Thinking about getting a Dog Pet

I still like the idea of the Iguana; but they are difficult to have as running mates. Tongue

I guess it's depending on one's needs in companionship with a pet, and the realities of keeping one.

I have a friend who has always kept large dogs. He has gone through several over the 30 years I have known him. Though he does have a decent size yard, and takes them out for walks, well...when the knees were still good, they are primarily indoor pets with him and dogs that large (he presently has 2 malamutes and a lab) need the room to move, and they are already quite advanced in their weight.

From what I have seen from doing a search for shibas online, they look to be not too out of line with the size of jack russels, which are what my sister has; one mixed and one pure bred.

Her smaller dogs maintain a healthier weight than what my friend's larger dogs do as inside they are still able to run around, and a yard is an even larger place for them to run. Though they can find their way out of the yard through small opening, those can easily be rectified compared to the cost of erecting a taller fence when one has larger dogs which can jump over a fence.

One thing I have noticed about smaller dogs, though it may be my imagination, is that they seem to be more independent minded than larger dogs.

Larger dogs are more limited in their ability to move around in households, and are thus more dependent on their owners to have their needs met and, in my opinion, become more subjective to an owners will.

Small dogs can move around more freely, hide, and have other benefits which more space provides.

People aren't much different; small spaces and crowded conditions breed obedience more readily than wide open spaces with the freedom to move about at will.

A small dog with the freedom to move around may require a bit more attention to instill obedience in it in the beginning; in other words, shower it with attention early on so that everything it needs, it gets from you, and it learns to recognize you as the source of its needs.

If an animal, or person for that matter, does not get what they need, or want, they'll stray. If a dog becomes attached to its owner, it won't feel the need so much to take off; leaving it less likely that you will be running down the streets of your town hollering "here, boy", "here, boy".

A big advantage to small dogs is naturally that they are less expensive to keep. Food being a major factor in the expense of any dog. What my friend feeds one of his malamutes in one sitting would feed both of my sister's dogs for a day, maybe more.

You could still go with the iguana. You'll just have to slow your running pace down a bit if you want to go running with it; like run 10 meters, rest for 10 minutes, then run another 10 meters. Grin