Thinking about a dog...any ideas?

[earlybird10842]

Again, I'm all for mutts. Cheaper, healthier, lovable. If you like labs, get a lab that has been mixed with something smaller. Maybe you should train your dog to protect your chickens from animals.

 

[Moochie]

I like Italian Greyhounds

May not be the right dog for you but Jenna's (youtube personality JennaMarbles) Italian Greyhound is a doll and seems very well behaved. Probably not good for a farming family but ya never know if ya get it as a puppy and you do some training!
The only downside I see to adopting is that you know nothing of the dog's background. A couple of my doxies are from a shelter but I got them as puppies. The shelter wouldn't let me get more than one puppy for some reason so I had to pay a friend to get the one of the boys that I have today. They're nice boys but one of them has an overbite and the others snout doesn't look long enough, their backs aren't straight either, it's curved a little near their tails, they're definitely super pet quality mini dachshunds but they're energetic and friendly. NOT farm dogs at all though. Being hounds they're very noisy too, it's rural out where I live so it's not really a problem.
If you're going to adopt find one that steals your heart even if it has kinks in the genetic gene pool.

 

[Creed Bennett]

Just because you get a dog from the shelter doesn't mean it's got problems or is a mutt. Now I love mutts. Some of my best animals and friends are mutts. My wife and I had to put two of our dogs down last year. One was a beagle that was 18 years old and the other was a beagle mix that was 15. We were on our way to town for grocery's and my wife asked me if I wanted to stop by the animal shelter and see if they had any replacements. I usually can't stand to go there because I want all of them but I said let's go. We walked in and I spotted a 2 month old female Collie. I had always wanted a Collie since I was a little kid. We found out that a family had gotten two Collies and then one of the 2 kids in the household had gone off to college. They decided that they couldn't care for two big dogs so they brought one to the shelter. We then kept looking around and I spotted a Yorkie mix that looked like it needed some special treatment. My wife said that she was too cute and that she wouldn't have any trouble being adopted. I told the wife that for some reason I had a feeling that we needed to get her. Anyway we adopted the Yorkie mix and brought her home. We put our two new family members out in the fenced back yard and the Yorkie ran away from us and it took us a while to catch her. Turns out she was rescued from a puppy mill and had never had her feet on the ground and was mistreated by her previous owner. My feeling was right because most people that adopt wouldn't know how to help this little dog get straightened out. She's still a little skidish but she's come a long way. Right now we have six dogs which is our limit. The are all well behaved and stay in the house with us. They are family and get treated as such. All six are shelter or rescue animals and are great dogs. Oh, on the way out of the shelter I spotted a chicken in a cage. Yep, you guessed it. We brought her home too.
Here is the Collie
.
And here is the Yorkie


Both Abby (the Collie) and Trixie ( the Yorkie mix) are great with the chickens too.

 

[nikki1]

I like Italian Greyhounds

May not be the right dog for you but Jenna's (youtube personality JennaMarbles) Italian Greyhound is a doll and seems very well behaved. Probably not good for a farming family but ya never know if ya get it as a puppy and you do some training!
The only downside I see to adopting is that you know nothing of the dog's background. A couple of my doxies are from a shelter but I got them as puppies. The shelter wouldn't let me get more than one puppy for some reason so I had to pay a friend to get the one of the boys that I have today. They're nice boys but one of them has an overbite and the others snout doesn't look long enough, their backs aren't straight either, it's curved a little near their tails, they're definitely super pet quality mini dachshunds but they're energetic and friendly. NOT farm dogs at all though. Being hounds they're very noisy too, it's rural out where I live so it's not really a problem.
If you're going to adopt find one that steals your heart even if it has kinks in the genetic gene pool.

"Kinks in the genetic gene pool." I love that!! I think there are a few kinks in my own personal gene pool!

I appreciate all the input, especially stories from people who have actually owned some of the dogs in question.

