need advice/perspective on dog issue

[ktgrok]

So, we know we want a third dog. Current dogs are an almost 10 year old border collie with brain damage (sweet but doesn't know he's a dog, doesn't play much, etc), and a 2 year old bloodhound/coonhound/newfie mix who needs lots of playtime to burn off energy. The idea is we want a dog to 1. play with the hound mix  2. do some obedience or other dog activity with me and 3. provide emotional support to my 6 yr old with anxiety/OCD. Given these parameters my top choice was/is a golden retriever, and we are on the waiting list with golden retriever rescue. In fact, they are coming to do our home visit on monday, which is the last step in the process..if we pass that we are cleared to adopt once the right dog becomes available. 

However....we  are currently fostering a 12 month weimaraner. She's SUCH a sweet dog, and wonderfully behaved for a young weimaraner. But..she's a young weimaraner. We did not plan to do this, it was a weird circumstance. She and my hound mix play SO well together, they run and wrestle and wear each other out, so that's great. But he wears out after a bit and she's still ready to go. He is active morning and evening, and sleeps mid day. Mid day finds her pacing the house wanting to play. But that's something I can handle. And my husband likes her fine, and even said if we want to keep her we can (instead of waiting and adopting a golden). I do LOVE weimaraners. However, she's not the type of dog to snuggle with my son, or provide him with love/security/etc. 

So I am going ahead with with the home visit for the golden rescue, but feel horribly guilty when I look at this sweet grey girl in my house...like I'm betraying her by looking for another dog rather than keeping her. And my oldest son loves her, but he's not here most of the day, he works full time at a vet clinic. 

The rescue is trying to place her with someone who works from home or is an early retiree or something, with another weimaraner already for her to play with. So far though, not takers 😞

[Pen]

Add Labrador, and Lab-Golden mix and maybe Lab or Golden and something else mix  (our Labramatian would fit what you want as would have a former DoberDor—they’re not available, just mentioning as types, though perhaps not all such mixes would work) to your search list , rescues, letting vet know etc.      Then keep Arya until a right home for her / right dog for ds6 comes along.  Possibly your elderly dog will pass and Ayra will become dog #2 and someone else will eventually become a good #3  for ds6.  

[moonflower]

You will find someone for the weimaraner who is more suitable for her; she would do fine in your household, it sounds like, but your primary interest/obligation is your son who needs a quasi-therapy dog, and this dog is not it.  A golden sounds wonderful!

[Carol in Cal.]

D)  Both of the above?

[Ausmumof3]

Beagle for your son?  I have seen them doing obedience work but they can be pretty distractible.  A younger border would have been good for obedience and companionship but not for a therapy dog.

also this is why I can’t foster because I’d end up keeping them all

[Pawz4me]

There's nothing at all wrong with wanting the dog who is right for your family. Instead of (perhaps) thinking that you're failing the Weim by not adopting her, think of the huge gift you've given her by fostering her until she finds the perfect home.

Also, you've posted at least twice in the past few months about arthritis issues. IIRC now it's just your fingers/hands, and I sure hope it stays that way. But as someone who was diagnosed last year with RA, I know there's no way I could meet the exercise needs of a young, large(ish), energetic dog now. I felt it coming on years ago, and that's why we have a low energy, small dog. Not that a Golden is small by any means, but in general it's much easier to find their "off" switch than it is for a Weim. I won't bring a dog into my home whose needs I can't meet. That wouldn't be fair to the dog, and would cause me much stress.

[J-rap]

If you're like me, you'll fall in love with almost any dog you meet!  But, try and stay focused on what your main needs are.  It sounds like the Weimaraner is very sweet but also very high energy, and not a snuggler for your ds.  So, although your family could certainly accommodate her and enjoy her, I'd probably keep looking for a new home for her.  She sounds like a really nice dog, so I'm sure another home is out there for her!  In the meantime, you can keep her and feel good that you're able to provide her with love and a safe environment.

