How many dogs have you owned and would you own thier breed(s) again? (spaniel, breeder)

[CLfan1977]

Originally Posted by NHartphotog

My criteria: must have a LONG lifespan & be free of physical problems that reduce quality of life.


Collie - no, the arthritis was so bad the poor guy couldn't stand up easily at age 5.
Yorkie - yes, lived to age 14 (died of cancer).
Pomeranian - yes, lived to age 14 (died of Interstitial Lung Disease).
Brittany Spaniel - yes, going strong at age 9.
Papillion - yes, going strong at age 6.

Yes, but even a healthy breed can get a deadly illness or a shorter-lived breed outlive expectations. Smaller breeds tend to live longer. Overall, I understand your reasoning, though.

We had 2 Boxers live to 13, and one made it to almost 12, longer than average. My absolute heart dog was a senior Boxer who had already survived one cancer surgery when we adopted him. He lived another 15 months and every day with him was the best. The whole neighborhood loved that dog.

[Dashdog]

Originally Posted by KB4

My dog is a shelter mutt, I think we would adopt from the shelter again.



I don't remember when you last posted some photos of Zephyr, would love to see him!

I will try to get some current photos of Zephyr to post soon.

[submart]

Beagle: No, but they are GREAT! Pros: perfect size, loving, loyal, athletic, playful, and fun. Cons: barking and distractable. If I lived in a fenced yard in the country they would be the right breed.

Pugs (did not own but spent a lot of time with): No, they are so funny. Pros: funny, good size, loyal, not too energetic, playful, and friendly. Cons: Significant genetic health problems from eyes to heart to breathing to dental. I couldn't own any brachy breed because of their health issues.

Labs (did not own but spent a lot of time with): Yes, they are the complete package. Loving, loyal, athletic, playful, fun, easy to train, and obediant. Cons: health problems but many can be reduced greatly with finding a good breeder.

[sawyersmom]

technically 4 but I count my husband's dog when we first met so 5. Ratings 1-10 below.

toy poodle - she was a jerk. I think standard poodles are great dogs but I would not get a tiny toy poodle again. 1/10

doxie - he was super over protective of me but could be really sweet. 5/10

my husbands pit - sweetest girl, super smart, easy to train. 10/10

my retriever mix - best dog I've ever had. 10/10

my border collie/aussie mix - whatever else she is mixed with is the dominant gene, she is not very bright at all. She's been hard to train. She's sweet at home but has been stressful. Horrible on walks too. I walk her 4-7 miles a day, that's helping her energy but no matter how much we've trained, she is super reactive on a leash. 5/10.

[wherewhatwho]

I've owned 2 dogs.
1 - Labrador Retriever - she was bred for show but her owners never showed her, they kept her confined to a small area while they lived out their motocross dreams. We adopted her from them directly. She was wonderful and perfect, she was so smart and instantly knew her boundaries at our house. She exclusively went out off leash in a non fenced in yard and ran off only once, when she was older and in decline. We lost her at age 10 to cancer. I would own one again but would never purchase one from a breeder.

2- current dog is a mutt - Rottweiler, Lab, Beagle, etc mix. She is wonderful. I would adopt her 100x over. We will only ever adopt dogs, so they will very likely be mutts.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

This thread started in 2016, which was before I had Pensive, so adding:


Bracco Italiano. My family adores her, but the breed isn't for everyone. They are big and high energy and there is some slobber involved with those pendulous lips.


I've never met a dog so unrelentingly cheerful. Or one with so much energy. She never has all four feet on the ground at the same time and she is constantly making us laugh with her enthusiastic dancing.


Before I brought her home, I saw on the breed website that Braccos ( correctly Bracci is the plural ) eat a lot. Sure, I thought, a big bird dog with lots of energy, of course she is going to eat a lot. No, they meant A LOT!!!!!. When she was growing, she ate 10% of her own body weight in fresh meat every day and stayed skeletally skinny. That caused lots of vet visits and blood work and lots of reassurance that she was perfectly healthy; she was just burning it off.


It anyone decides to get a Bracco, they train differently than other breeds. They learn really quick, as long as you can communicate what you want, but they aren't creative. Whatever you teach them, they learn and that is the way they do it and they don't extrapolate the lesson to any other activity.



Pensive wants things done exactly like I taught her. She brings me the doggy supper dishes and wants me to stand at the fridge facing the sink while she hands them to me. She wants to stand with her back to the sink and facing the fridge when she completes the task. She will do it otherwise, but it clearly makes her uncomfortable.


If I show her three times, she has the lesson for life. She learns fast and she remembers that precise lesson. We trained her to get into the car on command, and she will only get into the door that she was trained to use. She won't get into the other side of the car. My other car, she was trained to get into the driver's side and that is the only door she will use.


She wouldn't get into my son's pickup until we stopped what we were doing and showed her three times how to get into his car.


