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An Irish Setter was the first dog I had when I moved out on my own. I will say that he was very hyper. He loved to go camping and boating w/ us, and we never had to leash him or worry about him running off. Did I mention he was hyper? He also needed daily grooming. I'll skip over how great my Labs are, being you don't like them. Another great dog I had was an Austrailian Shepherd. He was another one that never ran off and stayed right by my side. He was a natural learning hand commands. He was the perfect bodyguard protecting my daughter in the backyard. I currently have some Newfoundlands. They are the most mellow, gentle giants. They do need alot of grooming, but are so worth it.
Don't buy a purebred while shelter animals die
Why not adopt a nice dog from a shelter? Why should they be put second rate just because they're not "pure"?
There are many nice dogs at the shelters who don't deserve to be there. Having always had both rescues and purebreds, I understand when someone is interested in a particular breed. I'm all for the reputable breeder who does all of the health clearances/tests to improve the breed. Most of the dogs ending up in the shelters are not from those who did their homework on a breeder. A good breeder will offer a health guaranty w/ a written contract to take back a pup under any circumstance.
The problem isn't from buying from a responsible breeder. The problems is all of these irresponsible people like BYB's and the ignorant ones that don't spay/neuter their pets and just let them run loose. When pups come, they put them on Craigslist. These are the ones filling up shelters, not the responsible, reputable breeders.
There's also the issue that you have no idea what the background is when buying from a shelter.
I spent months looking for my dog through various shelter's and rescue groups, but kept hitting dead ends because they had no history on the dogs behavior and temperament with children and others. We ended up buying a retired breeding dog because we knew the breeder had done an excellent job with raising the dog with children and people to have a great temperament with everyone; and our dog has been amazing and friendly with every person and dog she's met. It was my wife's first dog, and we wanted to know details on what personality our dog had when buying.
All of my previous dogs have been rescues and have been wonderful as well. I'm all for helping rescue one from a shelter and giving them a loving home. But if you do all your homework and are fully prepared for the dog you're getting, there is nothing wrong with buying from a reputable and respectable breeder that bred the dog for the good of it's breed.
Unfortunately, I did get a young dog from a shelter, and he had so many problems, I worked so hard with him, he just needed more than I could give him. So, that experience has sort of soured me on shelter dogs. He was fearful, aggressive, peed all the time, when he was excited, nervous, scared. He was mean to the cats, never was able to settle down, even after being fixed. And extremely food protective. He seemed like a good dog, but I could not just not helo all of his problems. I re-homed him with some friends who lived on a farm, and were looking for a farm dog. He was a chocolate lab mix.
I actually felt worse for getting a shelter dog, and then not being able to habilitate him into a good pet. I felt so much guilt, and felt like I was demonstrating poor values to my child, like pets are just disposable creatures. Which is not me at all. So, I don't know about shelter dogs now...Our last dog, we got as a puppy from a some people, he was a basset hound mix, we had him for 11 years. In my life I have had four dogs, and four cats, each dog has lived over 10 years. The cats have lived over 18.
Last edited by kek1993; 09-22-2009 at 07:05 PM..
Reason: spelling
There's also the issue that you have no idea what the background is when buying from a shelter.
I spent months looking for my dog through various shelter's and rescue groups, but kept hitting dead ends because they had no history on the dogs behavior and temperament with children and others. We ended up buying a retired breeding dog because we knew the breeder had done an excellent job with raising the dog with children and people to have a great temperament with everyone; and our dog has been amazing and friendly with every person and dog she's met. It was my wife's first dog, and we wanted to know details on what personality our dog had when buying.
All of my previous dogs have been rescues and have been wonderful as well. I'm all for helping rescue one from a shelter and giving them a loving home. But if you do all your homework and are fully prepared for the dog you're getting, there is nothing wrong with buying from a reputable and respectable breeder that bred the dog for the good of it's breed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kek1993
Unfortunately, I did get a young dog from a shelter, and he had so many problems, I worked so hard with him, he just needed more than I could give him. So, that experience has sort of soured me on shelter dogs. He was fearful, aggressive, peed all the time, when he was excited, nervous, scared. He was mean to the cats, never was able to settle down, even after being fixed. And extremely food protective. He seemed like a good dog, but I could not just not helo all of his problems. I re-homed him with some friends who lived on a farm, and were looking for a farm dog. He was a chocolate lab mix.
I actually felt worse for getting a shelter dog, and then not being able to habilitate him into a good pet. I felt so much guilt, and felt like I was demonstrating poor values to my child, like pets are just disposable creatures. Which is not me at all. So, I don't know about shelter dogs now...Our last dog, we got as a puppy from a some people, he was a basset hound mix, we had him for 11 years. In my life I have had four dogs, and four cats, each dog has lived over 10 years. The cats have lived over 18.
these problems can be gotten around by focusing on dogs that are being fostered in people's homes..... purebreds or mixed......
some dogs that have lived in a shelter environment for any length of time develop a shelter mentality ..... for lack of a better term...... a dog that has been fostered will (typically) be better socialized and its personality will not be such a mystery........
what are some good dog breeds?
i love shepherds, mainly german and shiloh, border collies, golden retrievers, flat coat retrievers.i do not like poodles, labradors, or chihuahuas.i have recently been looking into finnish hounds and irish setters. does anyone have any experience with these dogs? does anyone have any other dogs they would like to recommend?
thanks.
My husband and I have a Pit Bull and she is by far the best dog we have ever had. I was nervous about her at first around the kitties and around the small children that come visit here at times, but she has been great. She is a little hyper and excited around adults and wants to be in their laps...working on this one but for some reason when a child is around, she sits nice and lets them pat her. I never taught her this (?)
Retrievers of any kind are normally really good with kids but require a lot of exercise and can have issues with their hips and rear legs; shepherds the same. Border Collies are great! They do need tons of exercise because they are hyper and beyond smart. I had a border collie/springer spaniel mix who lived to be 17 and she liked to run. When we lived in the country, it was easy to take her out for a run but in the city, I had to take her to a local high school football field off season on a long rope and let her run...or find a huge empty field and that was tough. She was a great, great dog.
Irish Setters are a nervous dog...not sure how they are with kids, but they are very nervous. We had one that use to show up on our property on a regular basis and beat up this little Pekinese we had..no apparent reason, just use to kick the crap out of her. Our Border Collie mix figured out a way to divert the Irish Setters attention long enough so I could rescue the Pekinese...this was years ago when we lived in the country.
Good luck with your dog hunting...are you rescuing? There are a lot of dogs who do need rescue, you may want to look into that. Our Pit Bull is a rescue and she is so grateful.
We have a german shepherd/border collie mix. She is the best dog ever. Very loyal and very sweet.
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He also needed daily grooming. I'll skip over how great my Labs are, being you don't like them. Another great dog I had was an Austrailian Shepherd. He was another one that never ran off and stayed right by my side. He was a natural learning hand commands. He was the perfect bodyguard protecting my daughter in the backyard. I currently have some Newfoundlands. They are the most mellow, gentle giants. They do need alot of grooming, but are so worth it.
