Dog Breeds

[karate_woman]

If you want a "ferocious" dog, then be aware of its temperment and tendencies and please don't make it into a family pet. You can look into breeds and usually they'll tell you what type of breed is good with children, families, etc. I've read too many horror stories about how a dog from one of the breeds you've mentioned - especially Pitbull - was a "member of the family" and suddenly turned on a family member or neighbour/friend - often a child - and mauled or killed the person. My Mom had a Rottweiller for a few months - until it decided to tear apart her helpless kitten.

 

We had several labs (both black and yellow purebreds), and when my Mom used to go for walks with them (at one point she walked three at the same time), people would sometimes approach her. We lived out in the country and so she was quite isolated on her walks, with nobody around for miles. The one male was 110 lbs of solid muscle(huge for a lab) and if he ever sensed my Mom was nervous, he'd start to growl and try to edge himself in front of her. This is the same dog that could take entire hand into his mouth to eat some raspberries and leave your hand unharmed, and would let us kids "ride" him around the yard. All of our labs were like that - friendly as can be when they knew you were at ease, but loud barking and growling when a stranger approached the house or a stranger made you nervous. In case you were wondering, the type of training our dogs all had was field trial and show trial training. My Dad used to take them hunting, so the field trial training worked out well. One of our dogs earned his "working certificate excellence" and another two earned their "working certificates" before my parents stopped bringing them to field trials.

[chh]

I'd hope you re-think the desire for a ferocious dog, it's really not a desireable trait in any companion animal. You already said you don't need/want a guard dog, so the traits you should be looking for are really the opposite of any kind of aggression. Pit bulls, rotties, dobies etc can make wonderful companion animals, but because of the stupidity of people that want these breeds to be mean and aggressive, undesireable traits have been established in their bloodlines. Believe me that there are plenty of enthusiasts of all blacklisted breeds working successfully to eliminate these traits, but many of them do need to be carefully socialized and trained early.

 

Karate_woman, I'm sorry to hear about your mom's kitten but I wouldn't judge all rotties based on that one incident. I've known several sweet, friendly family rotts. I can honestly say I've never met a mean pit bull, all the ones I've met have been very sweet. I know it shows up in the bloodlines, and even worse than that idiots go out of their way to make them mean. You know on pet forums I've often seen questions like "I have an 8 week old pit bull who's not mean enough, will putting hot sauce on his food help?"...or starving him, or keeping him in a dark closet, or hitting him with a stick...all of these are actual methods people use to get that mean "fighting" dog they think it so cool. Then everybody blames the breed when it bites somebody.

 

I could go on all day about this, the bad rep that pit bulls and rotts and dobies and other great breeds are stuck with drives me crazy. For the original poster...I agree that shelters are a good place to find dogs--and not just mutts, my walker coonhound found me at a shelter--but even if you decide to go that route, it's still worth researching breeds. Even if you decide to look for a mutt, you might want to narrow it to a collie-type mix, or lab-type mix, or whatever. If you get your heart set on a purebred, you might consider looking into a breed rescue org.

 

I also have a shiba inu, which is kind of like a 30 pound Akita. The two share some of the same temperament tendencies, so from my experience, if you get an Akita socialize him to other dogs EARLY! Dog aggression is a big problem for our guy, and really a pain in the butt.

 

As a last note to my bloated 2 cents worth, you should expect to have to train and socialize ANY dog you end up getting. But, with some breeds (say, the lab) you have a better chance of getting an easy to train, friendly buddy-dog who wants nothing more from life than to please you....or you can be like me and get a fancy Shiba (or Akita or ___) who's much more likely to have his own ideas about who's in charge and need to be convinced otherwise. You can get a wonderful dog either way, one way might just be more work. I'll get off my soapbox now.

[karate_woman]

Karate_woman' date=' I'm sorry to hear about your mom's kitten but I wouldn't judge all rotties based on that one incident. I've known several sweet, friendly family rotts. I can honestly say I've never met a mean pit bull, all the ones I've met have been very sweet. I know it shows up in the bloodlines, and even worse than that idiots go out of their way to make them mean. You know on pet forums I've often seen questions like "I have an 8 week old pit bull who's not mean enough, will putting hot sauce on his food help?"...or starving him, or keeping him in a dark closet, or hitting him with a stick...all of these are actual methods people use to get that mean "fighting" dog they think it so cool. Then everybody blames the breed when it bites somebody.

