Brilliant dogs but way too high energy for me at this stage in my life! Our neighbour has several.

I had a tenant that had two of these dogs. They chewed the baseboard in the hallway at night, from boredom until the owners built a plywood box to put them in at night. They dug up the sprinkler system and chewed through the piping. They stood on top of the hot tub cover to be at the highest point in the yard...until the cover ripped and collapsed. They looked a mess. They needed constant grooming because of the mud they rolled in...from all the digging. The grass was totally destroyed as they ran back and forth trying to attack the neighbors dogs through the fence. The fencing was a wreck too. All the deck stain was worn off down to the redwood boards, from the dogs nails. The female owner said she couldn't take both of them for a walk at the same time, she couldn't control them. They bark constantly. A bird or squirrel will set them off....they're bred for hunting. On the other hand...the male owner said he loved them like children. He picked them up and held them, belly up...and kissed them...and they liked it. They were well loved dogs.

We had a total of four Westies -- related to all the other terrier breeds. Only our female was difficult, but we didn't get her as a puppy. Whenever any dog is a nuisance, look to the owner for the reason. That said, terriers were bred to kill 'varmints' like badgers, moles, and all critters that burrow in the ground -- which involves digging them out of their holes. TRAINING is the answer for all dogs. We first chose Westies for their good qualities, like no drooling, stand-up ears that don't encourage sores, intelligence -- and because one isn't too heavy to fit in the laundry tub for home washing. They have double coats (hard coat over a soft, insulating one), and are generally non-irritating to people allergic to dogs. Ours were groomed 2-3 times a year.

Our new neighbors, who moved in a couple of weeks ago, have two. They are adorable. Friendly and curious when we meet at the fence. I have heard them bark, but it is not constant at all. Our lab mix barks far more and at everything. Of course, I have no in-depth knowledge of the breed, but first impression is wonderful.

iF you have the time and energy to meet their needs they can be great pet but thats a big IF

Terriers as a canine group share common behavior and personality characteristics that some people like and/or are willing to deal with and others aren't. I'm a lifelong dog lover in general but I don't have much affection for terriers. There are many kinds of dogs, explore alternatives before making your decision.

As someone who loves terriers, I can only echo Elmer's thoughts. They are absolutely not for everyone. I support my terrier breed of choice rescue organization - and the number of people who surrender perfectly lovely dogs because they didn't do any research and had no idea what they were getting into is shockingly high.

I spend a lot of time trying to talk people OUT OF getting a terrier. They're generally a lousy choice as a first dog for anyone. You need to be patient and creative with training because they get bored so easily, and if you over-correct behavior you will end up creating some complex problems. Yet by the same token if you let bad behavior go unchallenged, you'll end up with a dog no one enjoys being around.

A pedigreed border terrier is a rare dog. If you already know a reputable breeder (or owner) and are thinking of getting one of their dogs, ask them the same questions and see what they say. If you don't know where you'd be getting the dog from and are just looking around, you may be surprised how hard they are to find.

Is a border terrier a mix of border collie and terrier? That would be an intense combination.

Chisue, my cousins had a westie, wonderful dog!

No a Border Terrier is a pure breed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Terrier

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/border-terrier/

With a high energy dog like a terrier, be sure you have the time, space and ability to be sure the pup gets tons of exercise which will make it a more pleasant dog around the house.

Any thoughts on Boston Terriers or French Bulldogs? Helping a friend choose a good apartment dog. I find real life thoughts/experience more valuable than the Internet, Thank you.

Here's a thought. Have your friend go to the local shelter and look at the extreme number of dogs needing homes. There are even breed specific rescues. The people who volunteer for these groups are a wealth of information. They can tell you the personalities of the various dogs needing homes. And often mixed breeds (mutts) make the best pets! My mantra is, adopt, don't shop. When you adopt you save two pups, the one in the shelter and the space that has opened up for another.

I agree with the adopt don't shop. I've had 2 rescue dogs and both were so lovely. However, this isn't my dog. I'm just trying to help. I'll try again with the rescue dog.

Bulldogs and others with pushed in snouts are prone to respiratory and breathing difficulties. All breeds can have serious endemic congenital problems and bulldogs are no exception.

Is this the person's first time as a dog owner? I think that's really important consideration in addition to the apartment living. Also, are there other pets or children? That can matter as well.

Yes. First time dog owner. Really excited. She loves my dog but I think her apartment has size restrictions. My love bug weights over 50 lbs.

My old GF Terry had a Boston Terrier, named Joy. Terry & Joy were never apart. That little dog carried it's own treats and water in a pack and ran ALL over hiking with us. It "did" have doggie body odor. On one hike the dog coat was left at home, Joy did a stream crossing, was freezing...so I carried her wrapped in my down hood....and SMELL! But cute! We loved that little bundle of joy.

