Posted: 2/19/2008 10:05:53 AM EDT
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So, I'll finally be purchasing a house in the next couple months, and I've been thinking about dogs. I've had a few growing up, but for the last 9 years or so since I moved out of my parents house, I haven't had one. Been looking at different ones. 134thSIGNAL, maybe you would have the most info for me, just from what I've picked up from your posts. Mainly, I'm looking at Rottweilers. I've never met one I didn't like, but not sure about the actual ownership. I know that it could raise my home owners insurance, what else do I have to look for? And what else do I have to look for regarding the dogs themselves? Honestly, I'd prefer a puppy, and I'd prefer from a rescue or shelter. Obviously, I'm no fan of the breed ban, but it's also a thought on my mind, as it is with my whole family. My sister has a Chow. Other dogs I'm considering: German Shepard, Labrador, Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I have first hand knowledge of all of these breeds, but aside from a Labrador mix, haven't owned one. Arfcom, please advise. |
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When I was shopping for dogs, I REALLY wanted a Rott. I had one (roommates dog) in college, and he was a sweetheart. However, the one thing about Rottweilers is that they CAN snap, and go from well behaved to biting and vicious in a second. I've seen it happen with friendly dogs raised in a good home. For me, I decided the liability was too high. I live in a neighborhood with kids, and my dog stays outside in a fenced yard all day, so I went with a Labrador. While you can have bad labs too, it's much more rare. The other one I have experience with is German Shepherd Dogs. They are good dogs and get a bad rep due to the fact that they're police dogs. Most people think of them as vicious dogs but that isn't really true. They are more protective than some labs, but completely trustworthy. One other thing to remember is that you need to spend time socializing the dog (preferrably when they're young) to be well behaved around other dogs and kids. It'll save you a ton of grief down the road. |
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Golden Retreiver, had 3 and all have been great. Daughter has a Newfondland and she is just a sweethart. Heard on the news recently that one of the local adoption centers took in like 40 Golden Lab pups, they would make a good choice also.. Good luck... Keep in mind that a dog can tie you down worse than kids can... One final thought, if you own a home make sure the folks you have it insured with don't have a prohibitive list or you might have a problem come renewal  DonT |
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If i may, your decision to get a dog is a big one. The reponsibility and liability is huge. But, if you train him/her well, spend time with them, and socialize them, you should be ok. I put my lab down last april 30th after 13 yrs of pure loyalty. He was my best friend. Less than a month later, my mom passed away. I still had my white shepherd, Haley. She felt the loss as much as i did. With out her, i would have never made it. So i got her a new friend named Gus. He was adopted from a local society. And to this day, i can't believe someone would give up such a perfect creature, (godsend). These are my kids, though i don't have any children. Here are some pics. Sorry for the rambling, but this is a heart felt subject i wanted to contribute to. Thanks. >>ETA<< GERMAN SHEHERDS AND LABS RULE THE WORLD!    
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Wow, it sounds like you are in the exact same situation as myself only about 6-9 months behind me(I already bought the house,  ). The breeds you are looking at were the exact same that I was looking at also.My experiences so far are: 1. State Farm could care less what type/breed of dog you have, it will not affect your insurance in any way. I called my agent twice and asked the question multiple times. 2. I really wanted to go with a shelter/rescue dog but had many negative experiences with the ones located within the city, way too many to go into detail here. My advice would be to find a shelter outside of the cities in one of the smaller towns as the people are much easier to deal with and are much more down to earth. 3. If you havn't already found petfinder.com, its an awesome site to find exactly what you are looking for. They basically have the entire country's inventory of shelter/rescue dogs. 4. I do not and will not support a ban on any breed of dog but if youre moving into a new neighborhood, some thought should be put into the type of dog you get. Basically, do you want to be known as the guy with the pit bull? Basically go with state farm (or whoever else won't charge you extra), get on petfinder.com and find a shelter outside of the cities that has the puppy in the breed you want. |
| There ARE alot of BS stories about Rotts floating out there. This will be my 22 year with Rotts and not one single dog has EVER had an attitude problem and I ALWAYS have them in pairs. They live longer with a mate, it doesn't need to be a Rott but for the play aspect the other dog should be a strong dog. My male is a 130lb baby and my female is 85lbs of guard dog. The Star and Tribune had written a WHOLE page add to explain that the Rott is one of the smartest dogs out there. They are rated No. 7 on a top 10 list of the smartest dogs alive. ( that was of the internet not the paper)They are great with kids and will fight to the death to protect your family. I also have State Farm home owners insurance and my insurance won't go up because of the dogs. They told us it is considered a security system. I was first turned on to this breed because my sister had wanted me to go and pick up her new puppy and he had a puppy that no one wanted so he was going throw it in the Mississippi. I told him I would take it and we had to bottle feed her but then I was hooked. And No they are not tempermental and moody. They are quite lazy to be exact. I am hooked on that breed of dog. If you have any questions please e-mail me and I'll give you my number. -------134thSIGNAL |
