Hello everyone,

You all are a great help with my car, lets try a hand at handling my wifes obsession with getting a puppy.

We have it narrowed down to either a shih tzu, Shih tzu poodle mix "shihpoo" or a papillon.

I know nothing says "I am huge muscular man" like an 12 pound dog, but hey little dogs have little turds.

Our biggest dilema is the shih tzu pure breed or poodle mix.

Does anyone have any experience or wisdom on topics like this.

As always I am grateful for your help.

Is it true that poodles can be nasty little dogs.... I mean real *****es.... pardon the pun.


Thanks again


bob c

Go for the mutt, and I mean a real mutt. Not one of these genetically engineered designer yuppie Labbapoo freaks of nature.

I'm sort of a non believer when it comes to breeds. I think your gonna love whatever you bring home so why shell out the big bucks for a hound with bloodlines going back 100 generations. Go to the pound, find some little guy who's working it hard, spend a little time with him to make sure you mesh and take him home.

Best of luck, nothing beats a Sunday in the dog park.

Thanks for the replies.

I cant seem to find any good dogs at the pounds. We just got a lhasa alpsa from the pound and the poor dog was an emotional mess. I would have to be dog freud to figure this one out. She was a puppy mill resue. She, like other women I have know, HATED MEN. (Only kidding ladies)
The dog must have been abused.
Worse yet she got out and was run over in just under 5 minutes of us chasing her. THat sucked.

I live in chicagoland area and I guess out here in yankerville we dont have normal mixed breed puppies for sale. I would much rather not pay 400 bucks plus for a dog.

Really it is my wifes dog. She really wants one bad. I think that the dog cage in the kitchen is getting her down.

I must admit that those jack russells look like great dogs.

I kind of like the idea of a shih poo as the more I read that the shih tzu are kind of stupid and maybe the poodle will make them a bit smarter, like I get when I listen to Bill O'Rielly (NOT)

Thanks again for all your help.

Now that my mercedes spends more time asleep I am able to do other things with my fourteen minutes of free time a week.
I might sell this 87 300d if I ever get it running right.


good night

bob

I still think this should be a good place to start.
WWW.petfinders.org
Fill in the search and see what they have. There were 225 small young dogs in Chicago when I looked at it just now.

I used to know a couple that had a Shih tzu. It was a really sweet little mutt. They are more laid back than poodles. Most poodles that I've been around were good dogs, as well, but can be a bit more territorial. A poodle does come with the added bonus of being a non-shedder, with is a bonus for those with allergies. My biggest nit about small dogs, is that they have the exact opposite effect on strange people than a large dog. People for some stupid reason seem to feel that they MUST run up to it and give it a pat on the head.

I would recommend going to a shelter and adopting one. Unfortunately, they've gotten to the point where the fees are climbing higher than what it costs to get a "pet quality" purebreed from a reputable breeder.

That appears true on the suface. What you have to remember is that most rescue animals have already had veterinary care and are nuetered. Things you'll pay for on top of the purchase cost of a bred animal.

My dog BenzE was a PekaPoo. He was more Poodle than Pekinese. He came from a puppy mill and although a very beautiful and well cared for animal, he had defects that would have caused problems later on if he had lived. Do some homework and see what conditions are prevelant in each breed. WWW.dogbreedinfo.com is a good source.

a friend has a portuguese water dog that is pretty cool .. friendly too!

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

I vote for the Shih Tzu --- because I have one. They are really sweet dogs and don't required much exercise. They can entertain themselves all day long with their own toys while you are at work.

Don't let the size fools you though. Underneath all those hair (BTW, they don't shed because their coat are actually consists of 3 layers) is actually a very muscular fellow.

Shih Tzu is very territorial. They are very protective of its family members and great with kids. My dog only weights 12 lbs but if someone ring the door bell, she sounds like a 100 pounder and just great for being a guard dog. Otherwise she doesn't bark or make much noise at all.

On the other hand, they love to sit on your lap watching TV. They are relatively intelligent and can be house trained. I will always have this breed for companionship. This is our third Shih Tzu.

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95 R129
04 Infiniti G35.5 BS
10 X204

The neutering depends on the shelter. The one's I've used in the past, simply give a coupon if the dog isn't altered, and they're only good for a couple of weeks. This typically opens up another bag of worms with some. I'd just as soon not have some "executive" hounding me to "hurry up and get the dog fixed." If you get one from a shelter, you almost have to look for one that was already done. As for checkups, my dogs get the once over by my vet, regardless of the shelters claims. Kennel cough and worms seem to be the dominant two medical issues out of the shelters.

I had that issue with a German Shepherd. I had just moved, and was trying to take care of settling in the new house, when I started getting nastygrams for not getting the dog neutered "quickly enough."

As for the price, the fees that I had to pay for the GSD, were well in excess of $150. I paid $125 for Bear, and have the luxury of getting him neutered when I feel the time is right, and when I have the time to get him in to the vet's office. Since the other two are already taken care of, I'm not concerned with him making more.

I'd never look into getting a dog from a puppy mill either. I found one near my place when I was looking for another Pyr. Unaware of the place being a mill, I stopped by on the recommendation of another resident. The place was appalling. Needless to say, they didn't get a sale from me.

The person that I bought Bear from had two females, and one male dog. He had two litters a week apart, and the whole place was clean as a whistle. All three dogs were working dogs on his farm. He is far from show quality due to too much colour and deformed dewclaws. His disposition though is first rate Great Pyrenees loveable fur mountain.

Actually I'm referring to rescue organizations more so than shelters. Although there are plenty of good dogs in shelters that face death if not adopted. We got our Chihauhau from a rescue and she was housed at an animal clinic. They knew her history and had done the spay themselves. She had been cared for but not cared about. The adoption fee was $50 and I didn't hesitate to make a donation.

Go with the Shih-Tzu. Watch for a weepy eye and pass until you find a dry eye. Shih-Tzu's have a very long cost-no-object breeding history. Interestingly the communist red guard excesses of the mid - late sixties purged this breed down to just 14 dogs I think... something like that so you know they were well bred to recover as they have from such a small gene pool.

Girlfriend had two and I am a bigger dog person but I did get attached to them. The best one was black-white for whatever that is worth. Got a black-white English Sheepdog puppy at the same time and the Shih-Tzu trained it for us. They are never "yippy" as far as I can tell.

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1986 300 SDL - rolling parts car and test bed.
1987 300 SDL - semi daily driver.
1977 U1000 Unimog
2007 Ram 2500 6.7l

well we got the shih poo. It is 75 percent shih tzu. I played with both the parent dogs and they seemed to be good dogs.

Now I have to learn how to take care of a little pee machine.

He is very cute and my wife loves him already.

I am falling for him also. (never thought that would happen....Never been much of a dog person)

Maybe one day I will post a picture of the little guy

Thanks again for your advice and for sharing in a fun event of my life. I usually share my misfortunes as a diesel mechanic.


thanks

bob c

Care for him well and you'll have a friend for life. My dogs get excited everyday when I come home. That's a good feeling.

Well, a little late posting here, but I'll back up the Shi Tzu fans. We have 2 Great Danes and 2 STzus....never thought I would like small dogs, but the little guys have been loads of fun and can definitely hold their own with the Danes. The older of the two runs the house, Danes included....never backs down and will help "scold" anybody who gets in trouble. You'll have a great time with the pup! Not ever yippy little dogs...

Post some pics!

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TClanton
1980 450SL 90K
1980 300SD 112K