I do not care for dogs, but I Love my Kid.

[Hammer Sandwich]

...50", $3000 TV isn't bolted down.....
....They may not be huge dogs but they are packed with muscle...easily knocking over a little kid or a frail grandma when excited.....

If you rendered a payphone NS when hearing about a dog in your house...what's going to happen when you come home to turds on the floor, shoes ripped up and the arm to your new leather couch chewed?

Just a thought

These are some of my exact concerns....

I plan to move the nice TV, home theater setup...etc,  into the downstairs "Daddy room".
I've measured everything up, and it's going to be tight as hell, but do-able.
Not crazy about it, but I'd rather watch TV in a 8 /10 foot room than cry when I come home to a smashed TV in the lving room.....

As far as coming home to "hot-rockets" on my floor.....chewed up stuff, and the like...this is still an issue.
I'm the kind of spiteful, petty, little person that will let a big' ol poo sit right on the floor until the "poo designate" comes home.
Then I will get up, and point at it until it is taken care of.
(I'm a "you made your bed, you lie in it" kind of guy)

We have discussed the kid being able to handle the dog solo, and we, (and she) know that she can't.
If that means supervised play, and adult accompanied walks, I'm more than willing to participate in that.

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

Boxers are wonderful dogs!

Boxers are wonderful!

These types of stories are quickly dissipating my "breed-related" worries.

(I found a pic from the last playdate).

 

[Sparkplugs]

These types of stories are quickly dissipating my "breed-related" worries.

(I found a pic from the last playdate).

Very cute!  As long as the dog is properly trained, and kept healthy, you should have very little issues with the little one and the dog.  If you go on Youtube and type in "boxers and kids" you'll find some good stuff.  I babysit a 2 year-old once in awhile, and she pretty much just crawls onto my dog and falls asleep. 

I worry far more about the dachsund and kids -- smaller dogs are much more likely to be nippy than an older dog.

As for your 'poo in the house' concerns -- Neither of my boxers have ever messed in the house, save for once, just after we had her spayed, and she was still out of it with the drugs, she peed on the floor.  Other than that, they'll hold it a good deal.  It was raining the other day, and one of them held her pee for 13 or 14 hours so she didn't have to pee in the rain.  I find that if I come home and let them out at lunch, they're good to go for the work day. 

 

[Brasidas]

I'm concerned about the idea of a guy who loathes dogs getting forced into having a dog, but that fight seems to be over. Since you've given up on that, you need to make some clear boundaries which you should *not* give in on. Dogs respect boundaries, and it confuses the hell out of them when some folks in the pack enforce them and others don't.

I had two perfectly respectful dogs growing up. They were trained to leave the humans the hell alone when they were eating at the table. It might've been a different story if a porterhouse steak was dropped on the floor, but that didn't happen.

I had a grandfather who started dropping by on a regular bases a while down the road. He was indulgent and disrespectful towards the household rules my parents had established, and began feeding the dogs from the food at the kitchen table while he was eating. This led to confusion by the dogs when at household meals, and a pissed off head of household who got upset by dogs whining at not getting food with us (regardless of their having eaten recently themselves.

You apparently don't have a history with dogs, and these kinds of pitfalls may come up. Talking about it on the internet's good, but ask around and chat with folks about this kind of stuff elsewhere too. Have frank discussions with the family about what the house rules are going to be, and if they change have a damned good reason to change them.

For example, there's probably no reason the dog can't get used to sleeping in Small Mallet's room with the door closed at night. *She* can be the one to get up and take the dog out at night. Even if the domestic 9'r is designated to let the bugger out, you'll probably wake up to the whining when she does too if the dog sleeps in/has access to your room.

Good job on consolidating the electronics that you're worried about. Reducing the risk of the dog seriously pissing you off is a good way to not hate the dog.

