Big Dogs or Small Dogs?

i'm somewhere between sheepdog/boxer.

❍ Whippetlurcher

Voted cat person, obviously.

I'm pretty scared of dogs, but I do find myself more relaxed in the presence of the super-big dogs. Even though they could most easily kill me, they seem the most chill. Maybe *because* they could most easily kill me. Also, Bernese Mountain Dogs are beautiful (hi Henry).

We have a great dane and he is the most hilarious & friendly dog I have ever known.

I'm more of a cat person, but I like dogs a lot. If I were to get one, it would be a small dog just because it seems more reasonable in an apartment. Although ChILXor dan m has an excellent Great Dane who seems to be about as happy and content and well cared for as a dog can be and they live in an apartment.

xp!!!!!

I will second that dan's dog is great.

I have a very large black labrador, way bigger than your average sized labrador. He is very gentle but can do some serious scratch/bruise damage jumping up at me with those big paws when I am throwing a ball for him. He is a very handsome dog but sometimes I wish he was a bit smaller. I would go for a border collie sized sheepdog.

Tiny dogs are generally a nightmare of if you're a laid back person. Jack Russells etc I have no idea how people deal with them. If you like constant movement about the house and hyper charged senses, ok. But small/medium dogs bigger than that can be chilled out. I had a patterdale type dog - great temperament, huge energy outside, deals with himself in a respectable manner inside.

(for ref, my old dog looked something like this, same colour, slightly bigger, toughest dog I ever knew, literally would take down the biggest dogs, but loved people)
http://www.uniquepets.mobi/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/18708328_m-2patterdale-paid.jpg

Demeanor/level of nervous energy is more important than size to me. We have a 25 lb. Cavapoo and I wish he was about half that size. Personality-wise he's more a spanielish lapdog than a poodleish hunting dog, but he's too damn big for anybody's lap.

But cats >>> dogs in general.

I'm more of a cat person, but I like dogs a lot. If I were to get one, it would be a small dog just because it seems more reasonable in an apartment. Although ChILXor dan m has an excellent Great Dane who seems to be about as happy and content and well cared for as a dog can be and they live in an apartment.

xp!!!!!

― carl agatha, Wednesday, June 11, 2014 11:00 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

We get the question of "how does he get along in an apartment?" all the time. Dude basically sleeps like 18-20 hours a day anyway, he gets his exercise in when we're outside but otherwise is super low-key. Age is definitely a factor too but even before I was on the scene my wife says he was typically pretty laid back aside from chewing on things, which all dogs do anyway.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/55613968@N00/14397952654/player/a189dc8503

Aren't Great Danes supposed to be really chill dogs anyway? Your dog is the living creature for whom the phrase "big lug" was invented. xp

Also he's a wimp, tiny dogs love to attack him and it pisses us off to no end especially when people are all "haha oh it's so cute, look at them" and we're like "no, that's aggression, please control yr shitty little piece of shit dog."

xp Yes for the most part, most all the aggression has been bred out of them as far as I have experienced. Though there have been one or two dickish danes we've encountered.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/55613968@N00/14397952654/

AAAAAAAARGH flickr, what are you DOING?

You can't post an image that doesn't end with .jpg, .png, etc.

I voted Rottweiler but I love Mastiffs & St Bernards the most.

TY dan m. When standing, Ken's back is level with my knee. When younger, he could reach counters to steal things but that's what you get for leaving food where a dog can get it if you're a stupid human...

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/q77/s720x720/10371387_10152074620731949_6961177366758945635_n.jpg

one of my fave dogs i ever knew was the largest great dane i ever saw named Rosie. Thing stood like 4 foot 6. Total sweetheart, my pit would use it as a jungle gym and she was super mellow about it. They don't last very long sadly. I think it died at five after a number of expensive surgeries.

I love dogs of all sizes, doesn't matter. Unfortunately, we don't have one; we've had our cats a long time and I don't think they would adjust well.

One of my friends has a mastiff named Sasha, who is the sweetest, friendliest dog around. Sasha can stand on her hind legs and put her paws on my shoulders without stretching, and I'm 5'9". Another has an adorable little Schipperke. They're all awesome!

dogs of all sizes being generally awesome = otm

10 years is a good age for a Great Dane. My dad's dog was a blue merle/cookies and cream guy called Malcolm; he lasted about that amount of time.

my 75lb pit bull is like 15 years old, she is chill as fuck

Kenny (above) is now 17. He is always as chill as he looks up there unless it's time for dinner, at which point he starts the interpretive food dancing.

