Favourite Dog Breeds

[edap617]

You got a well groomed beautiful pet!

[ducktapehero]

Enough with the dog pic's...I want one

If you lived closer I'd give you my wife's and my mother in law's dog. Free of charge. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

If it's a small dog, postage shouldn't be too bad!

Def

[NutSAK]

Thanks for the complements guys.  She's turning out to be a great, well-mannered dog!

Eddie, that's the great thing about these short-haired breeds.  There's no grooming required!!  I do sometimes have to put sweaters on them for the winter's cold though.

Here's a shot of her older sister on the same day.

[edap617]

Thanks for the complements guys.  She's turning out to be a great, well-mannered dog!

Eddie, that's the great thing about these short-haired breeds.  There's no grooming required!!  I do sometimes have to put sweaters on them for the winter's cold though.

Here's a shot of her older sister on the same day.

(Image removed from quote.)

Terry, yes that's one thing nice about short-haired dogs, they are easy to tidy up. Aside from small dogs, I also like big but meek dogs like the dalmatian.

I don't know what breed is this dog. I don't like this kind of animal.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Beautiful dogs Terry

Eddie I can't tell what dog that is from that angle, any chance of a head shot

[edap617]

Micky, that is the only pic of that dog I have. Not good to bred that kind of dog. It will attack even its owm master.

[Benner]

If it's a small dog, postage shouldn't be too bad!

Def

It wouldn't survive the 4 weeks in customs though. 

[kreskin13]

Here's one for you WhichDawg.

Calvin

[Grant Lamontagne]

Micky, that is the only pic of that dog I have. Not good to bred that kind of dog. It will attack even its owm master.

That's a Siberian Husky, and it's not really that bad.  Folks have said for years that wolf hybrids are more likely to attack their owners, but it's complete and utter bull poo.  Unless you mistreat a dog (and it has to be very bad, most mistreated dogs just live with it assuming that's what life is about) or the dog has some mental problems it won't attack it's master.

Siberians are very even tempered and docile.  There is about 1 in ten or so that develops a dominant attitude, and may try to challenge you for leadership of the pack, but that's not the kind of dog a novice should have.  Those dogs are pack leaders and are needed when a pack is present, but they are also fairly rare since too many leaders causes problems.  The Siberian Husky is one of the oldest domesticated dogs, and so the bloodlines, breed standard and mentality are very stable in them and they aren't likely to attack anyone.

Folks also say pitbulls are not to be trusted, and neither are rottweillers, but the dogs that bite the most are those little pocket dogs you have pictured!  Admittedly a two pound chihuahua won't cause nearly as much damage biting someone as an 80 pound rotti will, but they bite and snap at people almost constantly.

Def

[NutSAK]

Folks also say pitbulls are not to be trusted, and neither are rottweillers, but the dogs that bite the most are those little pocket dogs you have pictured!  Admittedly a two pound chihuahua won't cause nearly as much damage biting someone as an 80 pound rotti will, but they bite and snap at people almost constantly.

Def

I couldn't agree with you more Def.  I've been around miniature poodles that were the most ferocious dogs I've ever seen.  My uncle has a American Staffordshire and an American Pit Bull Terrier, and they are both calm, loving dogs.  Owners of these dogs need to act with responsibility in order to improve the reputation of the breed.

I am going to be dropping my American Family homeowner's insurance soon and moving to a different company.  I recently found out that they have a very strict rule against their policy holders owning Rottweilers and "pit bull" breeds, and I have a big problem with this.  I believe it would be to their benefit to take a stance against irresponsible policy owners rather than against a breed of dog.  I'm surprised they don't have a problem with my Bostons, since they are a "bull and terrier" breed with a fighting history.

[Grant Lamontagne]

My husky routinely beats the snot out of a friend's pitbull.  Neither are aggressive dogs, but a pack hierarchy has to be in place for them to be comfortable.  They they also play fight an awful lot, and despite Nook being twice the pitbull's age, he routinely swats the sucker down!

