Looking for Small Housebroken Dog for Our Family

HI DeLara,

I have a 2.5 yr. old chiweenie named Lucy. She is 1/2 dacshund, 1/2 chiuhua. She's not a "licker" though. I got her from my mom who has her father, a black, tan and white long haired chiuauah and her mother who is a red, short haired miniature dacshund. She looks a lot like her mom, but when you look at her face it is more chiuauh-y. Her nose is shorter and her eyes are bigger, but not bulging. She is really cute. She's not hyper at all. She does love attention in the way of petting, holding, and games fetch and tug. She likes to go on walks, but she's not high energy so she doesn't need a lot of them as long as she will have a backyard to be in sometimes. She is a very light shedder. She will bark at neighbors dogs if they are barking or howling and she barks when she sees a stranger or strange animal in our front yard. I wouldn't consider her a big barker though.

I want to find her a new home because my kids are 4 and 1. I am too busy and she just doesn't get the attention she needs from us. She ends up spending more than half her day out in the backyard by herself most days. She really would be much happier as a house dog and having her people pay more attention to her. Being a lap dog would be her "dream" job. She is smart, but I haven't worked with her on tricks since I became pregnant with my 1yr. old and got soooo tired and sick during that pregnancy. The only trick she still remembers from before I was pg. is "sit" and "get in your bed". She used to know how to shake, lay and come when called. That is how little time I have to spend with her. I'm sure she would pick up new and old tricks quickly with someone working with her consistently. I have vowed to not get another dog until my kids are teens, close to it or even out of the house- if ever. My son loves to play ball with her, but he's still a bit too young for giving her the attention she deserves either.

She is very sweet and good with kids. She doesn't "love" cats, but manages to get along with our cat Gracie. (If a cat totally ignores her, she never even notices that cat again. We've found that out with the neighborhood cats.) She is house broken and crate trained. In fact she goes poop in the same area of our backyard like I taught her so that makes clean up and keeping kid's shoes poop-free much easier. If you leave her in the house for hours and hours she will occasionally have an accident (pee). We now either keep her in the back yard or in her kennel if we are going to be running errands.

She does have a few bad habits though. The first is, if you leave her unattended in the kitchen with food on the table, she will get up there and get it. Also, if she gets around a bag of trash, she will tear into it. (This happens at our house sometimes if we forget and leave a bag of trash on the garage floor and she "sneaks: out the cat door into the garage). Every once in a while she seems to confuse her toys with the kids toys, but that doesn't happen very often.

Lucy is fixed. She has been very healthy. She is up to date on her heartworm medicine, but she was due for her shots in March. She has no fleas since we treat for them. If you decide to adopt her, she would come with her kennel and pocket bed (where she sleeps every night), heart worm med (there is at least a yr. supply in there), a collar, harness for walks, leash, food, bowls,treats and toys. I would want to meet you & your kids first and have you all meet Lucy. I really want to make sure she goes to a good home & to a family that will be fully committed to her for the rest of her life so she doesn't have to move again.

In reading the two previous responses, I'm not sure that you are getting the answers that you were looking for. Let me see if I can help, by responding to each of your actual questions, rather than just giving you my personal opinion. You say that you want a dog that is "already" housebroken. Sounds like you need an adult dog that someone is trying to find a home for. Sometimes elderly people may need to find a home for their loving companion when moving to a retirement community or nursing home. This would be a dog that would already be trained, and just needs a family to love it.
You say that you don't want a hyperactive dog, or one that sheds alot. There are other options besides a poodle. You said you wanted one that doesn't shed alot, not one that doesn't shed at all. I think you have more options out there than what was previously suggested. You might want to look into a yorkie, shih tzu, schnauzer, or other small breads. If you can find one that needs a "new home", the previous owner can let you know if they are a well mannered dog or not. Picking out a puppy, is like a shot in the dark. Just like people they all have different personalities. You just need to find one that will work out with your family's personality. I do beleive that dogs read us well, so alot of their behavior does come from how we treat them, but alot of it is genitic also. Dogs are like kids, they require alot of time and attention. They need lots of praise for good behavior. You say you have two kids already, as long as your prepared for a "third", it should work out.

Darling, you should not get your children a dog. The only breed that does not shed is a poodle and they tend to be hyper barkers. From what you say you are not a dog person at all and if you've had dogs that "didn't work out" then it's you, not the dogs. It's not right to take a dog on a trial basis and expect them to have no bad habits. They are dogs. Little dogs take especially long to train. That's how they are. Believe me, my mom has had little dogs her whole life (I'm 40 now) and they've ALL been like that.

PLEASE don't get a dog. If you have had several dogs in the past who have "not worked out," it is not likely with your conditions you will find one that will work out. Giving up a dog is very hard on these sweet creatures who need stability and to be with their pack (a dog considers you and your family to be their pack). Any dog takes work and dedication to become a loving and enjoyable member of the family. If you do not truely love and care for the animal you will not be able to provide this. Perhaps consider a cat or perhaps a hamster. Even better, one of those digital pets.