I want a dog....

[YellowRubberDuckie]

But MR. Duckie says no. :evilfrown: Help me talk him into it?
He does have valid responses for his saying no. We live on the 11th floor of an apartment building, and we're gone from 7-4:30 every day... but so are a lot of people! and they still have dogs. Help me talk him into it, please?

Duckie

[Floogeldy]

1. Show him this.

Man's best friend!

[allalone]

15. I vote for a small, older dog

Older dogs already know how to live with humans. Usually have nice manners and love to just hang out with you.

[Wcross]

22. Is that your pup? Absolutely beautiful!

What a cute pup!

[Floogeldy]

23. Not my puppy.

I do have a cute little cockapoo, though. :)

[Wcross]

24. Got a picture?

This is Curly.

Curly a few weeks later.


Curly fully grown.

[Floogeldy]

26. I don't have a pic.

Curly is beautiful. :)

[Faygo Kid]

2. Rescue a small older dog.

Puppies need company. A nice 7+ year old who has been abandoned and is housebroken would love to take care of you. And you would be doing a wonderful thing. We have three; latest is a 10 year old Pomeranian mix who is loving and happy. And so are we, with her. Good luck.

[DBoon]

4. I'd also vote for an older dog

We just went through adopting a puppy, and they really need constant attention. We had neighbors come over for it during the day, and also an older dog to keep it company.

Leaving a puppy alone during the day is really very cruel. There is nothing worse than the cry of a puppy when you leave her alone for the day.

An older dog can handle it fine, though. Older dogs are very sweet and loyal, and usually have already been house-broken.

[LeftyMom]

3. An unsupervised puppy is a diasater waiting to happen

Have you thought aboout adopting an adult dog? You can get a better idea of it's temprament (and whether it'll be okay alone while you work) and somebody else's furniture will have suffered the chewing phase.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

5. I call all dogs puppies.

I want a dog that is older and already house trained. Sorry. I edited the original post.
Duckie

[DBoon]

If all it chewed was furniture, you'd be lucky

puppies will chew anything. puppies will chew through live electrical cords.

[ChoralScholar]

12. Mine only did it once, though... EOM

[LisaL]

32. When our dog was a puppy, it ate all my oil paints.

Since she was not housebroken yet, she pooped in all different colors all over the apartment. That dog wasn't housebroken until she was two, I swear. Poop and pee everywhere. She loved to pee on my bed.

[skygazer]

6. Sorry but I tend to agree with hubby

A lot of people who are gone all day have dogs and a lot of dogs don't get nearly the time and attention they need and deserve. Especially a puppy - it's inherently unfair in my opinion to get a puppy and then leave it to its own devices for half the day.

Sorry, Duckie. :(

[YellowRubberDuckie]

7. I suggested getting two older dogs...

They could keep each other company. He already ruined us getting a cat. He's allergic, and is all like, "Do you want me to smother?" yeah. It's all about you isn't it?! :evilgrin:
Duckie

[hatredisnotavalue]

8. Do you have a doggie day care nearby?

I would vote for getting the dog and finding a day care for him, if he was a younger guy.
As for an older dog, our old lab was brisk in the morning for about an hour during his last five years then would spend the next ten hours snoring away on our bed and then get up and horse around when the kids came home from school for about an hour and then go to bed at about 7 and sleep a good 12 hours.
Just be picky about the breed. Labs and Goldens are just great dogs when they are older guys. (They're great too when their younger, but they need a lot of attention)

And anything, I imagine, beats spending the day at an animal shelter, no matter how great the facility is!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

9. It's gotta be a small dog...

Nothing over 20 pounds.
Duckie

[hatredisnotavalue]

10. I would research the breeds

Some of the little dogs are little divas and require a lot of attention. I know terriers can be little bears when it comes to being left alone (my sil has one)

A possible place to look is petfinders.com. I know I have seen really nice dogs on there whose owners have had to go into nursing homes and their pets are up adoption. Good luck!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

11. ... A chihuahua

When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, you can get lonely

Don't want a cat,
Scratching its claws all over my
Habitat
Giving no love and getting fat
Oh, (oh oh) you can get lonely
And a cat's no help with that

(Bulldog, hound, pug, labrador,
Collie, retriever, Dobermann-pinscher,
Husky, dalmatian, St. Bernard and dachshund,
Mongrel, beagle, cocker spaniel)

I want a dog,
To walk in the park
When it gets dark, my dog will bark
At any passers-by
Oh, (oh oh) you can get lonely
I want a dog

I want a dog,
A chihuahua
When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, (oh oh) you can get lonely

- Pet Shop Boys, "I Want A Dog"

[RumpusCat]

34. lmao, was gonna post this myself

:rofl:

[Arugula Latte]

13. How about a kitty?

Kitties are sooooooo great. And you don't have to walk them. And they don't bark. And they're soft and warm and purry and wonderful.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

18. I wish...Skip's allergic.

[Arugula Latte]

20. Darn.

:(

[Duckiesplaything]

27. Yeah...

Damn me and my need for air...

