I'm looking to add a dog to my household, and have been looking at a bassett hound due to activity level and size preference.
My brother and I are currently living together (we're 23 and 25, respectively) in a 3BR, 2-story house on 1/4 acre in the middle of suburbia, but we never had a dog growing up so we're both inexperienced with the issue. A high-energy dog like a lab or german shepard probably wouldnt be best, I have some joint problems so I cant run or walk for long distances that such a dog would require, and we'd like a dog that isnt a little foo-foo dog a lady would carry in a purse, so from what we've read, the bassett's almost perfect.
We both work normal 40hr/wk jobs, but only 5mi from home and have flexible work schedules so either one of us could come home for lunch to feed and walk the dog. I'm out of town for 7-10 days a month, and my brother's out for 3-4, but hardly ever overlapping (we have several friends that would be willing to dog-sit, or there's a highly-recommended kennel about 3mi away).
The current plan is to keep the dog on the lower level (12x40' great room with lots of natural light, fully finished and set up as a general entertaining area with a futon and recliner we dont care if she lays on) while we're not home with a baby-gate keeping her from getting onto the landing where the front door is, and then crate her in my room at night. (Its 7 steps up to the landing and then another 5 up to the main floor, will that be a problem for a bassett?) While we're home, she'd have full run of the house. All of the floor-level cabinets still have child-safety locks from the previous owners, so her rooting around for goodies shouldnt be much of a problem.
It wont be a problem for us to rearrange our schedules to include a morning and evening walk.
We were thinking of doing a cable run from the back of the house out to the trees about 30' away, so she could have lots of room to play in or go potty, without us worrying about her finding a scent and running off. That's what we're used to seeing most families use near our parents' house, but up here in yuppie land, it seems to be frowned upon (but without an HOA to tell us we cant do it, all they can do is leave nasty-grams in our mailbox). We wouldnt use it for more than an hour or two per day, just whenever she wants to go outside besides walk times or is being annoying to guests. Are cable runs falling out of fashion due to real reasons, or is it just the local bliss-ninnies trying to butt into people's lives?
Any comments, tips or suggestions?