Puppy vs. Adult Dog

Being dog beginners it might be easier to get a dog from a rescue.  They are usually trained, housebroken and you can find one that is good around cats.  A puppy might annoy the cat, is the cat declawed?  If not, you might run into the problem of having a pup get scratched.

Thanks for responding.  No, the cat is not declawed.  I hadn't thought that a puppy might annoy the cat more than an older dog - that's a good point.  The only adult sighthounds we can find are ex-racing greyhounds and that will be a difficult training situation too. 

If you can find a good rescue that has really good foster homes, then you'll be able to learn all sorts of stuff about a rescue.  For example, I can tell you exactly what one of my fosters eats, how many times each day he needs to poop, his favorite type of toy, whether or not he will respect my cat's boundaries....and their food, either pre or post ingestion....(read litter box crunchies) what activities trigger the urge to toilet, etc, etc, etc.  I can also tell you how he or she was trained, what issues might still need addressing and how I've been dealing for those things.  A good rescue will also likely microchip, spay/nueter, and will provide you with a vaccine record and a health certificate.  When I know that I'm going to have a foster for an extended period, as sometimes will happen if there are legal questions that need resolving, I'll enroll them in training classes, in addition to the training that I do with them as well.

Puppies....well, I can't say enough about puppy breath and kisses.  But, then you have the chewing stages, the house training, crate training, etc, etc, etc.

You are absolutely right....pluses and minuses with both. 

Here's my advice as someone who was pretty much in the same position (and look out because I have two dogs now!). We had two cats before we ever had dogs, and we had those cats for quite a while.

Find a rescue that has the dogs living in foster care in private homes. In fact, find more than one such rescue, and put in applications with all of them and ask them to match you up with potential dogs that would fit your home. Many dog foster parents also have cats in their houses, so if being friendly with cats is one of your criteria, let the rescue know that and they can talk to their foster parents who have cats about whether any of their dogs would be a good match for you. Let them know you are novice but committed owners, tell them all the books you've read and websites you've visited. Ask to be matched up with an adult dog who is good with cats and who would be a good candidate for novice owners. You may have to talk to a few different rescues, and it may take a little while to find the perfect dog, but the advantage is you know how these dogs will turn out because they are already there. They've been living in homes with other people and other animals and have been evaluated already. It really is ideal.

As for your cat, I've always had the following philosophy when it comes to bringing new animals in (which, since Cat #1, I've done four times): feed them, love them, give them some space and time, and they will get over it. They will most likely not be instant best friends. They may never be best friends. Be realistic in your expectations and try not to get too attached to any particular outcome (aside from just "living under the same roof and not killing each other";).  There's some basic safety and comfort precautions I'd recommend, even if they do appear to get along quickly. Cats need a safe room, a room that the dog is not permitted access to (and which has some kind of actual physical barrier that the cat can get through but the dog can't) to relax in and be able to go to should things turn sour. This should be where the cat's food and water and if possible litter are (especially because 99.9% of dogs find both cat food and cat poop to be gourmet delicacies). That way the cat always knows there's a place she can go to get away from it all.

Cats and dogs may have small spats. Often the cat has the upper hand in these (5 ends of a cat are very very pointy) and I've always found that one good swat across the nose by a cranky cat and the dog learns quickly to not poke his big nose where it is not wanted. Where cats often are on the losing end is if they activate the prey drive of the dog by running. Small fuzzy things running quickly can turn even the most docile dog "on". This can turn in to a negative feed back loop for the cat: Dog is scary, cat runs, dog gets even more scary, so next time cat sees dog, cat will run even faster, which makes dog even scarier, etc etc etc. Cats are hard to prevent from running but dogs are comparatively easier to prevent from chasing. For the first couple weeks in your house, have your new dog drag a short leash from his collar, so he can quickly and easily be prevented from chasing. If the cat never learns the dog is scary, the cat will stop running eventually. I do not allow dogs to chase cats in my house, but I do allow communication between the cats and dogs in other ways. If a cat wants to hiss at a dog and spit, she can because that lets the dog know in no uncertain terms: get outta my space. One of my cats is very communicative with the dogs, she growls at them and hisses on a fairly regular basis, and it never goes farther than that. She's a very happy cat (my best friend refers to her as "The Happiest Cat in the World" actually), but she's got some stuff to say to the dogs, and they had better listen, and that's fine.

So I hope all my rambling helped you with your decision. I've adopted three adult dogs now , trained them, dealt with all their drama, and I still don't feel well enough equipped to raise a puppy. It is so stinkin' much work! 