Duane Johnson, aka The Rock...has French Bulldogs. Cute, doggie odor...bundles of joy as well. Did you know they can't breed on their own. Link

I'd suggest a breed meant to be a companion animal -- and a small breed, given the apartment home: Chihuahua, Miniature Poodle, etc. I think Italian Greyhounds are elegant small dogs, but they aren't known for their intelligence, and their spindly legs break easily. Short-legged dogs get a lot of exercise in a short time. Small dogs = Small 'deposits'.

Before we decided on a Westie we read a comprehensive book that described virtually every common breed, with pro's and con's.

Frenchies are now the #1 breed by AKC registrations. And that can mean very bad things for the breed. Everyone and her mother wants to make a fast buck by breeding Flossie and selling puppies. But those are often not the people who understand genetics, pedigrees, and other factors that go into producing healthy puppies. So buyer beware! This bad news does have good news in that there should be a very active breed rescue group.

https://frenchbulldogrescue.org/

Oh boy. Thanks Sushi--I'm going to have the adopt not shop (I love that btw) conversation again.

I follow some rescues and shelters on FB, and it seem that for a multitude of reasons, the homeless pet situation is at a real crisis level.

Shelters are having to euthanize really good, adoptable dogs ( know commands, get along with dogs, cats, kids, housetrained, non destructive etc etc ) due to lack of space.

I understand the wanting a certain breed and all but I just figured I'd push again for the adopt don't shop.

Also, another idea (depending on where you are) is for your friend to maybe foster a dog for a while. That would also be a great and helpful ( for the friend, for the dog, and for the shelter) thing. It could give her a better idea of what it's like to have a dog without getting too deep into it. She'd have the support of the rescue group or shelter. Often fosters do end up adopting the dog but there is no obligation to do that.

When I retire, I want to adopt another dog. RIght now, I just have one rescue. She is the best little love bug in the world. I would also consider fostering. Honestly, I had one pure bred dog in my life and it was a disaster. I loved him but he was fraught with behavioral issues. He had pica. I tried everything--even hiring a dog pyschologist. It was really hard. He couldn't stop eating things that were dangerous to him. My two rescues--angels from heaven. I will never get a purebred again--only rescues for me.

And to add to Elmer's post, a purebred or a mutt can still have a whole host of medical problems. Just like people, stuff happens.

Oh gosh, I'd love to like Elmer's post a thousand times. I am very close with a woman who is truly world-known for the quality of her dogs - her dogs have won breed in both Westminster and Crufts. The amount of misdirected "hate" those quality breeders get breaks my heart.

So many people think breeders get rich. The woman I know does this at a financial loss at the end of the day. The puppy millers are undoubtedly getting rich, but the quality breeders are not.

If someone wants to save/rescue a dog at a shelter - BLESS YOU. All dogs deserve save and loving homes. But you don't have to denigrate "purebred" dogs in the process. Yes, some purebreds come from puppy mills and I think we all understand what that means now. But there are also quality people out there who put their whole lives, heart, and soul into breeding only the best. THOSE dogs rarely end up in a shelter, because (most) quality breeder would take any dog of theirs back at any time.

I agree with Elmer about purebred pups. I just was so sad about my purebred Boxer. It broke my heart. And, I got really really lucky with my rescues (-:

@salonva...Where are these rescues? We have local rescues that are taking dogs out of Texas with Heart worm ....bringing them here. Our shelters take in a dog...and it's adopted within a week.

@User that is wonderful. In the suburbs where I am, there is a great no kill shelter.. They often, regularly bring up dogs from the south and when there is a disaster, bring up many ( like Louisiana, and our Wally came from Alabama).

In the city, the vast majority are pit mixes, and that is where the situation is the worst.

The no kill shelter does pull from the urban shelter but not as often.

I am in Pa ans referring to Philly shelters.

Philly ACCTIf you scroll down you'll see timestamped dogs.

I know NYC has similar issues.

@salonva..Aaaah....I live in a different world. I had no idea this still existed. If a dog is overly aggressive when our kill shelter takes it in, they call a local foster/rescue and THEY take it in until it's ready for adoption. We even have a breeder dog rescue that pays to buy breeder dogs when they get old. I just don't see the ones that get missed. This is so sad...

Pitbull dogs are the canine equivalent of assault rifles. They're unnecessary, dangerous, and far too numerous.

Some friends had one join their household, passed along by their irresponsible son who'd gotten it from a friend. The new dog took it upon himself to pounce on the incumbent household dog every few days, much too violently and the result was several vet visits for stiches and wound treatments. My friends were concerned but lovingly accepted that the dog needed "more training". My vet relative told us caution was necessary when visiting that home and that we should get and carry pepper spray. And insist the dog be out when we were in, or in when we were out. We followed that advice.

