What do you look for when choosing a new dog?

[bigtiller]

I consider the size of their droppings. An 80 pound dog will leave a turd as big as mine. How ever a 6 pound dog looks like rabbit droppings. It makes clean-up much more pleasant.

And, a 6 pound dog can make as much noise in the middle of the night as an 80 pound dog.

 

[bucktaker]

My preference is Field Bred English Springer Spanials from english stock as I like a smaller dog. Tops in the field and great family house dogs.

 

[studor]

We have had a number of dogs over the years both purebred and mutts, abandoned and purchased. Our last two dogs have been labs -- one abandoned that died in a car accident with us and the one we have now that is a purebred red. I have never met a lab I did not like and I doubt at this point we will ever have another breed.
Our current Lab comes from a great breeder -- you pick the gender and colour, she picks the pup you get. Her claim is that she knows the pups better than you do and that instead of you picking one because you think it picks you, her choice is usually closer to your requirement- I have not seen her proven wrong so far and I have met a very large number of other owners with her dogs. If I wanted an adult dog, I would get a "career change" dog from one of the charitable service dog organizations -- they can tell you all about the dog and they are usually healthy, smart and the flaws they may have as service dogs are insignificant to most people looking for a friend. Before we bought our current Lab, we looked at this option figuring that a new pup might be a handful given our current lifestyle -- in retrospect I would not have missed the puppy phase for the world
My SIL adopts adult abandoned dogs -- while I appreciate her good intentions it is heartbreaking to see the vet bills she incurs to look after a problem created by someone else.
The one thing I would not do is buy one of the "designer dog" breeds (doodles, shi-poos etc) Just strikes me as spending a lot of money on a dog I can get by letting my lab loose at the wrong time and being an irresponsible dog owner :ashamed: -- So far I have yet to meet one that I like (of course that could be because of the owners not the dogs )
That said, the other thing I have learned as I get older is that insulting a persons dog is worse than calling their kids ugly - just better to keep quiet and think it -- JMHO

 

[orezok]

If there is a service dog training center near you, check with them. They will sometimes have dogs that have gone through training, but end up being unsuitable due to a minor health problem or incompatibility. They can't place a dog unless it's 100%. The pups are selected for their gentleness and intelligence and make excellent pets. They will be about 18 mos old.

Generally they are Lab's or Golden's with a couple of other breeds. You may have to wait a while as they are usually in demand.

 

[cdaigle430]

If you can, first get a rescue dog or one at the human society please. Second, try getting one of the free dogs from the classifieds, co worker, relative or friend.

I just got a free-to-a-good-home 8 month old yellow lab and he is such a good puppy. Learns fast and is very eager to please.

Please donate to your local Animal Humane Society:thumbsup:

 

[Sigarms]

Somebody else might find the biggest requirement is that the dog needs a decent home (I won't mention SigArms by name )

I resemble the remark:laughing:

I can honestly say, the best dog in my life found me, I didn't find her.

I'm a firm believer that although some breeds may show certain traits, nothing is written in stone per a dogs behavior, and more than anything, it's the home that makes the dog (along with training and supervision of course).

Labs can be a handful energy wise though until they hit "middle age". I'm certain our English Lab wasn't the only one in it's breed to have the "snorting bucking bronco" play mode LOL

 

[studor]

Labs can be a handful energy wise though until they hit "middle age". I'm certain our English Lab wasn't the only one in it's breed to have the "snorting bucking bronco" play mode LOL

Yeah --aint it grand!!! -- I think you are correct if "middle age" is about a week before they kick the bucket

 

[hizoot]

I pick one that'll fit in my suitcase:laughing:



actually...Gizmo wanted to make sure he would get to go with me

 

[Mousefield]

We got a black lab / german short hair mix last July as a pup. The problem is she likes to "play" with the chickens, which has a very unfavorable result for the poor chickens.

She is a very pretty dog and full of energy, we should have gotten a bread of dog that was not so high strung. We only had three chickens last year but she killed them all. We plan on getting about seven more this spring to she how she acts with them. If anyone has any ideas how to stop a dog from killing the chickens please let me know.

I would suggest first to define the characteristics you want or require in a dog. Then do a little research on the breads to see which one fits most of your requirements by temperament.

I know I will hear training is a large part how a dog acts. I acknowledge that, however one would not normally pick a toy poodle to be a guard dog.

As nue2farm posted: "The only sure fire way to prevent a dog from killing more chickens is either get rid of the chickens or get rid of the dog......."

Don't think I can really improve on this comment. You have to ask yourself:
What has changed to prevent the killing of more chickens?

 

[brokenknee]

As nue2farm posted: "The only sure fire way to prevent a dog from killing more chickens is either get rid of the chickens or get rid of the dog......."

Don't think I can really improve on this comment. You have to ask yourself:
What has changed to prevent the killing of more chickens?

We are thinking of getting rid of the dog. If we don't we will keep the chickens in the coop.