You might like to look at Labs as well, I have a Black Lab [Micky],,smart as a whip, friendly to all especially kids and sooo easy to train. They are very playful, but wont ware you out...they are not a high strung dog. They do love to swim though..., loves the Beach and lakes...a very sturdy, healthy, dog. Here he is with my son, he was two yrs in this photo. He's close to 80lbs now... Best temperament I have ever seen in a dog, he does very well alone as well. Three main colors, although they now have a silver as well. There are two types, The American is taller and sleeker, and the English shorter and more stout.
I read someplace that Russels are the most brought back or sold dog by new owners of any breed, people just cant take their constant supply of energy. I remember one young lady saying,,''I didn't know who was going to have a heart attack first, me or the dog!''
I've heard that about JRs, too. Way too much energy and no place to put it. As far as Chiwawas being too small to do damage............they have teeth and claws. My 45 lb mutt has a scar on her face from when 2 of those hideous things attacked her. She was on leash; they weren't. Those same dogs also ran a gash down my leg, but it didn't leave a scar. They can do tremendous damage, small as they might be. I now carry a stun baton just for unleashed dogs. When I'm out with my dog, I'll be damned if I'll control my own dog and someone else's dog, too, no matter what size it is. If my stun kills it, oh, well. Too bad, so sad. No tears from me. Again, it's the owners who don't control their dogs. Dogs only know what they're taught. P.S. I love, love that red lab. Totally gorgeous dogs, all of them, but especially the red one.
99.9% of dog owners can't control their pets, it's an illusion dog owners share, what saves them from owning dangerous dogs is the most popular breeds like the Lab and Golden Retriever are very placid dogs and the owners don't get credit for teaching them that....what prevents Chihauhau from having the fatality record of pittbulls is their lack of size, despite your dogs minor wound they're harmless, had your dog encountered an agressive pitt you'd really have something to complain about...
As are Border Collies but probably for slighly different reasons, the BC needs a job, give them job and they're great companions...pittbulls are also high on the return list for different reasons, they're dangerous....too many people buy dogs on impulse and give no thought what ownership requires....buy a calm, friendly, low aggression dog like a Lab and ownership looks easy, its hard to screw up...JRs, Pitts, Rotties, Chihahaus, Border Collies all come with different requirements and problems...
The question at this thread might be what is the best dog for a certain purpose. If you want to hunt rabbits Beagles are probably best, and for a small apartment you probably want a small breed, and so on. But for a family pet, I agree that a Lab is probably hard to beat. Active but not hyper, smart, affectionate, etc. Golden Retrievers are great, too, but in Florida, where I live now, their thick, slow-drying fur can lead to skin diseases that can be a real nuisance. For Florida weather, I'd look for a Yellow Lab that would probably be more comfortable in the sun than the Black or Chocolates. And, Dobermans, German Shepherds from lines without hip problems, and lots of other breeds and mutts, can also make terrific family pets.
which is why year after year they are the most popular breed on the planet...they're so good natured you need to be a complete idiot to screw it up...I've yet (and im not young)to encounter an agressive lab...
the right breed for the right person/family...as I posted earlier 99.9% of people can't train a dog, labs and golden retrievers are perfect for those people, or even a chihauhau...rotweilers, german shepards, dobermans should be left to people who know what they're doing, big dogs like those are capable(and have) of doing fatal harm to people...my BC has a breed reputation for nipping strangers so I keep mine close to me at all times when on walks, at 66lbs he's capable of doing a lot of damage should he choose to...
Very true, this is why they are considered excellent ''Watch dogs'', and NOT ''Guard dogs'' Like dobermans and Pit Bulls, which are considered attack dogs. This of course does not mean they have not been used [and effectively] in these rolls, as many are used by the police and armed service, they just have to be trained different, attack is not natural to them. Many in fact are trained for the Blind, as they are extremely loyal and wicked smart. There are programs where you can get a free puppy and raise it, as long as you drop it off twice a week for it's training as a seeing eye dog. Then when fully grown and trained the dog is taken back as soon as they find a blind person in need. My sister in law raised two this way, then when they came to pick up the second dog she asked [pleaded]...''Couldn't you take my husband instead?'' LOL She fell in love with it, she now owns two of her own.....[and divorced my Brother].. First day at school,,,,hahahahahah.
Yes, I agree, but would add that it seems that there can be a pretty big difference between show lines of German Shepherds, Dobermans, and Malinois (I'm not familiar with Rotweilers, and would avoid all American Staffordshire Pit Bulls) and those of working lines. It's probably simply that dogs that don't get along with strangers and other dogs are quickly kicked out of dog shows and eliminated from the Show Dog gene pools. Groups of Malinois, for example, which tend to be very serious and high strung, can be playful and frolicsome with strange Malinois and other dogs at dog shows.
Excellent distinction, watchdogs raise hell, guarddogs attack...and that's the source of most fatal dog attacks people who have no business owning them keeping guard dogs as pets...their temperment has been purposely breed into them to be aggresive, in the hands of that 99.9% of owners who can't train a dog, that's a tragedy waiting to happen...
