Ask Me Help Desk - Trying to pick the right dog(s)

A week ago a friend of mine told me he's giving me one of the 12 pups his Doberman gave birth to. The father is a Rottie , so immedietly I was enthused since I've had an empty kennel ready for a dog about 6 months ago. The pup was 5 weeks old when I got him and I took care or him , fed him , played with him , tried socializing it with everyone in the household . My family didn't approve because of it's breed's nature so I had to do some research . I realised that Rottwielers are pack animals and are pretty much built to brawl and like in all packs will fight to become the alpha of the pack. Now I have a niece and nephew to think about (1 and a half, and 2 years old) . I didn't realise how different Rottie's and Dobermans are from other dogs and I knew I didn't need an animal that could put my family at risk , so I returned him . It wasn't easy since I got attached to it pretty fast , but I thought it was the responsible thing to do

Now I'm trying to think of what kind of dog I can get , something loyal , can live in an outdoor kennel , good with children , easy to train . Nothing too big or too small

I've always wanted a husky but unfortunately we don't have the cold weather to accomidate.

I was thinking something along the lines of a labrador retreiver , so can they adapt to hot weather? (ofcourse they'll have air conditioned shelter in the kennel) and what am I in for if I get one? Better off getting two so they don't get bored or lonely when their alone? What other alternatives can I look at?

Just a quick thought that you could enlist the help of your local animal shelter. They might be willing to take your specific criteria and filter out suitable candidates from the dogs that they receive. If you do get one, you'll have the added satisfaction of having saved a dog too!

Choosing a dog is a very personal thing. You need to actually see a variety.
You could drop in on an obedience class. Most of the people will be happy to
Talk about their dog, and many will give honest answers about grooming and
Nature. Browse the question board. See the problems people are asking for
Help on. Dogs vary so much within a breed, even among litter mates. Some
Field Labs are as hyper as any pointer. You want to look for a calm dog.

Maybe ask to visit the breeders home. Field and show champions can be bred
In kennels. Dogs where the mother lives in the house have the best
Personalities. Some kids to fondle the puppies from birth are better yet. If
The breeder doesn't want the parents in their house, do you want the offspring
In yours? Spend as much time with the parents as you can. Nice parents don't
Guarantee nice puppies, but don't chance bad parents. Of course ask about hip
And eye certification or other genetic problems common to your breed too.

I like the Golden Retrievers as family pets. Perhaps I am making the mistake
Of judging the whole breed by my friends' dog. But I see others too. They
Love attention, and are sturdy enough and good natured to tolerate almost
Anything. The Australian Shepherds are great too and shed less. They are
Smaller than the Golden and tend to be less nippy than some of the other
Herding dogs. I enjoy my Labs, but some of them can be strong willed and a
Challenge. They shed terribly too.

Consider the animal shelter. There are many nice dogs, and you can see how
They look with little or no grooming. You can also see how they behave. Look
For dogs that want your attention, but are not going wild. Leave the ones that
Retreat to the back of their cage. Look at their teeth. Look for ones that
Still show a 3 lobed, clove like pattern on the front ones. Leave the ones
That fight letting you look at their teeth too much. If the points are worn
Off the teeth, it is an older dog that may break your heart by dying too soon.
Pinch the web between its toes. It hurts. It is OK for the dog to pull away
Or whine, but it shouldn't growl, snap or show its teeth. Think about size.
In a small apartment, a Golden might knock over the lamps when it walks
Through wagging its tail. Since the shelter likely will kill most of the
Dogs, you may as well pick out a nice one.

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult. Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets. Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something. They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament. Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders. They breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores. Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive. You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
Dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
To be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
Find a rescue near you starting at
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

www.akc.org and www.purina.com have breed selector pages on their site. You
Might try them. Don't take a recommendation for some obscure, hard to find
Breed too seriously. Even if your puppy doesn't grow up like you expected,
How you raise it helps make it what you need. The first 12 weeks of a dog's
Life greatly affect its adult personality. Expose it to your lifestyle, and
It will be comfortable with you. Gretchen, my little German Shepherd did
Not grow up suspicious of strangers. She knew no life except being out and
Petted by strangers from the night we picked her up at 7 weeks old.

A Lab could work. Yellow Labs stand the heat better than black ones. Part of your problems with the Dobe/Rott may have been from removing it from its litter at 5 weeks. Six is the very earliest, and 7-8 weeks is much better.

