Min Pin???

[Beyond Blessed]

My sister is being relocated (stationed) stateside and she will be here without her dh - just her, her toddler, and a baby due in Feb. She's decided that she can't keep up with an animal at this time and we are considering taking her 9mo min pin, Izzy. She is good around her rambunctious toddler, but not completely house trained.

Anyone here have experience with a min pin or other min breed? I'm thinking with a bit of consistency we can house train this puppy. We have not owned a dog before but do realize how much work this would be - but she'd be the perfect pet for our fam, at least imo. She's cuddly and playful and nice. I want to paper train her (chux pads maybe???) along with outdoor training. The boys are excited and would love to do agility training with her. The boys are 7 (and 3/4 :giggle) and 6 yo. They could easily and safely take her for walks in our cul-de-sac. Our eldest dd is about to turn 3 and then the baby is 9mo. I *know* it's a lot to take on. But the kids and I have wanted a dog for sooooo long. And now there's an opportunity for this sweet girl with all her shots, who has bunches of toys, and likes to snuggle. She can't eat *that* much, right?!?! (dh is worried about the cost of food).

Can you more experienced mamas give me any reason to *not* get this dog??

[inesperada]

I have not owned one, but have a dear friend who owns one. She is a delightful dog! She is very rambunctious and hyper, but she is snuggly and cuddly and a happy dog. They did have some issues with training her to chux pads, but I don't know all the details. She also developed diabetes and went blind at about 3.5 yo. I have no idea if that's typical for the breed or if that was just something that happened to this dog.

One thing to think about is that this breed is naturally *very* aggressive. They can be trained to be gentle, and there are things to avoid as triggers.

Overall, I'd say it would be a great dog.

[boonpnutsmom]

I don't know anything about that breed of dog, just was to send some reminders... Just remember she needs to pay to have that dog sent again to the mainland. (not sure how military works but some pet tickets are as expensive as human ones). Make sure it is properly cared for in transit. And there are only certain flights that animals can go on right now as the weather is still hot. She also needs to look into an AVID chip and rabies vaccines if this a dog that has only lived here, she will not have had ANY rabies vaccines.

[Beyond Blessed]

Yeah, she's cringing over the $$$$ - but it's better than leaving the puppy with her good for nuthin' dh! :rolleyes They bought the dog here when they were on leave in March and took her back with them - $1000 to keep her in isolation or whatever. Ugh. I almost feel bad letting her bring the dog over and give her to *us*. But then again, I would love to have the dog and my nephew would be able to still see her a lot. :think Bet that would get confusing for the poor little guy though. Alyssa - she's getting transferred two hours from *home*!!!!! She was supposed to go to Germany and be in the "Red Unit" (very scary place to end up I've heard). A customer of my moms is a big wig of some type and got her sent to VA instead :jawdrop :phew :heart She comes home at the beginning of November. :jump :jump2 :jump :jump2

[Amber]

I know people who really love Min Pins...however my experince working with them at the vets office wasn't always pleasant. I would strongly recommend taking the dog to training classes if you do get it.

One thing you might want to consider instead of the chux pads is teaching her to use a doggy litterbox. I have heard some really good things about them for little dogs. You can either by the special dog litter box or use the bottom of a plastic ariline type crate, and the recycled newspaper litter (I have heard of some people trying to use sod, but I never found out how well it worked).

[Beyond Blessed]

We are really leaning towards getting her. :think What I read online is that the min pin has the *opposite* temperment as the Doberman pinscher - that they are not related. The websites I looked at said that this is a hyperactive, yet friendly breed. Could these sites just be biased because they are rescue leagues? We will definately do training :tu I know she'll be a lot of work, but I can just *see* her here, you know?! Dh was a vet tech for many years and he has breeds that he won't *ever* let us get - but he's considering this one. I mean, finally, seriously considering it. :phew We've wanted a dog for sooooo long. But the Lord knows what we can handle right now and I trust Him to firmly close this door if we are not meant to take Izzy. :pray

[Amber]

We are really leaning towards getting her. :think What I read online is that the min pin has the *opposite* temperment as the Doberman pinscher - that they are not related. The websites I looked at said that this is a hyperactive, yet friendly breed. Could these sites just be biased because they are rescue leagues?

Oh they can be really friendly, and extremely hyper little dogs. But like many little dogs they do have a tendancy to bite when something is happening to them that they don't like...at least that has been my experience. But then many of the Min Pins I encountered had no manners and very little training.

