Dog Owner Chat v4

[taurus ;]

When we know better we do better.

60 years ago Doberman just dropped dead, it was shrugged off. Theres a boat load of pedigrees with unexplained sudden deaths; the breed is rife with them. It was shrugged off and not thought about or swept under the rug, we know now Doberman have DCM, an always fatal heart condition. Our ancestors did not view dogs the way we do. Displastic? Shoot it. Doesnt herd properly? Drown it. Galagos are still routinely stranged and hung in trees because of a poor hunt or easily treated health condition. Lets also be honest here, natural selection no longer factors in. A dog thats WASNT sound of mind and body died and didnt live long enough to reproduce; hunters (even now) have no use for a lame dog and a lame dog doesnt survive without our intervention.

If anything we need health testing now more than we ever have in the past. Many breeds are now soft and watered down and the old hound that would have fallen due to natural selection or culling has been allowed to pass on the faults in its genes. Health testing isnt end all be all, thats where extensive pedigrees and third party evaluations come into filling in the gaps.

Just treatment of galagos is horrible in general.

[rose.bloom]

Just thought I'd pop in here.
I own two goldendoodles one standard and one mini, Gretta and Dazey, and my family that lives very near us have two others, Pippa and Leo (a standard and a mini). Sorry to say but from a doodle owner, you all do sound very harsh. Our dogs were all purchased at the very start of the doodle craze from a very good breeder who we visited to look at her facility. It was beautiful and set on a large ranch. All them were vaccinated and dewormed. Doodles were not originally bred for a purpose, yes, it was an accident really, but so were other breeds. Goldendoodles are now bred for companionship and their wonderful temperament, and if that's not a good enough reason I don't know what is. I would recommend doodles to every person I meet, souly because most people nowadays aren't looking for show dogs, they are looking for good-natured, child friendly, loving dogs. And hey, they are also super cute and come in a couple colors and coat varieties. The fact that you all basically classify all "designer" dogs as backyard bred mutts is almost naive in my opinion when I can list many, many reputable doodle breeders. All of my four doodles are "temperamentally sound," and this can be backed up by my dads side of the family who have been GSD breeders for over 20 years, and when met Gretta (my dog) got two golden doodles of their own, Pippa and Leo.

[gansey]

hello! we have had my dog snoopy since 2005. we rescued lucy in 2010, so she was the newbie in the house. we're considering getting another dog, but my older sister (she's moved out) recently got a puppy, oscar, and lucy seems to dislike the puppy very much. we will not get a young, young puppy like oscar, but does anyone have any suggestions that could help us out in attempting to get lucy and whatever new doggo to get along? snoopy is also a bit afraid of other dogs, but other than that he's very nice. lucy is a chihuahua so she's already kind of nippy, so i don't know if anything will work, but it won't hurt to try, right? please pm me if you have anything, i'm about to go to bed and will answer in the morning! thank you so much!

[taurus ;]

Just thought I'd pop in here.
I own two goldendoodles one standard and one mini, Gretta and Dazey, and my family that lives very near us have two others, Pippa and Leo (a standard and a mini). Sorry to say but from a doodle owner, you all do sound very harsh. Our dogs were all purchased at the very start of the doodle craze from a very good breeder who we visited to look at her facility. It was beautiful and set on a large ranch. All them were vaccinated and dewormed. Doodles were not originally bred for a purpose, yes, it was an accident really, but so were other breeds. Goldendoodles are now bred for companionship and their wonderful temperament, and if that's not a good enough reason I don't know what is. I would recommend doodles to every person I meet, souly because most people nowadays aren't looking for show dogs, they are looking for good-natured, child friendly, loving dogs. And hey, they are also super cute and come in a couple colors and coat varieties. The fact that you all basically classify all "designer" dogs as backyard bred mutts is almost naive in my opinion when I can list many, many reputable doodle breeders. All of my four doodles are "temperamentally sound," and this can be backed up by my dads side of the family who have been GSD breeders for over 20 years, and when met Gretta (my dog) got two golden doodles of their own, Pippa and Leo.

But are they physically sound/had any kind of genetic testing?
I don't like them. Why?

Because they are sold under false pretense of being hypoallergenic. Because they are predominantly bred by backyard breeders and puppy mills looking for a big buck. Because the very man who bred the first doodle regrets it.

A reputable breeder breeds dogs to better the breed. Doodles are not recognized by any reputable kennel club, have no legitimate lines and so therefore they are not a breed. And guess what else? That means no bettering the breed because they aren't one, so anyone breeding doodles are just breeding them for the heck of it, if not for money.
And lets not get on the subject of their ridiculous price tags when you could get just as good of a mutt for $60 at your local shelter.
No surprise that someone who follows a fad or a craze tries to justify their wrongful actions lol.

[Cardinal]

Im generally completely fine with purpose bred mutts. Bandogs, longdogs, lurchers, etc are a-okay as well of other hunting/lgd/sporty mixes assuming they are responsibly bred. Im also fine on a case by case skipping on health testing and skipping the show ring.. barring the dogs are purpose bred. Catch and hold hog dogs are seletively bred to be good at their job, pedigrees are kept, and theyre rarely purebred... same with sledding dogs. These arent the kind of animals that will find themselves owned by joe shmoe.

[taurus ;]

Im generally completely fine with purpose bred mutts. Bandogs, longdogs, lurchers, etc are a-okay as well of other hunting/lgd/sporty mixes assuming they are responsibly bred. Im also fine on a case by case skipping on health testing and skipping the show ring.. barring the dogs are purpose bred. Catch and hold hog dogs are seletively bred to be good at their job, pedigrees are kept, and theyre rarely purebred... same with sledding dogs. These arent the kind of animals that will find themselves owned by joe shmoe.

Exactly. I'm fine with those, they have an actual purpose and aren't just being bred because 'oh they're so cute and come in so many colors'.

[BananaBean]

the past 2 days have been great with Skylar! she is so happy all the time, and has the biggest smile all the time! she had never been allowed on couches/furniture where she used to live, and she just loves sleeping in my bed with me! she is just such a diva and needs to destroy my blankets to get comfortable. she has one toy that she loves, she usually keeps it in my room for safe keeping! she also loves water bottles but i always try to keep them away from her!

[Starlovex]

Heya guys! Just got a mix breed dog today from someone on Craigslist and she is very sweet! She is a pit bull x Labrador mix. The problem is that she pulls on the leash and she is very, very strong. I am able to keep her from running off but it would make walking easier if I could get her to walk by my side. Any tips or tricks you guys might have for that? Also, she has a tendency to bark at passerby people and dogs, but she is not aggressive. I'd just hope no neighbors would complain from the noise lol. I've already had somebody who was walking their dog turn the other way. I will totally start working with her tomorrow, can't tonight since its late. We are getting a clicker and other supplies tomorrow, hopefully that'll help. Any tips or tricks on that as well? Thank you so much!

[bloodredsheep]

Fine with breeding for work or sporting mixes when done correctly. I’m fine with doodles as long as they are responsibly bred I have no issues with them. I think it’s fine to breed for nice pet quality family dogs - Purposely bred pets. Doodles aren’t my cup of tea though so I would never buy one. Pretty much to me it’s ok to breed mixes as long as they are bred responsibly.
fine with skipping health testing it’s ok but shouldn’t be done to often.

[BananaBean]

^ i agree. if they are bred responsibly i think its all good.