It’s often said that it’s not the dog that needs training, it’s the owner. If you keep that in mind things tend to go easier.

So much of the specifics though depend on what kind of dog you get. I personally prefer intelligent working dogs – border collies, alsatians, corgis, etc. They require a lot of fresh air exercise and engaged training, but they become very biddable and hence easy to deal with in the studio. OTOH, if you don’t commit to working with them, then they can be rather troublesome.

Something to think about when selecting a dog is how heavily does the breed shed? I’m still finding stray undercoat from my Pembroke Corgi, and he passed away over 5 years ago

As for gates, doors, etc., again it depends on the animal and your training. I’m very slack about those sorts of things because I always enjoyed having dogs in the studio. Anything toxic though I always kept securely put away if it wasn’t in use, same as when I had little kids around. Just a reasonable precaution.

But some dogs will do anything to get around or over a barrier (the Border Collie could clear a 5 foot fence), and others will scrabble mercilessly at a door if you’re on one side and they’re on the other. Most seem to really prefer being close to “their people”.

I do have an acquaintance who has trained his hunting dogs not to enter the living room unless asked. So I know that’s doable, but it required a discipline regime I wouldn’t be comfortable with.

Denmark’s pretty wet, isn’t it? It might be sensible to keep a stack of old towels near the door, and get in the habit of thoroughly drying the dog when you bring them in. Soaking wet dogs seem to love to run into the most vulnerable area of the house and shake themselves dry I did keep paintings I was working on either in a separate storage room, or protected from such, just in case…

Cheers,
Chris

dogs are great and within a year you should have a decent, well behaved friend.
do try to be consistent in routine and training.

la

Hah, …I have nine felinoids underfoot, on my lap, my desk and sleeping on my keyboard. Two sisters who are the Mamas, and 7 intermingled littermates. They were supposed to be outdoor cats, but one 30-inch January blizzard and…

One reason I don’t have true Cadmiums or Cobalts in my waterolor palette. I can draw, sketch and waterolor shushing them off my drawing desk in the sunny window. But I have to oil paint in the basement where the cats aren’t allowed. A little ceiling-dust…but no cats exploring everything. And they can’t sleep in the shadow box..they love any boxes.

Something to think about when selecting a dog is how heavily does the breed shed? I’m still finding stray undercoat from my Pembroke Corgi, and he passed away over 5 years ago…

There is that. We are lucky; both of our fur babies have short hair and shed only a bit. It might show up on a black shirt. The Husky I had years ago could fill an entire grocery bag with hair every day in the Spring when she shed her winter coat. You could pull out entire handfuls of the stuff.

As for gates, doors, etc., again it depends on the animal and your training.

That is true as well. Our “little man” will push the door open to go outside while Pepper just stands there demurely waiting for us to let her out. You can almost imagine him yelling, “Out of the way, bi***! I gotta go” as he shoves by her and the door. Neither one, however, have even tried to go into the blocked off bedroom although either one could certainly do so.

But some dogs will do anything to get around or over a barrier… the Border Collie could clear a 5-foot fence…

I had a real “monster” once… in terms of size. He was a German Shepherd/Wolf mix. He could jump over the 5-foot fence in the back yard without even trying and probably scale a much larger fence with a running start. He was incredibly strong and protective of the family, but really a big baby with us. And perfect for the “Three Dog Nights” of Winter.

Yes, training is essential. I have a long-hair german shepherd and a calico cat. I have the dog’s crate in my basement studio and he loves it, so he spends most of his time in there while I am working. Every once in a while, he will come out and lay in the middle of the floor, but he doesn’t really get into things or get in my way. The cat, however, can be a problem. She isn’t too much of a problem, but I still have multi-colored paw prints all over the place from when she walked across my palette and then ran all over. LOL! The hair is an issue which I will never get rid of until I no longer have these animals. My next dog will be a poodle or poodle cross. I could build a new dog every week from the hair my beloved doggy sheds. LOL!

I don’t have a cat. I have a supervisor. She contributed to my giving up on oil painting.