One day very unexpectedly, this dog attacked one of the household members and nearly severed a hand. A shocking event, highlighting the "need" (as expressed by the victim) to accelerate training. A quick conversation with vet relative told us to pass along the advice "that dog needs to be euthanized, it will never be safe to have around". I leaned hard on our friends and the necessary procedure was done in a week.

The purpose of this story was to give an example of when loving compassion for animals can include euthanasia when circumstances warrant it. Too often people allow their well-intentioned heartstrings to interfere with clear thinking.

My neighbor was walking her elderly dog and a pit bull escaped. She was severely injured and so was her dog.

I was out walking and my neighbor has a new "Cane Corso". He was growling at me...only a puppy. The owner said, "Don't worry, he's NOT a Pit Bull, he's a Cane Corso." I said, "Did you know Cane Corso's were bred to kill a Pit Bull in a fight?" He didn't know that....it was off leash...and I was being told a growling Corso was friendly....

What an idiot.

We had a pit mix ( yes, inherited from DD1). She was the sweetest with people, but not so great with dogs. At the time we had a German Shep. It was mostly ok, but not always.

All our previous dogs were not too sweet with other dogs.

The dog we have now, Wally, makes up for them. It's so much nicer to have a calm, sweet, chill dog.

We had both mixed breeds and pure breeds over the years. We had a rescue lab-mix who ran away. Each day and weekend we searched shelters trying to find him. During this search, I saw this very skinny dog huddled in the corner of the outside kennel. It was freezing, below 30 and everything was ice, including her thin coat. I asked to see her and why she was in a kennel with large German Shepard type dogs who were attacking her.

Long, short, I took this thin dog home, then to the Vet. He said she was a Doberman probably 10 months old. Skin and bones.

He also said she's pregnant. I took her home. She was the love of my life. She was so malnourished, the Vet said she would miscarry. She didn't and had 8 pups.

I took her to obedience classes and loved learning how to train properly.

After her death at 14, we decided to look for another dog. Our kids were about 8 and 10.

We wound up with a Rottweiler female. Bought her from a experienced breeder (we had to drive 8 hours to get her). I was very interested in obedience training and competition. Her Rottweilers were all titled. She had one litter and we got to spend hours with the mom and her babies. We picked a female and loved her. I competed in obedience trials, she won many ribbons and it became such a wonderful time for the entire family. Our kids learned how to handle large dogs and loved training.

Dog ownership requires time and energy. Training properly is #1. Basic obedience training is so very important no matter why breed. I've had dogs my entire life and was only bitten once by a friends terrier. My friend had no control over the dog and that dog was a danger to both her and anyone who walked in her house. I never recommend Terriers for inexperienced people.

I've had four dogs in my lifetime, three purebreds and one mutt. The mutt was the best dog by far. The first one was an Afghan Hound given to us as a Xmas gift by my MIL. This dog had a pedigree that was impressive. Her grandfather won the Madison Garden dog show one year. She had the personality of a turnip and died at 14. Then we rescued a greyhound from the track and she was sweet but very insecure and wanted to be around us all the time. When we couldn't take her with us, she would become very destructive. She died of bone cancer at 9. It was a long time between dogs until we rescued our favorite dog who was part Sheltie, part Boston Terrier. Two years later we rescued a purebred Dachshund from a kill shelter in WVA. Sadly both dogs died recently within weeks of each other so our house is very quiet. It's no secret we miss Ziggy the most.

Lily, I thought you had several cats, right? How did the dog/cat combo work?

I love all the dog stories.

As Chisue knows, I'm a Westie owner. Oski is almost 14 now, doing ok but has arthritis and cannot walk too far without pain. When we go for our walks, I push a dog stroller, and when he tires or starts to limp, he rides. Sometimes when I go "off-road" it gets quite bumpy, but he doesn't mind a rough ride. In past years it was thought silly to push a dog in a stroller, but now it's often seen.

He is a wonderful, sweet dog, beloved by the whole family.

Yes, Socks, I have two cats now. Bernie, the Maine Coon I rescued 7 years ago and Poppy, the ginger I rescued along with Piper from the Humane Society five years ago. Sadly Piper died a few months ago very suddenly at the vet at only five years old, followed three weeks later by Ziggy who at 15 suddenly became ill and was euthanized, and two weeks later Wally, the 18-year-old Dachshund, who was blind and deaf , drowned in our little pond even though we were feet away from him. There were euthanasia talks about him with our vet for the last year. But the cats are quiet and with two dogs , the house never was.