What are YOUR experiences on how Dogs have changed??

[rebelcowboysnb]

I love all the hating on "designer" breeds. Every breed in the world is a designer breed. If its old its ok but if its new its wrong.. What a load of.....

Breeders have always bread what sells an always will. An registration no matter what registry has been an always will be about conning more money per dog out of the puppy buyer.

I also think dog shows are the worst thing that ever happened to dog breeding. Before shows breeders had to rely on having a reputation for good healthy dogs. After shows it became 100% about looks an to heck with health.

I got no use for vets ether. When it costs more for a dog to see a vet than it does for me to see my MD......

 

[SarahFair]

Look at Lassie from the 50s and look at collies today

 

[redhen]

Good point, Sarah.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

So I changed to a small country practice with 2 vets. I prefer having one person who is more familiar with the dog and has more time to think about what's going on and what should be done. The vet care has wound up cheaper and better.

I have had so many bad experiences with vets (Not just having things priced high, but being charged hundreds of dollars for surgeries and procedures that were never performed...by several different practices!), and was really sick of bringing in my pets and hearing the vets literally standing around and talking about how their golf trip would be funded today by the locals bringing in their sick pets..who, by the way, drive shoddy cars (no exaggeration on that one, my husband and I both looked at each other and left). I too have found the lower priced country vets to be honest, knowledgeable, and perhaps more importantly, willing to listen to the owners and willing to research things they aren't as familiar with. They also tend to be able to handle a wider range of animals, tell you right off what they can and can't do, and use some common sense when diagnosing. That is the sort of vet I seek out every time we move, and I have always been very happy with them and how they treat my pets. I also find breeders who are willing to share their knowledge can be a huge source of help. I can't tell you how many tricks on treating rats I've used successfully passed on from both rat breeders and also overlooked peer reviewed research papers (there is a lot out there on rats as they are one of the most used lab animals). Hm, sorry. Think I digressed there.

On dogs, yes, definitely they are changing, though I know changes among human-bred animals is definitely not a new thing. I think though, that because of how dogs are viewed in our society, the trend is both towards perceived beauty and as an indoor companion, where as trends in the past have been for things like a better pit dog or a better hunter. I think the Tibetan mastiff is one breed that is interesting to look at, because the actual steppe dogs look and act quite differently from show or American TMs:

Nomad dog in Tibet

China bred...I think (In china, this would be the lion head type, not the 'tiger head' type)

US bred
Is breeding a more mellow dog with a different look bad? I can't say it is. One is more suited for where it is found...out guarding the heck out of land, the other is now suitable to be part of the family. But, is a dog that no longer has its original look or function the same dog? I don't feel it is, and that recognizing the difference isn't a bad thing. However, I wonder how the breed will progress. TMs are unusually long lived for large dogs, but according to Wikipedia, "Canine Inherited Demyelinative Neuropathy is an inherited condition that appeared in one of the prominent lines of Tibetan Mastiffs in the early 1980s. " I wonder if such issues will continue to be bred into these dogs where as the nomadic dogs would have stronger selection against health issues due to their harsher life.
I have found that I generally enjoy dogs from working lines or mixed breeding (mutts) as opposed to many show lines just because of the health problems I have personally experienced in the latter. I don't know if anyone has any statistics on health in working versus show breeds. It also seems that behavioral issues such as seizure related aggression is something I have just personally seen more in show lines. It'd be nice to see some numbers on whether any of that is true or not.​

 

[dainerra]

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it's not about it being new or old. the "designer" breeders aren't TRYING to make a new breed. There are some reputable breeders of Labradoodles, for example, but 99% of them take any lab and any poodle and breed them together. One might use standard poodles, another might use toys. Your labradoodle might weigh 20lbs, your neighbor's (from the same litter!!) could weigh 75lbs. Another neighbor's might have the poodle coat, while a 4th has a lab coat. There is no way of knowing what you are going to get. Yet, these "breeders" hype up the dogs with talk about them being non-shedding and all these wonderful traits and charge up to $1000 or more a dog. In reality, you have the exact same odds going to the pound and spending $50.
If I breed 2 rotties/dobes/GSDs, even if they are not good examples of the breed, I will get a litter of puppies that are all recognizable as rotties/dobes/GSDs. If you breed 2 "designer" dogs, you never know what you are going to get. The only way to get a "doodle" dog at this time is 2 breed a lab/golden/whatever with a poodle.

