Advice please. Suggestion good dog breed for........

That's a good point. Non shedding breeds require regular trips to the groomer because the never really stops growing. You're looking at every 6 weeks for at least $50. Really, a lot of dogs are pretty minimal as far as shedding goes and don't require that kind of grooming. You get one shed in the spring, another in the fall, and otherwise, not much.

Are you allergic? There are no truly hypoallergenic dogs. You'd be best off visiting the dog and seeing if it sets you off.

Bichons are notoriously hard to house train, but again, get an adult dog and you skip all that stuff. All that stuff is taking them outside every 1-2 hours and several times during the night.

A lot of people think you can raise a puppy to be whatever you want. That's not true. You can't do much about genetics, so if certain qualities are really important to you, an adult dog whose temperament is already set is the best way to go.

I definitely second looking at rescueing a mature dog - with puppies of any breed, you really never know how they will turn out. Atleast if you look around at the local shelters, the workers there will be able to fit you with a dog that closely meets your needs and requirements.

I was in the exact same boat when I was looking for my first dog, early 20's couple living in an apartment and just wanted a companion to start a 'family' with, a jogging/walking partner, etc. I didn't end up rescueing, because unfortunately I ended up researching breeds prior and fell in love with the Shiba Inu - no other dog came close to fitting my criteria. I found a very reputable local breeder and purchased Cash, he was 2 years old and absolutely perfect. I am happy that we decided to go with a mature dog as our first dog as it made it MUCH easier being a first time dog owner. I got a puppy a year ago, and although I was fully prepared and ready for a puppy after several years of owning a dog .. it was really, really hard work. I highly doubt I will ever get a puppy ever again.. next time around I will opt for another mature Shiba from the same breeder, or rescue.

Shiba's are good apartment dogs, fairly calm, gentle, incredibly smart (atleast the ones I know, anyway). I've recommended them to many people who have ended up buying and have been extremely pleased with them, however, although they are low allergen, they aren't hypoallergenic and they shed like crazy.. so probably not quite for you, so I would recommend checking out the shelters first to see if you can find something that suits your needs.

Good luck

I have a Havanese, and she is very smart and learns extremely quickly, non-shedding and likes people. She doesn't like the water, but I think that's dog-specific not breed-wide. She has big enough bones that a child would not easily hurt her, but she's not large (12 lbs). Havanese are by nature very friendly and are great lapdogs. Ours has a GREAT energy level- she needs to get out to run and play for about 30 minutes a day, but she doesn't mind sitting on the couch the rest of the time. We went on 5-8 km hikes with her on vacation and she loved it.

The only issue is that she was difficult to housetrain. She's 2 and a half years old and she can not go the full workday without going to the bathroom, so we have to have a dog walker come at lunch. If we don't have someone come, we expect her to have gone inside while we were out- that's just the way it is. Most Havanese can go all day, but she can't. If you want to skip housetraining, I'd get an older, pre-housetrained dog.

Anyways, that's my breed suggestion but what I'd really suggest is going to a shelter. They will have small furry mixes, which is pretty much what you're looking for. You could also try looking for a small breed rescue. There are a lot of small non-shedding mixes around now which most likely contain Maltese, Shih Tzus, Poodles, Schnauzers, Bichons, etc. any of which I think would work for you.

After all the advice to look into a grown up dog my girlfriend and I have been visiting the SPCA and humane society every other day to visit the dogs.

There is a 2 year old Miniature schnauzer that has touched our hearts. Sadly they will not let us play out in the open. 2 days ago he needed to go though a behavior test. Today when we visited he had passed but need to get fixed and they were keeping him in his cage with no food.

He seems like a very friendly low key dog. We are going to take the day off work Friday ( the day he gets cleared for adoption ) to be the first one to visit him. What should we look for to make sure he is a good dog ? Should we see if they will let him play with another dog to see how they get along ?

Animal control found them and SPCA got him from them. Should I be worried about that for any reason ? The fee is $200 is that normal ?

Any advice would be great. Thanks

My new Schnauzer mix rescue was in the shelter twice within a months time. His owners finally got tired of him running away ... and surrendered him rather than pay another fine! He may not have been worth it to them ... but not so for me!

Funny thing is ... Eddee must not have liked them ... because he sure doesn't try and run from me! In fact he accidentally got out the door and when I called his name he came running back!

Sometimes these poor dogs just end up in these places because of others ignorance or sometimes financial issues, etc .... and the list goes on. I would not worry about him being in two places at all. It seems to me someone thought he was worth saving and not euthanizing him.

I love my Schnauzer mixes ... seems they are always up for whatever you want to do ...


I am rooting for the Schnauzer! $200 is a very fair price .... Remember that sometimes one mans loss is another mans gain. Please post pics when you bring him home.