Common knowledge?? Maybe not........

[buldog]

Ok, heres a topic that i think will trigger some brain activity from you guys. We have alll done it, asked for advice as too which dog we should own, and narrowed it down to certain breeds or types, weve all done it! But heres something most people dont do, they look so blindly into what they want, but ignore whether or not they should own it! I mean, truly look into the breeds past, its true uses and habits, its needs, its wants, what it will or wont do, what it can or cant do, which environment it can handle, the types of people who own the breed (meaning that some lgd dogs r only owned by shepherds and there r reasons for it), and what it is in their home, lifestyyle, needs and wants, and criteria as to y they want a dog at all! I have personally known people to go to tthe local petstore and get a puppy cuz it was valentines day! I have also seen an increase of people who r gettin rare breeds or jus leess common breeds because they r the new thing, they r more exotic, and will get more looks! What a ridiculous reason to get a dog! Also, the new trend of owning a specimen from a working breed and jus having it sit on the couch is a travesty of the utmost calibur! I am so sik and tired of seeing people who own a rottweiler who iss 200 lbs and couldnt do what he was meant to do, effectivly guard his masters property, or be a cattle drover for that matter! I am sik and tired of people gettin dogs like the co, the rottie, the sar, the pittie, the ab(my god the ab), and jus letting them be couch potatoes. For gods sake, if u get a dog like this and do this to the dog, you r not only hurting the dog, but the breed as well. Heres why, u might be sitting on the best specimen ever produced, but will never know it, and the breed will suffer from it! Think about it people, y get a hunting dog and not hunt with it. Why get a working guard dog breed and not do some sort of gaurd training with it?? Why get a lgd and not test and train it in the old ways, and let it see flock 1ce in a while?? If your not gonna let ur gurad dog do guard work, ur nordic breed pull a sled, ur hunters hunt, or ur lgds guard a flock and live the old ways, for gods sake, please, i am beghging you, dont get 1. I am so inlove with the sarplaninac and the Caucasian Ovtcharka and i will own 1, but i know that right now i cannot do the dog right, so i refuse to own 1! Itll be about a yr or so till i can do it right, and then ill get 1, but not a second b4! If you dont let ur dog do what its bred for, atleast do something with it, service work, weight pulling, agility, hiking...... Something! Dont get a dog cuz of its "cute lil puppy eyes"! They do grow up, they do shite in the house, they do chew and will cost u a ton of money in vet bills and food and toys and stuff like that.... They do get old, they do get sik, and to see ur dog, ur best friend for 10+ yrs startin to not be able to stand up anymore or reliev it self under its own power any more is a very very difficult thing to live through, and it takes a special type of person to deal with that, 9 out of 10 who own dogs cannot..... Abd shgouldnt own a dog then......... But, like i said, this could be jus common knowledge, or maybe im jus wrong, either way, felt it shoulda been said, so i said it, any replies, intelligent repies r welcome and i look forward to them

Mike

 

[moxiegrl]

Yes..people should be aware of the breed of dog they are getting and what that breed is going to need.

I am so sik and tired of seeing people who own a rottweiler who iss 200 lbs and couldnt do what he was meant to do, effectivly guard his masters property, or be a cattle drover for that matter!

A rottweiler doesnt have to guard his masters property (which he will do instinctively) to have a fulfilling life. Mental stimulation so they dont get bored is necessary for any breed, some more so then others. But its really not right to say that a family shouldnt own a husky because they arent going to have it pull a sled everyday...Should the family live in FL? I dont think so....but thats a different subject.

I get what your saying, even though it was kind of hard to read; People and their dogs should be compatable, and no one on Chaz will argue w/ you there.

 

[LabBreeder]

I do think people and their dogs should be compatable as well. Although I don't think they shouldn't be able to own one just because they don't sled, guard or do what the dog was originally "bred" to do.

 

[elegy]

in the first basic obedience class i took, the trainer went around the room and asked us to introduce ourselves, our dogs, tell everyone what breed they were, and what the original job of that breed was. out of the six people in the class, i knew, and the lady with a herding-dog mix knew. everybody else? no answer. it was baffling. even the lady with the lab didn't know.

i see this kind of thing a ton with herding breeds and high octane hunting breeds like weims. and dalmations. those dogs were bred to run for miles and miles next to a carriage. why do people think they're going to be content with a leisurely stroll around the block every couple days?

 

[casablanca1]

I have also seen an increase of people who r gettin rare breeds or jus leess common breeds because they r the new thing, they r more exotic, and will get more looks!

Tell me about it. I see one more Great Dane or Neopolitan Mastiff being paraded down the street, I'll scream. It used to be Greyhounds - every tiresome person in NJ 'rescued' a greyhound from the track and wouldn't shut up about it. It makes me long for the days when everyone had a Lab.

 

[Elly]

I agree that people should get a breed that is suited to their lifestyle and needs. We chose a lab because we love to go on very long walks and live near water and like to be near the water. They sweet natured are usually trustworthy around kids and other dogs etc.

I dont think we have to be duck hunters to have a lab though as long as she gets the exercise ,stimulation she needs which is right now two walks a day plus playtime at home.

I believe that ALL large breeds need their exercise and if and a potential owner has to look at that when choosing a dog.

. There is a shephard across the hwy from us cooped up in a fenced yard that never go's for a walk and just runs back and forth all day and barks constantly. I feel sorry for that dog.

There are a lot of people who get a large dog or a rare breed to show off and yes a lot of times those dogs dont have a happy fullfilled life.

But one of the most important thing a dog needs is kindness love and affection from its owner. If they get that amazingly they will thrive and can live in many different situations happily.

 

[Keana]

I agree that people should definately research their breed choice to make sure that it fits into their lifestyle and they can provide the dog with the training/exercise/love/care needed to keep it healthy/content. But, I disagree with you that you must use your dog for the original intent for which it was bred for. There are many ways that a person can satisfy the particular drive (i.e. prey, herding, etc.) of their pet. And believe it or not, there a many, many breeds that were bred for nothing more than companion animals. I dread the thought of all the animals that would end up in shelters or euthanized because they couldn't find enough owners that would use these "working" breeds for ONLY the purpose that they were originally bred for.

 

[oc_spirit]

I deffinately agree with you! All breeds need something to do so they get physical and mental excercise. Even little lap dogs need a way to release pent up energy and love having a job to do. But dogs bred to work need it the most. I honestly feel very sorry for Sibes who I see sitting around day in and day out with maybe a walk or two around the block to contend with. I think my house wuld be tor to shreds if I made OC or Ronan suffer like that! And like you said, it doesn''t even necessarily have to be the exact job the dog was bred for originally. During the warmer months my Huskies can''t do any pulling or they''ll overheat but they still want to work, they still want to do SOMETHING. So I strap on their backpacks and we run errands. Dont believe me? Mike has seen me take OC into the bank already as we had to stop in there quickly. And it''s not just the banks my dogs go to. A dog can carry approximately 1/3 of his body weight, so between the two Sibes I can get them carrying about 40Lbs. If I don;t have 40Lbs worth of stuff needing to be carried, extra water bottles never hurt! Good for keeping hydrated and making the dogs work harder!

The saying''s true, a tired dog is a good dog. But even if a dog is physically tired, if he''s not mentally tired he''ll still be destructive.

The job itself doesn''t necessarily have to be what the breed was originally used for (though that would be ideal), however the dog should be doing SOMETHING. Sure the dog can adapt to couch life with a couple walks, but how happy is he really? I mean how happy is he compared to how happy he would be if he got to be more active?