Oh, and "Moochie," I am from Lancaster, CA. I actually know where North Edwards is! I taught at Mojave Elementary for a couple years, too. :0)

 

[DobermanGuy]

Not everyone is lucky to find "the right dog". Ive adopted my last 2 dogs from a shelter. The first one bit my son in the face the 3rd day we had him. They second one bit me on the arm within the first week. A good way to get a rescue dog is to get a very young one or a puppy. Shelters will not always come forward with actual animal issues. I worked for the Humane Society and there were dogs adopted to people who were unaware of the issues with that animal. They liked it and the shelter was strapped for cash feeding hungry tummies that they allowed the adoption. I would say, as a guess in my time working there, that 10% of the animals that were adopted were returned due to aggressive, destructive behavior or other reasons. If you do decidd to adopt an adult dog, visit it frequently. Let it get to know you while it is at the shelter. Ask them to let you take it out on walks and introduce it to different personal items. Dont take home a shelter animal unless it is well aquainted with you or you know all its issues up front.

Pure breed dogs can have thier issues. As a kid I went with my family to pick out a new dog after our doberman had died. Gretchen, our doberman was 1/4 lab but the red dobie. She had the even friendly temperment of a lab, but the smarts and loyalty of a doberman. She lived 10 years. After she died we went to get another dog, a "cull" from a batch of long haired chihuahua because he had floppy ears like a papillion. He was a smart dog and very friendly. He lived 15 years. He was never fixed. After he died my Dad got lonely for another couch companion and he went to go get another chihuahua. This time he went to a breeder. All the ones that he looked at were really dumb and drooled like mental patients on drugs. One even pooped all over my Dad when he went to pick it up. These were pure bred dogs, but horrible personalities. Finally, he was shown one that was not standard, he was a "cull" but he came from the favorite dam and sire of the breeder. He was too big to be a show dog or any good for breeding, so she offered to sell him cheap. He was smart, silly and really loving. My Mom has him to this day. He is a good dog.

The root of the matter is what you want in a dog. How much time you are willing to spend and how much patience you have for errant behaviors. I recommend you read the books by John Grogan called Marley and Me. he has a couple and there is a movie too. He gets himself a dog that is pure bred and the thing runs amok. However, they keep with the dog, and though not all the problems are solved, they were willing to work thier lives around the dog instead of expecting the dog to change when in actuality it was just incapable of doing so. Dogs dont have the reasoning power of people, they just do what feels good to them. And in the end, if it feels good to obey, then they will do it, no matter the parentage. But be careful, some breeds are meant to work, and that means lots of work for you.

I read everything you said but am in particular responding to the part I put in bold above...

I mentioned before that there are PLENTY of current studies done that prove spay/neuter surgeries have health risks associated with them that in many cases can easily outweigh the possible benefits...

There are also MANY studies that show that spay/neuter surgeries do NOT reduce aggression at all. In many cases this makes things even worse.

Please read HERE: http://petdefense.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/ar-extremist-myth-neutering-stops-aggression/

IN fact in October 2005, Dr. Serpell related that neutered males of all breeds showed increased aggression, were less trainable, more fearful–especially social fears, had increased body sensitivity and increased excitability. http://www.acc-d.org/2006%20Symposium%20Docs/Duffy2.pdf Further research is needed between age of spaying/neutering and these apparent effects on behavior.
This is not the only study that confirms this, as there is a major Federal government study done in the past which also confirms the same thing. See other studies which say the same thing at http://caveat.blogware.com

If you would like a link to the full powerpoint presentation of this study I can provide that for you... They list ALL of their sources and explain exactly how all of the testing was done. It was comprised of many different studies done by different Vets and some from different countries... They came to the same conclusions pertaining to the spay/neuter effect on aggression. (can easily make things worse (moreso depending on breed))


What I am trying to say here is that a 'young' dog is not always a dog without aggression issues... Especially if it has been 'altered' by the shelter before you get it. Fixing is NOT a cure for behavior issues...

 

[DobermanGuy]

We will have to disagree. My statement was based on the experience of two professionals in the field that work with dogs on a daily basis combined with my personal experience. My daughter has been a vet tech for 8 years in a practice that focuses on dogs. She sees this proven daily. The vet in that practice - who was our vet prior to my daughter working there - states the same based on his 30 years of practice.

I find it irresponsible that you would broad-brush rescue dogs in such a cavalier manner. You can get health and temperment issues from purebread dogs, as well. Either way, it's a crapshoot. With a rescue dog you do have an opportunity to get to know the animal and observe his/her health providing you're working with a responsible rescue organization.

