Why?

93EXCivic wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Sounds like a great reason to buy a house!

Except I am 22 and I don't know for sure where I will be in two years and I would like to save up plenty so I can make the biggest possible down payment.

Then not buying a purebreed 100lb dog, feeding it, properly caring for it and paying the increased rent you will pay to have a dog should be your number 1 priority. I would bet you will easily spend 2000 on a dog in the next two years. Also your dog will probably live for 10-12+ years.. not a small comitment.

benzbaron wrote: Why would you want a dog in an apartment? Doesn't make much sense to have a dog all couped up in an apartment while you are out and about. Not fair for either you or the dog.

I am a very outside type person. So I would take the dog hiking and running a lot. Also the apartment complex I am going to be at has a dog park in it where I can let the dog off the leash. I have spent a lot of time looking at dog breeds which have no problem living in an apartment. I would not get a Doberman as an apartment dog or as a rescue (which is what I am going to get).

nocones wrote:

93EXCivic wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Sounds like a great reason to buy a house!

Except I am 22 and I don't know for sure where I will be in two years and I would like to save up plenty so I can make the biggest possible down payment.

Then not buying a purebreed 100lb dog, feeding it, properly caring for it and paying the increased rent you will pay to have a dog should be your number 1 priority. I would bet you will easily spend 2000 on a dog in the next two years. Also your dog will probably live for 10-12+ years.. not a small comitment.

I have a steady job (making plenty of money to comfortable support myself and put some away), I am not married with no kids and by the time, I will actually be getting this dog I will probably know if I will be staying in Huntsville for an extended period of time. I am aware of the commitment that a dog is as well.

Also I am not going to get a 100lb dog to live in an apartment. The point of the post was that Dobermans are considered dangerous which I in no way agree with. I would not get one for an apartment dog.

4cylndrfury wrote: believe me when I say that any dog can be a vicious mauler. breed laws just stereotype dogs into a corner.

QFT .... but really which would you rather be mauled by a pit bull or a Chihuahua ?

Has anyone ever seen a chihuahua hunt in a pack? No? Let me tell you that is some E36 M3. Think walking piranha and then tell me they are not scary.

Don't rent an apartment. Find a house to rent at least so the dog has some room to roam around outside during the day. Otherwise you'll have to take it for walks nearly constantly when you're home.

turboswede wrote: Don't rent an apartment. Find a house to rent at least so the dog has some room to roam around outside during the day. Otherwise you'll have to take it for walks nearly constantly when you're home.

I have no idea why I didn't think about renting a house. That would make life so much easier.

ppddppdd wrote: I'm more interested in keeping the sort of people who want a doberman or bull terrier away than I am in keeping those specific breeds away. The problem is the shiny happy people who own them, y'know? 20 year old punks who buy a tough looking dog, fail to train it, then let it go and maul some kid.

Lots of the problem's insurance too. Someone mentioned homeowners already. It's even worse when insuring rentals.

E36 M3-zu

just testing

Sweeeeet!

nocones wrote:

93EXCivic wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Sounds like a great reason to buy a house!

Except I am 22 and I don't know for sure where I will be in two years and I would like to save up plenty so I can make the biggest possible down payment.

Then not buying a purebreed 100lb dog, feeding it, properly caring for it and paying the increased rent you will pay to have a dog should be your number 1 priority. I would bet you will easily spend 2000 on a dog in the next two years.

That's the truth! Even routine stuff at the vet is crazy expensive.

QFT .... but really which would you rather be mauled by a pit bull or a Chihuahua ?

Since I currently own both, I would say the pit bull

My wife and I run a mini-rescue. We pack as many dogs and cats into our apartment we can possibly stand. Some we keep, others we re-locate. We have (ironically) three pure-bred rescues right now; a Chihuahua, a Frenchie, and a Staffie. The Staffie is truly one of the good ones. She's about as dangerous as a wad of pocket lint.

My wife is also a Vet Nurse and runs a doggie day care which she has done for almost a decade. While there are some genetic traits which can cause a dog to have a certain personality, there are surprisingly few hard and fast rules. In her day care the majority of dog fights are caused by or include Labs, Retrievers, and Husky breeds. Ironically, pits rarely are even involved.

Its the same old story. Media picks one breed to hate. It used to be German Shepherds, then Dobermans, then Rotties, and now Pit Bulls.

Here in Austin we have a "Love-a-Bull" Parade every year to raise awareness that Pits aren't satanic. In the three years we've attended there hasn't been a single issue, but the local news station that covers it always puts a spin on it. They showed me petting my Pit and talking to me about how wonderful and loyal she is, then they drag out a story where a girl in Michigan was killed by a Pit Bull three years ago. Pissed me off big time.

Pit bulls make good frisbee dogs.

http://wallacethepitbull.ning.com/

Blunt answer: Because dogs are quite possibly the most annoying creatures ever.

And yes, before you ask, I am a cat person. My cat may annoy you while you're in the room with it, but it can't annoy you from 3 blocks over at 2:30 in the morning.

(No, I'm not puffing up my Interweb muscles, I've had some bad times with a similar situation for the past couple of weeks, forgive me if I'm bitter.)