On the plus side she was given chew toys and whatever she was given was the only thing she ever chewed. She is the only puppy I ever had that never ever chewed a shoe, or a baseboard, or anything at all except what was given to her. She is big and heavy and flying around at full speed all the time and she is the only dog I've ever owned who has never run into me, or bumped into me, or tripped me. (Wyatt McRiot is a health hazard because he wants to be on top of my feet all the time)



She is an affectionate dog and she always wants to know where I am and what I am doing and she wants to participate so she is excellent company.


I've spent a lifetime with German Shepherds who are lawyers in a fur suit, so this Bracco is totally different and learns differently.

[sasie123]

Our first dog: Was given to us in a restaurant by someone that did not want it......Its name was Tippy.....mix breed.......loved him till he died, and even now.

Second dog: My daughter wanted a German Shepperd. We bought one in New Jersey. Huge, king of the litter, beautiful, faithful animal...loved, tremendously.....

Third dog: Princeton, we bought it in Princeton, New Jersey.....fantastic, wonderful, mix-breed animal.....and gorgeous....

Fourth dog: Frosty, gorgeous, Bichon Frisse, pure white, does not shed, loving, caring, beautiful animal....we bought it in the Poconos Mountains, of Pennsylvania......

Fifth dog: Muffin, is two years' old, it is a Bichon Frisse, mixed with Shih-Tsu, we went all the way to Delaware, from NYC, to get the best of the litter......does not shed......these two mixtures produces very-intelligent animals.....very-easy to train.....loving, caring, faithful, gorgeous, like all our other animals......

I only wish I could have each one of them, all over again........they were ALL priceless.......but we still have MUFFIN....he is extremely spoiled.....because we have all the time in the world for him, now.....

[volosong]

My mom would never let us own a dog when we were young, so that had to wait until we were on our own.

At end of each, Yes or No if would own again.

Kelly - an Irish Setter, first dog, (in 1978), and very beautiful, a bit hyper, No
Lady - 3/4 Jack Russell and 1/4 Shelty, the perfect companion, Yes
Pepe - Japanese Chin, name short for "Pepe LePew" because of looks and coloring, a true velcro dog, Yes
Shodu - Tibetan Terrier, a lover of everyone and everything, Yes
Bixby - Brittany, abused by a man, never warmed up to me (Shodu and Bixby were bonded and adopted together), No
Gaius - Maltese mix, likely poodle, a bit skittish but trusts me, Yes
Julia - Maltese, bonded with Gaius and adopted together, both currently living with me, Yes

Other than Kelly and Lady, (who came from friends), all my furbabies were rescues.

[carcrazy67]

Fox Terrier.............no
Collie....................no...too many health issues
Miniature Poodle.....no...really smart but too yappy
Beagle...................no...He would only hunt for a place to go to the bathroom.
Springer Spaniels... yes..great dogs...I had 2
Wolf Hybrid.............hell no! Very, very smart but anything that moved should be killed and eaten.....including other dogs. Not emotionally stable but was very healthy. Given his size (nearly 30" at the shoulder) and temperament he was a huge liability. Had him for 12 years.
German Shepherd...absolutely when they are from working lines. I have owned multiple shepherds from both American and DDR lines. My last DDR dog lived to be 13 with no health issues. By far the easiest dogs I've ever trained but working dogs have very high drives that are not suitable for most people.
Current dog is a KNPV Dutch Shepherd....love her but imagine the highest drive German Shepherd you've ever seen on crack! Very smart, athletic but requires extreme amounts of exercise and training...currently 4-5 hours/day. Anything less she is very difficult to live with! Mouthiest breed I've ever seen.

[CLfan1977]

Originally Posted by carcrazy67

Fox Terrier.............no
Collie....................no...too many health issues
Miniature Poodle.....no...really smart but too yappy
Beagle...................no...He would only hunt for a place to go to the bathroom.
Springer Spaniels... yes..great dogs...I had 2
Wolf Hybrid.............hell no! Very, very smart but anything that moved should be killed and eaten.....including other dogs. Not emotionally stable but was very healthy. Given his size (nearly 30" at the shoulder) and temperament he was a huge liability. Had him for 12 years.
German Shepherd...absolutely when they are from working lines. I have owned multiple shepherds from both American and DDR lines. My last DDR dog lived to be 13 with no health issues. By far the easiest dogs I've ever trained but working dogs have very high drives that are not suitable for most people.
Current dog is a KNPV Dutch Shepherd....love her but imagine the highest drive German Shepherd you've ever seen on crack! Very smart, athletic but requires extreme amounts of exercise and training...currently 4-5 hours/day. Anything less she is very difficult to live with! Mouthiest breed I've ever seen.

Your current dog sounds like she could have her own reality show! Full-time job getting that boundless energy or whatever it is down to a manageable level. My favor breed, Boxers, are high energy but they do mellow after a few years.