Please plan to keep your dog in the house with you. Dogs are pack animals.
They want to be with you. Having a crate for it to live in makes it much
Easier. Your house and puppy are safe with it in a crate when nobody is
Around to watch it. I think the more enclosed plastic ones make the best dens.
A good breeder or rescue may not let you have one of their dogs if you plan to keep it outside.

I'm with labman on Golden Retrievers. They are wonderful! I have owned, raised, shown, trained, groomed and LOVED a zillion Goldens in my life and couldn't recommend a better animal!

That said... I'm not too keen on making a dog live outdoors, especially if you plan to make him an only dog. Dogs only want to be part of the pack (this includes his 'people') and when I see a dog living outside (no matter how spectacular his kennel/dog house), having little contact with it's family, it breaks my heart.

Many people start by having a puppy that gets a lot of attention, but as the dog ages and isn't so novel, the owner gives minimal attention.

I wish to make clear that I am not suggesting that you will neglect your dog. I just wanted to make the point so that anyone reading this may consider letting a dog live inside with the 'pack', rather than living outside.

I agree with tre_cani. If you're planning on bringing a dog home don't put him in a kennel. That breaks my heart too. When we got our dog he was over a year old and was left in a inside kennel for anywhere from eight to ten hours a day while the owners went to work and it made him so wild that it took us an awlful long time to bring him around. He was never put in a kennel again. Dogs look so lonely when they're in a outside kennel and how can you give them the love and attention that they need if your just looking at them and not giving body contact. I think it makes better pets if you keep them in your surroundings as much as possible. Just my opinion.

Leaving a dog in a crate for eight to ten hours per day obviously isn't ideal, but it isn't cruel. Crate training is something most pet professionals recommend and the dogs enjoy having a place to which they can retreat.

caesars charm:
I doubt that your dog's time in the crate while his previous owner worked was the cause of his 'wild' behavior. Though if he was also ignored and not socialized properly while the family was home, that could have been part of his problem.

If left to their own devices, dogs can find lots of things to quell boredom, many of which we humans find destructive or disgusting. Allowing a dog to have the run of your home while you're away at work for the day isn't always the best choice and keeping them crated during times when you cannot be available for him should not be viewed so negatively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caesars charm

I think it makes better pets if you keep them in your surroundings as much as possible. Just my opinion.

I couldn't agree more! :)

I got my dog from a shelter and he is the most loyal, loving dog I have ever had. My dog was just a little over a year old when I got him. He was already housebroken and didn't chew up all my stuff! This is good, especially if you have little ones around the house that have stuffed animals. Puppies love to chew their eyes and noses off!

There are so many dogs looking for good homes in the shelter. Some mixed breeds make the best dogs! My dog is a Golden Retiever mix and I wouldn't trade him for the world. His first family gave him up because they said he was "too clumsy." I don't know what they could have meant by this because he is not "clumsy" in any way.

These dogs, in shelters, once had families that they loved and then were taken to this "kennel" with no family to love. They're waiting for someone to come take them home but sadly, their families won't be coming to pick them up.

My dog was at the shelter for 2 months before I found him. It breaks my heart to think of him in that kennel for all that time, when he had so much love to give someone. Everyone wanted the puppies. But the thing is, the puppies almost ALWAYS get adopted from shelters. People overlook the older dogs. It doesn't hurt to go take a look at your local animal shelter. There will be a dog there that needs someone like you. And you might find that you needed them too!

I think a labrador is the best dog u can get but u could get a retreiver or a munchkin dog any dog really.

I'd like to make a distinction here. Crate training is different than a dog that always stays in a outdoor kennel when the owner is gone. My lab/hound mix was crate trained so we could not only potty train easier but so she could grow past the "chew anything in site" stage. After several solid months of training, she was able to be left alone loose in the house for 7-8 hours, if necessary, with no problems at all. The crate was left up with the door open (just in case) but went unused after a while so we eventually donated it to the local shelter.

We took great measures to bond with her and set up the hierarchy of our "pack", including the two shelter cats we later adopted. It has made for a secure dog and a happy arrangement for us. If you don't believe that dogs really are very social, I suggest a neat, little, easy-to-read book called The Hidden Life Of Dogs for a major eye opener about what makes a dog tick (although I had to overlook the roamining, unspayed dogs part).

