I may even argue I need a dog. We lost Lilli 3 years ago in October. This is the longest I have lived without a dog and honestly there is a bit of an empty spot in me.
3 Golden Retrievers
1 Border Collie
1 Pitbull
1 GSD

Wife and I agree that our next will be a female lab. 3 boys under 7 with 1 still in diapers is what is keeping us from getting one.
But recently our oldest has been working through what seems to be some mild sensory and anxiety issues and I really feel having a dog would help him. But I also think boys and families are just supposed to have dogs.

A few nights ago my wife seriously brings up the idea of getting a dog. Fortunately aside from 3 months out of the year someone is home during the day every day. During those 3 months there are 2 days where no one is home during the day but 95% of the time I am able to come home for lunch.
We spend most of our weekends at the in-laws and they have average and a pond. We have a nice sized back yard and 3 boys with that plenty of energy so the dog would have a good time not just cooped up in the house alone all day.

So we started discussing puppy or a rescue a couple years old that is already housebroken and somewhat trained.
If for damn sure yesterday a friend did not ask if I knew anyone looking for a lab they knew someone trying to rehome 6 and a mix. Very odd circumstances as to why they need to be rehomed but zero fault of the dogs or their temperament.
So they had one female 2.5 yo, house trained, crate trained, sleeps in the bed all night (would be the floor at our house), and great with kids.
Buddy went down to check them out as he is wanting a male or two. He said the female was awesome! So our interest is really sparked schedules suck at the moment trying to find a time to meet her.

Too late someone picked her up tonight. Only one left is a male and we are positive we want a female.

Anyway. The right one will come along. The youngest is almost 3 so potty training should be starting soon. That will be a big step closer.

I just really miss having a dog. Some of you likely know that emptiness I am talking about. This is the longest ever for me and almost seems to get more and more empty each day.

I completely understand. Other than when I was in college and flight school, I have had a dog.

Had a Boxer before the first kid was born and multiple additional dogs introduced after they were born at various ages.

Labs seem to be great family dogs, although I have never owned one. I have always been comfortable with a dog being home alone during the day after they have matured a bit and as long as they have a doggie door to go outside and water.

Good luck, you'll find the perfect one when the time is right!

I feel ya. We had a couple female Akita over the years. (One after the other). Wife handled them fine, walking & everything else. She always felt much more secure with a big dog in the house. Kids loved them, they loved the kids obv.

Problem is we've had rescue kitties in the last couple years & though we tried bringing in a rescue Akita mom / daughter pair that were supposed to be okay with other pets....not so much. So we've shelved having another pup for quite a while now.

I sure understand. We've had a lot of dogs in the past 34 years, loved every one of them as much as we love our family. All were females, except one, who was a male "rescue" from our Vet who had him because the owners could not afford the eye treatments the little feller needed.

We have just one now, a little Lhasa who is a true love dog. So sweet and so dependent on us. She has finally come out of her shell enough to really bark and growl when someone comes near the door. Otherwise, she's quiet as a mouse and very calm.

Yeah, life is good when you have a dog.

Bob

Preaching to the choir!

We’re on our second female Lab. The first was an awesome rescue 1.0 yo chocolate and was beautiful and trained! Not sure why she didn’t make the cut. I drove 650 miles one way to get her.

Current yellow Lab is almost 8 and doing great.

Either rescue or breeder, it’s hard to go wrong with a Lab. I think even with your young kids and a busy schedule, you’ll find the time and energy to love and raise a dog. You seem to have a grasp on the commitment.

Just a thought: check with a reputable lab breeder.
Sometimes they have finished dogs that they now want to retire instead of breeding. They might only be a few years old or less, already housetrained, all health testing done, probably spayed before being rehomed, and ready to be loved.
Consider it, especially with small boys. I’ve worked in rescue and adopted rescue dogs, also owned show dogs.
With small children, I’d want the risks out of the way. A good breeder considers temperament as well as health, so those risks are not there. If you want a mutt, rescue is the way, but you’re looking for a purebred, and most have health issues associated..and a lot of those purebreds that end up in rescue were not bred by a reputable breeder...which means their health and temperament are a crapshoot.....a retired show/field dog should already have that checked. Now a field dog, well, that might be harder, if they are a good hunter, they’ll be in demand, spayed or not. But just consider checking.
Somebody put it like this: “saying I don’t need a dog from a breeder that shows is like saying I don’t need a house from a builder that builds to code”. The point of showing them is to compare them to the standard of the breed to see if they measure up. A good breeder shows or competes, imho, to be sure his/her stock is true to the standard.

Best of luck.