If you're interested in exploring a completely different type of dog than you've mentioned, you could look into the Beagle/Pug mix.  My dd has one (that she got while she was still living at home, so I think of him as half mine.  :)).  He has the cute, friendly, and curious personality of a Beagle and the dedicated companionship personality of a Pug.  (We've been told he might have a little chihuahua in him too, which I'd believe because of his looks and size.)  He adores my dd and his favorite thing in the world to do with her is to snuggle.  (I can't tell you how many Snapchats I have of the two of them snuggling!)  He also has a lot of energy and loves, loves playing with other dogs, even the big ones.  But because he's small, his energy wears out rather quickly.  

[ktgrok]

Thank you all! It's so hard to be objective with the pretty weim here in my face, lol. 

I did tell the golden retriever rescue that we are open to a mix as well, and they know what we are looking for and supposedly are good at matching people to dogs. 

My son would LOVE a pug, he's obsessed with them because his favorite youtube personality has pugs. But in the Florida heat any brachycephalic dog can really struggle, and I worry that a small dog might get hurt by the big one while playing. Tracker wouldn't mean to hurt it, he loves little dogs but he's big and gangly and could step on one while playing. 

[Pen]

I find short fur (Labrador to Great Dane range) much easier—do you have someone to deal with long Golden fur grooming?  That could be issue both for Florida heat and arthritis 

[ktgrok]

21 minutes ago, Pen said:

I find short fur (Labrador to Great Dane range) much easier—do you have someone to deal with long Golden fur grooming?  That could be issue both for Florida heat and arthritis 

We have the border collie now, and he's the kind with super thick fur, double coat, and manage okay. I admit the fur is the only thing I don't like about the Golden idea, but not a deal breaker. My 9 yr old, and to the lesser extent the 6 yr old, like to brush the animals, and the 19 year old can bathe, etc if I need him to - he's a kennel tech at vet clinic so does it for a living, lol- at this point I have no trouble doing it myself. Dh could as well, if I needed him to or more likely would be willing to say spend the money on a groomer, lol. I did tell the rescue that lighter coat is my preference, all things being equal. More due to the heat than anything else. Oh - and we have a pool so the dog could swim for exercise when it is super hot, and a kiddie pool to play in in the yard as well. 

I like labs a lot, but lately it seems that they are either obese and short (show style) or more often in my area field lines, so lanky but SO HIGH ENERGY. I think a golden is a better bet regarding energy level, snuggles, etc. 

 

 

[ktgrok]

I'm about to head to the dog park even though I have a ton to do. The whole point of a dog to play with Tracker was to be abel to skip the dog park, and have hm play at home. And that works fine. Except now he's worn out and the weimaraner is still going, so I'm going to have to go anyway, to wear HER out. 

[Pen]

3 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

We have the border collie now, and he's the kind with super thick fur, double coat, and manage okay. I admit the fur is the only thing I don't like about the Golden idea, but not a deal breaker. My 9 yr old, and to the lesser extent the 6 yr old, like to brush the animals, and the 19 year old can bathe, etc if I need him to - he's a kennel tech at vet clinic so does it for a living, lol- at this point I have no trouble doing it myself. Dh could as well, if I needed him to or more likely would be willing to say spend the money on a groomer, lol. I did tell the rescue that lighter coat is my preference, all things being equal. More due to the heat than anything else. Oh - and we have a pool so the dog could swim for exercise when it is super hot, and a kiddie pool to play in in the yard as well. 

I like labs a lot, but lately it seems that they are either obese and short (show style) or more often in my area field lines, so lanky but SO HIGH ENERGY. I think a golden is a better bet regarding energy level, snuggles, etc. 

 

 

 

We had one Labrador mix who was excessively driven and would not snuggle.  In retrospect that dislike of snuggling was apparent right when I first got him .  

 Mostly regardless of line type Labs / Lab mixes  have snuggled as well as Goldens IME.  

Yellow color Golden -Lab mix has become common in a Guide Dog group that has puppy raisers in our area, and sometimes adult dogs who failed to make it as guides.  The ones I’ve seen (not sure what % mix they are)  tend to get fur that’s shorter like Lab, but softer and finer like Golden.  Don’t seem to have the Lab obesity gene and seem very cuddly.

https://images.app.goo.gl/48NcxXo1aaijfJ8J6

 

IME Labradors are more robust than Goldens— for example for playing with bigger dogs or being sat on by toddlers.  

