[fusarium]

Hey!

I have fallen in love with a Dingo/Heeler puppy and would love to get her. She's 8 weeks old, and has been with the mother (dingo) since birth. Very caring people are raising her (who are train-hoppers, traveling back to Cali by the end of Mardi Gras), and she needs a good home. The mother is very well behaved, very sweet, calm, does well on a leash. I assume she's so well behaved because she lives at the owners hip every day, a situation similar to what this pup would have with me.

I live in a 1,000sq ft apartment with a roommate and work from home. I'm literally home almost 24 hours a day, unless I'm out side working out, on a walk, or down at a coffee shop for a change in pace. There are countless bars (non-smoking), restaurants, coffee shops, dog parks, and more in my city (New Orleans), and I'm excited to change my behaviors to support the dog's.

The issue is this: My lease is up on 4/30, and until then, I can't "have" a dog. I've spoken with my Super, and he's just afraid of the owner finding out. In this case, I already have a friend who can take the puppy for the 2.5 months, but I'd rather have her here. Would it be a terrible problem if I took the dog out of the apartment in my arms for the first 2.5 months, before we relocate to a dog-friendly, backyard enclosed house?

Since I'm home and have 2, soon to be 3 people I can count on to take the dog if anything happens (travel with work, super gets super-pissed, etc.), I'm confident I'll be available for a solid training of the puppy and give her the love she deserves.

My question is this -- should I get the puppy and minimize the amount of time she goes out the back door and pees, having her pee inside on pee mats PLUS taking her for 1-2 walks a day, depending on her energy level... OR should I wait until I have a better location to get started? If I wait, I'll have to pass on this little pup and look for another to cross my trail...

BACKGROUND: 2 years ago, I raised a golden doodle in a small house in Michigan, with my sister, and he's a great dog to this day. When I was 17, my family and I raised a Leader Dog for the Blind (who failed class because he had a sore foot and put his mouth on the doc, and they had a zero-tolerance policy SO WE GOT HIM BACK!). Both of these dogs are in Michigan, and I miss them. I'm 26 and would love the companionship of a good dog for lazy days around the house, for walks around the French Quarter, hikes around the swamps and levees, hiking the Smokey's, and for hanging out at dinner with me down at the corner burrito joint.

I would get a cage, blankets, a clicker, food, dishes, nail clippers, the whole shebang, to ensure my new friend has all she needs. There is a dog park 3 blocks from my place, and the puppies frolick every day.

Thanks for your help and insight!

The pup: http://www.freeimagehosting.net/fhidp
The mom: http://www.freeimagehosting.net/qkyh4

 

[Canaqua]

Can you go work at your friend's house during the day and work on potty training there? You'd be more able to take the dog out to potty at home at night, when it's dark. That will be a smart dog and the thing about smart dogs is, they not only learn what you want them too easily, they learn what you don't want them to too . If you teach it to pee on pee pads now, you might have a hard time unteaching later. I don't know Dingos, but I know Heelers and they want to PLEASE YOU and do their job, if the puppy thinks it's job is to pee on a pad in the house, it may be determined to do so later. I've had a very hard time undoing "accidental" training with our heeler mix.

 

[trainingjunkie]

In my experience, Amazing Dogs are always out there.

If getting her violates your lease, why not wait until you are in a situation where you can legally have a dog? Two and a half months is a long time to give her to a friend. Those are developmentally some of the most important windows in a dog's life. Why sneak around with a pup? For me, the stress would ruin everything.

 

[MissGen]

If I were you I would wait. First because I think peeing is the least of your worries -- how are you going to socialize a puppy that you can't take outside? And furthermore, can you really keep a dingo/heeler mix puppy happy in 1000 square feet with minimal time outside? I'm rather certain a dingo mix would be a challenge for most people to raise in more optimal situations. Heightened prey drive means you would really need to crack down on the socialization, give the dog a lot of exercise and training, etc., at the bare minimum--there are people on this forum that I'm sure would know more about "hybrids" and be able to give you a better idea of what it involves. I wouldn't go for a dingo mix puppy, myself. But it sounds like you're really dedicated to the idea of getting a dog and you're willing to do a lot for it, and that's great! If you're that serious, you'll still feel that way after April 30th, and you get two and a half months more to research and carefully decide what kind of pup to get and where from.

Good luck!