 

I could go on all day about this, the bad rep that pit bulls and rotts and dobies and other great breeds are stuck with drives me crazy.

The breeder in my Mom's case got rid of the dog because it was "too gentle" and "wouldn't make a good guard dog". Evidently, the dog was 1. bred to be the ferocious, guard dog type that Neil mentioned, and 2. was being treated/trained to be mean, which wasn't coming out in the dog. Why my Mom ended up with it? Well her bf wanted it, and the breeder was his cousin...

 

I just mentioned it because Neil seems to be purposely looking for a ferocious breed, as you yourself were apprehensive about; when people go looking for such a dog, -and happen to actually end up with one - it makes me wonder why they are surprised, is all.

[chh]

Ugh...icky breeder! Deliberately emphasizing aggression in her bloodlines, then letting pups go to families. Makes you wonder what all she tried before giving up on that puppy. If I was ruler of the world you'd need a license to breed dogs, and that license would be darn hard to get!

 

My guess is people imagine that cool dog who is the perfect and gentle companion but transforms into an invincible manly beast when the master wishes it. So they look for an aggressive dog and assume the "perfect and gentle" part comes as part of the package...unfortunately it's more likely that a family member or friend will end up getting bitten. I've lived with a dog who was very aggressive towards strangers. The bit of comfort I had knowing that a mugger would be in trouble for attacking me didn't come close to outweighing how much it sucked when I wanted to invite a new friend over. That perfect yet aggressive dog (I guess the ultimate example might be the Schutzhund trained GSD) takes a LOT of work and training that your average dog owner is not prepared for.

[kajukenbo dad]

you always remember the good one......and you never forget the bad ones......If you get a Pit Bull always cut the male and don,t tried them out side on a chain...good luck

[Red J]

I own a german shorthair pointer. She is a great dog. She loves to exercise, is great with the kids, and was the easiest dog to train (she responds to hand signals and can walk without a leash).

 

My tip is to check your homeowner's policy as many insurance companies will not cover your liability with several of the higher risk breeds.

 

Good luck.

[ninjanurse]

I agree with Sai...rescue is the best place to start looking for a great dog! I have rescued several dogs and they have all been good guardians and a joyful additon to the fam. Recently we rescued a Chinook which is a rare breed of sled dog that was in danger of becoming extinct. Through the careful breeding and rescue of these beautiful dogs the breed has been saved and is growing in number. They are beautiful, graceful, strong, playful, friendly, loveable, and down right great dogs! It pays to do your research and realy know a breed before investing your time, money, and love. Visit your local shelter and you may be surprised at all the wonderful dogs there...or contact a rescue group for a particular breed yu are interested in and they may be able to help get you a dog. Good luck!!

[kajukenbo dad]

if you get a Pit Bull.....if he is a male,make sure you cut him.....never chain them outside and take him around your friends.....I had Red Nose and he was as tough and very brave etc. Good LUCK

[Neil]

First of all I want a dog as a campanion dog which is what most people get a dog for really isnt it? When I say I want a large robust dog that has the qualitys of a guard dog, what I mean is that I don't exactly want a poodle if you see what I mean. I said I wanted a dog with the potential to be a gueard dog purely for a strong charcter, not to be aggresive. I will NOT use the dog as a guard dog, or dog fighting. Here is what I want out of a dog.

 

I want a dog with plenty of heart and courage, ie I don't want a timid dog. I want it to be very active and want it to get loads of exercise, plenty of challenges, has got loads of fire in him and is loyal.

 

I know there is no such thing as the 'perfect dog' and each dog has got something stronger than the other. So when identifying the qualitys, many dogs can fit them, but some breeds fit certain qualitys like exercise better than others while another breed may have more courage etc. I would have to say the most important quality mentally is courage and enthusiasm. And in terms of physical qualitys I do want a large dog which is robust and very fit.

 

I recently watched this program on Animal Planet called 'Breed all about it' which is a half hour documantary on one breed of dog. The program goes through all the breeds. The last one I saw was on the Rhodesian Ridgeback owned by some famous American footbal player. They are big dogs that look great, really great, plenty of heart and I really like the look of them.

 

But I'm still looking at all the breeds. Do any of you think those breed selectors are any good (where you fill in answers to questions to determine a breed suited to you)? Also can you suggest any good dog forums?

 

thanks

 

Neil

[Neil]

Damn it! I still can't decide. Please help me with my quite sad and pathetic problem.