Many times you bring home a purebred puppy that has been delivered from a puppy-farm mother and you don't have a clue as to the problems you've purchased until months later when they appear. I have a neighbor who purchased a purebred and it was 6 months before they learned it had an immune system disorder which has the animal in constant pain, requires daily medication, and has cost them several thousand dollars at this point. The dog is not yet a year old. I know this because my daughter dog sits for them. They need someone with vet skills who can give the medicines if they go out of town.

My dogs are neutered and spayed and I would recommend that everyone do so. I've not seen - but have not looked for - evidence that doing such shortens their lifespan but it's one of those risks we'll have to take. Puppy birthing is not without its own risks so it's a trade-off for her.

I'm sure you hope your purebred will outlive my mixed breed but you truly have no clue. Maybe we should get back to each other in a few years to compare notes? As far as quality of life - other than health, the quality is purely subjective.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER - Find a good humane society in your region. They usually have open houses, special events, etc., where you can go in and see how they operate. They should have a full history of each animal, including where they got it from and the circumstances. They do NOT want to pass on animals with problems as they don't wish to be held responsible and they don't want the dog coming back to them via an unhappy adoption.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

On the negative side, neutering male dogs:
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
• increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders​

• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

On the negative side, spaying female dogs:
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by
a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• Triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many
associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs
spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders​

• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

Read the entire study and THEN talk to your Vet about it... I did.

My breeder has been a Vet for longer than I have been alive by the way...

FWIW - The last time I got into this debate with a Vet and we started sharing studies on the matter (no shouting - just facts and studies to prove our points) The ONLY studies she could provide to back up her case/claims were 30 to 40 years old...

 

[arienwolf]

Not all shelters tell you about a potential dogs negative sides. But sometimes those negative sides do not manifest until after the dog goes to a family also.
In your situation I hate to say it (

) but unless the shelter has puppies I wouln't suggest getting a dog from them, Unless they would allow you to bring one of your chickens to see how the potential dog would interact with it, and your family. You want a dog that's more interested in you and your family and doesn't seem to mind your chicken.

As far as anything else I agree with everyone else that has already suggested it, make a list of potential dogs you and your family would like that fit the bill.
starting with Disposition and energy, size and class.
I have seen pure bred labs, that due to their breeding, and high energy, turn on anything that moves despite "proper" training. They drool over the animal, squirrel,bunny, chicken, because of their pedigree and energy.

You can train a puppy to love animals, to find them part of the pack, It's harder to train a dog to not chase taste and kill your animals. Im not saying training a puppy is easier but usually if they grow around animals with loving guiding hands of a owner they grow to enjoy other animals too.

And patience. I looked for a dog after deciding I was ready for one for 1 1/2 yrs before I found an advertisement on craigslist for free puppies born under a shed. And it wasnt the adv. so much as the picture of her that spoke volumes. I drove four hrs to pick her up she was anemic, riddled in fleas and skittish. At 8weeks she acted like an old dog... and she ate bird seed. I later found out it was because she ate horse feed.

Shes 4yrs old now. She's raised 3 One week old cats to adult hood.(they think shes mama and theyre dogs She keeps a steady watchful eye on my girls and shes indifferent to the finches and keets. She wants to greet anyone and everyone that walks through the door (even if it was a thief

lol) because she's a love whore.
And wouldnt you know it She's a Australian /Pit Bull Mix. a Mutt. She gets her smarts from the aussie side I guess lol

take everyones advise and use it to your advantage. run with it.

sharing a bone
sharing her bed

 

[Moochie]

I like her nose.

 

[Chicken Tamer]

U should get a goldendoodle!!!! we have one and there amazing!!!! Here is our dog Scout:




He is the best dog we could have!!!

 

[naturalfeddogs]

I haven't read through all the posts in this thread, but since you have a fenced yard and kids, how about an Australian Shepherd? Of course I would say that considering I have three! lol! But really, they are active and love to play ball, and large enough to be sturdy enough with kids but too large to be in the house as well. A great all around family breed in my opinon.