As I said earlier, there are a couple of breeders out there who are working hard to make this a REAL breed. One that has a standard, where all the pups will have similar traits. Those people I would support. Unfortunately, there are only a VERY small number of them; One I think is in Australia.

So, I'm not against making a new breed. I WOULD prefer that there be a reason other than "wow, people will pay money for these!!" Of course, that's why I prefer working line GSDs over showlines

 

[EweSheep]

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Lassie "Pal" was NOT the good example of the collies in the late 1800's (Bellhaven, Parader lines). The Collie breeders KNOW that. And the white stripe was unacceptable which I LOVE it in Collies so they tried to breed that out of it. BUT because of Lassie movies and series, Collies went up in popularity about late 1940s to 1960's. It was my Mother's first love of seeing a beautiful dog and she raised them for ten years but owned for a good thirty some years. My Dad trained them and he found that Collies are easier to train, right along with GSD and Labs. Dobes were a challenge for him so he didn't continue training with that breed. He said the Dobes were hard "to turn off" the mode when they are really into their jobs, particuarly the "attack" mode in police training. He would not touch a pitt breed simply because of their hard core and unpredictable temperment and does not have the knowledge to train them. Leave them to professionals he said.

If you look at Parader and Collies of today, you can see the big differences. The "Old" collies had no or few structural problems and nothing wrong in the brain department. They were intelligent and they love to gather up animals and herd them into whatever their master desired. Today, the brains were bred out of them, more skin problems than before, weird stiff gaits that you can not see the faults up closely like ribcage, topline, leg structure without the hair. The Smooth Collies, yes, they have been around for decades, subject to better judging than their rough cousins. Their faults in shorthairs would stand out more.

I do hope there are Collie breeders that would branch off from the "fads" and make it as a beautiful but functionable dog it once was. It is a deep shame. Would I get one? You bet I would but I would support an "old time" breeder of yesteryear with same goal as mine without all the "fads" of dog shows and popularity. I want a good Collie with sweet and easygoing temperment, no health genetic problems, no skin problems, OFA negative, hip negative, and has the BRAINS to think.

 

[nzpouter]

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most of my life, close to 35 years (got my first dog when I was 5)..... All breeds, from daschunds, boxer, rotties, pug, gsd, pitts, bullies, etc.... vet.. hard to find a good one, more a bussiness than animal care.

The thing I hate most is when people start breeding crosses and giving them fancy names.... they are just mutts...

 

[welsummerchicks]

I bought a collie from a purely collie show kennel just a few years ago.

Absolutely perfect structure. At 4 months, looked like a statue of a collie made 150 years ago.

More natural herding instinct in it than anything I ever laid eyes on.

First time he SAW a sheep, he got his herding certificate. Great big way too sly Barbados and him a pup, too.

Brilliant mentally. Crackerjack worker and not a single nerve in his body. Will work all day like a fiend and never get tired.

Never a single problem with legs, hip, back.

Lure coursed, did herding, agility, obedience, nursing home visits, some water retrieving and upland shooting, guards our farm,...and anything else you want.

Don't tar all modern collie breeders with the same brush. Or all modern collies.

 

[sourland]

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Second best dog that I have ever known was an "old type" collie back in the late 40's early 50's. Blocky head relatively short muzzle and large expressive eyes. Rex was my best friend's dog, but more than that he was 'one of us.' He followed us everywhere as we rode our bikes. No trip was too great for him. He was a fishing buddy, fellow explorer, and even once a protector from the bullies. All summer long he just hung out with us, but pick up a shotgun in the autumn and he became a pheasant hunter. He just knew us and what we did and was part of our activities. Somewhere he and my GSD, Rondy, are waiting for me-- heads cocked and tails slowly wagging.

 

[carolinagirl58]

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the thing is, these breeders of designer dogs are not trying to create a new breed....they are trying to make a buck by cashing in on the latest doggie craze. How many recognized breeds of dogs (and by recognized I mean by the AKC or UKC) were created by crossing two purebred dogs and then given cutsie names....puggle, cockapoo, maltipoo, yorkiepoo, etc and? None. All dog breeds were developed....none just fell out of the sky already done, but they were developed by breeders who cared about the breed and perfecting it.

And I disagree that dog shows are the worst thing to happen to dog breeding. SOME show breeders are bad for the breed, all puppy millls are bad for the breed and most (but NOT all) back yard breeders are bad for the breed. But a great many show breeders are passionate about preserving the breed's working ability along with conforming to breed standard. I see nothing wrong with that.