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Valued Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-11-2010

We have bred Weimariners and I have to say best family dogs of all.

 

Beckyblu

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@Pook wrote:

Personally I like a dog 40-55 lbs. and I prefer a good old mixed breed and like Shephard or Collie mixes.  I want a dog I can walk with for longer distances without having to carry them.  Small dogs are often skiddish and yappy, more difficult to train to go potty outside and many need a lot of grooming. Larger breed dogs usually need more exercise, can be harder to control without proper training  and to ignore that results in an unfit unhappy dog.    Small dogs, while cute seem harder to really train as you have to bend way down to work with them and often lack focus - plus behavior issues are often overlooked  since they are small and cute.  Most that I know who have these complain that they have many accidents in the house.  They actually could be more work in the long run.  These observation are  based on the dogs in classes I took with my dogs over the years and friends who have them.  Dogs can be trained how to get in and out of a pool easily.


Pook, had to laugh when I read you want a dog you can walk without having to carry them. I had 2 yorkies and   would walk them around the block. After we got 1/2 a block from the house I had to pick both up and carry them. My neighbor called me one night and said guess what, someone else in the area has 2 yorkies I saw her carrying them. I laughed and said that was me.

 

We have a fenced in yard, 5 foot high fence with a solid gate with 3 locks on it since we have a built in doggy door that goes from the house into the back yard so they can come and go when we are in bed etc. I will say yorkies do take a bit longer to house train but once trained we never had a problem. Our big dogs were trained quicker but then they also were bigger chewers till they were a bit over 2.

 

One mixed terrier, fox terrier, rescue and was never in a house before we got her at age 1 1/2 never and I do mean never did a thing in the house. Vet said she was just so glad to have a happy loving home and food to eat she just wanted to please so very badly. She just followed the others out into the yard and went there than came back into the house. We had her almost 11 years, not long enough but than it is never long enough no matter how old they are.

 

I think everyone has a favorite but some are better suited to kids than others, some better suited for those that can walk them often or need more exercise  or do you want to have to take them for grooming or not etc, lots to consider in making the right choice for you, for each of us.

 

Our vet always said the ''Heinz 57 variety'' was his choice of dogs and seem to be and stay in better health over the long run.

 

check rescues in your area

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Posts: 2,693
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: O/t favorite dog breed

[ Edited ]

My favorite is a Yorkie.  That was my baby boy Max (aka PeeWee), who passed away August 12, 2014 at 14 years old.  He was the best boy in the world and I miss him so much...

Valued Contributor
Posts: 911
Registered: ‎03-31-2010

Good afternoon

I agree with what the posters have said here but one point I thought I would bring up is about your pool.  I was told one time that bulldogs (and there are a few other breeds that cannot swim).  My sis-in-law has a friend whose daughter almost lost her bulldog cuz it fell in the pool.  It was ok because it was not in the water very long. I had a maltese at one time, and they are not good in water.  I live in south dakota, so not around a pool a lot but it is something to consider in your choice.

Good luck

cookin

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Posts: 430
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

 

Thanks for all your help everyone and for the warning on our pool. I am not going to rush and going to look at the shelters. 

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Registered: ‎03-03-2011

Re: O/t favorite dog breed

[ Edited ]

My name says it all...Silky Terriers! And all my boys are rescues.Heart

http://silkyrescue.tripod.com/

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Registered: ‎03-03-2011

@Beautiful life wrote:

 

Thanks for all your help everyone and for the warning on our pool. I am not going to rush and going to look at the shelters. 


You also might try Petfinders..... https://www.petfinder.com/. You can search by zipcode (and how far you want to travel) and dog size, breed, age etc and they will show you all the pets available in your area in all the shelters and rescue orgs. We found one of our Silkys through this great group.

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Posts: 1,339
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

My DD is a veterinary technician and is currently attending veterinary school.  She says that certain purebreds are prone to specific diseases or adverse conditions.  I would do my research online if I was going to choose a purebred.  One thing that is common, for example, is that large heavy dogs are prone to hip dysplasia, and small breed dogs can be prone to dental disease (in part because their owners are more apt to feed them canned food).  

 

I saw a vet on t.v. once saying that the "healthiest" dog tends to be an "average" looking dog.  Not excessively large or small, nor built like a dachsund or a bulldog which have extreme body shapes.  That vet said that mixed breeds are often the healthiest.

 

Our previous dog was a chocolate labrador retriever.  Loved that sweet dog so much.  Our current dog is an "average" looking mutt that we adopted from the shelter as a puppy.  I wish you the best in finding a dog that is a good fit for your family.  There are been lots of good tips on this thread about personalities, energy levels, etc.  

