Help!....My son wants a dog!

[Ally Rose]

Get another dog! once you have one dog, getting another doesnt make much of a difference. You should probably pick a small breed though. My cousin is getting a second dog after begging for about a year and she picked a really nice breed its called a "Teddy bear dog" its a mix of a shih tzu and something else- i forget. They dont shed and are fairly easy...and theyre cute! i suggest getting one

 

[gg706]

Thanks all for the advice! I have never heard of a Teddy bear dog...i will check into it. Long haired dogs won't fair so well here in Georgia, as it is very hot! Sounds really cute though! Our dog is an indoor/outdoor dog. Mostly outside during the day and inside at night. So whatever we get will need to be able to tolerate the hot weather here in Georgia.

 

[furbabymum]

I would have your son feed his dog in his room. That might help out with the bonding issue and you won't have to worry about mealtimes

Only if there isn't a mouse problem. One day I took a high heel down from my closet and it was FULL of dog food. We'd been storing the food in my closet and the mice made themselves right at home. Bloody rodents!

 

[furbabymum]

Thanks all for the advice! I have never heard of a Teddy bear dog...i will check into it. Long haired dogs won't fair so well here in Georgia, as it is very hot! Sounds really cute though! Our dog is an indoor/outdoor dog. Mostly outside during the day and inside at night. So whatever we get will need to be able to tolerate the hot weather here in Georgia.

It's a bit of a misconception. We don't cut our dogs hair because it insulates them from both the heat and the cold. They certainly like snow better though.

 

[gg706]

Yes I believe you are correct about that. Just a long haired dog would suffer more than a short haired dog....so i figure while we are choosing a dog we might prefer a short hair over a long haired. Not to mention it being a childs dog, a short haired would be easier for him to care for, and i can see any ticks pretty easy. Our dog is on Trifexis which works for heartworms, fleas, worms etc. but doesn't stop ticks. Which we also have alot of here in Georgia. I forgot to mention we hike and bike alot also, so I may lean toward another sport style dog. My husband called today and said...."we may just need to take him to the shelter and see what they have" So he seems to be coming around to the idea!

 

[gg706]

Only if there isn't a mouse problem. One day I took a high heel down from my closet and it was FULL of dog food. We'd been storing the food in my closet and the mice made themselves right at home. Bloody rodents!

i would have had a FIT! I have not seen any mice , with the exception of one that thought the garage would be a good place to settle down for the winter....... right next to the cat....

 

[Red Barn Farms]

We had a wonderful dog for our son when he turned 10. We bought a Saint Barnard. Granted they are BIG dogs. But in all honesty ours didn't eat any more then our smaller dog who is a Scottish terrier. Saint Barnards are so lovable and great protectors of the entire family. We named her Sadie and she did live outdoors but when ever she was in the house she was so careful of the furniture and watched very closely as she walked around like she was afraid she might knock something off a table or something. She was just wonderful. She was a half breed. Half Saint Barnard and half Great Dane. So, she was HUGE! At the time we had 8 acres she could run on. After 8 years we sold the house and land and moved to a new house with only half an acre and we had to give her away because we could not see keeping her in a pen all her life. We found her a new home on a farm with children to play with. It was a very hard thing to do in giving her up but we only want what was best for her. I hope we made the right choice.

 

[dainerra]

The main thing I would advise is, don't get another dog unless YOU want another dog. My girls are very responsible and they take good care of their pets. 95% of the time I don't need to remind them, but that doesn't mean that I don't have to take the time every day to double check. When the kids go away to camp, all the pet care goes to me. Buying the feed is my expense. Vet care is my expense. In the end, the pets are all mine because the girls are children.

Also, as someone else pointed out, it's entirely possible that the dog will bond with you instead of your son. You need to prepare him for that and decide how you will handle that.

 

[leadwolf1]

If you are feeding morning and evening, have your son watch the dog for 15 minutes. Whatever isn't eaten is taken away until the next feeding. There is nothing left down for the mice to enjoy.

Only if there isn't a mouse problem. One day I took a high heel down from my closet and it was FULL of dog food. We'd been storing the food in my closet and the mice made themselves right at home. Bloody rodents!

 

[clucky3255]

We have a puppy.....She Is a Golden Retriever and is great. If you are planning on getting a dog that will attach to him quickly a golden retriever is a great choice. If you want one that will only attach to one person in your family then the German Sheppard might work. But I am not so positive that it will attach to HIM , But it is worth a shot. Praying that it works out for you guys!