[NV Whino]

28. Check out Rex and Sphinx

kitties. If they are apartment bound, it would be perfect. The have no hair and need a consistently warm place. Dogs are incredibly needy. They need to be walked (they don't use a litter box). They can't be left alone for any length of time. They don't ration their food, they gobble it all at once. They bark.

Well, what can I say, I'm not a dog person. And dogs, whatever the size, in an apartment is a bad mix.

[LisaL]

30. Even though they have no hair, their skin could still

cause an allergy for someone who is allergic, though.
Dogs can be left alone, we used to have a little dog that was fine being left alone. We also lived in an apartment on the fifth floor, and that dog was fine. But they do need to be taken out because they can't use a litter box.
Gee, why can't dogs use a litter box? Anyone knows?

[NV Whino]

33. Just a theory here...

But dogs claim territory by aggressively leaving their scent. i.e.: piles of poop.

Cats are predators and try to hide their scent. i.e.: burying poop.

[Texasgal]

14. Boston Terriers make great apartment dogs.

They are shorhair so they don't shed much and they like being "indoor" dogs.

I live in a house, and have two Bostons, ofcourse before I bought my house I had an apartment and they did quite well.

Good luck!

[DS1]

16. I'd hate to be your neighbor

left alone most of the day is no way to leave a puppy

[Flying Dream Blues]

17. Italian Greyhounds, Schnauzers and I'm sure some others

(Chihuahuas I think?)are almost dander-free and make great pets for people with allergies. I know about the IGs and the Schnauzers because that's what we got when our kids had allergies. IGs are exceptionally sweet, and the schnauzers are funny and full of personality but do tend to have a little bit of barkitis. However, our schnauzer really didn't bark unless she could see a cat or squirrel in "her" yard, and of course when someone was at the door. I think all dogs bark at the doorbell tho!

[flvegan]

19. Best of both worlds...volunteer to be a foster family for a rescue.

Find a rescue group in your area (*cough* Petfinder.com *cough*), tell them you want to be a foster home for one of their dogs. Tell them what kind/type/age of dog you want to foster. Let the magic work.

Best of both worlds: you get the test drive. If the dog isn't working out, swap him/her out with another of the group's animals. If it is working out, maybe you've found your pup. Also, it's "commitment-free" for Mr. Duckie. It's temporary.

As for the absence during the day, many rescues will see this as a nonissue, as being alone is better than being dead.

Considering the amount of time, though, maybe steer towards a Basenji rescue. They don't bark.

ANY rescue knows full well that the most valuable commodity is a foster home.

Have fun!

[veganred]

21. My two cents

Hi,

Anytime my friends talk of getting a new dog I just try to remind them of the long term responsibility that comes with a new family member. This includes day to day responsibility and the financial investment of a health animal. So many people adopt animals who are not ready. I'm certainly not saying this is the case with you but just be ready.

On a second note, as a person concerned with pet overpopulation I can only encourage adopting from shelters or rescue groups, avoid purchasing an animal from a pet store or breeder.

With all of that said, having a companion animal is one of the greatest parts of life.

Good luck.

[bigwillq]

37. HI!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[MissB]

25. Doggie would get awfully lonely.

I'd go the pet rescue route.

[LisaL]

31. The dog would get lonely whether he was from a rescue or not.

[SammyWinstonJack]

36. Sometimes more so with a rescue dog, since they've already been

abandoned, sometimes more than once. :-(

[LisaL]

29. How is dog going to go to the potty, if you are gone all day?

Get a cat.
On edit, that's obviously not going to work since Skip is allergic to it.
Try an older dog that can manage to hold it if walked twice a day.
We walked out dog twice a day when she got older, and she was fine with it.

[imperialismispasse]

35. I agree with your husband

Its not fair to a dog to be home alone all day

[RebelOne]

38. I have 2 dogs and I am gone from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

every day and they are just fine. I take them outside in the morning and the minute I come home from work. Then later, we go for a long walk. My dogs are perfectly happy. Mainly, because they are spoiled rotten.