In my experience, a pit bull can be a wonderful pet, the best. BUT you better establish exactly who the boss is when they turn 2 or you have a hand grenade with the pin pulled just sitting there. Other breeds don't have this problem as much. Of course, the pit bulls I have experience with are kinda from the fringes of the outlaw biker community and are not the cute, cuddly ones, but the bat-E36 M3-zu crazy ones like you see on the news shows during sweeps week.

Just get a Rhodesian Ridgeback. They LOVE apartments. For lunch, actually, with a couch or two for desert.

Get a cat and call it a day until you save up and move into a house?

Don't you just love free advice?

E36 M3zus are Bob Costas! (just playing wif the filter)

After a year of being a landlord, I think it should be illegal to buy a dog without first proving that you own property of sufficient size and amenities to properly care for the animal. If you have a farm, or even a suburban house with some kind of yard, then by all means buy a dog. They're great, kids love them, they help defend your property, whatever. When I have a big spread in the country, you can bet I will have a dog or three. But until then, if I buy a dog and expect it to cohabitate in a building with a number of unfamiliar humans who aren't directly responsible for it and explicitly willing to put up with it, well then I might as well take up competitive midnight yodeling and creative outdoor defecation as far as they're concerned.

Yes, I know your dog is the best behaved, cutest, friendliest dog in the world, that has never barked or growled or bit or dug or peed or pooped once, ever, in its whole precious little doggy life, but guess what -- they all are when the owner is talking to the landlord. Since the mutt does not have a social security number, and I can't go to a website and get a written report of all the times he's chased the mailman or pooped in the walkway, I am just going to have to assume you're fudging his resume. Which you almost certainly are.

Of course, the best way to tell if a person is responsible enough to have a dog in an apartment, is to ask them if they would want to have a dog in their apartment. A lot of folks will respond, "No, of course not, it wouldn't be good for the dog to be cooped up like that, and I would hate for it to bother my neighbors or damage someone else's property". Those are the people who might be responsible and considerate enough to actually own one.

X2 about a Dobie in an apartment. Our Rescued Dobie is sleeping on the floor behind me right now. Great dog, friendly as can be. LOTS of energy, not for you if you don't have a yard & aren't willing to walk him. Not for you if he's going to be home alone for a long time. He gets bored & like a bored 5 year old, problems ensue.

this is why I own a bird. Most landlords do not know what a Fire winged parrakeet is and most assume they are just like a fancy you get for $15 at the mall

Hot Linked for my pleasure:

purplepeopleeater wrote: X2 about a Dobie in an apartment. Our Rescued Dobie is sleeping on the floor behind me right now. Great dog, friendly as can be. LOTS of energy, not for you if you don't have a yard & aren't willing to walk him. Not for you if he's going to be home alone for a long time. He gets bored & like a bored 5 year old, problems ensue.

I would never get a Dobie as for apartment. I what they are like. I was just pointing out how I thought it was stupid they were banned because they are considered "viscous"

93EXCivic wrote:

poopshovel wrote: Buy a house. Preferably not next to mine. Problem solved.

I would like to but that isn't really a possibility right now.

1. don't get a dog.
2. put the money you save by not having a dog into the house fund. food, bowls, collar and leash, crate, vet bills, etc.
3. (eventually) buy house.

Here's my answer: because owners of other dogs that may live near you don't want to be part of your amateur psychology experiment. Sure, your dog might be one of the food ones, or he might be one that snaps and eats the neighbors kid. Is that something you want on your conscience? Much less, the liability when thy happens.

I really have to wonder why you even made this thread, since you say you wouldn't have a dog in an apartment, and you weren't thinking about renting a house. You're irritated that you can't have a dog in an apartment that you say you wouldn't want in the first place. What gives?

I have seen mean St. Bernards and Cocker Spaniels. Go figure. Get a Beagle.

Strizzo wrote: I really have to wonder why you even made this thread, since you say you wouldn't have a dog in an apartment, and you weren't thinking about renting a house. You're irritated that you can't have a dog in an apartment that you say you wouldn't want in the first place. What gives?

I didn't think about renting a house at all until someone mentioned it and now I think that what I think I am going to do. Also the point was that while I won't have a Doberman because no way in hell would I own one in an apartment everyone I have dealt with was a big softie. I was just in a ranting mood yesterday as well.

A huge problem with "pit bulls" is that the fighting dogs aren't purebred. They've been bred with dogs like the Presa Canario to increase their size and with the most vicious fighters for years now. A fighting dog is no more like a Staffordshire Terrier than it is a beagle at this point in time.

I've been bitten by two dogs, and both were German Shepherds. One of those same German Shepherds tore the owner's son's ear off.

That said, when it comes time to get a dog, I'm going to the pound and letting my kids and dog pick each other. I really don't care what kind we get.

Brett_Murphy wrote: That said, when it comes time to get a dog, I'm going to the pound and letting my kids and dog pick each other. I really don't care what kind we get.

Honestly I am having trouble deciding if I want a pound dog or a dog from a breed specific rescue. I am not going to go out and buy a puppy. There are enough dogs in this world that need loving homes already.