Really big dog, anyone?

[CyclingInvestor]

I had a Tibetian Mastiff in my first batch of dogs, she made it to 12 years. She
was dominant, not very drooly, very well behaved with human visitors.

In my current pack I have a Leonberger (28", 120 lbs), which is a close relative
of the Newfoundland, down to the webbed toes. She is almost 4 years, very
social. We babysit a number of friends dogs, all of whom she loves to play with
(including a Chihuahua and a couple of Shi-itzus).

 

[cantlogin]

#24 is a big one for me.

 

[whr19606]

Love Dogs

We have a brother/sister pair of Rottweiller/Shepherd/Lab mix that we got as puppies 7 years ago. Samson and Molly. She now weighs 100 pounds and he is 150. She is very strong and very fast, but he is far and away the fastest and most powerful dog that I have seen in my 66 years. They don't like to be apart (at night they sleep at opposite ends of the upstairs hallway, always facing each other), and he does not like anyone raising their voice at his sister. When they are apart, if she yelps, he suddenly appears as if out of nowhere to protect her.

They are both gentle, intelligent, stubborn, and excellent with the Grandchildren. They have never snarled nor snapped at a human, and they are very sociable with other dogs. We also have a cat who sometimes licks their ears - and they lick her right back. They travel (short trips to the vet) in the back seat of our Subarus. On longer trips they tend to throw up on each other because they are not good car travelers. We have a 2,500 sq. ft. house and a 12,000 sq. ft. fenced yard where they can get all of the exercise they need.

I strongly recommend pet insurance, as we have so far paid over $8,000 for knee surgeries (3), and she is now getting chemotherapy for lymphoma (currently in remission). That has also been expensive, but ....... In my opinion, the only real drawback to a big dog is being able to get them to the vet if they are hurt or become so ill that they can't walk.

 

[Andre1969]

About three years ago, one of my roommates who works for the SPCA brought home this monstrosity:

My roommate had gotten really attached to him, and he was slated for execution, so we gave him a reprieve. We don't know what he is, exactly...some sort of big terrier mix. He's about 115 pounds.

I have a fairly small house, and the dog is basically limited to three rooms: kitchen, livingroom, and computer room. We don't have a fenced in area to let him run loose, either. I've tried having him off the leash while walking him, but we're in a rural area with a lot of deer, and if he sees one he takes off after them. Thankfully, they'd always run deeper into the woods, but it's only a matter of time before he chases one out into the street, so I stopped letting him run loose.

He does pretty well indoors though. And I can proudly say he has never peed or pooped in the house. The biggest problem I'd say is that he gets hyper sometimes, and with a big dog and a small house, that doesn't always work! Sometimes he'll knock stuff of the coffee table. And when it comes time to take him out, he does his little "pee pee dance", where he hops and runs around in circles in a mad rush for the door. Sometimes he'll knock into one of our big stereo floor speakers, and once or twice actually knocked it over.

Oh, and he's actually cognizant of what's on tv. If he sees an animal, or even something that remotely resembles an animal, he'll lunge at it, get right up at the screen, and start barking. That can get annoying. Especially since I'll sometimes fall asleep on the couch with the tv on. It used to be, just like clockwork, I'd wake up at 5:00 every morning. That's when TVLand showed "Little House on the Prairie", and the dog would bark at the horses! And if that didn't set him off, well "Gunsmoke" came on at 6.

 

[Gsquared]

Please consider a rescue. There are way too many dogs out there that need a good home. The fact that you are thinking about this 3 years in advance, and asking the questions, would imply you care - and that you would provide some dog a good home.

You can find pure bred rescues via the breed clubs, and they will tend to be very caring and careful about who they adopt to. That said, mixed breed dogs can be wonderful, are more "unique", and tend to have fewer health problems. (If you insist on a pure breed, please reasearch it carefully to understand what kind of hereditary problems exist in the breed - most have them)

As noted above, in general bigger dogs tend to have shorter lifespans and tend to have more hip problems. But, these are only generalizations. There are many large dogs that never have serious hip problems and many that lead long and healthy lives.

I prefer big dogs. DW prefers small dogs. Makes life interesting.

G2

 

[Sarah in SC]

Rescue is certainly the way to go--you'll be able to find a group that can help you--I had a friend get a lovely big dog, a Bouvier des Flanders (I think that's how it is spelled!) through rescue and I've placed 20-30 border collies through my rescue group here in the Carolinas.

I love harlequin great danes--there is just something about that look! Another great dog that is huge is the Bernese Mtn Dog, and might be one to consider.

