Quote Originally Posted by jim View Post
I'd advise against a puppy, unless you have time to train, house break, chewing etc them. a 1.5 year old is still young but old enough to work with. We use to try and adopt puppies but they are time consuming. Time spent looking for our latest pet was equal to buying a truck, research and pounding the pavement.

Regarding a "wolf" hybrid GFL. Having been involved with the "breed" you will need a few things before bringing one home
1) Very secure dog run, easy 10x10 minimum.

2) Very secure dog run, making sure the top is covered and you have at least 6-12" under the pen secure with fencing and or brick.

3) very secure dog run. The "hybrid" outside of being a pack animal is a very good escape artist. They like to DIG and JUMP. The 2 i had hands on experience turned their shelter into a labyrinth of tunnels and hiding spots.

4) No other pets especially cats. In their heart they are hunters, if it moves it's a meal.

5) Lots of time dedicated to the "breed" no matter how hard you try to train it, they have a mind (wandering) of their own.

6) Do NOT buy any new furniture or think about making the hybrid a house pet. They are not and house breaking one , or trying to, is like the Borg, futile.

This looks like you are going to buy a BMW of pets, STAY AWAY unless you do a lot of research and spend time with one of the wolf rescues. They are a handful and you more than likely will be trying to find a home for it within the year.
This is exactly what I was looking for! I'm sold, not getting a hybrid. I would love to start out with a puppy because it's like raising a child, adopting at 5 years old just isn't the same (I know bad comparision but it's all I've got). Great advice on getting a dog that matches my activity level, I do like to go out and I take Bear on lots of walks- I take him to the Bark Park up here in Evergreen where we can pop the leash off and he can run, so in that I could hypothetically get a husky, but again, with all the health issues of pure breeds I'd rather get a mutt maybe with some husky or shepherd in the mix.

Gabe, those are some good looking dogs, as the summer progresses I'll look into those as well. Now I can't find it, but I cannot get a pitt, my mom just has issue and the rare chance I might go out of town for a week or long weekend she would refuse to have one over, it's not that she believes the BS hype, we had a pitt once and they do tend to be more dominant and aggressive towards other dogs, just how they're wired. Also I cannot get a hybrid if they don't get along with other dogs as I do spend time at my mom's with Bear, and the little brother has mentioned he wants to get a dog as well (it's only fair). So thanks for the advice all, keep it coming; Jim, looks like yours hit the hardest, as much as I'd love to have one, I'll pass on the headache .
Looks like I'll start researching soon at some 9mo-15mo old pups to see which would fit best, I also wouldn't mind a Dogo Argentino, I think they're pretty cool dogs too. Anyone have experience with them?