Pittsburgh Nesties
MandyMilller
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Thinking of getting a dog
1) Am I crazy?
2) Is there a book or online resource you'd recommend re: how to train a puppy (I haven't had a puppy since I was 5, so I'm clueless)?
3) If you work, what do you do to ensure that your dog isn't destroying the house while you're gone (my mom was a SAHM, so we never crated our family dog or anything)?
4) What do dogs eat now (just trying to get a handle on whether I'm going to have to make my own dog food with all of the issues I've been seeing with commercial dog foods now)?
TIA!!
2) Is there a book or online resource you'd recommend re: how to train a puppy (I haven't had a puppy since I was 5, so I'm clueless)?
3) If you work, what do you do to ensure that your dog isn't destroying the house while you're gone (my mom was a SAHM, so we never crated our family dog or anything)?
4) What do dogs eat now (just trying to get a handle on whether I'm going to have to make my own dog food with all of the issues I've been seeing with commercial dog foods now)?
TIA!!
Re: Thinking of getting a dog
2. We have a few books we bought, but they were breed specific. We knew the basics.
3. Deuce is huge, so we opted not to own a huge crate. Instead we used a baby gate to lock him in the kitchen when he was a puppy.
4. Deuce eats a high quality dry dog food, due to food allergies. We get it at Pet Supplies Plus--prior to discovering his food allergies we fed him a high quality dog food that was readily available at Pet Smart/Petco.
Even if you're planning on getting a shelter dog (which is good!)I would recommend thoroughly researching a few breeds your interested in to know learn their typical traits (destructive, good with kids, needs a lot of exercise, etc). Not all dogs are created equal.
Puppies are more work than dogs that are a bit older, but my experience has been that a puppy growing up with the kids makes for a great family pet.
We got our dog when he was about 1.5 years old. He was already trained (although still crazy), so I have no advice on that front.
We crate him when we are not home and at night. Like I said, he was crazy when we got him. There was no way we could trust him alone in the house. He is 9 now and would probably be fine in the house when we leave but I think the crate gives him a sense of security.
He eats Nutro natural choice dog food.
I think you really need to research what kind of dog would best suit your family. Big dog? Little dog? I think labs are the most wonderful dogs in the world, but I'm a little bias.
Also, adopting is a great option if you want to bypass the puppy stage and maybe get a dog that is already at least house trained.
So, when you ladies work, how many hours are you gone? I'm only at work three days a week, but we're gone for like 10 hours on those days (because of our commute). I think one of those days, he could go to my mom's house, but the other two he'd be home. I'd make sure I had a neighbor lined up for those days to take him out to pee and stretch, but even at that I feel bad. That's a long time to be alone!
Also, regarding the breed, I am a bit sad to say we are not planning to adopt a shelter dog. DD is the main driver behind this idea, and she really wants a puppy and she wants it to be on the small side (I'm not a fan of the super small breeds, so she's having to compromise on that, but I don't want something huge that will scare my MIL either). And DH has pet allergies. There just aren't many small-breed puppies in shelters who are hypoallergenic (though I realize none are truly hypoallergenic, some are more than others). After doing research and talking to a friend who got one from a reputable local breeder, I am pretty certain we're going to get a mini labradoodle if we get anything. I just feel like that breed would fit our family best. Also, I'm pretty sure my family dog growing up was some mix of those two breeds (although he was just called a mutt back then!) and he was the perfect family dog. So, we'll see, but that's where I'm leaning.
I only recently heard about hypoallergenic dogs a friend of mine is getting a schnoodle because of allergy issues.
Good luck--and I think you're going into it with a great attitude as far as preparing yourself for the worst in terms of work and possible destruction :-)
1) Honestly? Yes, you are crazy. Don't do it.
2) I would recommend in person training
3) We gate our dogs in the kitchen while we are at work, which is 2 days a week when factoring in when my parents are here to watch the boys and DH working from home 1 day a week. They are home alone about 8 hours on those days. For 10 hours or more I would have a dog walking service come in to let them out for a walk.
4)DH buys it at Costco; I forget the brand.
Ditto all of the additional factors that Kris brought up. Like having kids, dogs are a huge time commitment and expense that you can't truly grasp until you are a dog owner. Puppies are cute, but the work required to properly care for and train them is a massive commitment and stressful. Are you prepared for the puppy to have accidents in your new house? To chew your baseboards? Scratch your doors? Ruin furniture? Have you talked with your husband about who is going to get up with the puppy at 1am? 3am? 5am? Another important question to ask is, are you willing to make a lifetime commitment or are there any reasons at all that would make you consider rehoming a dog?