Also he's a wimp, tiny dogs love to attack him and it pisses us off to no end especially when people are all "haha oh it's so cute, look at them" and we're like "no, that's aggression, please control yr shitty little piece of shit dog."

OTM

I am more of a cat person, but voted Great Dane. If my family's three very very small dogs were to somehow magically disappear, I would totally get a Dane.

too much rage against tiny dogs on here. well-trained little uns are amazing, super full of personality and flat-out funny. big dogs great in a reliable old comfy sofa way too. basically love all dogs except ones that are bought to exist as a 4-legged threat

Voted corgi. Disapointed in the lack of Doberman Pinschers tho, as well as their small dog corollary - the Min Pin.

i feel like category for my dog (doxie/chihuahua aka substantially bigger than a pom substantially smaller than a corgi) is missing. Dogs this size are the fkin best.

She is at the vet all day today getting a blood levels monitoring test bc he is pretty sure she has Cushing's Disease (she's 14). But that's fine bc there is a pill for it and I was scared it was progressive kidney failure.

Jesse and I have an ongoing fantasy where we start a law firm together and get a dachshund as an office dog. I love little dogs. Chihuahuas are amazing. My mom has a Pomeranian and it is a ridiculous dog but my mom loves her very much so I accept her in all of her ridiculosity.

My aunt has a mini dachshund, it was the first little dog I ever met who acted "like a dog" in my mind. Love that little fucker.

Dachshunds are great. I have a lot of love for many many breeds, but dachsies are very close to my heart. The make great family dogs as well as a pet for the single person.

it's just the aggressive yappy uncontrolled small dogs that i don't like. ppl who think it's ok to let the small dog use the full length of their 20ft leash to annoy my husky, who doesn't understand why this small dog is being mean to her when she just wants to play. meanwhile i'm expected to keep my dog on a short leash by those same ppl. it's really stressful to her to be that restricted while some little rat is nipping at her legs and screaming at her.

^^^exactly this

I mean obvs uncontrolled dogs are a problem but for some reason in my experience a lot of people treat uncontrolled aggressive small dogs as "cute" whereas if I let our 150ish pound Dane off-leash and he acted that way, I would probably get in a hell of a lot of trouble.

when it's a breed considered "aggressive" it's even worse. If your yapdog runs headlong at my pit, I'm in the wrong simply because of her breed.

gotta rep for my my little man, Baxter - a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t31.0-8/1398163_581948961878482_371955162_o.jpg

Yeah I think people assume that a small dog won't hurt anything, or treat them like stuffed animals instead of dogs. Dog needs to be a dog. I have luckily known some great little dogs in my life so I know their potential.

I ended up with a small 12lb. dog - her mom was at least 30lbs so we expected her to be bigger, but apparently the mystery dad must have been tiny. She's awesome and we frequently get people who tell us how much they usually hate little dogs but love ours. She's kind of hyper at times, true, and more neurotic terrier than I'd like but overall she's awesome.

Her best friend is a 120lb mastiff mix and them playing together is one of the best things ever. All dogs of all sizes are pretty great as a general rule.

one of my dogs is a terrier mutt the other a corgi so voted corgi but really all sizes are fine. dogs have evolved to be so in tune w/ us socially that generally regard any person that can't deal w/ a dog (and wasn't like bitten by one as a child, etc) as clearly defective in some way.

http://cdn.thebarkpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/big_dog.jpg

Is the "small dogs == high-strung and anxious" formulation on actual thing?

dogs have evolved to be so in tune w/ us socially

I watched a thing on PBS the other day about this, and if you let a dog watch you put a treat under a cup, and then tell the dog the treat is under a different cup (when it is not), the dog will trust the human over his own eyes and go first to the cup without the treat that the human pointed to.

Temple Grandin says that what you really need to watch out for are dogs (any animals) with a large amount of white fur. Something about the gene that makes animals white correlates with the gene that makes them neurotic.

