I have wanted a puppy for 6 years but my landlord wont let me. In May, I will be graduating, and will be moving to a "pet friendly" condo/townhouse complex. So, I am trying to research and find a pet that will fit my lifestyle. I love cats, but I am extremely allegic to them, fish are pretty, but they dont like it when you pet them
I am looking for a small/miniture breed of puppy that doesn't have an extremely high activity level since I will be living in a fairly small home. I will be working 7pm-7am, 3 days a week. But my fiance will be home to take the puppy on a walk at night.
ONe of my home health clients has an adorable parakeet, he even came onto my hand and never met me before, but that is my extent of bird knowledge.
Here is an idea. How about a teddy bear hamster? They are small, sweet, they can go for a day or two with the same water in their bottle and a bowl of food. You can spoil them (I spoil my little girl with almonds, her favorite, and bluberry yogurt drops, she gopes nuts over them!( YOu can have a habitrail, cool stuff in their cages. And you can but those little balls they run around in on the ground, so they really can be part of the family. If you want to stay for a double, no problem!!
If you seriously consider the hamster, even tho the habitrail plastiuc cages are cute, I have had several hamsters chew right thru the plastic. I finally found a large wire cage that works well for Brad, but I was worried about drafts, so I use a pretty towel around the most part of her cage. I get a kick out of buying her little toys and hideholes for her cage.
If you want a dog, I agree the shitzus are very good lap dogs. I have a sheltie, she is a mid-size dog, looks like a mini collie. She is the most intelligent dog I have ever had. It takeas a ood 14 weeks oir so for their bladders to mature and be able to be potty trained. Puppies, no matter what breed, will always be activbe and need lots of play, and attention.
Think about the hamster. Very sweet, very low maintenance.
Specializes in jack of all trades, master of none.
The cat allergy thing, is usually caused by a chemical in the saliva of the cat. If I remember correctly, it is called "Fel D One."
As for dogs, I LOVE boxers. They usually adapt very well to different size homes, GREAT with kids, but can become quite large, up to 90 pounds. Probably way bigger than you are looking for, Brandy.
My mom in law has a Yorkshire Terrier, full size usually up to 10 pounds. My mom has a Cairn Terrier,like TOTO, from Wizard of Oz. Lots of terriers are very high strung & require LOTS of attention.
I'm hoping that if you do get a puppy, you will consider crate training. We found it to be EXTREMELY helpful. We used it for our Boxer & Rottweiler( a shelter pup).
Another poster warned about pet shops. I second that. Pet stores are often REALLY expensive, have poorly bred animals, & quite a few doggie illnesses.
Good luck. Let us know what kind of furry friend you choose.
Forgot to add, check out the vet or pet store for a product called ALLER-PET D. It is a liquid that you can rub onto fur with a washcloth, really helps cut down on the dander in dogs. The same company also has a cat version.
I've raised Boston Terriers for 12+ years and they are fantastic dogs! Very low maintenance and they LOVE to play fetch. I always have to hide my dogs' ball or they will not leave me alone.They are very smart too!
A great pet to have, low maintenance, hilarious to watch is the chinchilla. I have 4 and they are great! Oh ya, they don't smell either, and you can litter train them.
I also have 2 prairie dogs....excellent pets, very affectionate!
Brandy, like some of the other posters I want to encourage you to look into getting an older dog rather than a puppy, as well as look into the larger breeds. In my family, we've had a variety of dogs over the years, both large and small breeds, male and female. And I have to say, that the smaller dogs are very intelligent and have lots of energy as well. Two of our dogs came to us as older animals. One was a Golden Retriever who came up to our vehicle in an industrial area a long way from any residence. No one seemed to recognize him from around there, so we took him home and ran an ad, but no one claimed him. He was completely house-trained and well-mannered. The vet thought he was probably about six years old. He became part of our family and lived five more years. After he died, I didn't want to have another dog for awhile. But after two years gave into my husband's desire to have a Rottweiller. We got a puppy, and today she is four years old and is a great indoor pet. Then 15 months ago we again took in an older dog that someone at work was trying to find a home for. He is a huge dog, very loving and well-mannered. Even though he was seven years old when he came to us, he adjusted very quickly to his new family. I do have to spend more time vacuuming than I like - the Rott sheds terribly (and she's the short-haired dog!). But I've noticed that our dogs don't have that strong doggy smell that some large dogs do, and I think it could be because they are inside so much. The older dog does get frequent dog chews, as he tends to have "dog" breath. Anyway, we didn't plan to get dogs already as old as six or seven, it just happened that way and they were/are great pets. Hope you'll look into giving an older dog a home.
