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Dog Questions
- Thread starter zwyatt
- Start date
There are as many big dog "happy stories" as there are "horror storys". If you get one from a good breeder and follow Hurleys advice you should be OK. You may even luck out and find a "non-drooler". When I got my Dane, everyone told me to be ready for drool. The fact is she only drools if you tease her with something really good to eat or if she is nervous. Which cracks me up, she's a nervous drooler.
What has not been mentioned is obedience training. It would be a huge mistake to not have that puppy in lessons as soon as it turns 16 weeks. You absolutely have to start before they learn to throw their weight around. I used to give private dog training lessons and I've seen what happens when people don't bring their big dog in for training until it is a year old. By that time the family had been fostering bad behavior for months because it was tolerable as a puppy, but all of a sudden, it's not cute anymore. So not only does the dog know it can get away with certain things, it's reaching it's peak of teenagehood rebellion. At that point they can be turned around but it's VERY difficult. It's like letting your grade school kids get away with murder and never keep track of them, and the second they turn 15 you want to start telling them what to do, when and where. It just doesn't work.
OK, that's my rant about training puppies. I just hate when people wait until they are a year old before they bring them in.
What has not been mentioned is obedience training. It would be a huge mistake to not have that puppy in lessons as soon as it turns 16 weeks. You absolutely have to start before they learn to throw their weight around. I used to give private dog training lessons and I've seen what happens when people don't bring their big dog in for training until it is a year old. By that time the family had been fostering bad behavior for months because it was tolerable as a puppy, but all of a sudden, it's not cute anymore. So not only does the dog know it can get away with certain things, it's reaching it's peak of teenagehood rebellion. At that point they can be turned around but it's VERY difficult. It's like letting your grade school kids get away with murder and never keep track of them, and the second they turn 15 you want to start telling them what to do, when and where. It just doesn't work.
OK, that's my rant about training puppies. I just hate when people wait until they are a year old before they bring them in.
kansasgirl
New member
Excellent point, Carol. On that subject, the part of training that is the most effective is "nothing for free". If you control the resources (food, treats, toys, attention - anything your dog wants) you are pack leader. No hitting or yelling required. Your dog has to do what you tell it to do to get what it wants. In the early stages with a challenging dog, sometimes feeding every single piece of kibble by hand in response to the dog performing the required task (such as heel, sit, down, or anything, really) is required. With my second-hand Labrador, the first "sit" followed by a meal of canned food (in his starved state) was all it took for permanent allegiance. One of our local kennel clubs has puppy classes that are bursting at the seams because every local vet loves the results of this training early on, and highly encourages all new puppies attend. This method utilizes natural dog behavior while practically eliminating corrections, which helps prevent fear aggression and dominant aggression both. Also, early socialization in puppy kindergarten can really, really help prevent fear aggression, which is perhaps the most common form.
carol said:There are as many big dog "happy stories" as there are "horror storys". If you get one from a good breeder and follow Hurleys advice you should be OK. You may even luck out and find a "non-drooler". When I got my Dane, everyone told me to be ready for drool. The fact is she only drools if you tease her with something really good to eat or if she is nervous. Which cracks me up, she's a nervous drooler.
What has not been mentioned is obedience training. It would be a huge mistake to not have that puppy in lessons as soon as it turns 16 weeks. You absolutely have to start before they learn to throw their weight around. I used to give private dog training lessons and I've seen what happens when people don't bring their big dog in for training until it is a year old. By that time the family had been fostering bad behavior for months because it was tolerable as a puppy, but all of a sudden, it's not cute anymore. So not only does the dog know it can get away with certain things, it's reaching it's peak of teenagehood rebellion. At that point they can be turned around but it's VERY difficult. It's like letting your grade school kids get away with murder and never keep track of them, and the second they turn 15 you want to start telling them what to do, when and where. It just doesn't work.
OK, that's my rant about training puppies. I just hate when people wait until they are a year old before they bring them in.
THANKS, CAROL!
I'm actually in contact with a breeder now, and if this deal works out training will actually be required. That'll be a new thing. Growing up in the country our dogs were outside dogs and never had training (there wasn't really a need). They were still decently behaved...occasionally. We did go so far as to break them of the habit of jumping up on people, however.