Also, if the Australian Sheepdog is representative in size for all sheepdogs, I'd vote that, then.

xp
Which book does she say the white fur thing in?

white dogs drive like this

xelab - Animals in Translation, I am pretty sure. I went through a phase of reading a bunch of her books but I think that is the one.

"Three years a young dog, three years a good dog and three years an old dog. All else is a gift from God."

xp
thx. That is probably the only one we don't have, but I will check it out because she is great.

I watched a thing on PBS the other day about this, and if you let a dog watch you put a treat under a cup, and then tell the dog the treat is under a different cup (when it is not), the dog will trust the human over his own eyes and go first to the cup without the treat that the human pointed to.

I read a blog post on that very thing. I could not take part in that study, poor doggies.

xp that's a great quote, what's that from?

it's a swiss saying about bernese mountain dogs

Voted cat person, but big dogs are clearly the best kind; somewhere between a husky and a direwolf.

my husky is a lot of white fur and she's not neurotic at all BUT she is a real asshole to me sometimes (and a total suck-up to strangers).

ok let's redress the balance over all this 'in my experience' and 'it seems like' crap above about small dogs. a badly brought up dog is a badly brought-up dog - difference is, your 200lb monster could do way more damage if it flipped out than the tiny dog ever could. ya also seem kinda blind to the fact that walking down the street with a dog that has jaws bigger than a human head is super intimidating for kids, mums w/ prams, old folk, etc. like i said, i like all sizes of dogs but don't pull this crap about little dogs being inherently more troublesome than your donkey-sized gentle giant (hint: p much every dog is gentle to their owners)

too much rage against tiny dogs on here. well-trained little uns are amazing, super full of personality and flat-out funny. big dogs great in a reliable old comfy sofa way too. basically love all dogs except ones that are bought to exist as a 4-legged threat

― NI, Wednesday, June 11, 2014 5:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

have experienced excellent dogs of all sizes and breeds, and a minority of badly-behaved/badly-trained ones across all sizes as well. badly-behaved little dogs are annoying, badly-behaved big dogs can be pretty terrifying.

alsatians are the only dogs i dislike because #acab

(i actually used to be a cat person as a kid, then i developed allergies, so i just like to look at pictures of them now. luckily we live in the best ever age for that)

I am absolutely not blind to the fact that people are intimidated by my dog. People regularly cross the street and walk on the other side when they see us coming. Their loss.

i forgot to say yesterday that flexi leashes are the fucking worst and make bad dogs. Small dogs especially should not be allowed to range about freely on their 10' flexis. It makes them psycho.

The main problem with small dogs is that people think they need less exercise than big dogs. Ha ha ha ha, people are stupid.
So they take them out for ten minutes on the lead and the little dog is like "WTF? Right then, I'm going to bark at everything, all day long. I will never shut up, never!"
I love my jack russell. People tell us we shouldn't trust her with children. She adores children. People tell us we shouldn't trust her with cats. She sleeps on my lap with our oldest cat in the evenings. She will not be told what to do.
She does like the sound of her own voice, though.

the thing that freaks me about jack russells is the absolutely plumb-line vertical jumping 4 feet in the air

dogs of all sizes being generally awesome = otm

― dan m, Wednesday, June 11, 2014 12:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

Anyone that votes pets of all kinds suck - I will never understand you.

OTM.

The only real reason I don't have much bigger dogs is because I don't want to have to deal with massive poos, and I don't fancy trying to lift a huge dog into the car when it's too old to get in by itself.

In fact, not only will I not understand you, I will probably worry about you a little bit.

It's hard enough to lift a gangly medium-sized old dog into cars! To add to the general unwieldiness, there's a 30-second co-operation window before squirming. Ken can't go down a flight of stairs any more, but he can manage one flight and he can also manage jumping on/off beds and sofas. A really rickety and HUGE old dog would totally break my heart.

Our guy has hind-end problems and can't reliably do things like climb stairs. For those situations we bought a Help-em-up harness, and it has made a world of difference. It also provides a handle to hold him steady while he's dumping out (big poos) so he doesn't fall down in his own pile.

boxer-sheepdog size is where I see myself if/when I can get ever get a dog, I like almost all dogs (all well-raised dogs of course, and ok I find pekes a bit weird, like they're snuffling 70s sci-fi creatures or something). I suppose I do lean a fair bit towards huge dogs – Great Danes are lovely & I really, truly would love an Irish Wolfhound.

