A dog & canine forum. DogBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » DogBanter forum » Dog forums » Dog breeds
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Help finding a good breed



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 24th 05, 03:42 AM
Mark
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help finding a good breed

What's a good family dog? have kids 9 and 12.
Had Dalmatians..too hyper and skin probs. (but BEAUTIFUL animals)
Had Bassetts...they want to hunt too much. For us they were hard to walk or
train.
we have a big fenced yard, in woods in Tennessee.
We just want a simple good FULL BLOODED OUTSIDE family dog.

Was looking at Golden Retrievers but am concerned about their
health problems I've read online about.
Any good recommendations appreciated.
Thanks ya'll.


  #2  
Old January 24th 05, 04:27 AM
Christy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Mark" wrote in message
...
What's a good family dog? have kids 9 and 12.
Had Dalmatians..too hyper and skin probs. (but BEAUTIFUL animals)
Had Bassetts...they want to hunt too much. For us they were hard to walk

or
train.
we have a big fenced yard, in woods in Tennessee.
We just want a simple good FULL BLOODED OUTSIDE family dog.

I should hope you want your dog full of blood. Or did you mean purebred?
And does your whole family live outside? That's odd.
If you mean that you want a dog to live outside yet be part of your family
who live indoors, I'm afraid there really is no breed that fits that bill.
The only dogs that live outdoors successfully are those who form packs
outside of the home - for example, livestock guardians who become "one" with
their sheep pack, or groups of hunting hounds. To have a dog be a good part
of the family, it must live indoors with the pack - invariably, dogs left
outdoors develop behavior issues (barking, digging, chewing, roaming, etc.)
and are not "good family dogs." Conversely, almost any breed that is part of
the indoor family and given proper training can be a "good family dog."
Specific breeds suit different people - for example, size, temperament, coat
care - so it is impossible to recommend breeds without knowing more about
what you want in a dog. All dogs need training and exercise, but have
different requirements, abilities, and so on.

Was looking at Golden Retrievers but am concerned about their
health problems I've read online about.


All breeds have health problems. Responsible breeders take necessary steps
to reduce incidents (health testing, pedigree research etc.) but there are
no guarantees. Thus, seeking a responsible breeder is a lower risk
proposition than buying from a breeder who takes no precautions. But first,
you need to do more research into what you want from your indoor family dog.

Christy


  #3  
Old January 24th 05, 05:20 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 20:42:15 -0600 Mark whittled these words:
What's a good family dog? have kids 9 and 12.
Had Dalmatians..too hyper and skin probs. (but BEAUTIFUL animals)
Had Bassetts...they want to hunt too much. For us they were hard to walk or
train.
we have a big fenced yard, in woods in Tennessee.
We just want a simple good FULL BLOODED OUTSIDE family dog.


It is possible that a dog would do OK in your situation, but the chances
of you and that dog connecting are fairly small.

One important part of the problem is that you are asking for conflicting
characteristics. You want a dog that can spend a good deal of time alone,
yet desires human companionship enough to be both trainable and sociable.
That is an extremely rare combination. The issue isn't where the dog
lives. It is how much time the dog spends in social contact.



It used to be that our dogs were primarily rural, and the dog spent most
of its day hanging out with the family members as they worked outdoors.
Most of their waking hours the dogs would be able to touch, smell, and
interact with people, or other socialble animals. Now even rural people
spend most of their time away from home As M. Milani, D.V.M, PHD in the
book "The Body Language and Emotions of Dogs" notes about 90% of dogs
spending most of their time alone (e.g. "outdoor dogs") end up in behavior
problems that their people consider to be serious.

To have a mentally healthy, sociable dog typically requires a minimum of
four hours a day of direct physical interaction. Typically dogs that can
do with less than that do so because they don't need the social
interaction. And that lack of need generally makes them not particularly
trainable, and often not particularly sociable.

If you honestly believe that you will be spending adequate time with the
dog, then your best bet it to take in a rescue or shelter dog that has
already been kept in that situation.

You are unlikely to get any benefit out of seeking a purebred dog (not
full blood). The general advantage in a purebred dog is predictability of
characteristics. But you don't get that with the carelessly bred purebred
dog. And health problems are a risk with any carelessly bred dog. More
so with carelessly bred purebred than with random bred. You don't strike
me as one willing to put in the effort needed to find a carelfully bred
dog, and even if you were you would find very few breeders willing to sell
their dogs into the kind of social isolation that usually results from
dogs that are never allowed to live with the family.

Was looking at Golden Retrievers but am concerned about their
health problems I've read online about.
Any good recommendations appreciated.



The experiences of shelters and rescues is that your situation is not a
good one for the majority of dogs. However you may have better defined
plans for providing adequate time with the dog than you have outlined
here. If that is the case then I strongly recommend (1) get a dog that
is fully mentally mature - at least 2 years old (2) focus more on looking
at the specific qualities of the dog rather than its breed.

I think you like the idea of having a dog, but not so much actually having
one.



--
Diane Blackman

http://dog-play.com/
http://dogplay.com/Shop/
  #4  
Old January 24th 05, 01:07 PM
Diana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Mark" wrote in message
...


What's a good family dog? have kids 9 and 12.


A dog that's brought up as part of the family, taught good manners and feels
secure and happy within his human family.


Had Dalmatians..too hyper and skin probs. (but BEAUTIFUL animals)
Had Bassetts...they want to hunt too much. For us they were hard to walk
or
train.


*Had* them? for their full lifetime?

we have a big fenced yard, in woods in Tennessee.
We just want a simple good FULL BLOODED OUTSIDE family dog.


why 'full blooded' / pure bred in particular?

I would start looking to why you really want a dog and what you want to do
with the dog before I'd start looking at breeds. Why must this dog be an
outside dog? why must it be pure bred and how much time atm to you and your
family currently spend outside without a dog ?

(...cos if you never play in the yard while you don't have a dog the chances
are great that you'll soon find it too much effort once you do have a dog.)

If you are trying to create or complete some kind of family image, its not
going to work. Every dog comes with 'warts n' all'.

Diana & Cindy

--
Cindy's web site (I would strongly suggest that a weim is NOT a candidate
for your situation either... she can dig for England, has a hearty bark, is
hyper like a dali and wants to hunt like a basset, and needs constantly
reminding that she must mind her manners, which means a lot of training and
supervision... and she is never happy unless she knows her people are there
with her)

http://cindy-incidentally.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
shelly DETHRONES NESSA as MVP (Most Valuable Psychotic) of dog newsgroups!! _michael 2.76 Dog behavior 0 September 20th 04 01:28 AM
shelly DETHRONES NESSA as MVP (Most Valuable Psychotic) of dog newsgroups!! _michael 2.76 Dog behavior 0 September 20th 04 01:28 AM
Alsatian Shepalutes Shepalutes Dog breeds 30 September 14th 04 02:17 PM
Has anyone read . . LeeCharlesKelley Dog behavior 2399 September 12th 04 07:17 PM
Inbreeding question Hercule Poirot Dog breeds 48 April 6th 04 08:50 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:53 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unauthorized Upgrade)
Copyright ©2004-2024 DogBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.