Ok.. i have been down the same road with my 4 year old son.. cats and dogs are a big no-no( he has very very bad reactions) and the 4 goldfish just wern't cutting it..( your right... they just don't like to be petted or held..he tried!!) We are now the proud parents of a ferrett.. he has no reaction at all.. we have had "Charlie" about 3 months now.. they call ferrets the kittens that never grow up.. very very playful... mine is litter trained.. which was very easy.. he has a 3 level condo that he lives in when no one is home... when you only have 1 there is almost no odor.. they make very cute happy noises.. We love him.. we are getting another one as a surprise for xmas.. I think its worth looking into!! Good luck what ever you pick!!!
I know there are a couple of breeds of dogs, (small one) that are non allergetic. I believe its Lhasa Apso, Bichon Frise and Maltese. I am not one 100% sure that these are the breeds the are non allergic, but I have a Lhasa and I also have family members who are alllergic who do know get any symptons at all from her. What I can tell you is these dogs all need some sort of grooming, they can be barkers,(Not all of them) and they need alot of time to be trained. Thats true with all puppies. The animal shelter as mentioned before is a great place to start. The ones in my area have a very wide variety, including pure breeds sometimes. I am definately going this route next time. I really feel you can get a great " Heinz 57" dog as mentioned before and save a life too. Good luck in your search!!
I saw someone else mentioned crate training. I just wanted to say that whatever kind of dog you end up with (if you end up with a dog), crate training is fabulous.
With a puppy, they can't stay in the crate for an entire 12 hour shift. And for the first little while, they can't wait all night. But the dog can be housetrained in a relatively short period of time, and minimal household "accidents". As an adult, they love the crate for privacy and go in to rest when they don't want to be bothered, without being prompted.
When we crate trained our Golden, I worked 3 12's. My husband left for work later than I did, came home for lunch to let the puppy out and to play, and got home before me. I pulled the puppy night shift and was responsible on my days off.
When the dog took me to obedience training (so I could learn how to behave), the trainer commented on how well bonded she was. So it is not impossible to start with a puppy, but there is quite a bit of work involved for the first little while.
On the other hand, there are quite a few older dogs that need homes. I haven't been able to talk my husband into my own dog shelter yet, but I am still working on it.
I had a maltese when I was little :) She was bright white, but extremely an slow-learner. She was the only one of the dogs my parents had that never learned not to pee indoors.
My dad has a Lhasa Apso and he is the best behaved dog I have ever known. I am actually leaning a lot towards a Lhasa.
What do you mean about "crate training" a dog? Sounds interesting!
Scottish and Boston Terriers are smaller dogs not sure on their activity level. The Scottys in my puppy training class were very well behaved. The Boston on the other hand seemed more active than the others. Too bad you can't have a cat. I'm allergic also but I have 5 of my own. I love them some much I take Claritin rather than get rid of them.
Specializes in jack of all trades, master of none.
Brandy, there are sooo many books on crate training. But here it is in a nutshell . . .. Choose a crate that will become the dog's home within a home. It should be large enough for the dog to stand, turn around, & lie down in. But not so big that the dog can get lost. The dog will sleep in the crate. Eventually you will be able to leave the door to the crate open. If a puppy, be sure to "toilet" him/her at frequent intervals. It seems to help dogs learn bladder control, since they usually will not "pee" where they "live"
When we started with our dogs, we put an old towel or blankie & a piece of clothing that smelled like us since they are like babies & like a familiar scent.
hoolahan, ASN, RN
1 Article; 1,721 Posts
ONe of my home health clients has an adorable parakeet, he even came onto my hand and never met me before, but that is my extent of bird knowledge.
Here is an idea. How about a teddy bear hamster? They are small, sweet, they can go for a day or two with the same water in their bottle and a bowl of food. You can spoil them (I spoil my little girl with almonds, her favorite, and bluberry yogurt drops, she gopes nuts over them!( YOu can have a habitrail, cool stuff in their cages. And you can but those little balls they run around in on the ground, so they really can be part of the family. If you want to stay for a double, no problem!!
If you seriously consider the hamster, even tho the habitrail plastiuc cages are cute, I have had several hamsters chew right thru the plastic. I finally found a large wire cage that works well for Brad, but I was worried about drafts, so I use a pretty towel around the most part of her cage. I get a kick out of buying her little toys and hideholes for her cage.
If you want a dog, I agree the shitzus are very good lap dogs. I have a sheltie, she is a mid-size dog, looks like a mini collie. She is the most intelligent dog I have ever had. It takeas a ood 14 weeks oir so for their bladders to mature and be able to be potty trained. Puppies, no matter what breed, will always be activbe and need lots of play, and attention.
Think about the hamster. Very sweet, very low maintenance.