[MaBelle]

Do what I do with cats.  Keep all of them.

 

[Ausmumof3]

What about a frenchy?  They are really popular here and similar to a pug but slightly more robust?  

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

What about a frenchy?  They are really popular here and similar to a pug but slightly more robust?  

They don't tolerate heat well either - and many have horrible issues with narrow nasal passages and elongated soft palates. DS had two in boarding this past week that breathed so badly that more than one client heard them in the other room and asked if they were caring for pigs! that said, they are adorable, and my overgrown hound dog has LOVED the ones he met. But, he could easily hurt one without meaning to, they are just so much smaller than him. 

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

They don't tolerate heat well either - and many have horrible issues with narrow nasal passages and elongated soft palates. DS had two in boarding this past week that breathed so badly that more than one client heard them in the other room and asked if they were caring for pigs! that said, they are adorable, and my overgrown hound dog has LOVED the ones he met. But, he could easily hurt one without meaning to, they are just so much smaller than him. 

Ok.  I have a friend who has them here and we get some pretty significant heat but they take them indoors as required.  She has huskies as well but I think they have a divided yard to separate them.

[Pawz4me]

We have a neighbor with a Frenchy. She's a muscular, incredibly tough little dog. Like a cannonball on legs. She jogs with them and runs after them when they're biking. I can't imagine how she does it, especially as the weather warms up. Nor can I imagine even the biggest dog being a threat to her. I'd be more worried about her latching onto the other dog. That Frenchy is like a boulder, and she seems to be fearless.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Pawz4me

[Lanny]

If it is OK with their Rescue team, I suggest that you keep the Weimaraner.  A known quantity is better than something that might or might not be as ideal as one might hope for.  Neighbors across the street have (or had) a Weimaraner. 

Another breed that we fell in love with one day years ago, when her owners were not home and she got out is a Pug.  We had her in our house until we were able to contact someone in their family. She was an angel. 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. The Great Dane's owners came home?  She sounds like a sweetheart, except for the housebreaking issue.

Good luck with the house visit tomorrow.

[sassenach]

21 hours ago, Pen said:

 

We had one Labrador mix who was excessively driven and would not snuggle.  In retrospect that dislike of snuggling was apparent right when I first got him .  

 Mostly regardless of line type Labs / Lab mixes  have snuggled as well as Goldens IME.  

Yellow color Golden -Lab mix has become common in a Guide Dog group that has puppy raisers in our area, and sometimes adult dogs who failed to make it as guides.  The ones I’ve seen (not sure what % mix they are)  tend to get fur that’s shorter like Lab, but softer and finer like Golden.  Don’t seem to have the Lab obesity gene and seem very cuddly.

https://images.app.goo.gl/48NcxXo1aaijfJ8J6

 

IME Labradors are more robust than Goldens— for example for playing with bigger dogs or being sat on by toddlers.  

 

We have 2 male American black labs and they are both lovers. Our older one loves nothing more than laying his head on a lap and getting pets. The puppy is 6 months old and still has a ton of energy, but he's been a pretty good/easy puppy. Labs for life in our house!

[Pen]

33 minutes ago, sassenach said:

We have 2 male American black labs and they are both lovers. Our older one loves nothing more than laying his head on a lap and getting pets. The puppy is 6 months old and still has a ton of energy, but he's been a pretty good/easy puppy. Labs for life in our house!

 

In case there are personality differences between colors, ours also have been black.  But not all male nor all American lines.  Despite Marley the dog stories, our Labs and Lab mixes have mostly been easy dogs for our circumstances.  

Only one of ours seemed to have the Labrador obesity problem, but I guess it is becoming more common: 

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/genetic-variant-may-help-explain-why-labradors-are-prone-to-obesity

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Pen

[Pen]

Weimaraner question:  they are Velcro dogs, but not okay for a child to cuddle, Bond with?