 

[Burrows]

I'm not sure how it would work with this pup being older, but when I got my dog we set up a dog run out back.  It's basically a 4x6 area of pea-gravel where the dog goes to do his business.  I've never had a problem with him going in the house or in random spots on the grass.  Hell, he won't even use the can when he goes for walkies.

 

[HavokFour]

I'm not sure how it would work with this pup being older, but when I got my dog we set up a dog run out back.  It's basically a 4x6 area of pea-gravel where the dog goes to do his business.  I've never had a problem with him going in the house or in random spots on the grass.  Hell, he won't even use the can when he goes for walkies.

Whoa, we did the exact same thing for our dogs. And here I thought we were weird.  ;D

 

[Thompson_JM]

New dogs are like recruits... for the most part they are eager to please, energetic and willing to learn their place in the overall system.... Train them well and for the most part you will have success... Train them Crappy, and well.. Garbage in, Garbage out....

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

I'm concerned about the idea ...ENTIRE POST QUOTE

You raise excellent points, and this has led to some really good discussions about the state, and continuation of the animal's discipline.

I think one of the things that has kind of eased me into this idea is that the dog has been treated, (and trained) so well, all of the things I've pissed & moaned about are done & gone, and shouldn't be an issue (ie: puppy stuff).

I'll still put all the expensive stuff away, (at least for now), just to make sure I'm going in with a clear head, and seeing a companion for my kid, instead of a big, smelly animal.
(There's only room for one big smelly farty animal in this house, and it's me).
click on link in sig line to witness the current level of fatness & stupidity

(I really kinda like the idea of having a well-trained dog.)

New dogs are like recruits... [see body of post]...Garbage in, Garbage out....

I would "plus 1" this a million times over, (if +1'ing wasn't so lame).

I met the dog the other day......and also had a chance to chat with some dog-friendly friends of mine.

This dog is KEEN.
(That's the best way I could describe it to people that understand the term......)

I  thank everyone on here that has responded to this.
I now have a lot of information I didn't have before, and ended up finding some great resources.
This Forum rocks for these very reasons.

Thanks a "big, steamy, coiled heap"..... ;D

Hammer Sandwich.

 

[ballz]

(I really kinda like the idea of having a well-trained dog.)I would "plus 1" this a million times over, (if +1'ing wasn't so lame).

:rofl: met the thing once and he's going soft already!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOcycgXpms

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

:rofl: met the thing once and he's going soft already!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOcycgXpms

Funk.......I'm losin' my edge.......

(Cue the "wah-wah".....and stock footage of a boiled carrot going limp.)

Ship.

 

[Thompson_JM]

It's like I said,
you get out of it, what you put into it.... Poorly behaved Dogs are usually a reflection of the owners more then the animal.

If you put the time into teaching it, take it to a good obedience school or read some books on the subject, you can have a great dog.

The most important thing though, is that you have to invest the time into training the dog... It's the only way.

And the attitude you have going into it will naturally set the bar as well.

I wish you the best of luck with the dog... I also welcome you to the world of never having clean sliding glass doors ever again....  ;D

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

I also welcome you to the world of never having clean sliding glass doors ever again....  ;D

:rofl:

Sadly, I know what you mean!

Thanks, Tommy

 

[Hawk]

I'd still put fragile things in safe places till the new dog adjusts and gets over his "new family excitement", and guidelines are set and understood by the dog - should only take a few days. Glad to see he's started walking into your heart already! I figured he would - the first time he leaned on your knee, and you reached down to scratch his ear!

Hawk

 

[Dissident]

Another dog lover here. I do like slower pace dogs (our current one is a couch ornament, a 3 year old basset hound), so a Boxer would be out of the question for us.

I am of the mind that it should be made clear that the dog will be their problem since they want it and are going through the back door, so to speak, to get it into the house against your stated dislike of dogs.

To me the main issue to resolve is not about getting the dog or not. The issue is discussing the terms and conditions with your wife. I would make everything painfully clear in advance and stick to your guns afterward.

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

Frig it.

Got a cat instead, named Shmoo.

She was delicious.