Dog Breed

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:32:49 GMT, Plague wrote:

I'll skip the first part because I don't have specifics to say about
the breeds you and your wife are looking into. Others have given good
general info on how to narrow down what you are looking for and how to
get it.

My daughters are attracted to the following breed: Dalmatian.

Here's where I do have specific experience to share.

Kids love dalmatians, but dals are usually not the best dog for kids.
When my kids were a little younger than yours (they are now 8 and 11),
they wanted a dalmatian. I did some research into the breed and found
out how many of them are abandoned in shelters after families get them
for their kids and then realize then have problems. I ended up
getting involved in dalmatian rescue, springing them from shelters,
taking them home and training them to be good in the house and
specifically good around kids, and then adopting them out to families.
This is what I found working with lots of dogs and lots of families
and with my own kids and their friends.

Dalmatians are energetic athletic dogs. They need lots of exercise
and they are strong. They were orginally bred to run alongside
carriages and really can run seemingly forever. What this means to
families with kids is that the dog wants to run around and jump around
and often knocks little kids down. This doesn't mean you can't get a
dal, but you have to know up front that it is going to need training
and lots of it. I would train the dogs to sit to be petted, to run
around kids instead of into them and never ever to jump up on a child.
The problems I saw were that dogs naturally jump up to greet and kids
and adults alike can think that is really cute in a puppy, then find
it is not cute at all and hard to train them out of when they are
adults. Kids get hurt, dogs get dumped. Kids also like to tear
around the yard with puppies, but when they run into you as large
strong adults, again it's a big problem. Make sure that from the very
beginning you train for what you want in the adult dog and you only
allow behaviors that you will want in a big adult dog.

The other big issue is that there are a lot of nightmare dals out
there. When the Disney movies became popular, people who wanted to
make money off the interest would just put dogs together so they could
have puppies to sell. They weren't worried about whether the dogs had
good health or temperament. Dals have a natural intensity and
protectiveness that when messed up leaves them high strung. Those
dogs are not safe around kids even with good training. So you need to
be sure you get a dog from a reputable breeder. Actually, an even
better option is to get an adult dog from rescue. Adult because they
are easier to deal with and you can see exactly what their temperament
will be. A good rescue will have its dogs in foster homes prior to
placement and will be able to tell you if they are good with kids so
you don't have to guess on that one. If you could get a dog like I
used to adopt out (already housebroken, house manners trained and
trained for child safety as well as screened for good temperament with
kids), your experience will be a million times better than just
picking a pup from an ad somewhere and seeing how it goes.

Actually, adult rescue is a good option no matter what breed you end
up deciding on. I don't do rescue any more myself for various
reasons, but I still get my personal dogs from rescue organizations.
They come to me housetrained, with some obedience training and a known
background as far as whether they get along with other dogs and with
kids. Also, the rescues would always take them back if they didn't
work out for whatever reason (like the dog one of my other dogs just
hated). Puppies are cute, but they are a ton of work and you already
have plenty of that raising your kids at those ages. Also, like I
said, it is easier to tell the final true temperament of the dog when
it is fully grown.

By the way, although my kids did love a couple of the dalmatians we
rescued and ended up keeping as family dogs, they were not their
favorite dogs after all. We have had excellent experience with a
German Shepherd from rescue who lives to be their pillow when they sit
around watching tv (adult so not too energetic for them and very
serious about being a Very Good Dog) and a miniature poodle (which I
never liked much but has turned out to be a delightful clown as well
as a smart quick learner). We also have a superb chihuahua, but I
wouldn't recommend that breed in general. The only reason Faith works
so well with the kids is that she is not like most chihuahuas, who are
not good with kids in general and have other quirks that can be
difficult for me or my kids to deal with. But, there again, getting
an adult pays off because we could see that although she looked like a
chihuahua, she acted very different from the chihuahua qualities that
would give us pause.

Good luck with your decision. Whatever you decide, make sure you only
go reputable breeder (see dogplay.com for more on that) or reputable
rescue or shelter organization. Don't go through newspaper ads,
internet ads or pet stores.




--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay