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considering getting a dog


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My wife's mini schnauzer died about 6 months ago, and since she's grown up with dogs, she's about ready to get another. We want it to be a family dog first and foremost, but we're also looking for something that will keep the family safe when I'm out of town, fairly easy to train and light on maintenance. We're currently researching: labs, boxers and doberman pinchers. It'd get walked twice a day and be taken to obedience classes. I'm leaning towards the dobie, but was wondering what dogs other people have/would recommend.

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I'll throw a bone out there for a Rottweiler. They meet all your prerequisites. My pup is 7 now and I couldn't have imagined a better dog. She is a pure blooded German Rott with a great pedigree. Probably should have bred her, but I didn't.

The down sides are;

They are big. Mine is about 120 lbs now.

People are in general very frightened by a Rott. Even when they see that she is friendly they are uneasy.

The last one is kind of a plus and a minus. My girl isn't aggressive at all. That's a plus in that I'm not sure how well I could hold back a 120lb Rott. It's a minus in that she won't even bark if someone comes to the door. I've done no training more than the usual around the house stuff and she's really smart so maybe if I had done the obedience stuff she would be different.

A great family pet!!!

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I'm going to vote Lab also, but with a condition.

Look for a pup that is out of hunting stock, I'm talking about titled parents(both sides) that hold UKC or AKC hunt test titles. You INCREASE your odd's of getting a very trainable dog!!!

I would shy away from FC stock as they are "usually" bred for a LOT of GO.

Since the Lab is the most registered dog in the US, there has been a LOT of puppy mills out there. These dinks are breeding to make a fast buck and could care less about the triaits that made the lab so popular.

Buying from a good breeder should also get you a health guarantee on hips, CNM, And EIC, Check the parents for a OFA number and go to the site to check thier ratings out. It's not a absolute but I like to stack the cards in my favor.

Good Luck

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I guess I should also add that I have 3 girls, 12y, 2.5y and 1.5y.

I like shepherds but my wife's not too keen on them.

Jadeslade - why do you say a dobie needs a handler at all times? Are they destructive with furniture? My wife used to have a dobie that had chewing issues, but she always thought it was because he was weened too early.

mildot - thanks for the great info.

3qt - I really like them, but I'd heard that rotties need a lot of training and a good handler. I think my wife is also a bit nervous about that breed.

boz: that's a nice looking dog, great cover pic!

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The dogs that I have had all would fit your bill. I would however stay away from those breeds that commonly develop hip displaysia. Those would be Rottweilers, and German Shepherds. Great dog, but not cool when you have to put them down young because. I know many will say "not my dog" but I HAVE BEEN THERE! Dobermans on the other hand will give you the protection, and they are just too funny. We had one when our Rhodesian died when I was in my 20s. That dog was just funny, smart, obedient, and not high strung at all.

Dogs that I have had that have worked as kid/watch dogs are Australian Shepherd, Australian Cattle Dog, Rottweiler, Doberman, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and German Shepherd. But the most family friendly dogs we have ever had, that were not much of a watch dog but a great family friends were our Springer Spaniels. They loved our kids, would take abuse from babies and reply with a wet tongue, and if you needed a hunting dog, they got that end covered as well.

As a kid we bred Australian Shepherds, so that was my first dog out on my own. They can be great at both family/watch dogs, but they will need alot of training in the beginning. After about 2 years, they would be well trained and they are very affectionate. They can also be trained to do agility courses. Their drawback though is they need to be walked alot, and they need play more than most dogs. If you have a job that keeps you away alot, or keeps you from walking them twice a day, they are not the dog for you. I used to take my dog to work with me and he would stay close all day, but I would also run him in the afternoon and hike with him every weekend.

Another thing though that could do you right is a pound puppy. Mixed breeds often have little if any genetic disease issues as they have not been inbred enough to form them. Most dogs are trainable, and the pound dogs that I have seen, where people put in the time and effort, turned out superb.

Good luck! I'm sure whatever you get will be a welcome addition. Let us know.

JZ

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The Lab gets my vote. The three laying here next to me as I type would undoubtedly be in agreement. So i guess that makes me a bit bias.

I have had many breeds over the years and had many others in our family. I am not an expert by any means but have a bit of experiance breeding as well. The only dog I was ever attacked by was a German shepard. This same dog almost killed our dog, and mauled the neighbors daughter. Each time the owner would say "Boy, he's never done that before".

My brother in-law has a Boxer that is absolutely beautiful and very gentile. Unfortunately he has a mouth the size of a small dump truck and drools all over the place. If you like to cuddle with your dog at all be prepared for the sloppy kisses. He had a Rottwieler who was seemingly very gentile, it did on one occasion try to bite me when I picked up a toy to throw that we had been playing with, and I dont mean bit me by mistake, it was a very agressive attempt. We were playing and I do not believe she intended to hurt me. If she did this to a small child the outcome might have been much worse. My brother in-law said to me "Boy, she's never done that before".

The CDC website has some interesting information on dogs and safety. With young children in the family it is worth a look before you decide wich dog is right for you.

Edited by mpeltier
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We have a 9 year old male Lab and a 4 year old female boxer. The lab is the most loyal, trainable dog I've ever had, but he sheds a lot and is not very protective. He was my drug detection canine several years ago, before I promoted and he was retired. His tail can do more damage to your things in a minute than a two year old kid can in a week.

The boxer is more protective than the lab and has an awesome personality. She loves everybody. However she sheds too, the hairs are just smaller. She is a great family dog and serves pretty well as an inside dog.

I've worked with a lot of German Shepards and they are VERY protective and smart. But they shed worse than my lab does.

If you can put up with the mess and protecting your family is a high priority, I'd go with the Shepard.

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Labs are the best dogs.

Mine was very protective of my wife when she needed to be and totally lovable the rest of the time. They also tend to be fairly social with other dogs...

I have a blue heeler right now...NOT for children, nor for the faint of heart - she is protective but also fairly aggressive toward other dogs. She settles into the pack well but when she first goes to a dog park she tends to let them all know she has arrived. Since they are heelers they tend to be mouthy/nip...I've heard tales of them trying to herd small children too.

By FAR my toughest dog to train so far...but now that she is almost 4 she loves to learn and please but very hard headed...ymmv.

I might try a Cheasapke next time...but they are so hard to spell...

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I'll throw a bone out there for a Rottweiler. They meet all your prerequisites. My pup is 7 now and I couldn't have imagined a better dog. She is a pure blooded German Rott with a great pedigree. Probably should have bred her, but I didn't.

The down sides are;

They are big. Mine is about 120 lbs now.

People are in general very frightened by a Rott. Even when they see that she is friendly they are uneasy.

The last one is kind of a plus and a minus. My girl isn't aggressive at all. That's a plus in that I'm not sure how well I could hold back a 120lb Rott. It's a minus in that she won't even bark if someone comes to the door. I've done no training more than the usual around the house stuff and she's really smart so maybe if I had done the obedience stuff she would be different.

A great family pet!!!

This question is going to be very subjective to the people that have had X dog. If you ask a trainer the same thing will happen as they lean towards liking X dog as well. In the end you'll have to go with what dog will suit you best. I worked as a Vet Tech in college and my wife is now a vet and will second me on this.

Rottis, they make great family dogs. They love their family and are suspicious of other people but if socialized tend to not be aggressive just suspicious of other people. Mine was absolutely worthless as a watch dog, unless watching somebody take the TV was the requirement, but he was big and that there just about did it for most. If not well trained can and will be hard headed. You MUST make them listen to what YOU want them to do.

German Shepards, are very good watch dogs. Some make excellent family dogs. Make sure you get detailed history of the breeding. Go see the puppies parents, their parents, etc. If you have kids make sure they are good with kids and aren't high strung but more laid back. Get hip histories!!! Very smart dogs if well bred.

Dobermans, are a bred I didn't have much contact with and the times I did it wasn't good. I won't knock any bred so I'll leave this one up to the people that know them better. What I do know about them is that they can be very smart, almost to smart, and that can get them into trouble.

Ridgebacks, this bred was bred as a lion hunter, and family guard dog. I've never seen a mean one when in the clinic but that doesn't mean they wouldn't guard the house well. The ones I've seen had children pulling and tugging on them and they just sat there and took it. Never made much of a fuss and just rolled with what ever was going on.

Pit bulls and American bull dogs, of course are good guard dogs, but for the most part the breed has been bred to do...well what it was bred to do. I'm sitting here looking at 3 that would rather show a robber the door than bite him but you have to be care full looking for a good family dog. For the most part your "rejects" are the best dogs I've seen. Smart, loves people, and look "evil". Their reputation helps on the guard dog part as most people won't mess with a house with a "pit bull" there. I'm not going to get into an argument on this bred so lets just leave it at that.

Mastiffs, Danes, are very big and intimidating but for the most part I think their guard dog side has been bred out of them. Going from what I have seen they are more of a oversized lap dog than a guard dog anymore. They typically don't live past 10 if that long and have lots of problems.

Labs, Goldens, etc. are great family dogs but might be a little high strung for little kids and aren't going to guard much unless you get an odd ball. Most people aren't scared of them via their looks either.

Hope that helps.

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Labs and Goldens in the same sentence... <_<

The main trouble is, where in the pack is the dog? Everyone HAS to be onboard with the training. You may be the toughest Alpha in your pack - but when your 12 YO lets the puppy on the couch...guess who they start to listen to...they must "sit" for everyone, etc.

The dog must know their place...or they will self assign themselves to a slot in the pack. This is especially true of breeds like Rotts...just like Steel said.

I think I said it before...but..GOOD LUCK!

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Labs and Goldens in the same sentence... <_<

The main trouble is, where in the pack is the dog? Everyone HAS to be onboard with the training. You may be the toughest Alpha in your pack - but when your 12 YO lets the puppy on the couch...guess who they start to listen to...they must "sit" for everyone, etc.

The dog must know their place...or they will self assign themselves to a slot in the pack. This is especially true of breeds like Rotts...just like Steel said.

I think I said it before...but..GOOD LUCK!

Very good points Joel! If your 12 YO lets the dog sit on the couch or the dog doesn't sit/stay when the wife says so and they let them get away with it, well they will. Everybody used to say my Rotti was the dumbest dog they ever saw because when we let people baby sit him when we would go out of town he wouldn't listen to them. My Father in law said it best, that is the SMARTEST dog I have ever seen. He knows WHO he has to listen to. He listens....sorry listened, to Me, my Wife (sometimes :) ) and my Father in law because we made him do it.

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I have always had pointer breeds. I had a Viszla and German Shorthair Pointer. I now have an 8 year old Weimeraner. They have all been great dogs. They have been protective in the sense they have presence and announce themselves when they sense danger. All of mine have had keen senses and let me know something before it happens and alert me in some way. The only one that was protective was my childhood dog....the Viszla. She was overly protective of me up until I was 2 years old. She didn't like anyone getting near me other than Mom and Dad. When I was 3 I used to sleepwalk. I managed to get outside through the patio door one early morning. Our neighbors had 2 female Dobermans. The neighbors warned us of them that they would bite. That early morning as I was sleepwalking one of the Dobermans jumped the fence and attacked me. My Viszla was quickly involved in a massive dogfight awakening my parents and the neighbors whom all came to break up the fight. Both dogs had to be taken to the clinic but the Doberman died on the way there. My Viszla had damaged her throat to the point she could not breathe and died from suffocation on the way to the vet. My Viszla was covered in blood but unbeknownst to us, it was not hers. She suffered a bad tear to one of her ears and just extreme exhaustion. But she very possibly saved my life. I suffered a pretty good bite on the leg before she intervened. I still to this day love a Doberman. They are beautiful and smart dogs. Those Warlocks are gorgeous. And definitely have those protective qualities.

My dogs lived long healthy lives. Almost lost my Weimy last year due to a twisted stomach(gastric dilitation and volvulus). His surgery went well but had complications in recovery. But he is alive and healthy and back to being himself $5k later. All these dogs have lived inside. They are shorthaired and shed less than most. Mine have been between 60 and 80 pounds. They have all been intermediate hunters. The GSP saw the most of the field and was a great bird dog. She loved guns and loved to hunt.

Whatever you do choose.....It won't be a wrong choice. I'm sure you'll love it like your own child like I do mine.

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Jadeslade - why do you say a dobie needs a handler at all times? Are they destructive with furniture? My wife used to have a dobie that had chewing issues, but she always thought it was because he was weened too early.

One person dog. It has nothing to do with furniture. They need to be under control because they can wreak a lot of havoc in 5 seconds or less. Excellent working dogs. Need a lot of space to run and stay in shape. Good in hot weather. Love Dobermans-probably not the best family dog. Good for training. I was all set to get a Rhodesian-I had an acre lot fenced in and road to run, but I got these instead-just by luck. Catahoula Leopard Hounds.

I had a German Sheperd when I was a kid. We got a puppy from a policeman friend-best dog ever. She lived 14 yrs. Great family dog. Not AKC-they are for show. Also been bred to look like Tennessee walking horses. Good ones around-working dogs bred for family and home use. Also good dogs from Czechoslovakia for training. Check out some farmers or friends with Sheperds-the local AKC is good-I am just not fond of show dogs-they can be good also once in a while, though. Keep looking you will know when you find one.

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i vote for an English Bulldog. their value as a guard dog is zero, well they might lick the intruder to death, but as a family/companion dog i havent found one that is better. there also great with kids.

i got mine at www.qualitybullies.com :wub:

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Adopt a Greyhound!

As soon as I even get enough room for one (I'm in a condo), I'm getting one. They are raced for about 2 years, then put up for adoption. I've met DOZENS of rescue Greyhounds here in FL, and I'd take EVERY one of them home. Great dogs, low maintenance, smarter than you think, and actually very LOW-strung relaxed dogs.

I'll never get another puppy. They are cute as hell, but you never know what you're going to get, and they are WORK. I will only adopt and rescue now. There are so many GREAT 2, 3, 4 year-old dogs that need loving homes.

As far as a watch dog goes???? All bark, no bite, is your best bet. They are an ALARM system at night, not a defensive system. Dogs that bite are huge liabilities.

Jeff

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i vote for an English Bulldog. their value as a guard dog is zero, well they might lick the intruder to death, but as a family/companion dog i havent found one that is better. there also great with kids.

i got mine at www.qualitybullies.com :wub:

Bullies are great family dog but don't expect much from them :roflol: Only concerns I have with them is they WILL have A LOT of health issues. FYI look at the University of Georgia's mascots average life span. Granted that is the most inbred line of dog I have seen next to the medical beagle!! :surprise:

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