That's a far cry from the killer pitbulls you see on TV that tear into folks and have to be shot numerous times before finally going down!  Frankly, if I was ever in that situation, once the dog was down I'd reload and visit the owner of that dog.

Bostons may be bull and terrier breeds, with a long and proud history of fighting, but that was long ago.  They have been kind of eclipsed by larger, stronger and potentially more vicious dogs.  Not to take anything away from Bostons, but they just don't have the rep that pitbulls and rottis have gotten, thanks to incompetent owners and the media.

Def

[ducktapehero]

I agree with both of you but we cannot deny that pits and rotts HAVE been bred by idiot owners to be more aggressive and unstable. And being idiots they also don't have the mental capacity to raise the dogs properly either so that just adds to the problem. Of course this isn't the dogs fault. Hopefully this trend will reverse. Hopefully some intelligent breeders will start to try and breed more docile traits into the dog without totally "wimpifying" the breed. I just hate that dogs are being punished when it's the owner's fault for them being that way.

[NutSAK]

Bostons may be bull and terrier breeds, with a long and proud history of fighting, but that was long ago.  They have been kind of eclipsed by larger, stronger and potentially more vicious dogs.  Not to take anything away from Bostons, but they just don't have the rep that pitbulls and rottis have gotten, thanks to incompetent owners and the media.

Def

I was being sarcastic with the remark on Bostons.  I've never been around one that wasn't fairly well-mannered, and they're just not big enough these days to do much damage to a human.  They could keep one very busy though!  The insurance company isn't very specific about the banned breeds list, and basically says "pit bulls and related dogs".  Well, Bostons are related, as well as English bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Mastiffs, et cetera, et cetera.

You ought to see Layla and Moxie go at it--it's quite entertaining, and I can see why these dogs were bred for fighting.  Layla is by far the dominant one, but that doesn't stop Moxie from getting a good shot in on her on occasion.  Moxie often takes advantage of the fact that Layla has a tail.  Layla will spin around and stick her butt in Moxie's face for defense, and Moxie grabs a mouthful of crank tail.  LOL

[Grant Lamontagne]

DTH- you are absolutely right about the idiots inbreeding animals and that being part of the problem.  But, it all gets back to idiot owners.  Get rid of idiots and you solve the problem!  At least as far as dogs are concerned....

Terry- I used to love watching my dogs fight when Pete was still around.  Other than rough size, these two dogs had very little in common and you could see great differences in the way they did everything, including fighting.  Chinook, being a little larger but much lighter and covered in padding (if you were to poke him, your entire finger would disappear in the fur before you touched dog) would use his reach to try and pluck Pete's hind legs out from under him.  Pete, being much heavier and infinitely more powerful would stand his ground pretty good and keep swatting Nook away.  When Pete would try Nook's tactics of trying to pluck Nook's legs out from under him, Nook would simply sit on Pete's head!

It was perhaps one of the greatest shows I've ever seen in my life!  Of course, two dogs at 65 and 75 pounds, tossing each other around the room means that we couldn't have anything even remotely breakable around the house!  If we did, we wouldn't have it long!  When we needed a new coffee table for the living room we went to Sears and said "Give us the biggest, heaviest one you have!"  The one we ended up with is oak, about 2 feet by 3 feet, with 3x3" legs maybe an inch in from the edges.  When the dogs hit it, your drink would spill, but at least it wouldn't go flying!  We still have it, although 8 years later it looks like it was taken from a home in Bosnia!

Def

[ducktapehero]

Get rid of idiots and you solve the problem!

Getting rid of idiots would solve a LOT of the worlds problems.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, but then who'd run for public office? 

Def

[edap617]

You really know a lot about dog breeds, Def.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I love dogs.  It startles people sometimes when I walk right up to their "big scary" dogs and instantly make friends with them!   I don't suggest anyone try that by the way...

One woman told me to be careful as her rotti was aggressive, so I walked right up and within a minute the big mean dog was on her back getting her belly rubbed!