[Cheyenne]

This has quickly become one of my favorite resources to check out a dog breed in relation to children.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/children.htm

[JessicaTX]

I have a minpin. He is the sweetest cuddliest dog ever. He does growl when the kids are buggin him, but he doesn't bite. He is very playful and very sweet. He likes to sleep under the covers, and he grumbles if you disturb him :lol He's spoiled rotten and does well with my kids, 11,7,5,3. The 5 year old is a bit too rambunctious though, he knocked him off the couch this morning and the dog landed funny and hurt his foot. But my five year old has never quite developed a gentle touch.

[Sanveann]

Honestly, I would -rather- get a regular Doberman than a min pin if I had kids, LOL! But I am biased ... Dobies are one of my favorite breeds, and when I was a baby, my parents had one who would sleep under my crib and was VERY protective of me :)

This site has good info on different breeds. Here's the min pin page: http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/miniaturepinschers.html

Every dog is different, so what I'm about to say may not apply to this particular dog. But -in general-, I do not care for small, active breeds around small children. Many of them just do not put up with any guff from people they see as "beneath them." This particularly applies to terriers (which are usually the LAST type of dog I think should be around little kids).

There are a few small breeds -- Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Maltese, Bichones, Havanese -- that are quite tolerant of children. My own Maltese will let kids haul her around like a stuffed toy. But she and the other breeds I just mentioned have been bred for hundreds or thousands of years to be companions and be carried around. Min pins and other small breeds were bred to hunt and kill vermin, so by necessity, they are feisty, scrappy little dogs.

So those are my thoughts in general. But you've met this puppy and she sounds sweet and friendly, and she's still young, so you'll be able to work with her, too. If I were you, I would take her, with these caveats:

* Take her to obedience classes and preferably some other activity where she can burn off energy. Agility is fun, but even a local dog park would be fine, if there is an area for small dogs. (Do NOT let her run with the big dogs ... she could get stepped on or attacked. A German shepherd once tried to grab my little Macy.)

* Do not leave her unsupervised with the two youngest kids. The older two probably will be able to understand "this is how you pet her" or "if she growls, leave her alone" or "don't wake her when she's sleeping," but the litter ones may not know what might upset a dog."

[Beyond Blessed]

I think I would be worried about her interaction with my kids if she wasn't already raised since puppyhood with my bruiser of a nephew :giggle He's almost 2yo and he's in a 3-4T size - he's a big guy and doesn't always have the gentlest touch. I have to give my sister a lot of credit with how she's raising this dog. :tu I think, in general, if I were out dog shopping then I would probably avoid this breed because it seems hit and miss in regards to the temperment of the dog in dealing with children. But this one has been raised around a child and that gives me a measure of peace. I have also witnessed a "good" dog - who had a history of being great with children, be pushed to bite a toddler in the face - so I *will*, of course, be extra vigilant in regards to my younger two! :-)

We talked to the boys last night about dog responsibilities and dh told them they can call Auntie and tell her that they are allowed to have the dog. He's never even considered a dog before - and he loves them. This is huge for us!!! Though, he did say it was one ugly breed - "all pointy" he said. I said, "Don't call my Izzy ugly!" :giggle Then I told him what I thought about *his* favorite breed (sorry, but Boston Terriers just don't do it for me :P~ ) He laughed at me. So in 21 days we welcome our newest family member. :jump2

[SouthPaw]

Congratulations!! I really like minpins. They are such sweeties and from what I have seen, can put up with kid behavior. Actually when I worked at PetCo a lady came in w/ a minpin in the cart and 2 kids. The poor little dog was getting tortured by one kid, it was soooo sad and :hissyfit ... but every time the mean little kid smacked the dog, the dog would just whimper and make little sad sounds...even snapped once... but it never bit the kid. I was hoping it would....the mom was just standing there like she didn't care :cry :( But I guess my point is, I'm sure your kids won't be *evil* like that, and if your pup is as good-natured as this little guy was, you should have no problems even if the dog is accidentally poked or prodded a little too much. .... Post a pic when you get your new doggy!

[Sanveann]

Congrats!

(Btw, Bostons are GREAT dogs! I think they are cute as the dickens, LOL!)

Dixie, that is so sad about that poor little Min Pin! I would've hoped the dog would've nipped him, too, LOL!

[Beyond Blessed]

LOL - My dh had a boston when I met him - that dog was *old* - he was knotty and snorty and gassy and he was attracted to my leg. So he biased me a bit. Some friends just got a bt puppy and he is cute (but, shhhhhh - don't tell my dh).

[Sanveann]

Yeah, all the short-faced breeds like bulldogs and Bostons tend to be very gassy! But so is my DH, and I like him OK ;)