Help me find a dog :)

[ehidle]

April and I are looking around for a playmate for our 5 year old, 75lb Ridgeback / Lab (we think) mix. He has a very, very playful temperament, and even knows to be more gentle when playing with smaller dogs.

His best buddy in the neighborhood is a 90lb Mastiff puppy who is almost a year old. Jaiden will hide in the leaves to camo himself and stalk the Mastiff - flat as a pancake to the ground... belly, ears, and tail as low as they'll go.

The ridgeback in him is definitely a hunter, and the lab in him loves to play. It's a great combo, but he has so much energy and wants to play all the time that we definitely need to get him a 24/7 playmate.

For you dog lovers out there, what kind of breed would you recommend for my buddy here?

[Franky4Fingers]

Pretty dog!

Get another lab. We have two. You need serious patience with them, but I wouldn't trade anything for them. They are worth so much, they are worthless to me. hehe

I need to keep my male out of the damn oven. He keeps getting in there and eating dinner.

[Bib]

I've seen a lot of great pit, rotti and lab mixes come through the shelter that I volunteer for. Do you have any shelters near you? Our shelter has a foster-to-adopt option....do all the paperwork & write your check for the fees and they will hold the check for a week or two to see if the dog works out for you. Sometimes people will bring their dog to the shelter or to one of our adoption events but since the dog will be out of it's familiar environment, it's behavior toward the shelter dogs may not be indicative of what the dog would do at home.

[riverpirate]

+ 100 on a lab.

[ehidle]

I've seen a lot of great pit, rotti and lab mixes come through the shelter that I volunteer for. Do you have any shelters near you?

Well you've struck a nerve early in the thread, my friend..

I don't really want to go through a shelter if I can avoid it. I've dealt with a few and generally they have only treated me like a criminal and expected me to sign away my property rights for the privilege of what is really just borrowing an animal from them.

One application I saw even said I had to get their permission to take the dog with me if I go anywhere out of state. What kind of shit is that?

So, it's going to be a private transaction, or a purchase from a breeder, or something along those lines.

[Arcana71]

I've seen a lot of great pit, rotti and lab mixes come through the shelter that I volunteer for.

+ Hundreds! I've always been a very big fan of the rescue dog!

I don't really want to go through a shelter if I can avoid it.

Perhaps a breed-specific rescue organization could do better?

[Bib]

I've heard stories about what some shelters make you go through....sorry you got caught up in it. I guess there would be less hassle with privately run, breed specific, organizations.

[KrptcMschfMkr128]

Check out Craigslist. There's always dogs on there being rehomed due to a/b/c reason.

Another larger dog is probably going to be best, and if you have the patience, I suggest a husky. Especially if this guy's very active. My boyfriend's is going on 3 and still wants to play almost 24/7 even after being fixed and everything...

[dc dalton]

From the sounds of your 'guy' there (nice looking dog BTW) I would probably suggest another Lab. Only reason I say this is because my sister had two labs, two sisters, and they have kept each other company as playmates and 'buddies' for 9.5 years.

We've never had a lab but I have known enough of them to know they are great dogs.

[Bib]

We've never had a lab but I have known enough of them to know they are great dogs.
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a BIG +1 to that! I was partial to Goldens (ours has been gone about 2 yrs. now) but since we've been babysitting our friends' Chocolate Lab when they go out of town, I've become a big fan of the breed. Maybe someday my wife will "let go" of our Cindy and we can get another dog of our own.