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[Rilder]

I have a small bobcat as a pet and it's ok except it pees and poops everywhere. Exactly like a dog except deadlier.

Reminds me of this small local tv show around here were they have a few wild animals about, like deer, a lynx, a couple bears, and they do this low budget nature show. Apparently the bears are big babies.

[Peewee]

Whatever you get, make sure that you train it properly.

I just don't like people who have absolutely no control over their dog.

Anyway, I used to have 2 dogs; a black lab mix and a brown lab mix. (Unfortunately, one died of unknown causes while we were away during a vacation, and we put the other one down several years ago because of extreme joint pain at the ripe old age of 15-ish) They were fairly large, but that was fine for my family. We bought a sack of dog food once or twice a month.

Consider setting up an invisible fence (or a cable/chain) so your dog doesn't run away when you're at work. :p If you're going to be away for ten hours a day, you'll definitely want to give the dog a place to do its business. If you plan on leaving it outside all day long, make sure it has shelter from the elements... meaning a dog house or at least access to a porch with a roof. If you let it stay inside, you'll want to house train it ASAP. You may be surprised at how many kids might end up volunteering to let it out/walk it during the day for you... but don't rely on that entirely.

[Neonivek]

While we are at dog advice

Don't punish your dog for anything it did five minutes ago. Dogs are incapable of connecting someone they did to a punishment they recieved later no matter what.

You unfortunately really do have to catch them in the act or at least teach them an alternative.

Our dog will dig in the garbage if we arn't there. We just leave the Garbage out of reach and problem solved.

[Peewee]

You can, however, teach a dog that something is YOURS, not the dog's.

Watch some episodes of 'the dog whisperer' for a lot of good advice. No, the guy doesn't pretend to be psychic. 

[Neonivek]

You can, however, teach a dog that something is YOURS, not the dog's

Right but I am mostly talking about punishment.

It annoys me when someone ups and punishes a dog for something he did the day before. In the Dog's eyes he is just being harassed for no reason.

I am just happy I have finally taught by dog "Drop it" that works no matter what he has in his mouth (and allows me to take it)

[Peewee]

Yeah... never punish a dog for running away. It will associate pain either with coming back or with you. The next time it runs away, the dog won't want to come back when you call it.

[Neonivek]

Also a new dog will run away... a LOT if you let it outside.

I suggest you do teach it (with some line backers) to do two things

1) Don't run out the door just because you open it

and

2) Don't leave the front yard unless you escort it.

Freekishly at one point my dog found a way out the back yard and would take himself on walks the exact rout I take him... I found out later when I noticed he wanted to come back in from the front door.

[Sergius]

While we are at dog advice

Don't punish your dog for anything it did five minutes ago. Dogs are incapable of connecting someone they did to a punishment they recieved later no matter what.

You unfortunately really do have to catch them in the act or at least teach them an alternative.

What do you do with a dog that knows perfectly what she did even an hour after the fact? Because I usually find out that I have to punish her for something because of the way she walks with her head down and her tail between her legs, it just means I have to look around the house for the evidence.

[Neonivek]

What do you do with a dog that knows perfectly what she did even an hour after the fact?

The dog won't connect the punishment to the action it simply won't happen. It would think it is being punished for being seen by you, for looking sad, or for being around you after it did the action. It will not 5 minutes after the fact connect that it is being punished for digging through the trash or pooping in the house.

It could be sad because around this time you get really mean and abusive or other things.

"After there is poop in the house, Sergius gets mad at me"
What you want is
"If I poop in the house, Sergius will get mad at me"

[Peewee]

Even better, you want "If I poop in the grass, Sergius gets happy! I want to poop in the grass!"

One way of achieving this is walking the dog or putting it in the lawn, and rewarding it (show affection, give a treat, give it a toy, etc.) when it does its business in the grass.

[Neonivek]

True rewards are often better then punishments (though by punishment I really just meant being stern)

My dog goes inside the house and I REALLY need it to stop (it will go VERY late at night when everyone is asleep). It developed this because no one walked him for a long time.

[Sergius]

Well, my dog doesn't really have a problem with poop for example (usually it's an accident) and we don't punish her nearly as much as we should... probably, since she pretty much does whatever pleases her. So far we've been unable to keep her off the furniture, not because she likes being on top of it, but because she regards it as "terrain" that she must go over to go from point A to B. That, and she's really obsessive and has a single-tracked mind (so even if she knows it's wrong to get on the table, if she's running towards something, she doesn't even notice she went over the table to get there. Same thing when I'm on a bed and she wants to reach me). And can't find a way to stop her from barking at the doorbell...

I should hire a trainer or something... ugh.

[Peewee]

To me, it sounds like you never trained her properly.

Consistency is key when training any animal, by the way.