You will lose those big dogs earlier though, that is for sure. And think hard about that carry thing: when our Anna got so bad in the hips, she had to be carried in and out of the house (down 20 stairs) every day for nearly 9 months before we put her to sleep. It is not a job for sissies, and she only weighed 50 lbs.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Help me out here. I am ignorant of how the rescue places work. Are these older dogs? Can they still go to obedience school? My wife works with a lady who rescues kittens. Do they do something similar for puppy's?

 

[d]

i had the distinct pleasure of being owned by two newfies (brother and sister). he weighed in at 140 or so, she at 130 or so. they were absolutely wonderful. they were a bit messy, required some (but not excessive) attention and work, but were worth every minute of it. if i were younger, i'd do it again in an instant. they lived 12 (or 14) years ... i probably should have put them down sooner, but couldn't and wouldn't.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Notmuch, as I write, I have an 8 week old Border Collie puppy that I am fostering under the chair. Abbie is adorable and will be ready for adoption in another month or so. We get them from tiny babies on up to senior dogs. In breed rescue, you get whatever the shelters will be putting to sleep this week or whatever some assclown has decided to give up because they have a new baby and don't have time for the dog anymore. But I'm not bitter!

Little Abbie is typical of a puppy--she was being advertised on craigslist for $20 (a terrible way to find a new home for a pet, BTW--people tend to value animals at what they paid for them) so I convinced the girl to put her in rescue instead.

Be warned that rescue groups are serious about this, most have a $200 (or more) adoption fee (that gets you an altered pet, up to date on shots and healthy), require a home visit and a vet reference, and typically have a contract you must sign that says you will return the dog to rescue if you can no longer care for it, etc.

You will find a lot of rescue organizations advertising on Petfinder.com.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Thanks Sarah inSC!

Explained a lot to me.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Here's Abbie, in case anyone is looking for a cute BC/lab mix (cycling investor,she'd love to play with your behemoth dog!)

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Beautiful puppy!

 

[unclemick]

My neighbor has a four beer dog(mixed breed). Last summer after a company softball game there was a box of free puppy's where they were enjoying some after the game suds.

They named her Zelda.

heh heh heh -

 

[dumpster56]

Here's Abbie, in case anyone is looking for a cute BC/lab mix (cycling investor,she'd love to play with your behemoth dog!)

Looks like she will be a big girl?? Paws look like the labs.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Al pretty much summed it up.

Hope you're not fond of your carpet!

Big dogs...landing on my face!

 

[Gsquared]

Help me out here. I am ignorant of how the rescue places work. Are these older dogs? Can they still go to obedience school? My wife works with a lady who rescues kittens. Do they do something similar for puppy's?

In general, rescues through breed groups will be older dogs, but this is not always the case. As SarahSC mentioned, Petfinder is a good source of seeing what is available in your area - both older and younger dogs.

We foster for a local group. It provides our three (rescued) boys with some excitement, socializes the fostered dog, and gives us the joy of helping for the minor inconvenience of some of the things that Al mentioned. Puppies are available via rescue, and tend to adopt quicker than older dogs.

Yes, a rescue/mixed breed dog can (and should) go to obedience school. For new dog owners, this is really helpful - it is more for the owners than it is for the dogs. You will learn lots of training techniques. The rescue group we work with actually provides free training classes through a partner organization.

G2

 

[brewer12345]

I don't have the time to do much with teh rescue orgs, and fostering with two small children is not a good idea, but when I did work with a couple of beagle rescues, I saw a very wide variety of beagles. Puppies through the elderly, as small as 15# and as big as 50#, all kinds of temperaments, a wide variety of colors and markings, etc. Some of the sweetest rescue beagles I ever saw were the three that DW picked up from a testing lab that had agreed to release the dogs to us rather than euthanize them. They had never been outside, been in a house, etc., but were lovely dogs. One of my neighbors adopted one of the three, and it is an absolute pleasure to see her.

So they are not all older dogs by a long shot. I actually prefer adopting adult dogs because y ou don't have to go through the time consuming and de$tructive puppy years.

 

[dm]

We have a newf and he is great with kids. He is rough on the house though. Our hardwood floors look like they are 100 years old and there is slober and hair everywhere.

 

[Urchina]

Everyone, thanks so much for the responses. We've considered rescue, but for a first dog will probably go for a young rescue (1 year or so) or a puppy -- we want our little kids to have a friend for more than a couple of years.

Runchman -- that's one fine-looking Dane.

Again, thanks to all! More to cogitate on...