Want to live longer? Get a dog.
This study just proves what I’ve known for many years–that having a dog will make you healthier.
But even if it doesn’t make me healthier, it certainly makes me much happier. 
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Couldn’t agree with you more @docslotnick!! I know my dogs have more than doubled or even tripled the distance I walk per week and they always lower my stress level.
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Just to show you all that I take my own advice, we got another puppy!! He is just 10 weeks old and is really a bundle of joy at about 25lbs.
You may remember that little puppy we got a few months ago. She’s 8 months old now and she grew just a bit.
Life is Good!
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That dog is massive. How much will she likely weigh when full grown?
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@Thomas Right now she’s at about 125 lbs. My guess is she’ll top out at around 150 lbs., but we’ll just have to wait and see.
As long as she’s not fat, she can be as big as she wants 
The baby’s parents are also pretty big dogs. I’m expecting that he’ll be even bigger than my girl. But he’s got a way to go.
These dogs really do give lots of love. Their hearts are the biggest part of them 
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Cujo
That’s just a bad rap on St. Bernards. They are actually very loving and playful. As a matter of fact, they are among the worst watch dogs you can get.
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Well - there is the drool factor…
That might be enough to scare off the most hardened of criminals.
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@Thomas From the above mentioned article:
3. Saint Bernard. This is not just a really huge dog, the breed drools and tends to shed a whole lot. Saint Bernards love children, are friendly, and even very patient with kids during play. Because of the breed’s loud bark and enormous size, they would most likely put off most housebreakers. However, if a burglar did comes into your house, a standard Saint Bernard dog would rather play with them than attack.
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I’m just messing with you. They’re used in a lot of snow rescues I know. The pic just reminded me of the 6-months of nightmares I had when I first watched that movie as a kid.
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Sorry if this came across serious. I was being sarcastic.
I like big dogs better then little dogs - I think they tend to be more stable and less “yappy”.
We have been on the fence about a dog for some time. I would certainly rather go with a full size then a purse size dog. Apologies to anybody who has a mini-dog they love.
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We’re definitely NOT dog people…we tried it - gave it a month and had to return her to the breeder. Maybe we just had a bad experience. Black Lab, female puppy…let’s see where do I start for why we couldn’t take it.
- She chewed up everything, flowers, toys, couch, table legs…etc.,
- She was constantly licking, licking, licking.
- She was never “tired”
- She refused to poop outside, but she’d poop as soon as she was put in her bin.
4.a) She would then roll in her poop which required
4.a.1) Baths every day.
4.a.2) Baths all hours of the night - She refused to stop barking…day…and night.
She was a beautiful, playful puppy and my sons loved her, but she required more work than our kids / babies. We just couldn’t take anymore.
Fortunately, the breeder we purchased her for was willing to take her back because they said they wanted to make her their next “mom” (breeding female) to take her moms place. So we got 100% of our money back and they took a LOT of stuff from us (for free) that we purchased for the puppy.
I expected an “active” puppy because I have sons that I knew would play outdoors a lot with her. What we didn’t expect was for her to never get tired…even after hours of play time outdoors. We also expected that she would poop during one of the 50 trips outside during the day instead of pooping in her bin and rolling around in it.
Erin and I decided that we would never do dogs again…cats are so much easier. We’ve both had cats our whole lives - we currently have 4. They’re clean. They’re quiet. They’re clean. They give just enough affection…
To each their own!
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Labs are the best dogs…and the worst puppies. We had one years ago and decided no more Labs.
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We do too. Although the best dog we ever had was a little dog.
Beau was a Samoyed, and he only weighed in at about 85 lbs. He was really a great bodyguard for my wife, and was never afraid to show his teeth to anyone who dared mess with her.
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A little dog is 10 pounds.
By most people’s standard, 85 pounds is not a little dog. 
He was actually the smallest dog we have ever had.
We’ve had English Mastiffs, a Newfie, a Golden Lab, Bloodhound, St. Bernards, and the Samoyed. All except the Sammy were 130 lbs and up, with one of the Mastiffs coming in at 235 lbs.
There’s just something about having a dog who weighs more than the owner😊.
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And also definitely make diabetics live longer
My dog (a blond puggle) - definitely has a few times woken me up at night pre CGM when I was really low licking my face - no doubt the thrashing in the bed and sweating was a factor. But he also refused to move from both of my friends sides during their pregnancies when they were around- whereas normally he’s glued to mine
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My only problem with having a Border Collie is that I couldn’t handle having a dog who is smarter than me 
. They really are awesome dogs!
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