File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
what dog breed is best for a house with 2 cats?
>> Anonymous
There is no single breed. Avoid dogs with strong hunting instincts as a rule of thumb, though. Sighthounds are also usually a bad idea. Really, it depends on the individual dog. Border collies aren't supposed to be good with other animals, yet, mine plays gently with my cat.
>> Anonymous
>>184679

thanks, my partner had a staffordshire bull terrier cross rottweiler which didn't really get along with the family's two other cats (not mine)
>> Anonymous
>>184708

I'll probably end up getting another cat, I just worry about a dog being too aggressive :/ I have a young child, too.
>> Anonymous
>>184711
You really don't need to worry about a dog as long as you don't make a completely uninformed/impulsive decision, but that's understandable. I can assure you that if you just adopted an adult dog from a place or foster that knows its history you'd be almost guaranteed a good dog, but eh, stay within your comfort zone.
>> Anonymous
>>184713

I would myself rather adopt from a shelter or humane society, but my partner feels more comfortable with a puppy.
>> le/x/bian
>>184708
I agree, dalmations are probably a very bad choice.

>>184711
So long as you get a puppy and socialize it well OR get an adult dog you know is good with cats, you'll be fine. Also, I'm a dog trainer and almost all of the people that come to my classes have young children, seriously--a lot of them are first-time dog owners (as it sounds you might be?) and aggression has NEVER been a problem for any of the puppies in my classes.
>> Anonymous
>>184717
Why's that? I work with shelter dogs as my job, so maybe I'm a little biased, but I think they're the best choice for new dog owners. You can get one already housebroken, leash trained, neutered, cat/kid friendly, etc without needing to do any of that training yourself that way. If s/he's worried that they're "there for a reason," that isn't true. The vast majority of them are there because the owners were moving (wtf kind of excuse is that?), developed allergies, divorce, didn't have time due to job, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>184720
Agreeing here. The only child-aggressive dogs I've ever met were "little yapper" types with Napoleon complexes. That isn't to say big dogs can't be, but it's a lot less common. Most dogs love kids.
>> le/x/bian
>>184722
IAWTP. Most owners ditch their dogs either because of completely trainable problems (barks too much, jumps, etc) or just shitty excuses ("it got too big" is the most irritating). Check the shelter with your partner and see if you can't settle--many shelters have mixed-breed puppies almost all the time.

>>184725
Agreeing again, I got my youngest dog from a rescue group and he was apparantly bad with kids. Of course he ended up being everyone's favorite and loves running around with my little brother and his friends. Dogs are rarely aggressive with children.
>> Anonymous
>>184731
My last foster dog was a german shepherd/husky mix who was abandoned because he got "too big." ....no shit, what did his owners EXPECT? A lap dog? He wasn't even that big either, he was 40 pounds.
So, yes. Animal shelters are not like jail for problem dogs. They're mostly there because people are lazy, careless or amazingly short-sighted. True problem animals get euthanized.
>> Anonymous
dalmatians tend to be extremely high strung. all in all i don't recommend them to anyone. I have met one i adored, but she was one in a million.

DON'T GET A PITBULL. They have very very very high prey drive. And they can also put on the ruse of getting along with your pet then when you least expect it they snap.

Danes are wonderful. My personal favorites, Keeshonds, are super good with other animals.