I always had a large dog growing up on the farm in Montana. First a lab mix and then a german shepperd mix, both great dogs that took care of themselves and lived outdoor exclusively. A few years ago, my fiance decided that she wanted a dog. She works from home and wanted some company. I was against a house dog from my upbringing, but after a few years of Samson, I’m a changed man. She settled on a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix (75/25) (9.5lbs) that she got from a breeder in Texas. So, I’ll try to attempt to answer your questions from my experience with a house dog.
1) By adoping, you are potentially saving a dog from being put down (my fiance recorded the Oprah show on dog rescues and it was an eye opener), but cons can be the baggage that they are bringing in the form of trust, obedience, etc.
If you go with a breeder, do your due diligence and find a reputable breeder that not only takes good care of the pups, but also the mothers and fathers that are breed. My fiance did her due diligence, including visiting the breeder multiple times before she found Samson.
2) & 3) You will experience some accidents. A good cure is a little “Hot Shot” available in three pack from Costco. But a better cure is buying “Puppies for Dummies” and taking all suggestions and finding out works best during the training. My fiance lived on the third floor of her place in Mission Valley, so it wasn’t convienent to get down the the designating “relief area” at all hours of the day, so she potty trained him with a litter box. I didn’t think that it would work, but it did. We use Yesterday’s News at PetSmart and it works well. Two months ago we moved downtown (we are renting…), right next to Pantoja Park, where we have a quick exit right to the grass. The only time he uses the litter box is when we are gone for a long period of time. In a typical work day, he gets taken out at ~6am, ~12pm, and ~6pm and does fine. Frequently, if we don’t take him out first thing in the morning, he runs straight to the litter box.
Samson has a little more hair than the dogs you are considering, but not by much, and he gets cold easily. If you have direct sunlight, their is a good chance that is where they will spend their afternoon (as in the picture above).
I highly suggest crate training. Samson was originally crate trained (and then somebody took a few years off of crate training him), and he is now back in the process of being crate trained again and its working, just taking some time. As the Dog Whisperer would say, be the pack leader. They will still give you the love and affection that you would like from them if you are the pack leader.