Jesse and I were in the park a few weeks ago and we saw the BEST DOG. It was a Jack Russell/beagle mix, and her name was Casey, and she was so adorable and well behaved. Her human said that she loved babies so she came over and gave my infant daughter a sniff and a very polite lick on the head. Jesse and I gave Casey some pets, and then we all parted ways best of friends.

It was an excellent small dog interaction.

I've had to be told STEP AWAY FROM THE RESCUE DOGS WEBSITE because I was starting to obsess over this (slightly too big) guy:

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dogimages/1116513_ERNIE_20140530120207_20140529_142701_w800.JPG

Aw, he's nice.

My friend Casey has a rescue pit bull named Telly that she Instagrams like constantly:

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/p417x417/1620605_556332120202_1280096566_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/1796549_556514654402_564533669_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/1488156_554412247642_249005901_n.jpg

The dog had a lot of anxieties when she adopted it but she's really settled down. (They had to spend a lot of time getting her used to the cat, which is named Batman.)

I would instagram that face all day.

I was anti-little dog until my parents got a Havanese, and it has kind of brought me around to the "bred for generations to be nothing but an exceptionally emotionally well-tuned lapdog and ladies' entertainment." He is just the best-tempered and least anxious and least demanding dog ever and apparently will keep his playful puppy temperment indefinitely. He's neither willful or particularly intelligent, but after 3 collies and a standard poodle who was nothing but a selfish pain in the ass, I think we were all ready for something very sweet and quiet and not too bright.

Before moving to Chicago, one of our Dane's two best dog friends was a Havanese

I ASK YOU

http://www.7cedarsranch.org/Havanese_puppy.jpg

like i said, it's not all small dogs who are awful - it's the shitty owners with neurotic and aggressive small dogs who let them terrorize MY dog, while i'm expected to restrain her. there's a dude i see on my way to work a lot who lets his chihuahua off leash to torment neko every time we see them. i've never seen ppl with big dogs do either of these things.

xp if you could just drop that dog off at my office that'd be swell

chihuahuas are p gross

http://i.imgur.com/6o41kBK.jpg

Enid, my tiny dog in the foreground, friend's medium sized dog in the middle, my dog's best dog friend Norris in the background - they were kind of the same size when they were puppies, now he's ten times larger.

xp if you could just drop that dog off at my office that'd be swell

― Disagree. And im not into firey solos chief. (Phil D.), Thursday, June 12, 2014 4:33 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

MY OFFICE TOO

Havanese puppies 4 evry1!

http://twinshavanese.com/images/havanese8.jpg

This is the best thread. :')

I love miniature Schnauzers, Boston Terriers, pugs, and Jack Russell Terriers, so I guess small to mid for me.

I voted "Pets are the worst" btw.

Not that I needed a reason to post his picture on ILX but I feel like I haven't done so in a while so here's my monster being particularly cute this morning while perfecting the pug head tilt:

http://i57.tinypic.com/o7n6ee.jpg

Although Norris clearly does not suck and has an amazing face with actual sad eyebrows, c'mere guy, I have a chew toy with your name on it, yes that's a good man, get the chew toy! Go get it! Yes, you're a good doggie!

well if everyone else is doing it...

this is Vonn wondering why I'm still in bed late on a Saturday morning

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/1501036_10100109566943827_7986281953596015801_o.jpg

Norris :)

Vonn!

I'm guessing there is some food off-camera in Joygoat's pic?

I was watching ilxor Yerac's lovely lovely boxer a couple of months ago and he's the nicest and would like to have more people and dog friends but everyone crosses the street when they see him. Tragically misunderstood. ;____;

boxers are ridiculously sweet ime

slightly overly hefty boston terriers own

http://i.imgur.com/4jQ4RU7.png

boxers are silly goofs and I love them

My mother inlaw had a shihtzu named bella and as adorable as she was, she was just a pain in the ass. it wasn't the dog's fault, my MiL indulged her like a furry princess and would never follow through on any kind of training becuase she didn't want to upset the dog and it was like aaaaagh.

