW - They are some of the most beautiful dogs, don't ya think ?

Mylilprincesses replied: I think if you're gonna have a pet like a dog, it needs to be an inside animal. We have two puppies (well, they're almost 4 now )- black labs- and they are awesome dogs. We have a huge backyard for them to run around in, etc. but they are kept inside. They're definitely part of the family.

Do make sure though that if this is your idea and your wife is a little leery that you take your share of the responsibility for the pets. Granted, I love our doggies but they were so Justin's idea and now he doesn't practically do a darn thing in terms of care for them - he likes the fun part of having the dogs (and the kids for that matter )

DVFlyer replied: Great points everyone.

Lisa- I do know about hip dysplasia and would want to avoid that possibility as much as I can. An OFA certification is a requirement (although not a guarantee).

mammag- Yes, I would try to do that. Similarly, I try to take over with the kids when I get home, since she's been with them all day. My feeling is that I can combine both with a dog (best laid plans and all ). It can be exercise time for doggie and play time for kiddies outside.

The mud in the house is one of the main things she DOESN'T want. Our compromise is a doggie door from the outside into the garage, where the dog would have to bark etc to be let into the house. That way, we can make sure he's clean enough. If not, daddy gets to give him a bath.

We also have an area which would work as an awesome kennel. Totally useless fenced area.... perfect. That could be his "doodie" area.

mom21kid2dogs- Insurance is actually a REAL issue. I have only mentioned it to them once when we bought the house. She said to let them know if I get one, but didn't expand on why.... but also didn't say it would be cause for cancellation or non-renewal. GSD's are on the list of a few companies and with the latest news of Pitbull blacklisting in Australia, it wouldn't be too out of line to think rules like that could lead to other breeds of "attack dogs".