Dog breeds?

[rabler]

If you follow Randal's threads, I don't see how he could be considered thoughtless or impetuous.

Thanks Ray!

 

[mmcmdl]

So , my wife and I were driving down the street yesterday and saw a dog bent up licking his private parts ! I told the wife , I wish I could do that ! She said to go introduce myself to the pup .

OK . Back to the normal conversation .

 

[rabler]

As a side note, we currently have cats and horses. Including 5 stallions, all but one of those we have raised from a colt, as part of a small breeding program. While horses and dogs are a different thing, if you think an untrained dog is a mess, know that a 1000 lbs of testosterone laden horse that is untrained is a real issue. I used to help a horse vet with field surgery, mostly castrating untrained 3 year olds before the trainers would touch them. Ugh.

 

[jbobb1]

I will second a Golden retriever. The wife and I have3 (still have one) and they are super smart loving family dogs. This guy was a clown but very loyal.

 

[C-Bag]

I have to agree, raising and training is going to make a big difference. And I've seen the results of popular breeds, in more than just dogs. I don't have problems with a mixed breed or "mutt", met several that I like. But I am a bit wary of the county shelter or other adoption mill where it can be harder to judge what your getting.

I absolutely hear you. My last 7 were all rescues and none were what they were what they were purported to be. And all had health problems that I think landed them in the pound. But they were all such wonderful dogs there was no way I could take them back. So I just loved them and dealt with the heartache when they passed on average after 5yrs as I didn’t want puppies. After the last one my wife got tired of me walking around with a hole in my heart and decided she was going to get us a puppy. So she found a Portuguese Water Dog on CL of all places. He’s now 11mo and totally one of the pack and turning into a shop dog. PWD’s are a total shadow dog, my wife didn’t get that far in her research. She stopped at they don’t shed or smell. Which is true but his hair picks up everything and brings it in the house. I call him Guster the Duster.

 

[Reddinr]

It is hard to go wrong with a well-trained Labrador. They are food-focused and generally smart and that makes for easy training. Plus, look at that face. Eager to please and they follow you everywhere. The "English" version is about 60-65 Lbs., a little smaller and more blocky than the "American" version which tends to be larger/taller. This is "Porter", at 10 weeks I think.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I think you're actually better off getting them from a shelter that has fosters looking after the pups. The fosters get a very good idea of what the dog is like and probably will be like and the prospective adopter can usually talk with the foster at length before committing to an adoption. Plus you get the warm fuzzy feeling from giving an abandoned puppy a loving home.

 

[mksj]

My wife and I have had mostly small dogs (Maltese and Yorkie's), mostly because of limited space and time when we were working long hours. Growing up I had larger dogs, spaniels, Golden's, labs, etc. You need to think of both the environment the dog will be in and animals it will interact with. Dogs with long fur will be more prone to pick up fox tails, mud/dirt and also long eared are usually more prone to ear infections in particular if they swimming a lot. If it is going to be mostly an outside dog, something to think about. Pure breed dogs can be more prone to certain heredity problems like hip dysplasia, some breeds like Golden Retrievers are very prone to liver cancer (ours passed when he was 8 years old). Long haired dogs tend require a bit more maintenance such as washing and grooming But it all comes down to overall health and disposition/personality of the dog. Most important part when evaluating a dog for the family is to be in a calm environment when seeing a dog, see if they come to you and how quickly they quiet down and respond to you. Do they maintain eye contact with you, often the dog needs to choose you as well, but look at the personality traits, take your time and if possible that of the parents. Have them checked by the vets ASAP when you bring them home. Get them micro-chipped and vaccinated.

We had a 95Lb golden lab that was a lover boy, he was calm and always good matured, but I had friends that had black labs that were full of energy and would never obey commands. One took off after a cat and got hit by a truck, the other had a similar fate. So not as much as the breed but the disposition. Our Golden Retriever was the most empathetic and sweetest big dog we had, broke our hearts when he passed. Other breeds to consider that are amazingly smart are Blue Heeler. If we had more open area, I would have also considered a Rhodesian Ridgeback, they can be very sweet, but also very protective.

One downside of trying to find a breeder is the vast majority of on-line sites are fake scams. We are pretty savvy checking sites, but we recently got a Yorkie puppy and several sellers my wife was getting strung along until I did some checking and found they were all scams (80% are fake). We eventually found a local breeder that we could go to, check out the puppy and the parents, as well as spend some time with the puppies. The white lab of mattthemuppet2 might be a good fit, we always prefer to get a puppy/dog that is brought up in a home (not a puppy mill), with other animals and well socialized with animals/people. With puppies, potty training is usually much easier with bigger dogs then smaller ones, try to not use foods that contain corn meal and animal byproducts.

Pet Scams

BBB Resources: Pet Scams How to protect yourself from fake online pet sellers, your Better Business Bureau is here to provide tips and resources to avoid falling for a pet scam. If you are looking for a pet to add to your family, be on the lookout for scams. As consumers turn to the internet...

www.bbb.org

 

[Aukai]

I have had 3 chocolate labs, and this rescue (coyote bait for you) Your white lab may take extra care out in the sun, it's hard to tell from the picture, but it may have albino traits, and get a sunburnt nose. Here's my Ratcha mix rescue. Good luck with your decision, maybe a Kangal

 

[Karl_T]

Do you happen to have cattle on your farm? if so, get an austrailian Shepard. Smartest dog there is just loves to work the cows.

Do you want a dog that the grand kids can pile on? Then a Lab can't be beat.

But really it is all about how you train and raise them. My FL neighbors have two rottweilers - they are timid and afraid of strangers. The same breed is fenced in at the local auto junkyard - they do not need to call 911 for thieves unless it is to rescue what's left of the dumb ass that tried to jump the fence.