Gwen also made an excellent point about temperament. If we are to ever get another dog (which we won't), I would never do a puppy again. Not just because of the work and the number of dogs who need homes, but because I would need to know about the dog's temperament before bringing them into our home with chlidren.
All that said I love her. But this last year sucked a lot. It can be difficult to integrate into a house with kids and a dh with allergies. Dh also claims he has allergies although he grew up with a dog and doesn't seem to have many symptoms. But he certainly has complained about it this last year!
I'll go back and respond to some of your other questions
2. Read and learn as much as you can now about everything. Crate training, behavior training, house breaking. how to pick a puppy for your family, different breeds, etc.
3. Crate training is the only solution. we only just recently stopped crating our dogs while we are out. And Mo is almost 11, Bella almost 10.
4. Feed good food, aka stuff you cannot find at a grocery store. we are using natural balance for ours, cause Mo has a food allergy and needs a venison based food and it limits brands. But there are a lot of quality foods out there now, and I suggest going for a grain free food.
also consider vet bills. puppies need vaccinated, spayed/neutered, heart worm preventative, flea/tick preventitive. Then yearly checkups, which easily run $100, not to mention emergency visits. Which I am sure you have experienced with your cats.
Be willing to stand out in the rain with a puppy refusing to want to go potty. Willing to throw away your favorite shoes because they were discovered and destroyed. The stuff will be ruined. In one way or another.
I don't say any of this to discourage you. I could not live without a dog in my house. But I am just trying to keep it real. Mo is the biggest PITA some days. And yet his snuggles make it all worth while. We really do love the little jerk.
I don't expect it to be easy, and I joked about it before but really do think it's on a similar level of commitment to having another child. We'd be back to getting up at night, having to watch small objects laying around the house, and we'd be entering into at least a decade of taking care of another living thing.
I really am home the majority of the time, it's just that the couple of days I'm gone are long ones. Maybe it's not the right time... that's sort of what I'm trying to work out. Sadly, I don't anticipate a change in my work schedule or location any time soon, so if we decide that it can't be done with me being gone two days a week it's pretty much not going to happen ever. I don't work in a field where I'll ever be 10 min from home.
There are companies out there that will help you care for your pet. My dad works for a company called Fetch, and he walks sometimes as many as 6 dogs a day. The customers establish what days they want him to come, and he does a combination, some 5 days, some 3 days, some just 1. (He is retired and so this is his job. It is has been so good for him.) He's never done a puppy, but I would bet the company would set up multiple visits if that is what was necessary. (And it wouldn't be forever.) I know my Dad is in the South Hills, but I wonder if Fetch has regions?
Of course it adds to the cost of pet ownership, but it would be cheaper than replacing stuff that said pet destroyed. Also, there is some comfort knowing that you're paying someone to do it, so they can't forget or get too busy. When my Dad is on vacation he lines up someone else to do it through Fetch. They are insured and all of that.
Other than that, I know nothing about dog ownership. We probably won't ever own a dog because we are gone for long long days, I have a rather unpredictable schedule at times, we already have 2 cats who would not welcome a dog, and DH doesn't like poop. :P (He'd be responsible for yard clean up.)
Also you can find puppies and definitely specific breeds in shelters. You don't necessarily have to go with a breeder. And again a puppy might not work with the time commitment during the day.
We do still have our cat, but she has been confined to one area of the house since we moved, so the plan would be for them to be kept separate.
Thanks for the opinions. Obviously we have a lot to think about.
I am sorry for the loss of your boots, I am sure they were beautiful. But I am glad Hank is able to make up for it with his super cuteness.
I got a puppy last year when I was 8 months pregnant with my second kid. Everyone thought I was nuts. I probably was. I am a crazy dog person and my dog, even as a puppy, really lowers my stress level.
It's actually worked out great, but:
1. I was the one who truly wanted the dog, which is good because I did all of the work.
2. I am a SAHM and started training him on an invisible fence immediately. So he had unlimited outside time.
3. I walk him 45 minutes a day. That is my exercise. I am committed to exercise that involves the dog.
4. I know exactly which breed is perfect for me, and I bought that breed again. English Setters are my heart dogs. And because I had the breed before, I knew exactly what I was getting into.
If you are going to be doing all the work, YOU have to truly want the dog. Don't ever get a dog just because your kid wants one. My son was almost 4 when we got the dog, and he was always interested in playing with him, which was great for both of them. But I was still responsible for exercise, training, and just spending a huge amount of time with the dog.
I would recommend sending the dog to doggie daycare on your 10 hr days. It is great for them. They get out so much more energy playing with other dogs than a dog walker could ever accomplish.
Jen