The important thing to remember is that dogs are pack animals, conditioned to follow the leader.  Establish yourself as the leader instantly and the dog will do anything for you.  It really upsets friends when their dogs do everything I tell them to, and nothing they tell them to!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Did you see my videos from a shelter benefit show I went to a little while ago?







Def

[edap617]

So dogs are hard wired to obey the pack leader. Is it true that dogs don't want to be touched at the side of their necks, Def? Sometimes they bite if touch in that part of their neck.

Eddie

[Grant Lamontagne]

Naw- dogs are like people.  Each one is different, with different personalities, likes and dislikes.  Most dogs are just happy with any kind of contact.  Few don't like to be touched, but I'd say there's a bigger issue there.

Def

[kreskin13]

What kind of dog is this?

Calvin

[Grant Lamontagne]

My guess would be one of those mutts that you used to get before specific breeds became fashionable.  The squared head reminds me of one of the bull type breeds- maybe a lab and staff cross or something similar.  Check your local animal shelter- they probably have a hundred dogs that look similar to that!

I like to call them "Rockwell" dogs because those are the kind of random genetics type dogs featured in many Norman Rockwell type paintings.  Around the turn of the century folks just took whatever puppies there were in the neighborhood and that was their dog- no one really went out searching for a pure breed unless you had money and specific interest or need.

It's kind of funny when you think about it- one of the most beloved dogs of all time, Petey from the Li'l Rascals was probably a Rockwell type dog, but showed significant pitbull type traits.  Imagine the horror nowadays at showing a number of small kids playing with an untethered, unsupervised pitbull!

Def

[NutSAK]

I agree, the skull looks very much like a "bull and terrier" (pitbull/staffordshire) type, but the ears certainly are not.

However, the ears have changed over the years.  Another "Rockwell" type dog Nipper, the RCA dog from their old logo, was considered a Pit Bull Terrier, and he looked like the illustration you posted.

[ringzero]

It's kind of funny when you think about it- one of the most beloved dogs of all time, Petey from the Li'l Rascals was probably a Rockwell type dog, but showed significant pitbull type traits.  Imagine the horror nowadays at showing a number of small kids playing with an untethered, unsupervised pitbull!

Def

IIRC, I read on Wikipedia that Petey was a specific breed, but exactly what breed I can't recall at the moment.

There's a lot to be said for mixed breed dogs - hybrid vigor and far less susceptibility to the various genetic diseases that plague many of the pure breed dogs.

.

[Grant Lamontagne]

There were numerous Peteys over the years, through the various incarnations of the Li'l Rascals.  At least one was what we know as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the most common breed referred to as pitbulls.

There was also a Bull Terrier, a related breed, but not the same dog:



These guys were made famous by Don Cherry's Blue, and of course Spuds McKenzie, and are often referred to as "bullet heads" because of, well the bullet shaped heads!  The reality is these dogs were bred for tracking and the larger snout houses more scent detecting membranes.  They were all round hunting dogs as opposed to dedicated trackers like hound breeds, so their noses aren't quite as keen, but then these things also had other functions, like guarding and holding prey.

Def

[ducktapehero]

There's a lot to be said for mixed breed dogs - hybrid vigor and far less susceptibility to the various genetic diseases that plague many of the pure breed dogs.

I wish that was true all of the time. I have a Shar-pei/lab mix but he still has the skin problems that purebred Shar-pei's have.

[jock1]

There was a former work mate of mine had one these dogs you could tell it was his as the two of them looked alike and no I'm not kidding the dog was the more agreeable of the two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kreskin13]

I like that name "Rockwell" dog. The only reason I was asking about what kind of dog it was is because it was a "Gawker Artists" picture. Those guys put out some very interesting weird stuff! I just couldn't believe it was a normal picture, I figured they were up to something. www.lifehacker.com has a lot of their stuff on it's site.

BTW, some of you (Def) will be happy to know that I am typing this on a new HP tablet PC. That's right I bought another PC!

This was the 2nd site I visited after setting it up. I HAD to download and install Firefox 1st. IE just blows!

Calvin