I feel for you. All my childhood, I had a dog. Moved out on my own, had a dog. Had to move yet again and dog couldn’t come, gave the dog to a good family.
Got a cat. Worked okay as I was rarely home. It was self sufficient and kept me company. Broke up with GF and she wanted partial custody. Cat is yours.
Met my wife, moved in. Tried a dog. Didn’t work. No pets. Had fish. Lots of work for nothing.
Got a cat. I probably would have murdered it if we kept it. Wanted to play all night and sleep all day. Gave cat away.
Wife has been instructed that there are no more pets until she retires and can care fir them.
She wants a big dog, I.e. Rottweiler, Doberman, German Shepard. I want a Maltese.
We will see what happens.

No better dog for kids than a lab, plus if you get broken into, the lab will show the crook where all the valuable stuff is thereby getting him out of your house faster.

We have not had a dog in the house since Sweet Pippy died a few years ago.

I miss her, I miss having a dog, but at 83 it's not going to happen. I do not have the energy to meet a dog's needs. With my hip, and my balance problems, I don't think I could even take a dog for a half-mile walk.

SIGforum member Paragon gave us a cat that was terrorizing its mother and siblings. I have never liked cats very much (I do not hate them, but I just do not really connect), but my wife and the cat have bonded.

In our 47 years of marriage, we've always had a dog or two. We've had mutts and purebreds but of all the dogs, our 10 year old, male Goldendoodle is the greatest dog we've owned. At a close second would be both our long-gone Golden Retriever or our Old English Sheepdog

We got a dog last year. She was 8 months old at the time. She didn't make the cut because the people had an elderly disabled person in the house and they decided the nippy, jumpy, retreiver/Shepard mix wasn't a good fit. We got through it and she's fantastic.

We don't have a large yard, but we do have a pool and she loves to swim and fetch in the pool. We also have a dog park just down the street.

I'm sure you'll find the right dog.

Buddy and Greta say 'Get two'!

s

We've always had labs and always will. Our boys (now 27 and 30) grew up with them and were better for it.

Good hunting!

It's time here too, been three years since we lost our Boxer.

Nothing more joyous when they are here and nothing more painful than when we lose them.
No kids here so no frame of reference from that standpoint.

quote:

But I also think boys and families are just supposed to have dogs.

Yes.. This is truth....

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
Just a thought: check with a reputable lab breeder.
Sometimes they have finished dogs that they now want to retire instead of breeding. They might only be a few years old or less, already housetrained, all health testing done, probably spayed before being rehomed, and ready to be loved.
Consider it, especially with small boys. I’ve worked in rescue and adopted rescue dogs, also owned show dogs.
With small children, I’d want the risks out of the way. A good breeder considers temperament as well as health, so those risks are not there. If you want a mutt, rescue is the way, but you’re looking for a purebred, and most have health issues associated..and a lot of those purebreds that end up in rescue were not bred by a reputable breeder...which means their health and temperament are a crapshoot.....a retired show/field dog should already have that checked. Now a field dog, well, that might be harder, if they are a good hunter, they’ll be in demand, spayed or not. But just consider checking.
Somebody put it like this: “saying I don’t need a dog from a breeder that shows is like saying I don’t need a house from a builder that builds to code”. The point of showing them is to compare them to the standard of the breed to see if they measure up. A good breeder shows or competes, imho, to be sure his/her stock is true to the standard.

Best of luck.

That's how we got our Australian Shepherd. Retired show dog (Grand Champion)neutered to prevent further breeding, breeder looking for a good home. We gave it to him. Best dog ever.

https://i.postimg.cc/FsLj7Gb3/20181001-145216.jpg

Great advice. That is how we got Greta. We've had her nephew Buddy since he was a pup. Two years ago the breeder died. The kennel contacted us to see if we'd take Greta. She was 8 at the time and had been a kennel dog. She had one litter but had problems. She was such a good mom that the breeder kept her.

She is the sweetest dog we've ever had. They gave her to us and paid to have her spayed...a condition of the breeders will.

Yep, boys and dogs go together like PB & J.

I have two daughters and a son. Guess who our yellow lab sleeps with? I've gone in to wake my son and found him on the floor and the dog in his bed!

My own little rescued girl sleeps in my room near me.

Why are you so set on a female?

our 'HARLEY" was a pound pound rescue after seeing her litter mates on tv news. 8 week old BEAGLE/RAT TERRIER MIX. going on 12yrs old and spoiled rotten and my shadow...................drill sgt.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: drill sgt,

I lost my best friend Spark last May. He was a rescue from Animal Friends, a local shelter that does good work. He picked us when he was about 2. Spark was 12 and had a good life with us. I miss him everyday.

I recommend considering a rescue dog, there are some great ones out there.

I am struggling with wanting another dog. I am turning 65 in two months. Retirement is later this year and we want to travel and will likely relocate.
My logical thoughts say: this isn;t the time. My emotional: I want a dog.
My secondary emotional? I have had the privilege of living with 8 dogs over the course of my life, all good boys and girls. Each one took a little bit of my heart with them, I don't know if I can to that again.

I will be volunteering at Animal Friends to get my dog fix. We'll see if that is enough.