maplelakeduckslayer wrote:Ever get one Nershi? Now that the gf's cat died, I know she's sad and would love a new lab to be buddies with. I'm still not sure if I want the commitment/spend the money at this time but renewing my investigation into possibly getting one
My kid has dog allergies and we weren't certain how he'd react to a dog in the house so we gambled on a re-home dog that is lab mixed with something else, we think terrier. Anyway, the weife's argument was $200 vs $1,200 and it's a whole lot easier to deal with if the kid can't handle the dog.
My rebuttal was, "But what if it DOES work out?". Well, it worked out, and we have a terrific family pet.
But he's not my dog, he will not hunt (mostly blind), and I had him snipped: this dog should not be allowed to breed and bring the gene pool lower......
All of that to say: if the GF wants a buddy, there is nothing wrong with that. But you don't need a $1,200+ dog and the associated time/training/etc to get a solid house dog. It just won't be YOUR dog.
The gist: if it's one dog, my recommendation is to get YOUR dog and she gets to hang out with it. If it's her dog, it's just a pet. Maybe you get lucky, but it's more likely you'll have a great house dog that is at best half-ass in the field.
Even though we have great family dog, I still want a MY dog.
Also, vet bills don't cost less for cheap dogs... if anything, you'll spend more due to bad genetics.