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Best Dog Breed for a Traveling Salesman?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
My iPhone is at 1% so I’m gonna type this brief and fast:

Been wanting a dog for the longest time. Have done proper research and even moved into an apartment, a nice one that accepts all breeds.

I travel most days outta the week doing sales. Usually travel no more than 200 miles a day but always return home at night. Am okay with either leaving the dog in my apartment or talk by him/her with me, whatever the dog prefers day of.

Can’t do Golden Retrievers or husky’s since they shed a ton and am usually drsssed up.

EDIT: Found an iPhone charger. Okay so, I normally jog//walk every morning too. But also a lot of my time is either in a car or in my apartment in front of a laptop.
 
The best dog for you is 2 cats.

1) Apartment - lack of space to run so unless you will walk/run the dog often its cruel. Most apartments are small for even small breed dogs.
2) Sales job - let me preface this by saying I do as well which is why I have cats. If you get caught on long calls or delayed by traffic/accidents etc, its cruel.
3) I am also a huge proponent of every living creature should have one of their own to interact with so if you are not in the position to get 2 then just don't.

Personal beliefs, YMMV but I really feel that dogs need interaction and space. Locking a dog up for 8 hours + alone is just cruel and it will probably take its frustration out on your belongings which is not good for either of you. Some of this might be mitigated by a roommate/spouse/child but you didn't mention any of those so I assume you live alone.
 
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Yea, dogs need too much attention. Just because you want one. Doesn’t mean it’d be ideal for the dog. They’re pack animals and being separated from the head of the pack is stressful.

How about a lizard or snake? They’ll be perfectly content with a warm rock, place to hide, food and water.

Cats will handle your lifestyle better than dogs. As long as they have a properly setup house and their needs are met. But they crave a regular schedule and won’t like your irregular hours. They also like some company. Just not the same as dogs.
 
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icanhazmac said:
The best dog for you is 2 cats.

1) Apartment - lack of space to run so unless you will walk/run the dog often its cruel. Most apartments are small for even small breed dogs.
2) Sales job - let me preface this by saying I do as well which is why I have cats. If you get caught on long calls or delayed by traffic/accidents etc, its cruel.
3) I am also a huge proponent of every living creature should have one of their own to interact with so if you are not in the position to get 2 then just don't.

Personal beliefs, YMMV but I really feel that dogs need interaction and space. Locking a dog up for 8 hours + alone is just cruel and it will probably take its frustration out on your belongings which is not good for either of you. Some of this might be mitigated by a roommate/spouse/child but you didn't mention any of those so I assume you live alone.
Click to expand...
I like that you mention number 3.
I have a friend who has a dog and this one dog has never been around another dog for almost 5 years it’s so sad. They say it’s because their dog won’t get along with other dogs but that dog is definitely depressed when no one is paying attention.

I had not considered getting two dogs but am open to the idea.

but I do travel a lot and don’t want to force dogs into a bad life just for the sake of my happiness an hour or two a day. Thank you foe the food for thought. Oh and I detest cats. Am super allergic to them and even broken up with an ex over the amount of cats she had.
 
velocityg4 said:
Yea, dogs need too much attention. Just because you want one. Doesn’t mean it’d be ideal for the dog. They’re pack animals and being separated from the head of the pack is stressful.

How about a lizard or snake? They’ll be perfectly content with a warm rock, place to hide, food and water.

Cats will handle your lifestyle better than dogs. As long as they have a properly setup house and their needs are met. But they crave a regular schedule and won’t like your irregular hours. They also like some company. Just not the same as dogs.
Click to expand...
😀😀I’m a dog person
 
I vote for 1 or 2 parrots, they can even provide you with some conversation 😀

Or what about one of those mini dogs - Chihuahua.
You can even bring it with you in a pocket or something on your travels.
 
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I live in an apartment and I see neighbors walking their apartment dwelling dogs several times a day....dogs; when they gotta go, they gotta go.....You can forget about it being when you want to schedule it, and if you're not home to take them out to do their business, then you'll be doing a lot of not particularly pleasant cleaning up as a result.

Unfortunately, a traveling salesman isn't a dog's best friend
 
A good option for a non-shedding dog is a poodle. They do require periodic trimming and in between brushing. We often take our dogs with us in the car. We drive a Prius Prime (plug in hybrid) and can leave the AC running without the engine having to run.
 
My wife and I have had our dog(a Goldendoodle) less than a year, and he's the first dog for both of us.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was still on WFH so he was rarely alone for more than a couple of hours.

