I have a Golden Retriever...he is a great dog. He's not even a year old yet but super great with my twin boys that are 7.
If you can afford it $1000 for a dog that is going to be a member of your family for the next 10-12 years really isn't that much. Heck most of us spend $1000 on a bow and only shoot it for a couple of months out of the year for 1-3 years. If I'm putting the time and emotional investment in I would like the best chance for good temperament and health. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My rational is that he wont have as many health issues saving me money at vet visits. I also know i am going to get very attached and i don't want to have anytime taken away because of health issues. At fist i wasn't looking for pedigree but i was also expecting to pay 2,000 for a non pedigree dog so i think this is a good deal for me. 1,000 is still a lot so thats why i have decided to pay for it instead of my parents.
I cant say enough about how AWESOME my yellow lab is! She is the best family dog a guy could ask for. She hunts both upland game as well as waterfowl and is proving to be a darn good shed hunter as well.
My brother had a yellow lab from Nebraska flown here many years ago. HUGE mistake. That dog was so terrified of thunderstorms and being alone after that trip that he would destroy their house during a storm or when he was left alone. Amazingly, he wasn't gun shy.
I have a 10 year old yellow and love him. But, I'm also able to provide for him and take care of him. Before getting a dog, you need to really think about your ability to take care of it in the future. Since you are graduating HS, what are you plans next year? Will you be living at home with your parents still? Going away to school? Will you be able to spend the time with the dog and take care of it? Just remember, puppies turn into dogs.
I thought the same thing. Graduating from HS seems to be an odd time to take on ownership of a dog and all the responsibilites that go with it. Unless, you dont plan on further schooling. ??
Ill be going to college close to home so ill still be living with my parents(couldn't stand the thought of leaving my family). Im home right after classes so i have a lot of time to spend with a dog. I have taken a lot of this into consideration because a dog is a living animal that i am responsible for. At 18 i believe that i am responsible enough. I have to admit that i did not think of these questions until an hour after my mom asked me.
Yea im married and own a house. It is a pain in the *** to take care of a dog. When you go on vacation you gotta find someone to take care of it or kennel it. Then you gotta make sure either one of you are home so that the dog isnt alone for hours on end. Not trying to dissuade you, I want another dog, but wow they are alot of work. Its easier if you have a smaller dog because more people will take it in and you can travel with it on an airplane.
Exactly. My buddies all have dogs, then they moved out of their parent's houses. Now the dogs are always in a pen at the parent's house and never get out hardly. I got a dog from Sliverflicker 3 years ago, and I get him out to run around in the woods all the time. I couldn't imagine keeping a dog cooped up in a pen for weeks at a time. Just yesterday, I took my dog out shed hunting for 4 hours after my class. Dogs are expensive, especially if you are planning on paying for everything yourself and going to college at the same time. Just yesterday, I spent $320 at the vet for 2 dogs' yearly check up. Not to mention all the dog food, which adds up in a hurry for a growing puppy. Then theres the collars, kennel, bedding, training/hunting electric collar, leash, microchip, toys, etc...
Thats exactly how i thought of it. I wont be the only one taking care of the dog though. Its going to be me, my brother and father. I know how much work a baby is because im constantly babysitting for my uncles babies.
Just a side note, but if you live in NYC I don't think its fair to a full size sporting dog to be couped up indoors for the majority of the day. I doubt that type of lifestyle will allow him/her to be capable of what you want him/her to do when in the field.
I would never do that to my dog. I always go out walking a couple of miles everyday with my parents so at a minimum he would have that everyday.
I live in Northern Queens so there is plenty of room in my house and plenty of parks. Its still considered NYC but its the suburbs of NYC.
Queens is far from being the suburbs. Even most of western Nassau County is too populated to allow proper room for an energetic dog to exersice. My gf has a black lab in Nassau and I honestly feel bad for the dog, it's so high strung and putting on weight regardless of the fact it gets 5 or 6 'walks' a day. Most of these dogs need a large yard and plenty of outdoor activity.
Where i currently go to school its very populated but where i live is pretty quite. I have about half an acre of a back yard now but we a currently looking for a new house with multiple acres on it. I also live near the water and have a pool so i go swimming a lot.
So to answer your original question, since we all seem to be quite worried about the dog here, is yes, they make great pets. Just have to take care of them.
It is like having a child and remember how good your dog is, is a direct reflection on the amount and quality of time you put into it. There's nothing sadder than pheasant hunting and seeing an owner yelling at his dog, getting tough with it and being ticked off because it wont hunt well for him yet he doesn't undestand that the 1 hour of training it got each week wasn't close to enough time. I would rather have no dog than a poorly trained one.