I'm sure you meant this as sarcasm, but you are not too far off: [video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/aCv10_WvGxo?list=PLuKg-WhduhkksJoqkj9aJEnN7v0mx8yxC[/video]
It really does get me going with some of those owners, some think the ferocity of the dog is an extension of their own macho, in reality it's a walking show case of their own stupidity. Think how many people have been mauled, how many killed, and all because some nut wants to show how tough he is, not to mention it gives these dogs a bad name. These clueless incompetent owners should feel the full wrath of the law, they turn otherwise peaceful safe neighborhoods into truly dangerous areas. This summer was the THIRD time this persons Pit escaped from it's yard, so far he has mauled two other dogs. One day it will be a curious child looking to play...THEN WHAT?
yup, if they such image issue and to prove their macho character they should step into a boxing ring or full contact martial arts but na it's so much more impressive hiding behind aggressive breeds and terrify the neighbours... defenders of the aggressive breeds will always blame the owner for poor training but explain why the far more numerous Labs with equally inept owner trainers don't share the fatality and mauling record of breeds like the Pitbulls, rottweilers or huskies...locally I had a debate with an animal controls people regarding the aggressive breeds telling me I was wrong but I asked to show the stats of attacks by Labs and G retrievers, of coarse there aren't any...anytime we have a serious mauling it's always the same usual suspects, pits, rottweilers, huskies with pits leading the way far out of proportion to their numbers...
breeds are inbred family groups...pick the traits you want keep then breed the individuals with those traits traits back into the pool...the constant inbreeding is why a number of breeds have congenital health defects not found in mutts...
A case in point are Flat coated Retrievers. They're terrific dogs that almost became extinct around WW II and their gene pool became very limited. Some enthusiasts will tell you that they are every bit as gentle as Labs and Goldens, but smarter and easier to train. Hard to say, but they are definitely prone to a number of very serious genetic problems that seem to make purchasing one a bigger gamble than with most breeds.
I had visited a friends house I had not seen in years, he had just gotten married. I sat down in the living room and noticed a pit walk in. .my friend said,,,Oh this is Mak, dont worry he is a wussy cat he couldn't hurt a fly. With that I ignored the dog,, My friend, his new wife and myself then talked about old times. Then his son ran in [from a previous marriage], I had not seen him in a while, he yelled my name and ran towards me with a big smile,,all of a sudden I was blind sided by this dog, and was on the floor with this thing going for my neck,,I was terrified it happened so fast. My friend got up and started punching him and screaming OFF!! OFF!!,,GET DOWN!!! The dog let go,,I was shaking. My friend apologized and said how protective he was of his son [Like that's supposed to make it any better], he said the dog thought I was going to hurt him. What's wrong with this idiot I thought, if he is aware that could happen why was this dog not chained? Why have that dog at all? Do these people live in constant fear of others? Are they so paranoid and fearful they need a killer in their home? Unless you own a junkyard there is no reason for these animals to be in the presence of humans. Even at that another breed will scare anybody away with out killing them over a tire theft. People talk about Cops using excessive force, what about these animals?, are they not excessive? They are nothing more than killers without a brain!
I am a HUGE fan of the Goldendoodles. They don't shed, they are very loyal, they can still be trained to hunt (had mine killing groundhogs that terrorized our farm), they are cuddly (yes I said "cuddly", got a problem with that???? ) and they can be mid size to large. Love those dogs. I am moving to a small apartment in VA so I don't want to get another one now, don't want it to be cramped up in a little apt....however in the next year or so I'll be looking!
Poodles, themselves, have great temperaments, and Goldendoodles and Labradoodles both seem like all-around great dogs. As a kid I bought a very young pup at a flea market that turned out to look like a pure German Shepherd. It went to college with me, was never put on a lead, learned tricks, and made me think I was natural-born dog trainer, something that has been proven totally untrue. Anyway, after owning various dog breeds over the years, I wanted another German Shepherd type, but without the back or hip problems, and bought a Malinois pup from a police-bred line. I tried to do as good a job of socializing her with people and animals as I could, but the results haven't been perfect. She was still a youngster, often hostile to other female dogs, wary of kids, and hated cats with a passion, when I took her to visit my niece and her husband who had a huge part pit bull named Calvin. When they opened their front door, Calvin let out a deep bark, and my Malinois literally jumped up into my arms. Calvin was gentle with people, and other dogs and cats, and my niece and her husband raised two kids with him, but I was relieved when he passed away. Meanwhile, my now 11 year-old Malinois settled down after about three years and has and become less neurotic. She likes kids, but sometimes sounds vicious towards certain mail and delivery people and not others. I don't know why, but I know it isn't based on sex or race. The only person she has bitten was a carpenter who had been flicking her with an automatic tape measure. She nipped him on the butt when he turned and walked away. Sneaky, and can't take a joke I guess. Didn't draw blood that I know of. On a cool day, she'll still romp around and play with our 10 year-old male Flat Coated Retriever, who went totally blind at four months of age.
Actually, Poodles don't have great temperaments. Nor do Cockers. I once did a nationwide survey of vets for an article I was writing for my breed magazine. I asked a simple question, with the promise of anonymity: What is the single breed you and your staff most fear. #1: Cockers #2: Poodles.
One of my neighbors had a border collie that would escape from her yard once in a while when I was playing frisbee with my dog. He would run and catch the frisbee, then bring it back to me every time. It seems like half the time when my coonhound got tired of playing frisbee she wouldn't bring the frisbee back. She would just catch it and toss it on the lawn. Or sometimes just eat the frisbee.
fear may be overstating it, I fear pits, rotweillers, akitas and canario presa...bitey little things like chihauhaus, cockers are just annoying .... I never had that experience with two poodles...yeah the cockers we had owned could be biters but they're so small they're not physically dangerous...the same for the majority of poodles which are toys or minitures...the standard size poodle is big enough to do harm but they're not very common...
Yeah pit bull owners don't get the danger their dogs present, they maybe no worse tempered than cockers but the key difference is cockers weren't bred to rip living things apart and even if they were they dont have the size to be a danger...