 

P.S. - Our local shelter has a bad reputation for lying, I'm sorry to say.  They will lie about an animal's health and age (stating an animal is healthy when it has a bad heart murmer, or saying a dog is 2 years old when it's 10 year's old).  They also will tell people that a dog is a "lab mix" when it's actually a pitbull mix.  That said, it's not the dog's fault that the shelter lies, just use your common sense, or maybe bring along a friend who knows a lot about animal health and behavior.  Good luck!

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Posts: 8,281
Registered: ‎05-08-2010

@MarLoCat wrote:
 
 
I like most Dogs...But, if I have to pick a Favorite...
 

Old English SheepdogHeart

Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from early herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog can grow a very long coat, with fur covering the face and eyes.

Playful, Adaptable, Bubbly, Intelligent, Loving, Sociable

 

& Also the Cesar Dog...Such a CutieHeart

 

 
 

I second the Old English Sheepdog.  We have had 5 of them and they are the biggest clowns you could ask for.  They aren't easily trainable, but they love people. As far as recommending them, there is the grooming thing.  We have always kept them clipped to about 2 to 3 inches all over.  I do it myself.  They also matte easily.  They consider themselves a lap dog even though they can weigh in from 70 pounds (our smallest) to 145 pounds (our largest).  They want attention and need exercise.  It is something that people should consider before picking out a "cute" puppy. It is a LIFELONG commitment if you are going to do right by your furbabies.

 

Have fun deciding!

Fear not Brothers and Sisters! I have read THE BOOK..........we win!!!
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Firestripes, there have been many good suggestions on your thread so far regarding doing research on purebreds, but I'm going to throw in a "big picture" post for additional imput for you, and hope you find it helpful.  I've been a breeder/owner of Scottish Terriers for 30 years now, and grew up with a 15" Beagle and two different German Shepherd Dogs and two mutts that were dumped on our country home's doorstep.  After I got my first Scottie, I became very active in the purebred world, showing in obedience, the breed ring, and the performance field (earthdog, for my breed), and belonged to an all-breed club for many years as well, where I saw many breeds from other purebred groups.  I found that basically, competition groups notwithstanding, there are really just two "types" of purebred dogs based on their temperaments.  There are those breeds that were essentially bred to work under the direction of their person and then there are those breeds which were bred to work independently of their person.  Based on the predominant purpose of each group, the Hounds and the Terriers are independent and the other groups are dependent workers.  There is a natural variation from breed to breed in each group and also from dog to dog in each breed, but overall, the average Hound or Terrier will look at you and ask "if you want me to do X, what's in it for me?" and the average Sporting, Working, Non-Sporting, Herding or Toy dog will  say "Okay, I can do that, and I get a treat too, hooray!"  Given your family and lifestyle, you can look at those two mindsets and determine which breeds of which groups are most likely to be a good fit for you.

 

I will say, specifically, since you have a swimming pool, you DO NOT WANT certain breeds, like my own beloved Scottish Terriers, which swim like a concrete block with a brick glued to one end, i.e. not at all!  So many breeders of Scotties have either experienced or had a breeder friend who experienced the horror of the phone call from the puppy adopter who let their Scottie near a pool and lost them to drowning that we will no longer even consider selling a puppy to a home with a pool.  I am sure breeders of other breeds with similar concerns about pools will have similar restrictions or at least conditions.  No matter how athletic a particular dog of certain breeds is, sometimes the bone structure, body mass and coat type just doom them to swift exhaustion and death in a swimming pool, so please consider that in your selection process. 

 

If you do decide to consider a mixed breed from a rescue group or shelter, remember that certain breeds are more or less common or rare.  So if a shelter or rescue tells you that a particular puppy is a Labrador Retriever cross, that's a pretty safe bet, as that is the most common purebred in the USA.  If you get told that a puppy is a Sealyham Terrier or Ibizan Hound cross, on the other hand, I'd call that a random guess of extreme unlikelihood!  Unless that particular shelter or rescue actually SAW the parents of the litter mating and KNOW for sure that the female mated with ONLY that male, there can be puppies in a litter of radically different parentage.  One puppy that plays regularly at the park I walk my dog in was purchased from a not-very-careful breeder of Dachshunds, who purportedly showed the puppy buyers both parents, which were both dapple-marked Dachshunds.  This puppy is the size of a fine-boned Springer Spaniel at 9 months and a chocolate merle in coloration, long-legged, and a FANATIC retriever of tennis balls!  NOT a purebred Dachshund, sorry, Daddy was a Travelin' Man!   My guess would be some sort of Spaniel or Setter mix was his sire.  So if you decide to adopt a mixed breed puppy, you will have to guess at adult size, coat and behavior traits based on how good at guessing the shelter or rescue group people are and how responsible and careful the nominal breeders (owner of the female at the time of breeding and whelping) were.  That might result in the Best Dog You've Ever Owned or a total disaster, so do lots of homework and make an informed choice to try to swing your outcome toward the former possibility and away from the latter.