JenC
Missin her snakes
They are good protective dogs too, The dog my aunt used to have protected me and my sister (we were like 5 and 6 at the time) from a drunk guy wandering into the yard that said he knew our parents..LOL The dog literally wrapped his whole body around us and growled like something ive never heard before... They are great dogs, but the heartbreaking possibility of all that stuff is a little much for me. And yes, they CAN develop problems the parents and grand parents NEVER had.
I agree there is always a risk, and some are more risky than others. However, the dog I had before my Dane was a smaller breed. She should have lived much longer than my Dane is expected to. Then at the ripe age of 2 she got loose and found a car leaking antifreeze down the street.
To me, not getting a big dog because of the short life span is like not falling in love because you might get hurt. :shrugs: I say enjoy what you want while you got it.
Seriously though, I'm not discrediting any of the health concerns and I think you all are giving valuable advice. It is something you have to be careful with and investigate when getting a big dog.
To me, not getting a big dog because of the short life span is like not falling in love because you might get hurt. :shrugs: I say enjoy what you want while you got it.
Seriously though, I'm not discrediting any of the health concerns and I think you all are giving valuable advice. It is something you have to be careful with and investigate when getting a big dog.
princess
Cornaholic
Good luck with the breeder Zach!
May I ask what has drawn your eye to this breed? -besides of course the obvious factor that they seem to blend cuteness and majesty into the one dog!
I've had a number of purebreds (Jack Russell, Dalmation, Airdale and Standard Poodle) and 2 mutts (shi tzu mix and border collie x curly coat retriever) and must say that whilst all (except for the Dalmatian who was neurotic!) were lovely dogs, the stand out best in regards to conformation, trainability, all-round ace-ness, etc was Crispy, my Border Collie mix.
The poodle was wonderful but he was nervous as hell and was scared to do anything wrong (even though he'd never been given a reason to be fearful), the Jacky had a little much spunk for her own good(!) and wasn't very tolerant of, well, pretty much anything, the airdale was full of arthritis and cataracts by the time he was 9 and the Dalmatian...well she was a pound rescue...we couldn't believe our luck finding a lovely year old purebred but within a few months she was growling at men and soon after that she bit my grandfather...back to the pound she went....she was terrified of men in jeans which makes you wonder how her previous jeans-wearing owner treated her :shrugs:
Mums Shi tzu cross is a brilliant, playfull, spunky little man who she rescued at the pound as a 6 year old who we believe was an older persons dog in the past. He doesn't like small children but treats them with respect but otherwise he's brilliant.
I'm not at all trying to talk you out of your Swissie, I think they look great, but from my experience, you just have so much less trouble with the mixes and the next dog we get will most likely be from 'at least' 2 breeds!
May I ask what has drawn your eye to this breed? -besides of course the obvious factor that they seem to blend cuteness and majesty into the one dog!
I've had a number of purebreds (Jack Russell, Dalmation, Airdale and Standard Poodle) and 2 mutts (shi tzu mix and border collie x curly coat retriever) and must say that whilst all (except for the Dalmatian who was neurotic!) were lovely dogs, the stand out best in regards to conformation, trainability, all-round ace-ness, etc was Crispy, my Border Collie mix.
The poodle was wonderful but he was nervous as hell and was scared to do anything wrong (even though he'd never been given a reason to be fearful), the Jacky had a little much spunk for her own good(!) and wasn't very tolerant of, well, pretty much anything, the airdale was full of arthritis and cataracts by the time he was 9 and the Dalmatian...well she was a pound rescue...we couldn't believe our luck finding a lovely year old purebred but within a few months she was growling at men and soon after that she bit my grandfather...back to the pound she went....she was terrified of men in jeans which makes you wonder how her previous jeans-wearing owner treated her :shrugs:
Mums Shi tzu cross is a brilliant, playfull, spunky little man who she rescued at the pound as a 6 year old who we believe was an older persons dog in the past. He doesn't like small children but treats them with respect but otherwise he's brilliant.
I'm not at all trying to talk you out of your Swissie, I think they look great, but from my experience, you just have so much less trouble with the mixes and the next dog we get will most likely be from 'at least' 2 breeds!
I think this is quite a blanket statement. Of course you are entitled to your opinion. If I were to go from my own experience, my mutt dog German Shepherd x Great Pyrenees is a wonderfully trainable dog with a great personality. However, he's an orthopedic wreck. Hip Dysplasia early on, both ACLs ruptured middle age, and now he's in end-stage degenerative myelopathy. The purebred Aussies, on the other hand, I've had not a lick of problems with and all the major joints are radiographed clear.