The only thing I have to add, after houndlove, is an advice my vet gave us, when Zarina came Luke was used to be the first and the only one in everything. So the vet said: "The best thing to do for Luke is maintain a hierarchy in the house". So, when Zarina came we salute first Luke and second Zarina, Luke ate first and then Zarina. When Thor appeared in the picture he was the third on everything, he accept that and the order is pretty much the same now. Luke acts like he is the King of the house. Zarina and Thor are pals and we live in harmony. For everybody is funny to see when I make dinner, Luke receives his meal first in the kitchen, then I go to Zarina's plate in the living and Thor is following me until I gave him his kibble LOL

I'm sure you'll succeed!!

Thanks guys, these replies really help.  I have more experience with horses then dogs, so I am new to the whole dog scene!  :)  I figured it would make sense to register here and get a balanced opinion.  I've found that when talking to breeders, of course they believe its best to buy a (their) puppy and there's the cuteness factor of course.  But, my first instinct is to keep looking into rescue dogs in foster homes.  In fact, I'm going to visit the first one tomorrow.  She's a lab x spaniel (not a sighthound, but she seems sweet) in need of more human socialization so may be a bit more than we are ready to take on, but she is available for "foster to adopt" and seems to be good in most other ways.  If she doesn't seem like a match, we will keep looking for dogs in foster care in hopes that the perfect dog will come along.

Here's a pic of our little warrior stalking my friend's smooth collie.  Silly cat!

 

I tend to think, that for a first time owner, an adult dog would be best.  I pm'd you some info, just in case you're looking for a sighthound.

 Can't add much more than what houndlove has said...great post that was. As a hooman owned by 4 dogs and 4 cats I will put my vote in though...and I'd vote for the rescued adult dog. That isn't just because I'm involved with rescue, that's because I've been involved with dogs all of my life (I'm no spring chicken either) and I'm normally owned by 2 to 4 at a time. Alll have lived to a ripe old age of from 12 to 17, depending on whether cancer got them or not. Puppies are a lot of work and I think also that a pup might be very annoying to a middle aged cat. Although if your cat is quite bold and has met dogs, they may have a great play time together. You'd have to make that decision on how your cat has reacted to other dogs. Most important is to protect the cat and houndlove had great info in her post about that.  I'd also tell rescues that you are interested in agility...do you have an agility training center near you? Another thing, I wouldn't rule out going to a shelter. Rescues will be able to tell you much more about their dogs, as they are normally fostered.. However, shelters may be able to tell you quite a bit about the dogs personality also. Some times dogs are turned over because an owner became ill and/or went to a Nursing home....people were moving and just absolutely could not take their dog and various other life time changes, that have caused people to give up their dogs. In some of these case there may be an awful lot known about the dogs history.. As I've said I'm not saying necessarily to adopt from a shelter, just don't rule these dogs out entirely. They all need homes. Also, just to let you know, there is always a honeymoon period of usually around 3 weeks. When this honeymoon is over, the dog may do a bit of or a lot of turn around in personality or start to become a bit more protective than had been.  This doesn't mean that this will be a bad thing, just something for you to be aware of. This is something that you might even need to be aware of with regards to how the dog and cat get along. Good luck in your search and nice to see people doing their home work.

I don't have much more to add, but to tell you not to be afraid to look into ex-racing greyhounds.  The animal care facility I used to work at partnered with a greyhound rescue organization, and these people put a lot of work into their dogs.  They usually receive extensive care and training when with their foster families, and can integrate more smoothly than you might think.  I can tell you that my aunt has an ex-racing greyhound named Buffy, and she is the sweetest, calmest dog I have ever met.  Nothing flaps her, from babies to Honor (who's CRAZY around other dogs) to cats.  So if you're attracted to the sighthounds, I would definitely look into some greyhound rescues (for the same reasons given about older dogs above!).

Good luck!  Let us know how your search is progressing.

 

I don't have a lot of cat experience (I'm severely allergic so my dogs aren't around cats a lot).  However, I can tell you my vet always has 'house cats' around and my dogs have ALL learned to be not only tolerant but very very friendly with the cats at Dr. B's.

However -- the thing no one has really addressed is the unbelievable amount of time it takes to TRAIN a puppy.  You literally are pretty well house-bound for almost 2 years.  You can't be out 'late' because ... you gotta feed a puppy several times a day.  You can't go from work out with friends ... because  OF THE PUPPY.  You can't take a long weekend (and leave lots of food out for the cat) because ... you've got a PUPPY who isn't housetrained much less trained well enough to go in a motel. 