[Pen]

An interesting list:

https://barkpost.com/breeds/which-dog-breeds-love-to-cuddle/

 

[kristin0713]

I didn't read all the replies thoroughly.  I wanted to add that our beagle mix rescue is the most amazing, affectionate, therapeutic dog I've ever met in my life.  She also has a good amount of energy to play with other dogs and is very social with dogs and people but is not crazy energetic.  (As a puppy, she had a TON of energy but calmed down significantly after 2yo.)  

[Pen]

20 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

I didn't read all the replies thoroughly.  I wanted to add that our beagle mix rescue is the most amazing, affectionate, therapeutic dog I've ever met in my life.  She also has a good amount of energy to play with other dogs and is very social with dogs and people but is not crazy energetic.  (As a puppy, she had a TON of energy but calmed down significantly after 2yo.)  

 

Yeah.  Beagle could be good choice.  They are sturdy little dogs. Unless the big hound thought it was prey. 

[sassenach]

4 hours ago, Pen said:

 

In case there are personality differences between colors, ours also have been black.  But not all male nor all American lines.  Despite Marley the dog stories, our Labs and Lab mixes have mostly been easy dogs for our circumstances.  

Only one of ours seemed to have the Labrador obesity problem, but I guess it is becoming more common: 

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/genetic-variant-may-help-explain-why-labradors-are-prone-to-obesity

 

 

 

Interesting! Do you carefully limit food intake on your obese lab? I’ve always assumed that lab obesity was mostly about closely controlling food intake, since they seem to have absolutely no off switch. I’ve noticed that even a little increase in calories for our older guy will result in him putting on weight. We had to come up with a communication system to make sure he wasn’t playing us for an extra meal with his hungry dog routine. 

[Pen]

48 minutes ago, sassenach said:

Interesting! Do you carefully limit food intake on your obese lab? I’ve always assumed that lab obesity was mostly about closely controlling food intake, since they seem to have absolutely no off switch. I’ve noticed that even a little increase in calories for our older guy will result in him putting on weight. We had to come up with a communication system to make sure he wasn’t playing us for an extra meal with his hungry dog routine. 

 

Our obesity problem dog lived into her teens, but is dead now.

Right. there was no off-switch-  she was “hungry” all the time.

We Tried to limit food and also to provide low calorie chews and snacks 

it was very difficult because a) we had more than one dog and she would take food (snacks, chews) from the other dogs (who were not so food oriented) - or even be given extra by other dogs  b) we live rural and she’d hunt extras c) she’d Eat inedibles like cardboard  eta d)   Also she was an excellent climber despite her size— I fed cats on top of refrigerator, but she was remarkably skilled at getting up there.  

Edited May 5, 2019 by Pen

[zimom]

3 labs, never a problem with weight because we feed them the amount they are supposed to have.  No free feeding in our house.  

[Selkie]

42 minutes ago, ZiMom said:

3 labs, never a problem with weight because we feed them the amount they are supposed to have.  No free feeding in our house.  

Same here. We have two English labs and both are fit. We don't overfeed them and they spend hours every day running and playing.

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Selkie said:

Same here. We have two English labs and both are fit. We don't overfeed them and they spend hours every day running and playing.

 

That is what my uncle a vet who also has raised Labs advises.

 Could also be that you haven’t gotten one with the hungry all the time gene. It’s still only supposed to be one in four.  They perhaps should include avoiding that along with checking hips and so forth before breeding them.  

Here’s our guy (1/2 English Lab, 1/4 American, 1/4 Dalmatian) who clearly doesn’t have the hungry all the time gene showing off fit and trim nearing age 7:

 

 

 

[Pen]

And if reason for avoiding Labs in favor of Goldens is obesity, there are a lot of fat Goldens too.  Though maybe they don’t have the genetic issue.

[Selkie]

36 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

That is what my uncle a vet who also has raised Labs advises.

 Could also be that you haven’t gotten one with the hungry all the time gene. It’s still only supposed to be one in four.  They perhaps should include avoiding that along with checking hips and so forth before breeding them.  

