Puppy vs. Adult Dog

As a trainer, my vote goes to an adult dog, too.  A reputable rescue that knows you are a newbie will try to place an appropriate dog with you, so that your first experience as a dog owner won't be your last LOL.  Puppies are a LOT of work, and it helps to get savvy first.  Also, I'm glad you are looking at a Lab/Spaniel mix (if that's what it really is - some shelters and rescues are notoriously bad at breed ID).  Such a combo is often easier for new owners than a sighthound (ask Xerxes - he has PH's).  And, sighthounds are among the most predatory with small animals that run, as are Huskies, GSD's etc.  I know you will hear from people who own individuals of those breeds that do live comfortably with cats, but it's just something to be aware of, and if your SO is concerned about the cat, best to stick to a less predatory breed.  Despite all that, I would advise you, even if you adopt a dog that is fully trained, to go to class with your new dog.  Learn about positive training, and you will have great knowledge for future puppies (you really do want to have the puppy breath experience before you die LOL).  Good luck, and let us see pics the minute you have your new furkid, whatever you choose.

IF you are willing to wait until the dog is available, consider pure bred rescues of the breeds you like.  You can usually find the links to the national club rescue programs from the AKC website or from a general search with the breed name, rescue.  The idea of applying to multiple rescues is a good one.  I would just request you contact that clubs if you are no longer interested.  Many breed rescues will be able to answer the cat question for you with minimal difficulty.  You didnt mention age or interest in children, but check that out as well.  If the dog has a history of resource guarding; even if it is under control now,,,,,,, I respectfully suggest that dog be passed over for the time being; no sense asking for potential trouble.

Dont let distance fool you.  If you and a dog are to be linked, the show circuit folk (one of our prime movement strategies for rescues going coast to coast and border to border) and other rescue minded folk will put together a set of trips to get your dog home to you.

I am one of those folks with GSD's and cats.  And MOST of them are fine with the cats....Sheba is not.  My cats have a safe room, that they can get into and the dogs cannot.  I absolutely don't recommend a gsd to a first time owner.  They are WAY more work to own than a spaniel or another laid back breed!

The needy-ness aspect of puppy ownership must be a tough transition for cat people.  Sophie is not an independent cat, but she certainly doesn't require minute by minute monitoring!  Good point about the sighthounds too, they are not an 'easy' breed, though I did own a greyhound who was quite easy, but that was before we had the cat and she had lived in a home for several years.  I also like working dogs, but I have to be realistic here.. baby steps!

Based on my instinct and your great responses, we've decided to adopt an older dog from rescue.  I applied to Greyhound rescue for an older, cat savvy dog.  As Greyhounds go, they're few and far between but you never know when an owner-surrendered dog will come along.  I'm going today to meet with someone from an all-breed rescue to see the Lab x Spaniel girl and if she doesn't work out I'm sure they will keep searching for me.  I visited the SPCA yesterday and they have the most adorable collection of multi-colored Pits.  Not the breed for us though, and most were listed as "no cats". :(

One of the reasons that I want a dog is to be able to get involved with dog activities like agility and obedience.  I see a lot of Aussies and Border Collies doing those sports, but boy is that a lot of energy (and fur) to deal with at home!  I do prefer short, smooth coated dogs between 30-70 lbs.  I've searched the AKC website and watched the dog shows, but I'm still not sure.

So, which breeds do you think I should apply to breed rescues for?

Whippets.  A little smaller than the greyhounds and seem to be the most (easiest) "trainable" of the sighthounds.  I don't think I've ever met a bad tempered whippet.  Sometimes breeders will have an older dog they are trying to re-home.  Perhaps the dog finished and they have a littermate and don't need that dog in their breeding program, perhaps a promising young dog had a bite go off or hate the conformation game.  I'd ask a few breeders in your area about what you need/want.  Breeders talk to each other, so maybe someone will know someone.  good luck

Lab/spaniel could be a great mix, but if you are worried about dog hair and this dog has short hair, don't think that short hair means less shedding. There are many types of short coated breeds/mixes that will shed a lot more than some long coated breeds/mixes.

