How important is breed?

Breed specific discussion of your favorite breed.

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Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

How important is breed?

Post by Shalista »

another hypothetical, once again I'm not getting another dog for ages but I got into a discussion with my brother about this so i was curious to hear your thoughts.

When I get another dog I am going exclusively for temperament. I don't care what they look like i just want a couch potato that's good with other dogs and kids and is just generally calm and friendly. I decided I was going to get a senior so i could bypass all the lovely puppyness and i figured they'd be calmer and be more likely to allready have house training and some manners allready. I figured I'd poke around some shelters and rescues, hang out with some pooches, and grab a mutt no one else wanted.

My brother insists that the perfect dog for me is a golden and that I should definitely get a golden.

once again, entirely hypothetical, i have at least 2 years before i can even think of getting a second dog but i was wondering does he have a point? a golden might be MORE likely to have the temperament i'm looking for but couldn't i just go to a shelter and get a dog like that? I'm not necessarily looking for retrieving or size or color. I'm purely looking for a casual, calm, good natured dog. thoughts?

TL;DR - I'm arguing with my brother if a mutts temperament might be as good as a goldens.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Location: North Carolina

Re: How important is breed?

Post by Erica »

Depending on what you want, purebred vs mix breed may be pointless. If you want a companion, then yes, a mix breed can be perfect. A Golden would also be pretty appropriate.

If, however, you want a herding dog to work a sheep farm, it would be much better to go for a working-bred dog so they have the appropriate instincts. But for your situation I think your plan of just looking for the right dog without looking for a specific breed is fine.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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Nettle
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Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: How important is breed?

Post by Nettle »

It's a mistake to think all dogs are alike. Breed will tell you what you will get in terms of personality and needs. Shelter dogs are a lottery and you can get dogs that fit well into your life as well as dogs that have such a huge pile of issues that you have to work with them for years, or for always. Equally dogs from bad breeders will give you issues to work through. If you want specifics, then a carefully chosen breed, a good breeder and the right pup from the litter will always work out better than playing dog roulette from a shelter. You can get lovely dogs from shelters, but you need to know your stuff when choosing, and not let other people force your hand. They are all in there for a reason, and many of them have a lot of ground to make up before they become what you want. Many never will be what you want. Some people like dog projects and some want to have what they want to have.

I spend much of my life working with people who got the wrong dog.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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