I spose I could say "in my experience, you are much less likely to have trouble with a pure bred dog than a mutt". I do think this is true if you only choose purebreds from good lines, choose your breed wisely, and be sure the breeding program that produced the dog screens for genetic issues. To say "pure breds are better/worse than mutts" is a stetch. Each has its benefit. A mutt has a better chance at diluting the "bad genes", so you hope to have some "hybrid vigor" taking place and perhaps avoid some common ailments. A purebred has a better chance of breeding for "good genes" (if it's a good breeder) and you have a history of good hips, good shoulders, etc. that are a reassurance that the puppies will be sound.
I can't say that I think either choice is better than the other. You have to look more individually at the dogs. Some breeds are just asking for trouble and you have to decide if you are willing to take the risk. (i.e. Dalmatians being psychotic, Terriers being terriers, Dobies getting heart failure and bleeding disorders, Goldens and Rotties getting every tumor known to man, German Shepherds getting hip dysplasia, degenerative myelopathy, splenic tumors, etc.) The mutts tend to blend the characteristics of their componant breeds. With that, they tend to blend the diseases/conditions that the breeds they are from have a tendency towards. Some crosses are better than others.
</soapbox>
Anyway, Zach, good luck with your quest and I hope you get the perfect dog, whatever that may be.
jazzgeek
The Rule Of Thirds.
:-offtopic
I would LOVE to get a "giant" breed - Danes, Pyrenees, shoot, I've known some adorable Wolfhounds.....but the constraints in my decision are space, time, and intended purpose. In general, I love all dogs, but I love watching bird dogs work the most, thus, I went with a Lab.
Back to topic: Zach, best of luck in your search. Kudos on ya for the foresight and responsibility taken thus far. :cheers:
regards,
jazz
The difference is we choose our dogs. Hopefully, we choose them wisely. We don't choose to fall in love. That would be contradictory. We do choose hot to react to falling in love. (Sorry, M. Scott Peck fan here.)carol said:
I would LOVE to get a "giant" breed - Danes, Pyrenees, shoot, I've known some adorable Wolfhounds.....but the constraints in my decision are space, time, and intended purpose. In general, I love all dogs, but I love watching bird dogs work the most, thus, I went with a Lab.
Agreed! And this doesn't just apply to canines.:shrugs: I say enjoy what you want while you got it.
Back to topic: Zach, best of luck in your search. Kudos on ya for the foresight and responsibility taken thus far. :cheers:
regards,
jazz
jazzgeek said:
Freudian slip of the fingers, right?
Thanks everyone for the comments. I was talking this over with one of my sisters last night and had to present the same argument that I can't just always avoid a situation because something might go wrong. I might get hit by a wayward meteor as I walk out to my car this afternoon. Should I not leave the house? Okay, that's a bit extreme, but you see my point. There could always be problems with a certain breed of dog. I can't use that as justification for avoiding that breed unless the health problems are almost guaranteed regardless of how you care for the animal.
My dad has a dachshund and was well aware of the potential for back problems when he purchased him. He's been careful as much as possible and so far has avoided problems. The dog even has his own little foam steps to use to get up onto and down from the couch.
It's tough to completely describe what drew me to the Greater Swiss. There are certain things that led me in that direction. I wanted a dog that is at least medium sized, one that isn't something you see everyday at the park or walking down the sidewalk, and one that just looked appealing. But there's always that 'X' factor that somethings tend to have that you can't really explain that draws you in.
I looked at a lot of breeds and was watching a dog show on Animal Planet. There was a GSMD in the working group part of the show and when I saw it I just really liked it. It seemed to be meet my criteria for what I liked and just had the "other factor" that really drew me to it. Certainly, there were plenty of other dogs of the right size, that weren't your everyday type of dog and that looked fairly nice, but none just drew me in like the GSMD. I did some more research and read about it's temperament and thought I would look into it further. Yes, I've read plenty about the health concerns, but potential health problems come with many breeds.
The best I can do is find a dog from good breeding stock and give it the best possible care I can manage, which is exactly what I will do whether I end up with a GSMD or a pound rescue.