With that said, we've always felt guilty leaving him alone for any length of time. Normally 2-3 hours is our max, although we've stretched it(unintentionally) as far as 6 hours. That's a very rare thing, though. We did crate train him, but we only crate him when gone under very specific circumstances. 99% of the time when he's alone we shut him in our bedroom-he's too mischievous to have the run of the house, but the bedroom is a room where he feels comfortable(to the point that he's often in there even when we're home) and also lets him move around, watch the world go by out the window, and all of that. With that said, the crate is his "safe space". We leave the door open to it, and especially at times when he's scared like during storms, we'll often find him in there(if he's not glued to one of us, which is more likely), or sometimes just laying in there sleeping.

Also, early on we started him on a daycare, even when I was home for the day. Now, he goes 4 days a week so that he's not home alone when I'm at work. It's honestly one of the best things we could have done-he gets to interact with other dogs safely and just be in a different environment with different people. He LOVES going-he knows that when we load him up in the car at a certain time in the morning that's where we're headed, and his excitement is almost uncontainable. We also know that if we're gone, he's not shut up in the house alone. Since neither of us know what we're doing in regard to training, we have the daycare do training two days a week(with "homework" for us to practice) and that's been a great decision also.

That's my two cents. Dogs are social creatures, and I couldn't bring myself to leave one pinned up for 8+ hours.
 
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tobefirst said:
Get yourself an Aibo.
Click to expand...
Well…Umm…I was going to suggest a ‘pet rock’. If the OP doesn’t decide on a dog, it’s weirdly popular. [And before anybody thinks that I’m trolling or being completely facetious, I’m not.] There’s people that genuinely have pet rocks that they post pictures on social media, they even name them with all sorts of custom decorative art. This was long before my time, but apparently this was a huge ‘fad’ during the 70s that’s making its way back.
 
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Goldens would not be a good choice, they are extremely social. Huskies are very high energy and being locked up all day would not work out well.

Great Pyrenees are extremely independent and low dogs. They were raised as farm dogs to live outside and monitor the herd. That said, they are also quite large and probably prefer to be outside rather than a cramped apartment.

Dogs are generally not a set it and forget it type of animal. Owning a dog in your situation is not an impossibility, but I think you would have to invest heavily in people to care for the dogs while you're gone.
 
Dogs are a potential 15 year commitment. Travel, even overnight, requires arrangements. Then there’s the inevitable accidents, noise complaints, waking at 4am because he needs to go out, vet appointments etc. it works a lot better with a single-family home and a fenced yard, not an apartment with nobody home all day.
 
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You could get a Go1.
spectrum.ieee.org

Unitree’s Go1 Robot Dog Looks Pretty Great, Costs Just USD $2700

This seems like an incredibly low price for what appears to be a very capable little robot
spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org

Then there's always the venerable Aibo.
electronics.sony.com

Sony aibo Companion Robot | ERS1000

Bring fun and joy to your household with aibo, the autonomous companion robot. Form a friendship as you raise aibo and watch as it develops its own unique personality through everyday interactions. With lifelike expressions and a dynamic array of movements, aibo is sure to become a beloved...
electronics.sony.com electronics.sony.com

Both are perfect dogs for a traveling salesman. As you may just turn them off when you leave. The upfront cost is a bit steep. But you don't have to pay for food, veterinary care, walkers, kennels, &c.
 
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If you had a house or a farm with a yard into which a low maintenance dog could either go in/out through a doggie door, or in the case of a farm, where nobody will come both the dog if it stays outside all day; then I'd suggest you can proceed with the idea. An apartment doesn't sound like the right place.

The problem is that you need a dog who doesn't need interaction for the whole day. An OLD dog or two old dogs that can go outside to relieve themselves as they wish, that type of doggie might be good for you. Sleep all day, go pee, say hello to the human when he comes home. Maybe a little walk outside together in the garden and back to sleep.
 
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HappyDude20 said:
My iPhone is at 1% so I’m gonna type this brief and fast:

Been wanting a dog for the longest time. Have done proper research and even moved into an apartment, a nice one that accepts all breeds.

I travel most days outta the week doing sales. Usually travel no more than 200 miles a day but always return home at night. Am okay with either leaving the dog in my apartment or talk by him/her with me, whatever the dog prefers day of.

Can’t do Golden Retrievers or husky’s since they shed a ton and am usually drsssed up.

EDIT: Found an iPhone charger. Okay so, I normally jog//walk every morning too. But also a lot of my time is either in a car or in my apartment in front of a laptop.
Click to expand...
As others have mentioned, a couple of cats would be better. I have five. They're really low maintenance, and they don't need much company (since they're cats it's up to them and not you to decide if it's time to spend time together). Basically you need to feed them, make sure to clean their litterbox, and make your daily oath of submission to the felines. Other than that, they truly live their own life, but they also give you lots of rewards. Sometimes when I watch TV I have two - or even three! - of them near me or on my lap purring, sleeping, or simply watching TV with me. One of them, the oldest, participates almost daily to my morning meditations to the point I got used to it. Come home with a laser pointer and you can be sure you're making their day!
 
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