Found this site with a cartoon about labs and their shedding. 

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/grooming.html

I would suggest you look at the sporting group for a first dog.  There are also some dogs in the non-sporting group you might enjoy.  Consider taking a breed selector on line.  Many of the dog food companies have one on their web pages, or do a general search using  Breed + selector + dog

I have three adult cats and all of them preceded my dogs.  One of them had never even seen a dog before we got Kenya.  Kenya is a purebred working line German Shepherd with very high energy, high drives (including prey drive) and there has never been any incidents with her chasing my cats.  I also have a large mutt.  He has always been around cats and causes some problems, but he mostly tries to play with them.  He does not actually chase them as if he wants to hunt and kill them.  Two of the cats quickly learned that if they don't run, he is not interested in them.  All three of the cats reacted way better than I thought.  When I first got Kenya, they all came right out and came up to sniff her.  They were more receptive of a dog than they are of new cats.

 I actually went through a similar situation when I got my dog.  We have a 13 year old cat, and one of my big worries was to make sure I got a dog that would be fine around cats.  Initially, after setting on a papillon as the breed that would work for me, I was planning on a puppy.  I've never had a dog, though I've had pretty much everything else, and just really wanted that puppy experience (or so I thought).  I knew I was probably going to be a one dog at a time owner so I wanted the chance to start out at the beginning of my dog's life since it could be many, many years before I would get another dog.

What I ended up with however, was an 11month old pup.  Looking back on it, I'm really thankful that's what I got.  Kirby was still very much a pup, but he was a pup that was potty trained, new basic commands, could go through the night without needing to go out, new how to stand calmly when being brushed/bathed, had grown up around and was already proven cat friendly, and had all the basic life experiences under his belt.  Having had the ease of dealing with a more mature dog, I honestly can't say I'll ever want to go with a true puppy now.  Older dogs really are a lot easier to start out with, especially if they are already well balanced when you get them.  For me, it was a big enough of a transition going from my more independent critters to a little shadow dog that wants to be by my side 24 hours a day.

 If there is a particular breed you settle on, don't be afraid to also check with breeders.  Several of the ones I talked to when finding out about papillons had an older dog they were looking to find a good home for.  I got Kirby in this manner. When chatting with one of the breeders I liked and after listening to what I was looking for in a dog, she mentioned she had an 11 month old pup she was looking to find a good home for.  Initially she had picked him out of one of her litters for future showing/possible breeding, but when he exited the growth of his puppy stage, he turned out a hair too big.  It turned out perfect for me because I was hoping to get a pap a little on the larger side of the size spectrum.  I'm not saying this to stop you from getting a rescue but it is a venue you can look into if you really have a particular breed in mind.

One thing I noticed is in one of your earlier posts you mentioned, "I've found that when talking to breeders, of course they believe its best to buy a (their) puppy."  That worries me, none of the breeders I talked to ever tried to convince me to buy their dogs.  If anything it was more of a, you have to prove you will be a good owner before I will even give you a chance at purchasing one of my pups.  A few even mentioned pap rescues I could look into while on my search.  Guess you could say, I wouldn't suggest a breeder that is trying to peddle their dogs in that manner.

 

Krissim Klaw

One thing I noticed is in one of your earlier posts you mentioned, "I've found that when talking to breeders, of course they believe its best to buy a (their) puppy."  That worries me, none of the breeders I talked to ever tried to convince me to buy their dogs.  If anything it was more of a, you have to prove you will be a good owner before I will even give you a chance at purchasing one of my pups.  A few even mentioned pap rescues I could look into while on my search.  Guess you could say, I wouldn't suggest a breeder that is trying to peddle their dogs in that manner.

I didn't mean for it to sound like they were peddling dogs on me.  I had posted to a breed discussion group and got some referrals to breeders in my area so I gave them a call.  Most seemed to think that since we're a younger couple without a typical 9-5 schedule and are willing to learn and ask for help if needed, that we would be a good home for one of their puppies.  They did screen me extensively though.