Here’s our guy (1/2 English Lab, 1/4 American, 1/4 Dalmatian) who clearly doesn’t have the hungry all the time gene showing off fit and trim nearing age 7:

 

 

 

Handsome boy!

You're probably right about my labs not having the hunger gene. They get excited at mealtime, but otherwise aren't overly focused on food. I do have a horse with the hunger gene - he's an easy keeper, as they say. He would literally eat nonstop all day long if I allowed him.

[ktgrok]

no more hounds, lol. One is enough!

As for weimaraners being velcro dogs - they are, but they want to be active with their person, pacing around, not laying and snuggling. She does finally settle and snuggle later at night but by then the 6 y old is sleep. So the 19 year old snuggles with her. 

I'm not opposed to a labrador, at all, and am keeping an eye on rescues. Regarding the obesity, this is the "type" I've seen lately - this is what the show breeders are going for, which I think is crazy. 

[Pen]

That is sort of a disturbingly stout  look for best of breed.  Looking a bit like a Newfoundland almost.  I guess it must be to breed standard, but its  front legs look very short. ?   Only about half its chest to withers dimension?  While our dog has legs about same as chest to withers.  

 

  That’s probably fatter looking than our dog who had the problem— hard to imagine that dog climbing up to steal food from a refrigerator top 🙂 —

though I guess if it were to need to bring in fishing nets it would help it to stay warm. 

But maybe if you became a foster home for Goldens and Labs a good keeper for your own family would show up.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Pen

[sassenach]

4 hours ago, Pen said:

 

Our obesity problem dog lived into her teens, but is dead now.

Right. there was no off-switch-  she was “hungry” all the time.

We Tried to limit food and also to provide low calorie chews and snacks 

it was very difficult because a) we had more than one dog and she would take food (snacks, chews) from the other dogs (who were not so food oriented) - or even be given extra by other dogs  b) we live rural and she’d hunt extras c) she’d Eat inedibles like cardboard  eta d)   Also she was an excellent climber despite her size— I fed cats on top of refrigerator, but she was remarkably skilled at getting up there.  

Wow, what a determined doggo! 

 

[mumto2]

51 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

no more hounds, lol. One is enough!

As for weimaraners being velcro dogs - they are, but they want to be active with their person, pacing around, not laying and snuggling. She does finally settle and snuggle later at night but by then the 6 y old is sleep. So the 19 year old snuggles with her. 

I'm not opposed to a labrador, at all, and am keeping an eye on rescues. Regarding the obesity, this is the "type" I've seen lately - this is what the show breeders are going for, which I think is crazy. 

Just wondering if that is a flat coated retriever as opposed to a more typical black retriever?  I think they run a bit sturdier (being polite) per a family member.

[ktgrok]

9 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

Just wondering if that is a flat coated retriever as opposed to a more typical black retriever?  I think they run a bit sturdier (being polite) per a family member.

Nope, that's a labrador. Actually, the flat coats I've met were very thin. Nice dogs, high energy, short lifespan, but nice. This is a flat coat - they look like a black golden retriever. 

[ktgrok]

I even toyed with looking at breeders of labradors, and almost all (except the hunting lines ones) had dogs that looked like that - short and stout and overweight. Definitely not the body type you'd expect of a  dog that should be able to work in the field!

[Pen]

The PNW at least still has a lot of Labs that are fit retrievers From breeders dedicated to family, hunting and sometimes general work type dogs.     Maybe the Southeast doesn’t.  

[Pen]

The PNW at least still has a lot of Labs that are fit retrievers From breeders dedicated to family, hunting and sometimes general work type dogs.     Maybe the Southeast doesn’t or doesn’t breed for family combined with working...

 

examples: 

https://oregonretrievers.com/testimonials/ (hunting , SAR, and Service Dogs)

Service dogs- on heftier side: https://www.devonshirelabs.com/Service_Dogs.html

http://www.highcountryretrievers.com/

https://snakeriverretrievers.com/

 

http://coyotecreekretrievers.com/   (Hunting /family — apparently 3 available?)