I mean, to the point where the dog wouldn't eat if anyone was looking at her, wouldn't eat wet food unless it was *warmed slightly*, wouldn't eat off anything but an actual plate...it goes on

the biggest problem is that she couldn't socialize at all with other animals, she was snappy and irritable whenever other dogs were near and would always start shit with my brother in law's docile bigger dogs...but my MiL was convinced that they were 'picking on her' and wouldn't hear a bad word against her. it was just a nightmare when they ended up all sharing a house together.

she got adopted out to a friend of my MiL's after MiL passed away...the friend lives alone and her children are all grown up, and can shower Bella with all the attention she demands. being in a 3 dog house was no place for the Princess, that's for sure.

oh and whenever you sat down she would jump in your lap and repeatedly lick any exposed skin including feet and it was groooooossss

she was cute as hell though

@ENBB, your dog is so cute!

Aw, thanks. He's pretty ridiculous and he knows it. (btw: Best Beloved Benson)

that's sad to hear about the shihtzu. almost any bad habit w/ food can be broken, generally thru a little trick called 'starve them', but socialization stuff is difficult to repair. i socialized my corgi like crazy but totally forgot to socialize her w/ kids (most of my friends are childless) and the first time she met a small child she was over a year old and it blew her mind, she was terrified of it and for the longest time would let out this low disapproving 'ooo' whenever she even saw one down the street. she's gotten alot better but even now she just kinda freezes w/ this awkward weird forced smile on her face, i can tell she feels awkward and uncomfortable, it's like watching my grandmother eat chinese food. the licking of skin was the dog wanting salt.

@ENBB: Haha. Nice! Didn't see that thread!

I feel super lucky to have a big dog breed that is so stuffed animal muppety that nearly nobody finds him intimidating - basically if somebody shies away I know they have actual dog issues and we play it cool

Anyone here ever experience progressive protein loss with their dog? Baxter (that brown & white spaniel I posted above) just got results from a blood test that are really scary. we took him to the vet last week due to excessive vomiting & panting. he's been dropping protein levels in his blood for a few weeks now and I just found out I have to take him to the ER tonight in order for him to be seen by a specialist. Kind of freaking out. He's only five years old and I'm not ready to lose a pet.

D: That sounds awful! Really hope the worst will be averted!

Thanks! I'm hoping whatever this is can be treated.

Pancreatitis, maybe? If my dog starts vomming, that's my first thought.

vomiting is better than diarrhea i guess, hopefully it's not some kind of renal failure, maybe just a parasite. hopefully it will be something that can be treated w/ some ease. hoping for the best.

Yeah, pancreatitis and renal failure are big concerns. Unfortunately his diarrhea has been really bad, too. Google searching this stuff isn't really doing wonders for my anxiety.

Only worry about renal failure if the pee is weird. Pancreatitis affects dogs of any age, though. Whippetlurcher has recovered from his December pancreatitis attack but ooooh boy £3000 vet bill followed by *expensive* gastro dog food.

Best of luck, Darin.

yikes! well, glad your pup is doing better now, Suzy. Some Web MD research leads me to believe Baxter is dealing with some sort of lymphangiectasia issues, although the causes can be anything from parasites to cancer. I'm frustrated that we've already spent $700 this week on blood tests, medications and x-rays and we still don't have any clue as to what's up.

anyway, enough of my downer talk - back to the big dog/small dog debate...

thanks, Carl!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

If I had a house (instead of a small apartment) I would absolutely own a Newfoundland. When I was a kid there was one that lived a few blocks away and the first time I walked past its house it was sleeping on the lawn and out of the corner of my eye I thought it was a boulder until it moved.

Baxter is doing better! While he does suffer from some lymphangiectasia-type symptoms, he is improving dramatically and his prognosis looks good. Things are looking up for the little man.

that's very good to hear, i was just reading about him upthread and hoped he was okay.

Glad to hear that! I was wondering too.

Newfoundlands are awesome.

Also hooray for Baxter!

Oh and

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m134/johnjusten/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-05/E0CCB4A2-E18E-4592-82FD-57085D3D4E43.jpg

HENRY

There's something beneath that enormous beast -- it looks like a rug?

no chihuahua no credibility

I loooooooove other people's dogs...big ones, small ones, doesn't matter...but I'm way too much of a procrastinator (and, frankly, kinda lazy) to own a dog that needs to be walked and stuff. Cleaning my cat's litter box once or twice a day is more my speed.

