What was the best dog you've had?

[SARG]

Bernese & poodle mix

 

[gstrom99]

Man, that is a TOUGH question. I've had four dogs. All were great, but certainly different. I'd say the "best" was my Rott-Shephard mix. 100 pounds of loyal/gentle/fun. Had to put her down at 7 years of age, due to blood clots(!).

 

[oosik]

I've been out here 40+ years now. Had many types of dogs. College student bring a puppy with them in fall quarter. By spring quarter it's a big dog and has much larger handling concerns. Many of my dogs came from those abandoned along our county road. A REALLY sad story. But us locals & the ASPCA got that resolved with the local college and its administration.

Anyhow - it depends upon how you want to handle your dog. Will it be an inside or outside dog. Around here, an outside dog IS going to eventually ENGAGE with some type of wild animal. You can do your damndest to try to protect them - but it's just a matter of time.

I now have a small, registered, brown Cocker Spaniel. He is an inside dog. I go out with him EVERY time. I see the coyotes - out there - eyeballing him. As long as I'm with him they will not make a move.

That's just the way it is around here. Just too many wild animals that could hurt/kill my dog. Badger, coon, coyote, wolf, skunk, porcupine, cougar - even Black bear.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I've been out here 40+ years now. Had many types of dogs. College student bring a puppy with them in fall quarter. By spring quarter it's a big dog and has much larger handling concerns. Many of my dogs came from those abandoned along our county road. A REALLY sad story. But us locals & the ASPCA got that resolved with the local college and its administration.

Anyhow - it depends upon how you want to handle your dog. Will it be an inside or outside dog. Around here, an outside dog IS going to eventually ENGAGE with some type of wild animal. You can do your damndest to try to protect them - but it's just a matter of time.

I now have a small, registered, brown Cocker Spaniel. He is an inside dog. I go out with him EVERY time. I see the coyotes - out there - eyeballing him. As long as I'm with him they will not make a move.

That's just the way it is around here. Just too many wild animals that could hurt/kill my dog. Badger, coon, coyote, wolf, skunk, porcupine, cougar - even Black bear.

Our current dogs are outside 24/7. Coyotes, which there are many, don't mess with them. There are bobcat around now, that's a new thing but I'm not worried about them.

It's been cold lately, single digits so we feed the dogs extra. I cooked up a 1-1/2 lbs of ground venison and 1/2 a loaf of bread this morning for them. Yesterday they had chicken thighs potatoes and carrots. These are in addition to dry dog food.

 

[sree251]

All dogs are definitely our best friends. I am partial to the Dobermann (European variant) and have two. I plan to breed and train them for personal/property protection as a business venture.

 

[arizona98tj]

Syra was her name. Died at 7 years from cancer. She was a purebred mutt, half registered red Doberman, half registered pit bull. The owners never meant to breed them....they went away for a weekend and....OOPS! She loved to go 4 wheelin' too.

She's the one on the left.

 

[Molalla1]

I’ve had 5



I’ve had 5 Australian shepherds over the past 35 years (2 at present). I’m biased because I think that on the 8th day God created AS. But seriously, these dogs are the smartest I’ve seen along with border collies. They are very easy to train and they seldom roam far from their family. They make excellent family dogs. I’ve had 4 full sized dogs and 1 miniature AS. They all have the same characteristics and personality. I’ve never seen a vicious one either, and they aren’t annoying barkers. They only bark when protecting their property from deer, coyotes or other intruders. But buy one from a reputable breeder and know that they aren’t cheap. Some poor breeders have created health problems by not using good genetic principles for breeding these dogs. The photos show my red tri-color miniature, and my blue merle puppy who will be full sized.

Same here, I have 1 now he is 15 of course going strong on 16 . . . he still goes out every morning to do his duty poop and bring the now only 6 angus up . . . .

 

[Molalla1]

I agree with that but I disagree with this. They aren't poor breeders,they are *$!@*&% greedy scumbags operating puppy mills. IMO the pratice is immoral and sinful and should be a crime. Not many shots to the gut hurt a family more than losing their dog,not to mention misery and finacial burdon in the months leading up to finality. People that support puppy mills are morons for buying into it. I've asked countless people what they see in AKC registered animals that aren't found in unpapered animals. The 90% of their answers are what make's them morons. The main if not the only reason the 2 herd dogs stand out from the rest when viewed through critical eyes is simply because they only recently became popular as pets. Give people enough time and they will ruin Australians also. A most humble man I had the pleasure of knowing,played a large role with introducing USA to Australian herding dogs. David Hartwig and Skidboot were a match made in heaven.
I honestly can't pick a favorite animal but I've owned more English Pointers than other pointing breeds combined and I've found Shiz-Tzus to be as good of lap warmers as the next breed.

jaxs I agree . . .

 

[Molalla1]

Man, that is a TOUGH question. I've had four dogs. All were great, but certainly different. I'd say the "best" was my Rott-Shephard mix. 100 pounds of loyal/gentle/fun. Had to put her down at 7 years of age, due to blood clots(!).

Had the same a number of years ago . . . she was as you say.

 

[oosik]

Ha - brings back an old memory. A good friend had a cross between a Doberman and a Rottweiler. Dogs name was MOOSE.

Dog would greet you by jumping up - his paws on your chest. Best be well braced for this greeting.