Looking to get a new pet, any input?

[Nomi]

For the love of God don't get anything with beagle in it. We have a beagle/boston terrier mix and she's a fucking nightmare. Destroys EVERYTHING (clothes, and entire sofa, constantly in the garbage) and they never stop barking. Whines all night, barks non-stop outside even with a shock-collar. We've taken her to three trainers with good reputations and nobody could do shit for her except teach her to sit for 5 seconds if you're holding a treat. She's incredibly loveable and really mellow as a lap-dog, but she needs constant supervision.

We're really hoping she'll grow out of it, but it's been a year and she's only settled down a bit, so... Yeah, fuck beagle mixes. Too much chewing.

[Calliander]

Betta fish. You can go get the fish, the cool cage and the food for less than ten bucks. They're really smart, they recognize you and if you take care of them well, they'll be happy to see you just like dogs (even if you don't feed them).

Hamsters are cool, too, but high maintenance.

[Gohron]

I believe Kano said it best. If you could train your dog you wouldn't have these problems. I can put a treat down in front of my dog (even setting it on her front paw while she's laying down) and she won't take it until I give her the command that it's OK.

Some dogs are naturally more wild then others. My grandparents previous two dogs (Huskies) were like that, I don't remember the first one much but the second one was a good dog, he never barked and didn't do much bad stuff, he liked to kill small animals out in the yard but that's about it.

This dog was an old puppy when they got her and she's always been wild, likes to run around and spend a lot of time outside and is in love with eating. She gets scolded and if she gets bad enough the stick gets brought out and she lays down before it has to be used. She's not a bad dog at all, but she's definately wild and gets pretty excited sometimes, she especially likes to fight with the cat, who has no claws but still beats her up a good deal.

[bandit]

Just come to NY, and get yourself a NY rat. They are as big as a ferret, hamster and whatever else. Hell, its a replacement of a cat.

[46 and 2]

I never really thought much of birds until my friend Mariel bought me my first cockatiel. They are so sweet and loving. You do have to make sure to give it lots of time and affection. I think birds are very underestimated when it comes to how smart they really are. Mariel had an Amazon and she was the shit. She would make star wars noises and would imitate my friends laugh and her fiances. But anyway yes, birds are awesome.

[Bacon McShig]

For the love of God don't get anything with beagle in it. We have a beagle/boston terrier mix and she's a fucking nightmare. Destroys EVERYTHING (clothes, and entire sofa, constantly in the garbage) and they never stop barking. Whines all night, barks non-stop outside even with a shock-collar. We've taken her to three trainers with good reputations and nobody could do shit for her except teach her to sit for 5 seconds if you're holding a treat. She's incredibly loveable and really mellow as a lap-dog, but she needs constant supervision.

We're really hoping she'll grow out of it, but it's been a year and she's only settled down a bit, so... Yeah, fuck beagle mixes. Too much chewing.

I've heard a good big of negativity, but my old neighbor and an ex-gf had beagles and they were no problem at all, well behaved and only barked at people walking by near the fence like any other dog would.

In a similar fashion, Border Collies are renowned as the smartest dogs in the world and yet one of mine is borderline retarded, probably the dumbest dog I've ever seen period.

There's always exceptions to the rule.

[bandit]

I never really thought much of birds until my friend Mariel bought me my first cockatiel. They are so sweet and loving. You do have to make sure to give it lots of time and affection. I think birds are very underestimated when it comes to how smart they really are. Mariel had an Amazon and she was the shit. She would make star wars noises and would imitate my friends laugh and her fiances. But anyway yes, birds are awesome.

I had finches. Started off with 2 and within a couple months, I had like 10. After 6-8 months, I had almost 20. The make a fucking mess. I had to give some away. Eventually I had to give them all away since I was remodeling the house.

[Cowutopia]

Betta fish. You can go get the fish, the cool cage and the food for less than ten bucks. They're really smart, they recognize you and if you take care of them well, they'll be happy to see you just like dogs (even if you don't feed them).

Hamsters are cool, too, but high maintenance.

But you can only have ONE PER TANK.

[MechDeus]

In a similar fashion, Border Collies are renowned as the smartest dogs in the world and yet one of mine is borderline retarded, probably the dumbest dog I've ever seen period.

You should bring your dog to my place and we can have a retard-off, because we're pretty sure ours is the stupidest dog ever. It was pretty funny watching him throw a grill with lit charcoal at himself (no, he didn't get hurt), and his penchant for running into solid objects is awesome.

I prefer female cats myself. No marking of territory, very easy to train to not shit and piss all over, they generally don't chew on anything, and they can take themselves to their own bathroom. There is that whole thing about how sometimes you get an asshole thus ending up with little more than standoffish extra mouth to feed, but I still <3 them. Maine Coon for sure.

[Calliander]

But you can only have ONE PER TANK.

Your sentence applies to both hamsters and betta fish, too.

Unless you want well-trained "fighting hamsters," you don't put hamsters together. Bettas are brutal together, but one is all you need. I have Phoenix and even in the dark, he knows me from across the room. If I'm close, he'll dart back and forth, opening his mouth and closing it real quick, and he sometimes jumps right up out of the water. I trained him to follow my fingers around his little betta fish bowl thing for his food.

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I prefer female cats myself. No marking of territory, very easy to train to not shit and piss all over, they generally don't chew on anything, and they can take themselves to their own bathroom. There is that whole thing about how sometimes you get an asshole thus ending up with little more than standoffish extra mouth to feed, but I still <3 them. Maine Coon for sure.

I got a male, but I got him when he was like a day past the "too young to take from the mother" point. He does all of the stuff that dogs do like playing fetch and getting mega excited when Elaine or I come home, even if we took the trash out or something. I had him neutered as early as possible so that it wouldn't affect his behavior and he doesn't mark anything. I'm also training him to use the toilet instead of the litter box, like the cat from Meet the Parents.