So I went to visit with the little rescue girl today!  She is ADORABLE.  The funny thing about her is that we have the same name.  :)  She was shy when I first got there but we went for a walk, and when I crouched down, she came right to me for hugs.  I would guess she's more of a diluted beagle/lab/spaniel mix.  She is about 18 months old, 35-40 lbs, white with tan ears and spots.  When she was rescued from a shelter down south, she was pregnant.  So they adopted out her puppies, spayed her, and now she's looking for a home.  She has a submissive nature and is shy around new people so would need more experience with strangers.  That type of training, I can do.  Helping her build confidence and enlisting the help of friends and family to get her to associate positively with new people.  She loves playing with other dogs, toys, is housebroken too.  She likes car rides and sits for treats.  Just seems like a good blank slate for us. 

The foster mom said she's not an agility prospect since she'd rather lay around and be petted (who wouldn't?! ;)), but I don't think we want a dog with that type of focus or drive at this stage in our dog-owning lives.  So we could probably do obedience or something else once she gains more confidence.  I dunno, she seems like she could be "the one"!  She meets all of our requirements and my fiance and I are going to talk it over and go back next weekend, hopefully to pick her up!   Fingers crossed!
 

That's great to hear!  

Don't assume that lower energy makes for a poor agility prospect! A lot of the superfast super-drivey dogs have a hard time hitting the contacts, they go so dang  fast. Sometimes slower and steadier wins the race. Of course, a combo of fast and accurate is ideal if you're interested in titles, but if you just want something fun to do with your dog, it doesn't really matter. My goofy coonhound is really a lazy sack of bones around the house, but he actually can really move when it comes to agility, and he really enjoys it. He's got a time limit on how long he's willing to work (about 40-45 minutes of practice), but as long as he's up for it, he's pretty swift and so far fairly accurate (we're still beginners). As long as a dog is sound, there's no reason to rule out agility. Besides, when you do agility with an "uncommon" breed or mix, you get a lot of props! But who knows, maybe Rally-o will be more this girl's speed, or maybe tracking! There's so many options! I'm glad to hear that you've decided on a rescue. It really is so rewarding to watch a rescue dog blossom.

Krissim Klaw

One thing I noticed is in one of your earlier posts you mentioned, "I've found that when talking to breeders, of course they believe its best to buy a (their) puppy."  That worries me, none of the breeders I talked to ever tried to convince me to buy their dogs.  If anything it was more of a, you have to prove you will be a good owner before I will even give you a chance at purchasing one of my pups.  A few even mentioned pap rescues I could look into while on my search.  Guess you could say, I wouldn't suggest a breeder that is trying to peddle their dogs in that manner.

Yeah, that ^ ^

ANYONE who tries to "push a sale" does not have the animal's best interest at heart.  They should be cautious and ask you LOTS of questions.  If they just seem to want to sell you a dog - RUN.  Go elsewhere!

She sounds like a nice dog for you.  One thing I think you should consider asking about, though - does she like kids???  If you are a young couple, and this dog is 18 months old, she may still be with you during your childbearing years, if you plan to have children.  So, best to find out now. With her breed mix, the likelihood is that she is pretty people oriented, but small people look very different to some dogs;-)

We also have a cat (5 years old and declawed). We are looking for an older dog, atleast we think. You article was most amusing and helpful. Will go to shelters/places where we can adopt a doy and see what happens. Just don't a dog that is a barker as we are retired and just don't want to have to shush the dog all the time. Not fair to the dog.

Thanks again for the great comments.

kewood15

Agility may be just the thing to help this dog gain her confidence. Agility is great for that. It's all about getting rewarded with lots of praise and goodies for doing fun stuff. As houndlove said, it doesn't matter that she isn't a speed demon. Just as she said, that can have it's problems.....steady and sure can get you to qualify at a trial, if you are interested in doing that, or just do it for fun and as a confidence builder. I trial 3 of my dogs and one is quite slow, but she is quite steady and has qualified. She only needs one more qualification to get what they call a Performance Dog title. She is also 10 years old and didn't start until she was 7. So I certainly wouldn't rule out agility. It is great fun.