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All dogs have temperment problems. That's why they all need to know who is in charge. I worked in an ER for a while and over 90% of dog bites came from small dogs. The large dogs did more damage but were least likely to bite a human. ALL dogs need training. Before someone buys a dog they should do some research on that breed of dog. Rotts are in general herding dogs meaning they like to keep the pack together, the pack being you and your family. They are also known to let the intruder in but by no means will they leave. They ALWAYS-ALWAYS need something to chew on!!!!That is an understatement. My male will probably max out at 150+lbs, he is the largest dog I have owned to date. He's 130 now and not full grown. They also need good dog food to bring out the maximum grown they are supposed to have. I use IAMS and always have. Dog food for a large breed isn't cheap either,another thing to think about when buying a dog. I can't say enough for people to do the research on the breed they like. I am not a dog expert but have spent tens of thousands of dollars on my Rotts over the years, some due to me not knowing that they EAT COUCHES and everything else for that matter. The Rott breed NEEDS yes NEEDS to know that you are the boss. A dog that is that powerful can wreak havoc in your house. My dogs are trained to react to the snap of my fingers and hand gestures. I could go on for days but people really need to do the research before buying a pooch. Carry on! Yeah I know paragraphs are my friend. --------------134thSIGNAL |
i know an excellent German Shepard breeder, where i got mine from. shes Nuckin futs but she knows dogs....  she breeds show dogs though, so they arent cheap. my father breeds great danes in case you need a miniature horse i have a friend who adopts dogs then finds good homes for them. willing to help out here if i can. |
| When we bought our first dog 5yrs ago i was looking for a Rott or German Sheperd. The wife shot down both of those. I am very glad she did. We did a lot of research looking for dog that would fit our lifestlye and home. We found what we wanted in bullmastiffs. we now have 2--a boy and girl. the male is submissive and the girl runs his show. the only problem that we have is that the female is dog aggressive. she's been through school and was properly socialized, but she just doesn't like other dogs. the important thing is that we knew that this was a possiblity with the breed before we bought and just take the necessary steps to make sure we don't have problem. |
Like having a MUCH TOO BIG dog in an apartment in the city, or a toy breed out in a rural area on a HUGE farm (coyotes or the elements may get it). Our dog is a good watch dog, but is friendly after he gets to know people... With regards to other dogs... He's friendly if he gets to know the dogs for a while, but if it's a 'Stranger' dog he's normally friendly unless the other dogs get a little 'too friendly' sniffing/licking his 'Junk' a little more than he's comfortable with. That'll set him off, and though he has no balls, he acts like he's got a MASSIVE pair and he'll fearlessly take on just about any dog! I saw him take on a LARGE boxer four times his size and make it run off wimpering!  But he's a real pussy cat with people & kids.
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My shepherds become "slightly" protective when approached by unleashed dogs. Most people in my neighborhood let their dogs run in the city park unleashed. Big NO-NO! But my Shep's sit when approached by children and leashed dogs. Those ARE the rules. The UPS guy won't stick his hand over the fence when they are in yard. But the aggressive look prevents this. Just their presence is a good deterent. But "the looks" also upset certain individuals. Looks like i wasted money on my new G21 SF. With the dogs here, i won't need it! |
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I like having big guard type dogs. But they do take a bit of work. Vader is 140lbs of big stupid muscle. he loves little kids, but doesn't realize that he is big--he tends to knock over little visitors when playing. They are both very protective of their "mommy", they sleep in our bed when I am gone and they don't let her out of their sight when I am out of town. It is good to know that 240lbs of dogs are there when I am out of town for a week. They are friendly to people they know and cautious of strangers--just ask angrybob--he came into the house unannounced and was "waiting" in a corner until I came down and told them that he is ok---they didn't touch him, but he wasn't allowed to move very much either. That is another reason we went with bullmastiffs--they aren't slashers or biters--they box in or pin threats---they only bite as a last resort. one thing about big dogs---vet care is expensive. I would advise that you get a papered dog and insure them. our female blew out both of her knees; just about $3k per knee at the U to have them fixed. because of her size she needed the more expensive TLPO procedure. the insurance covered 80% of the costs. I know quite a few people with active larger dogs---even labs---that have had expensive knee problems. mine are papered throught the AKC and I get them insured through the AKC program. worth checking out |
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Yup!! We had to replace Haley's knee. (White Shep) She blew it out when i was running her hard by throwing the Aerobie Pro (flying ring) last spring. We took her to the U as well, and they did a phenominal job getting her fixed up. But it was $3k! It was worth it. She's back to normal, and can play with the much younger brother Gus. It's too bad i couldn't afford to have the procedure done to my Lab when he injured HIS ACL. It really took away from his quality of life. My advise to anyone thinking of getting a large breed, have some money set aside in case of emergencies like that. Your pet will love you for it. <<ETA>>Thanks Builttough for the info!! Daluded74 |