I had cats for most of my adult life - because it's hard having a dog in the city. When I moved to the burbs, the cats died of old age and, smitten with my sister's dog, I got one for protection. Then Dad got a Siberian, which I kept after he died. A few years ago, I was in and out of the hospital with surgeries and my mom gave the dogs away.

Trying to be brave about it. It does no good getting emotional. When I get stringer I'll get another Siberian but one dog is not the same as another.

Anyway, I'd forgotten how safe big dogs make you feel.

My uncle breeds Great Danes. All of his dogs have ruled.

It took me forever to come around to big dogs after being attacked by one as a kid but I've known a succession of such lovely, lovely big dogs in recent years that I've grown really fond of them. I do love (most) little dogs, too, though. My family's little dogs are hilarious and adorable but they're also terribly trained/socialized (yappy, terrible on a leash, aggressive towards/fearful of other dogs, etc.). I try not to let that color my opinion of little dogs across the board. The GF and I have been talking about a dog, and I'd opt for a lab in a heartbeat (with loose fur and slobber informing the bulk of my reservations).

I used to be such a cat person but I've lived with way too many shitty (i.e. aggressive, destructive, poorly box-trained) cats of late to feel like much of a fan at the moment. I like other people's cats, usually. The ones who aren't going to bite chunks out of my books and piss on my bed.

hey guys i'ma ask yall this b/c i'm asking everybody.

so my wife and i are moving from a house in new orleans to a surely-tiny apartment in nyc. we have two small cats, a small dog, and a 74lb elderly pit bull who has been my #1 bro for many years. naturally our pet situation is making the apartment-finding process very difficult and frustrating and i imagine the subsequent living-in-tiny-apt-with-mad-pets would be equally difficult. but whatever.

except that an ex of mine, who is still a good friend, offered to take the 74lb dog (with whom she lived for many years) to live with her in her big house with a big yard here in new orleans. ellie (the dog) is like 15 years old and surely not all that long for this world and i want her last couple of years to be super awesome. but i have no clue which is the better situation for an old lazy sleepy dog--hanging out w me in the big city or lounging around this fancy house/yard (with someone she also knows/loves). your thoughts would be appreciated.

(my wife is also trying to find a new home for the smaller dog, who is kinda neurotic and doesn't really give a fuck about people so that whole thing is less fraught)

i feel like by taking a dog into one's life one is making a commitment to the dog to see things through to the best of one's abilities but i dunno. i also feel like i should note that ellie is the dopest dog ever and my ex is not the only person who has offered to take her.

i asked a vet abt it and she was like, leave the dog w yr ex but she may have been drunk.

used to be a cat person until i developed an allergy to them. now, it's looking at pictures of them only. luckily i live in a time of unprecedented access to cat pictures.

both big and small dogs can be awesome, i feel small dogs can be very unfairly maligned with the vicious/yappy stereotype. i love all dogs, except alsations (all cops are bastards) and english bull terriers (exclusively owned by racists)

if you think the ex will take good care of the big dog, i would leave it with her. tough sophie's choice there though.

hard for me to answer that question, as I've already done a whole lot to ensure our big guy is comfortable, including moving at the drop of a hat when he couldn't climb stairs anymore

do you think the dog could handle the change, mentally? serious question

i left my 50 lb dog with my ex when we broke up and i miss her a lot but i just don't have a lifestyle or a space or the capability to look after her in my current life... plus they really fulfill each other well. i'm not sure how dogs adjust to people coming and leaving their lives; i think it depends on the animal. but if your ex is loving and takes good care of the animal, i think your dog will adjust.

leave her with your ex - imo that change will be far less stressful for her than moving her to a tiny apt in NYC. it's a terrible decision to have to make - but mainly for you, not ellie. if she knows your ex really well, i think she'll be perfectly happy and content there.

That's so hard. Your dog is going to miss you, for sure, but may overall be happier with a yard and space and not having to make a big move to a strange city with a new climate. Even typing that makes me feel sad, though, so I don't know.

thanks everyone. i know taking my ex up on her generous offer is the right thing to do but man it is a fucking drag.

I have a friend who had to give up her much beloved dog when she moved to NYC. Fortunately, the dog now lives with her parents where the two get to spend some time together again a couple times a year. Would you ever have the occasion to visit your ex and see the dog?

