Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I got a doggy today! Questions

it5five

it5five

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 31, 2006
1,219
1
New York
My girlfriend and I went to the pound to get a doggy today, and we fell in love with this one when we saw it. The pound says he is about 2 years old, but he looks and acts younger than that, so we're not sure. They also said he is a Scottish Terrier Mix.

Questions:
Does anyone else have a similar dog that could give me an idea of how old he is? Or what mix he is?

S5030026.jpg

S5030030.jpg

S5030020.jpg
 
best bet is to ask a vet, they can get a reasonable estimate by checking their teeth and weight and such.

they're not big dogs to begin with so that doesn't really help. my dog at to be at least 3 years when we got him from a shelter, and he still has tons of energy.

is he housebroken? hes adorable. :)
 
Hell, my dog is 11 years old and still acts like a puppy sometimes, so I don't know if you can base his age off behavior alone
 
PlaceofDis said:
best bet is to ask a vet, they can get a reasonable estimate by checking their teeth and weight and such.

they're not big dogs to begin with so that doesn't really help. my dog at to be at least 3 years when we got him from a shelter, and he still has tons of energy.

is he housebroken? hes adorable. :)
Click to expand...

We're going to the vet on Monday, so I will ask then.

We didn't know if he was housebroken when we got him, but we soon found out he isn't. He peed on my backpack. EDIT: and he just almost peed on my girlfriends leg.
 
Terriers have tons of energy so you need to make sure he gets plenty of
excercise.

House training involves training the owner more than anything else.

You MUST get off your butts and take the time to take him for walks
and that means getting up first thing in the morning and many times
late at night until he knows the routine.

Hot, cold, rain or shine, adopting a pet means you have to take the responsibility.

You may need to use a baby gate to keep him in the kitchen area or
buy a nice sized kennel until he gets the idea.

If you have a yard and can install a doggy door, that's great
AFTER he has learned that his place for relief is outside.

Patience, lots and lots of patience.

Your dog does want to please you.
 
FFTT said:
Terriers have tons of energy so you need to make sure he gets plenty of
excercise.

House training involves training the owner more than anything else.

You MUST get off your butts and take the time to take him for walks
and that means getting up first thing in the morning and many times
late at night until he knows the routine.

Hot, cold, rain or shine, adopting a pet means you have to take the responsibility.

You may need to use a baby gate to keep him in the kitchen area or
buy a nice sized kennel until he gets the idea.

If you have a yard and can install a doggy door, that's great
AFTER he has learned that his place for relief is outside.

Patience, lots and lots of patience.

Your dog does want to please you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just took him for a big run, he is full of energy. . We live on the third floor, so he gets a ton of excersice (I can never spell that word right) just going up and down, but I plan on taking him out about every hour this first day so he knows where to go pee and to let him run.

We did get the baby gate for the kitchen, but he knocked that down. I actually had to call out of work today because of it, but I don't mind ;) . I'm going to buy a big kennel today because otherwise he's going to go wild when we're at work.
 
it5five said:
I'm going to buy a big kennel today because otherwise he's going to go wild when we're at work.
Click to expand...

Don't buy one that's too big. If a kennel is too big the dog will use one half as a bedroom and the other half as a bathroom. A kennel should be big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in, but not much larger. I would suggest waiting until the trip to the vet to determine whether or not he's fully grown yet.
 
adk said:
Don't buy one that's too big. If a kennel is too big the dog will use one half as a bedroom and the other half as a bathroom. A kennel should be big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in, but not much larger. I would suggest waiting until the trip to the vet to determine whether or not he's fully grown yet.
Click to expand...

We can probably wait until the vet. Someone will be home with him all day until then, and I think he might already be housebroken, just not familiar with where to pee where I live. When I took him running he seemed to know where to pee and everything once he figured out where he was and smelled everything within a 10 mile raius (at least thats what it seemed like).

He's sleeping right now, so I can get some rest too. I'm pooped.
 
