need advice/opinions...

[bluebird]

I would never get a dog shipped,I need to seeboth parents and what kind of temperments they have.Pam is sooright.puppy mills do not care about the temperment or health of thepuppies.When we went to buy our chihuahua i refused to buy the doguntill i saw the parent.i realize in many cases that both dogs are noton the premises.bluebird

 

[cirrustwi]

In my experience, all the northern breeds arenatural hunters. It's just part of their heritage, for lackof a better word. They have close relatives who need to huntto sustain life. That being said, I had a husky/shepherd mixwhen I was younger who was the sweetest dog. She was wilduntil she was about 5, though, and had a nasty period before she was 1where she went after my cat and we had to debate getting rid ofher. We didn't and she turned out to be one of the most wellbehaved dogs we've had. Shawn and I are considering gettingone when we move if we have land, these breeds like to run, and theywill run whether you have the land or not. Mine ran until shewas 5 or so, and she would go distances. More then once wethought she was gone for good as she was missing for days at a time,but she always made her way home. LOL

Right now, I have a lab/rottie mix who is really great with the bunsand ferrets. He's been exposed to them since day 1 (well theferrets, I didn't have the buns then). It took him a littlewhile, but he's done really well. I also have a yorkie, whois also good with them. I think I'm lucky and they are justwell tempered dogs, so being exposed to them early helped greatly.

Amy -- My Mom has 2 great danes and we had one when I waslittle. They are great dogs, absolutely wonderful.When you get one, make sure they have been hip checked by a vet andthat there isn't a history of hip dysplasia in their line. MyMom's female, has bad knees and hips (she never formed ACLs in herknees and has mild dysplasia in 1 hip) and she had been checked and hadno history in her line. There is a surgery to correct it, butafter much debate, we decided that the surgery would be more traumatic(16 wks recovery per leg and $4,000 per surgery -- traumatic for thebank account LOL). She does ok, takes special vitamins dailyand gets aspirin on bad days. Anyway, they are wonderful andhave been great with the other animals (although Tira thinks she's thegreat hunter of rabbits, so she doesn't see them).

Jen

 

[Jenniblu]

bluebird wrote:

Iwould never get a dog shipped,I need to see both parents and what kindof temperaments they have.Pam is soo right.puppy mills do not careabout the temperament or health of the puppies.When we went to buy ourchihuahua i refused to buy the dog until i saw the parent.i realize inmany cases that both dogs are not on the premises.bluebird

Exactly, I talked to several breeders until I found one that Iliked. You can call and find out a lot about the conditionsthat the dog was raised in and about it lineage by asking open endedquestions. If a breeder talks about their dogs are'mean' or 'attack' dogs, then they could likely be unsound around yourfamily and pets. A well-bred dog should not be 'mean' or 'anattack dog'. Go to the house to see the parents. If the dogslook and act 'neurotic' then the pups will likely take afterthem. Don't be afraid to take your money andleaveif the dogs are not sound and healthy.

EX - My GSD was from a small breeder in Virginia - 2hrs away fromme. She breed for temperament and soundness. All ofher dogs were friendly and outgoing. Hersmalldaughter was able to help feed the dogs so they were used being aroundchildren. She lived on a farm with horses, goats, and geeseand also breed and showed Siamese cats - the dogs were also aroundother animals.

 

[ditty816]

Thanks for all your advice guys!I did a little more research today. I got so bummed last night cause Ijust thought, ya know maybe rabbits and dogs just don't mix.. well Iactually looked up the Irish Jack Russell Terrier breed..

The Irish Jacks are not a docile breed, but are happily spirited, very aware
of what is going on around them, and, something that our families, and ourselves
really enjoy, is the great level of interactivity in this breed. Withthe combination of the great temperaments ofourJackRussells and our suggested basictrainingthey areideallysuitedto home living, to beingwith all pets of the same ordifferent gender, are great withcats and are great withchildren of all ages.

now from this same website that I got thisinformation off of, well they had their pups posing and guess what Isaw? 2 pics with this irish jack sitting beside (and behaving might Iadd) a couple of rabbits! (they bunnies were also bigger than thepuppy)..

so this has me thinking that maybe I can get adog after all.. I just emailed this breeder in Ohio about what hethinks about the whole rabbit/dog situation and I'll go from there..

 

[ayglnu13]

Good Luck Let us know how everything turns out!

~Amy

Edit: Sorry I wrote "Good Lick" instead of "Luck"

 

[lyndsy]

Hello!

I have a Keeshond. Which is a breed that comes from the Spitz family. A northern decendant.

He is TOTALLY awesome! with my Monkeys! He lays on the floor and groomsthem, EVERY morning he HAS to go in and say hello and make sure they'reboth still here, before he goes out for his pee pees. Now I NEVER leavethem unattended, but I do have to say that, though there are somebreeds, like terriers for instance, they were used to send into smallanimal holes, and flush out things like rabbits. Knowing that, I don'tthink i'd like to have a terrier around. BUT a dog known for it'sprotective nature, like a Bernese Mountain Dog, they are herdprotectors, once they identify you as family, NOONE comes near you!

ALOT of research needs to go into adopting ANY animal. I do believethat if you get a puppy, and from DAY ONE you teach that puppy how tointeract with your other pets, you'll be fine. However NEVERleave them unattended! But i'm sure you already knew that! LMBO!

Hope it helps!

Monkeys!

 

[ditty816]

lyndsy, your keeshond is gorgeous!

I've found a new kewl website that tells you which breeds are right foryou.. it also tells you what it's temperment will be like.. love thiswebsite! It's helped me out a bunch.. and all the dogs I was looking atbefore were totally wrong.. they were all aggressive towards otheranimals and such.. also it tells you if that certain breed will be goodwith rabbits, cats, and guinea pigs.. how kewl isthat??!

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/dogbreeds/index.html

also found a website that's helped me find a breeder in PA.. it's onlya 4 hour drive to where she is.. heck I can visit hershey, pa while I'mthere and get some chocolate!

did you know that a labrador and golden retriever are the best breedsto have with small animals? cause they're calm and good natured.. toobad my buns are scared to death of my mom's dog who's alab/retriever/beagle mix..

Mandy