Leave her with your ex, imo. They know each other, it'll be less stressful than the alternative. Offer to chip in on vet bills for the inevitable end-of-life care soon to come?

i'll be back in new orleans regularly so there would be visits.

yeah i'm not gonna stick her with giant piles of doggie hospice care bills or whatever. she just went to the vet and apparently is in fine robust health for her age but i feel like shit can go down pretty fast.

i m losted good luck

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Funny thing I noticed is that of my parent's two dogs, one is clearly more dominant -- pushes the other aside to receive all the petting, is always up front on walks, etc. -- but that when the two of them play, the dominant one acts submissive by rolling on her back and licking the other's face. Is that weird?

the concept of dominance is somewhat ridiculously overstated when ppl talk about dogs, somewhat comparable to talking about alpha males and beta males w/ humans and thinking it's a real thing

I'd say more oversimplified than overstated.

or misapplied I guess

yes

So maybe the dominant dog is throwing the other one a, ahem, bone?

I am always proud of my black labrador, Dogsby. Whenever other dogs show up there is no jealousy or oneupdogship, he is always delighted that another of his brethren is present and does his damndest to play with them. There is a dude around the corner with this muscular killer pitbull type beast that tried to kill him. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it looked and Dogsby had a pierced ear and some gashes on his head. Got revenge on the owner by screwing a load of inch and a 1/2 "8 screws into the fucking tyres of his VW Golf.

Dogsby!

Named after the one in the middle from an old Cbeebies show.
http://www.ukgameshows.com/p/images/7/77/Shiny_show_puppets.jpg

proof of of how soft as shit he is.

http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii559/palex10/SAM_0051_zpsc09c90a5.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/34pyxlf.gif

big dog AND little dog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwkuD_Ij-HE

:D

Ahem

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m134/johnjusten/Mobile%20Uploads/2009-11/2DE9938F-8E61-4145-85CB-056C6C8C8EE5.jpg

Note to self: get Great Dane and chihuahua

Had our dude (a dane) at the groomer the other day & there was a 4 month old chihuahua giving him the business there. Wasn't as funny as the two above but incredibly cute nonetheless.

i've got a 9-month-old yellow lab, a little smallish for the breed, who's p much ruling my life these days. good: he forces me to take 1-2 long walks/runs in the woods every day. bad: he eats furniture if I don't.

This is Bud, a 4-year old, 104 pound Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix at a shelter nearby. I wants him.

http://www.petango.com/sms/photos/182/a1ea5ac0-0974-4199-9467-25b504f4f6d5.jpg

Even in the adoption glamour shot, you have a peak into the gallons of slobber that would be your life if you adopted Bud.

the great pyranees is an awesome dog

http://www.caninedistractions.com/21-great-pyrenees-who-love-being-big-lap-dogs/

http://www.caninedistractions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tayna.jpg

my inlaws had a gp, he was magnificent & so placid <3

Walked past a house today with few houses around, mostly fields, there was two big dogs, acting like angry guard dogs when they saw me and the fences weren't that high. If they wanted to jump over they probably could have. I walked very slowly past and for the rest of the day I've been wondering if I was nearly savaged or even killed. I'd like to think the dogs would have been fine and merely curious if they jumped over to see me but I've got a bad feeling those fences are irresponsibly low. Regardless, those dogs are likely to terrify lots of people going for a walk. I'm not going near that place again, which is a shame because it's a nice route.

ALL dogs!

https://ithelpstodream.tumblr.com/post/127807954992/amanda-jones-has-dedicated-the-past-20-years-to-an

Very nice photos of aging dogs

I'm not joking, this fucking jerkoff plumber comes into my house today, with poser gym muscles and tribal tats down his arms, and then shits his pants when he sees a soft old 12 yr old black labrador. The soft twat refuses to do the gas safety check until I take the dog out of the property. Sometimes I think fatal industrial diseases that affect tradesman, like asbestosis are not so bad after all. even tho i've probably got it myself.

little dogs are the all time best, nothing in the world like them

We just got a tiny little dog, named Josie! She is a Mi-ki, and she is very chill and cuddly:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51057693562_0993b0cb39_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51056888858_f4677b4309_c.jpg

!!!

that is a real muppet

Josie got a new coat!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51721552619_81677276d2_c.jpg

that dog is so cute! I'd never heard of a mi-ki before today