You're in the exact situation I was in back in 98. Not knowing the age, falling in love with the bugger :)

I'd say he is 2 years old. Obviously it's impossible to tell from where I'm sat but he could just be a spritely little bugger? It took our Terrier mix till she was 5 years old to slow down! Even at 7 now she sometimes does silly puppy things (she knows it'll get her some attention :D ). Terriers do keep quite energetic till late in life.

Good luck with him. Our rescue dog is getting old now. The vets thought she was 6 when we got her, but that'd make her 17 now which can't be right.
 
Just a few more tips:

- Dogs like routine. Give him one and try to stick to it.

- Make sure the dog starts to treat you as the alpha. One way to reinforce this relationship is to only feed him after you have eaten.

- I'm sure you know what Bob Barker's advice would be.
 
I'm sure he'll have no problem with routine. I work the same days and the same hours every single week, so I'm in a routine myself.

He's already neutered. All the dogs at the county pound get "sterilized" and shots.
 
He already whines way too much when I'm out of his sight. He'll freak out of I run down to the trash really quick. He's going to love when I go to work today :p .

EDIT: We also found two ticks on him, which grossed me out. But we got some tick spray and killed them. We're washing everything he's been on tonight.

He also likes me way more than my girlfriend, which makes me feel terrible, especially since it was her who really wanted a dog. We don't want to bring him back to the pound since he's become so attached to me (and me to him), and they'll likely put him to sleep if we do that since he'd already been there for a week before we brought him home.

We're probably going to end up getting a second dog so she can have a doggy to cuddle with. I have absolutely no idea why Toby (we named our dog finally) likes me more than her. I spent his first day home with him, but she spent the entire next day with him. We've both taken him on a lot of walks and played with him a lot. I hope he warms up to her. :(
 
Very nice, look after him and he'll look after you!

Two tips;

1) All the dogs I have had love ICE Cubes when it's hot hot, and it's a good way to keep them cool.

2) Don't feed them chocolate, it's very bad for dogs, but as a treat cut some cheese up into little cubes (like 2mm by 2mm), they love that too.

Enjoy, and consider pet insurance.
 
it5five said:
He already whines way too much when I'm out of his sight. He'll freak out of I run down to the trash really quick. He's going to love when I go to work today :p .
Click to expand...
Dogs (and I imagine especially dogs that have been rescued) have a really deep-rooted fear of abandonment. Sounds like Toby's been through some trauma in his life and so you'll have to be patient with him.

We're probably going to end up getting a second dog so she can have a doggy to cuddle with.
Click to expand...
Your OP and subsequent posts lead me to believe that this is the first time owning a dog for both of you. Is that incorrect? Either way, I think it's problematic to adopt another dog so soon. 1) Toby might start to feel or behave differently since he hasn't had enough of an adjustment period (nor the two of you, really) and 2) the two of you haven't a clue what Toby will be like in even a month's time much less what sort of work will go into having two new dogs! Slooooow down.

I have absolutely no idea why Toby (we named our dog finally) likes me more than her.
Click to expand...
This further supports my hunch that he was traumatized. Sometimes, animals are abused by people and sometimes they end up distrusting one gender more than the other. This could be the case with Toby.
 
This is my first time owning a dog, but my girlfriend has had dogs around her the whole time she was growing up. She had a dog when she lived at her dads house, but she was too big to bring with us. We'll see how Toby does. My girlfriend is scared of getting close to him though since he growled at her last night when she tried hugging him. I can be patient with him to calm down and adjust, but I just need to convince my girlfriend to do the same.
 
One of the things that I love about dogs is how different everyone of them acts.
As MagicUK says, do not feed them chocolate, unless it's specifically for them.
My two dogs love cheese too. :)

I agree that the way they act is not a helpful indicator of age.
My younger dog is over 2 years old now but is as much of a pup as ever. She loves playing all the time.
Conversely, the older one has periods of playfulness but generally prefers affectionate attention and has done all his life.

Terriers make the best pets! They remain cute and are easy to handle.
Good luck with your pet.
 
Yep. He even has the same tail. Except Toby's curls a lot more. It's like a full circle. He's sleeping right now, I hope he sleeps when I'm at work instead of trying to escape from his kennel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back