See the thing is , I would like to bring a dog into my house with my family , I know that it's the best way to socialize them as apposed to outdoor Kennels , But it's a Cultural thing , we just don't allow dog's IN the house. I don't know if that's something someone can understand but their's nothing I can do about it. And the Kennel is just a place the dog is going to sleep and eat , there is always someone in the house to let the dog out , play with him/her , supervise. We just take turns doing it.

I'm seriously considering two Labs , but their pretty hard to find in the mid east , most breeders here have german shepards and dobermans bred for police and military perposes. New problom.. finding a breeder. Wait.. can you actually ship dogs from country to country? Or is that cruel?

Yes things can be much more difficult in some cultures than others. I wonder what the partner faces to the last puppy we raised to graduate from dog guide school. She is in a large country not accepting of dogs. They are one of the first dozen dog guide teams in the country. And not all dogs in the United States enjoy living in the house, see http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/home.html We have some subcultures where dogs fair poorly.

Shipping a dog isn't good, but it is commonly done. I would try to find a breeder in Europe. I know there are some fine Lab bloodlines in England, but southern or eastern Europe would mean a shorter, less traumatic flight.

Deciding on the right breed requires research. What do you plan on doing with the dog. Do you want to do dog sports such as obedience or agility? Or do you just want a family companion. Also. Are you active,have children? Do you plan on doing things with your dog of will it just be in it's kennel. There are also health issues to consider. All breeds have their health issues. If buying from a breeder make sure that all health issues for that breed are screened for before the dogs are bred.many dogs end up in rescue because their owners got the wrong breed for them. All pure breed dogs have rescue groups. Great dogs are also found at shelters

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad85

A week ago a friend of mine told me he's giving me one of the 12 pups his Doberman gave birth to. the father is a Rottie , so immedietly i was enthused since i've had an empty kennel ready for a dog about 6 months ago. the pup was 5 weeks old when i got him and i took care or him , fed him , played with him , tried socializing it with everyone in the household . my family didnt approve because of it's breed's nature so i had to do some research . i realised that Rottwielers are pack animals and are pretty much built to brawl and like in all packs will fight to become the alpha of the pack. now i have a niece and nephew to think about (1 and a half, and 2 years old) . i didn't realise how diffrent Rottie's and Dobermans are from other dogs and i knew i didnt need an animal that could put my family at risk , so i returned him . it wasnt easy since i got attached to it pretty fast , but i thought it was the responsible thing to do

now i'm trying to think of what kind of dog i can get , something loyal , can live in an outdoor kennel , good with children , easy to train . nothing too big or too small

i've always wanted a husky but unfortunatly we dont have the cold weather to accomidate.

i was thinking somthing along the lines of a labrador retreiver , so can they adapt to hot weather? (ofcourse they'll have air conditioned shelter in the kennel) and what am i in for if i get one? better off getting two so they dont get bored or lonley when their alone? what other alternitives can i look at?

How about a toy poodle or a jack russel. They are good.
Lluv I won't to be a vet:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by labman

Yes things can be much more difficult in some cultures than others. I wonder what the partner faces to the last puppy we raised to graduate from dog guide school. She is in a large country not accepting of dogs. They are one of the first dozen dog guide teams in the country. And not all dogs in the United States enjoy living in the house, see Dogs Deserve Better Home: No Chained Dogs! We have some subcultures where dogs fair poorly.

Shipping a dog isn't good, but it is commonly done. I would try to find a breeder in Europe. I know there are some fine Lab bloodlines in England, but southern or eastern Europe would mean a shorter, less traumatic flight.

I looked at this website that you provided. What a great group of people. They are having a chain off this 4th of July. Dog lovers just scroll down to your state to see who will be chained up for 8 to 24 hours. You can sponsor if you have an extra $5.00 and they have great yard signs to sell, speaking out against chaining up dogs. :(

Unfortunately I am afraid some dogs in fences and outside kennels aren't that much better off. Still, let's start with the worst.

OK I have a sugestion... a toy poodle... I have to and they do bark but they only bark when someone's pulled in the driveway and at the door, there calm when they get older, but when there pups there very enegetic, ideal for kids (3-~~~) or older or younger. There very smart and caring a best friend for the whole family :D I HIGHLY recamend a toy poodle (there just a little smaller than a miniture poodle)

Anybody need a laugh? Check the ''similar threads'' at the very bottom of the page.