That's not even to mention if you work out of the home ... honestly you can't bring a puppy home and housetrain it if you work out of the house.  Not without a zillion trips home to ... yep -- LET THE DOG OUT. 

There's a personality difference -- and a 'dependancy' difference that most of the cat people I know have had to address.  Dogs are NEEDY.  Particularly so as puppies.  So factor that in ... and I hope I didn't miss something you said that indicated you've already 'been there done that' with this part of the decision.

But I can second the above advice to seek out a shelter dog that has cat experience.  We took a dog several years ago -- she was an old dog when she came to us (about 10) and she had obviously lived her whole life with CATS, rather than dogs.  She was fine with other dogs .. but SHE MISSED CATS.  It was her great sorrow that we didn't have a cat.  Any time we went to a vet where there was a cat she was in HEAVEN. 

So there do exist dogs in shelters that love cats.  It's not uncommon.

When I got Casey, he was about 11 months old. I had not planned on getting a small dog, let alone a "puppy". He was a foster situation - highly fear aggressive. I was supposed to work with him, then put him up for adoption... well... many months later, he's still here, and mine.

I have had cats my whole life, my oldest was 13 when I got Casey, had barely been around dogs, a few short term fosters, but that was it. Before I brought Casey home, I did a cat test on him, to see how he would react with a nice cat, and with an aggressive one. Given his history - he was, as expected, terrified of them. Now, at the time, I had 4 other cats, besides the 13 year old one, the youngest around 2. Everyone gets along great, the cats really seem to enjoy the dogs company, except for the youngest - he just ignores the dog. I don't think your cat will get mad at your, or hold anything against you! As long as the dog doesn't chase or torment the cat, they should be fine. The cat will be the boss, and the dog will have to learn to deal with it! Make sure the cat has a 'safe place' to get away from the dog - my house, that is the counter, furniture, and back porch. Their food is on the counter - out of any dogs reach. They all share water bowls throughout the house. They have a cat door to get out to the porch/pool area - and love every second of that. The oldest cat lives on the back of my couch... barely ever moves!

There can be a lot of benefits to adopting an older dog. http://petvideo.com/play.cgi?showId=6189. This is just a cute video we filmed on the benefits of adopting an older dog.

My husband and I got an 8 week old puppy in August. We are first dog owners ourselves (as adults anyway). There was never any thought in my mind to consider an adult rescue. i wanted a puppy, period. Man oh man, if I knew then what I knew now, I can't say for certain what I would have chose. I love my dog, I love her so much and I would never not want her. She fits us so perfectly and shes a great dog. But shes a lot of work. Everything Callie said is sooo true. Not that we had lives before, but even simple trips to target together have gone by the wayside. We don't go to restaurants anymore. We've been to our favorite place once since we got her. Not because she can't be alone, but because we feel bad leaving her, esp since we work during the day. If I didn't have my best friend come to my house once or twice a day to let her out and play with her, we wouldn't have been able to do it. I do feel having a puppy has its benefits, but my next dog won't be a puppy. Not that I mind all the work, just not sure when I'll be up for it again. =) But my aunt also has a 7 months old pup and shes getting an 8 wk old pup as soon as it's ready. So there are some who apparently can't get enough of it. It really is like having a baby. Except you can't take them with you places because they are dogs. =) But in the end, I love her, I love the adventure with her and I can't imagine life without her. Another reason my next dog will be a rescue/shelter dog is because there are so many wonderful dogs who need homes. I guess even tho I *knew* this before we got Rory, I didn't *feel* it the same as I do now, having a dog and not being able to imagine her being in that situation. It breaks my heart. Also, about the cats, we don't have one, but we spend time at my parents where there are 3 cats. the 13 yr old cat basically rolls his eyes at my dog. He puffs up and kinda growls but doesnt swat and just runs off. The 3 year old one hides most of the time. And the 3 month old kitten is the one who likes to attack. I think she got Rory's nose over Christmas. So i think it maybe depends on the cat. Good luck and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for your lifestyle. =)

Another vote for an adult dog!

Puppies are cute!  But they are WORK. Hard work.  Lots and lots of hard work.  They're cute for a good reason!

There is a lot of good to be said for puppies....says the woman who takes LITTERS of them at a time......but for a first time owner, I honestly think it's going to be much easier to start with either an older pup or an adult dog.  You can do a puppy the next time if they tug at your heartstrings........