Friday, July 15, 2011

Search for a New Family Member

We continue to look for a dog that will be fun, but not CRAZY jumping excitable.....small enough for a trailer -as Mike evidently plans to live in a travel trailer when he retires- but not a toy breed, not a lot of hair, provide companionship.....good with kids - though it would appear our youngest is about to be 6 and so good with "older kids" will work fine.  Michael seems to be averse to poodles or dogs that may EVER show up with a cute bow in their hair. ::snort::  Care to see what we found as we searched the internet last night?

We looked at Shiba Inus....but here they are a bit arrogant and tend to socialize with one owner....Mike is also concerned about the size.....I think most we've seen are mixes and therefore bigger...because the sites say Shiba Inus are not much more than 18 inches.  These are still in our minds....or most of our minds.


Beagle - which keeps coming up as a match for us - and I know they piddle...so do I. ::snort:: 
Beagle
American Hairless Terrier - so ugly he's cute and I'm drawn to him - but I appear to be in the minority.
American Hairless Terrier

Beaglier
Beaglier

Bedlington Terrier - OMW
Bedlington Terrier

Rasta dog - Mike was adamant this one is not for us. ::snort:: 
Bergamasco

We've been trying to find one on base - they mostly seem to have "shiba mixes".....we started looking for breeders but then are not sure they will ship HERE.... and what IS the difference between a breeder and a puppy mill...how do we tell? 

We're trying to decide if we "settle" for what we can find here, because 2 years after the loss of our Beatrix we are all finally ready to find a new dog to smother...really ready.....or do we wait until we are in the states and can buy a beagle..... Beatrix was a corgi/basset/something else mix according to vets. 

It is NOT hard to leave Japan with a dog. Japan is rabies free. No one hassles you when you bring a dog from Japan to their country. It is HARDER to move to Japan with a dog...but now we fly directly from Seattle to Misawa and so even that is easier.  Maybe we should look for a breeder in Seattle and see if I could hop over, pick up the dog and hop back the next week.....

The Sheba would be a bit of Japan to carry with us......but the hair and the arrogance...since most we see are older, the personality would be set....

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

14 comments:

all in the family said...

Since we are breeders, I thought I would chime in, lol. You might want to look at miniature golden doodles. Good match for your criteria. Also look at www.breeders.net. Ask them lots and lots of questions including how many dogs they have (huge indicator on a puppy mill) and how many litters a year they have. Do they have a health guarantee? Can they call previous owners that have bought from them in the last year? Also be aware of the Nigerian scam. They used to be with high priced breeds but now they are all over. Let me know if you have any other questions. You know where/how to find me :D

all in the family said...

Also be aware that Beagles or breeds with them in it are "pack dogs". Another words they need to be with atleast one other dog, or they will be constantly getting out. We owned one growing up...sweet dog, but got out all the time and ended up getting hit and killed by a car :(

Kristine said...

I've never met a beagle I liked. Or could stand. They bark endlessly, and I am positive they are not known for being intelligent dogs.

How about a mutt? Our mutt is an angel. Robert brought him home, sight unseen to me, when the kids were little. He's so gentle, and I love that he's a slug and happiest laying on his pillow--unless we want to take him out. xoxox

Jodi said...

Well I have to click on through when I sense a post about someone getting a pet, LOL. We are having the BEST fun with our mixed breed puppy. He is LAB or LAB/unknown plus Boxer/Autralian Shepherd. Maybe you could get a Shiba/something smaller mix? Best wishes in your search.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

We've always had mixes.....hmmm....I'll read your comments to Mike and continue searching. Thanks for the website Beth.

Jen said...

Huh, I wonder if that pack dog thing is why my dh's beagles never ran away (they had a litter of 13 pups!!) and ours runs whenever he can. Regardless, we love our Beagle! And don't find Beagle's dumb. :-)

berrypatch said...

Good friends of ours got a Shiba Inus a couple years ago. It's a small dog. We have a German shephard/lab mix who weighs in at about 60 pounds. Their dog is very tiny compared to our Annie. I would say maybe 20 pounds but that might be pushing it. They are tiny but not super tiny - definitely not a toy - more puppy sized maybe? I haven't been around their dog quite enough to form an opinion but they love him and he seems to behave well. Not sure if that helps or not. ;-)

Romany said...

They don't have quarantine requirements in Japan, as it's rabies free? So is the UK and we have very strict quarantine. Dogs are kept alone, after arrival, in special kennels for 6 months, coming from most other countries. I've alwyas thought that must be terribly traumatic for most dogs.

You have probably already thought of this, but I didn't want you all disappointed if you found that Japan had similar rules.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

They DO have quarantine if you bring your dog in through Tokyo or a Japanese port. 6 months. When you LEAVE there are no requirements when you reach other countries as Japan is rabies free - or so the vets and those who have traveled from here say.

Bringing a puppy in would require quarantine but not if you come direct to the US base....All part of the SOFA...yes, lots of paperwork and shots etc. It is MUCH easier to bring your dog direct to the base than through Tokyo.

Romany said...

Okay, I thought SOFA applied to the USAF here too? Local US military friends have had to quarantine their dogs on entry here.

Anyway, it sounds like youve done your homework for Japan. I hope you manage to find the type of dog which your family needs.

Renee said...

SOFAs vary from one country to the next.
They apply to military (and family) as well as DoD employees (and their families).
They do not apply to corporate folks - such as an American that comes to Japan to work for Toyota or Germany to work for BMW.

Back to dogs... we thought we wanted a beagle when we were looking for a dog. We got this info from an online survey/test we took. We went to a home show (for some reason a number of rescues and pounds were going to be there)to meet the beagles we had been approved to adopt (yes we had to get approval) but my girls thought the dogs were too jumpy (and the one we really wanted wasn't there).... and then there was this 60lb black lab mix. my preschool age son lay on him as if he were a pillow and shazam that was our dog. I never ever in a million years would have imagined getting such a 'big' dog

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Dorothy - as Renee stated the US military has different SOFA agreements depending on the host country.

If we fly into a Japanese PORT of ENTRY the dog will be quarantined. If we fly into the base - we simply have to have a lot of shots and paperwork.

Renee - funny you ended up with something so totally different than you started searching for. We love the look of beagles and have wanted them for a long time...but all the talk about barking and howling is making us sort of reconsider....we are often in base housing and neighbors will not want a dog on the other side of the wall howling. LOL

Cynthia said...

My brother has a Shiba Inu... is that how you spell it? If you're FB friends with him, you can ask him about Copper. We have a good friend here who has one as well.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Cindy,

I'm not Troy's FB friend...but am happy to hear he has a shiba. What's your impression of the breed.