Help me pick a dog

Oooo, get a rhodesian ridgeback, they are fearless, they were used to hunt lions. They fit in your weight category and have miniml shedding and are tight skinned so they do not stink. I know a family that keeps one in a store with all kinds of customers and kinds in and out and it is extremely friendly.
 
I wouldn’t recommend any of the well know guard dog breeds because of the liability. I think that the Pitbull breeds are one of the best that there is. I just recently lost mine of 16 years. However, even though I never had an incident with her all that time, the insurance company cancelled my homeowners because of her breed. You have a lot of liability even in the event of justified defense because of their distorted reputation. I think the same applies for Rotties, Cane Corso, Dobermans, etc. The Boxer that I had was great but they are high energy and slobber A LOT. Mine got cancer which I heard is fairly common. He didn’t shed a lot but like my Pit the hairs stick in furniture like little pin cushions and are impossible to get out. I don’t know that he would have protected me but they are intimidating to some non dog people. I have a Giant Schnauzer right now and they are great if you get them from a good breeder. However, they require a lot of grooming which is a PITA. If you can find someone to do it for you the cost is excessive. The gentlest, most protective dog that I had with my kids was my 140 lb Fila. Very laid back inside. They are however huge and suffer the same reputation liability as the other guard dog breeds. I do have a great guard dog sitting beside me right now. I walked in the back door one winter with a ski mask on and she charged across the room and hit me dead center in the chest ready to tear me up. I rushed to get it off before suffering any damage. She’s great with the kids. She couldn’t actually do much damage to an intruder though because she’s a 15 lb Mini Schnauzer?? that I rescued from the pound. Big heart, great courage, little body. Likes to stand up to any dog as long as her big bubba, 100 lb Giant Schnauzer, is behind her. The next dog that I get is going to be a mixed breed from a shelter with a combination of some of the breeds with the characteristics that I am searching for.
 
I've seen some boxers that were real hyper, but mine was super laid back. We'll see how this guy turns out. He's a beautiful dog, and his parents are gorgeous.
 
imaginefj said:
Oooo, get a rhodesian ridgeback, they are fearless, they were used to hunt lions. They fit in your weight category and have miniml shedding and are tight skinned so they do not stink. I know a family that keeps one in a store with all kinds of customers and kinds in and out and it is extremely friendly.
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If you want fearless get an airdale. Ridgebacks have judgement, they never attack a lion from the front, the lions ate all those who had no better sense.

Great loving dogs, mine would all back off and let a baby eat from their bowls.
 
tgiannes said:
get a Rhodesian Ridgeback or a German Shepard. Great dogs.
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Saw a Ridgeback just the other day. Male. 3 years old. A beautiful creature. Very strong...toned. Very assured of himself. Very imposing. Had me thinking "how am I gonna defend myself against this?" :confused:
 
CitizenQ said:
Saw a Ridgeback just the other day. Male. 3 years old. A beautiful creature. Very strong...toned. Very assured of himself. Very imposing. Had me thinking "how am I gonna defend myself against this?" :confused:
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The only Ridgeback I have ever seen that was a danger to a calm stranger was kept in a small pen and constantly poked and proded with sticks, like the sstiger in S. F. he finally climbed a 7' chainlink fence, he did not kill the kids but he bit several and was put down.

If you do not attack the owner you are in little or no danger
 
A. G. Russell said:
If you want fearless get an airdale. Ridgebacks have judgement, they never attack a lion from the front, the lions ate all those who had no better sense.

Great loving dogs, mine would all back off and let a baby eat from their bowls.
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I guess it just shows that no two dogs are the same....my parents had an Airdale when I lived at home and he was scared of his own shadow !!!!
I remember one time when a plumber came to the house, he dropped down his tool box and the noise sent the Airdale shooting straight upstairs to hide !!!
He was a great dog though and never feared other dogs, just noisy things.:D
 
Shepherds are great dogs. Dobermans are also great dogs.
My dog as a kid was a doberman / shepherd mix. Awesome dog. His coat nd coloring was completely doberman but his build was a shepherd. He looked like a doberman on steroids.
 
Triquetra said:
The next dog that I get is going to be a mixed breed from a shelter with a combination of some of the breeds with the characteristics that I am searching for.
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This is some great advice.



pitdog - I'm not saying they can't run, or take long walks - most dogs can go and go for a long time. Just, given his list, particularly this part:

6) needs to be able to log long miles on the trail (upwards of 20+ miles a day), and in hot summer conditions as well as winter snow
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...led me to not recommend a Staffie. These dogs overheat easy and "burst" when they run. Plus, even worse, they are a "don't give up" breed.

I guess I assumed he wanted a fence-runner type dog (patroling dog).
 
pitdog said:
I guess it just shows that no two dogs are the same....
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This is a HUGE point. Picking abreed only gives you an idea of what the dog was bred for genetically. Add in personality traits, training and environment and it is a bit of a crap shoot.

Buying purebred just gives you a little more insurance but no guarantee.

Skam
 
Any more it seems that buying a purebread is just as much a crapshoot as a mixed breed. The show people breed a lot of the original characteristics out in favor of looks and popularity brings all of the puppy mills and backyard breeders out who look only at the dollar not at preserving a breeds characteristics. I lucked out and have 3 great dogs now...1 shelter dog, 1 stray that showed up at my backdoor, and one expensive purebred. The whole range of dog aquisition I guess you would say. Sometimes it's how they are raised and the environment they are raised in that matters most.
 
I think it really pays to be able to watch both parents.

Also getting an adult dog that has some good years on them is a good bet too, cause you can better discern their personality.

ALSO if you can go several times and at a distance watch the puppies.

I don't like super high energy dogs. I find that it is harder to get their attention, especially when their mind is fixed on evil.

I like to look for the pup that is setting and looking at things for more than a second. That seems to have an attention span.:thumbup:

Also just my preference but I like to pick the ones that aren't running everywhere and seem to have a slightly lower energy level.

Seems like the very inquisitive and gregarious ones that seem high energy are the ones most likely to not stay at home unless penned up.:thumbdn:
 
pitdog said:
I guess it just shows that no two dogs are the same....my parents had an Airdale when I lived at home and he was scared of his own shadow !!!!
I remember one time when a plumber came to the house, he dropped down his tool box and the noise sent the Airdale shooting straight upstairs to hide !!!
He was a great dog though and never feared other dogs, just noisy things.:D
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I was a small boy and had an airdale bitch, wonderful dog smelled like a dog and would kill snakes or anything else that she felt was a threat to me, sadly she felt that I was threatend by the coal burning engine of the RR train and I lost he.

30 years later I had a rodiasan ridgeback bitch who was standing against a fense when it was struck by lightening almost a mile away, that was enough to put her off of loud nosies and lightening forever

The ridgeback however has no body odor and is really protective of the family
 
Find a copy of a book "Gun Dog" probably out of print. Study that book until you know it by heart.
If you want a great companion for 10-12 years find a breeder who will insist on your being good enough to own one of their pups. Visit while waiting for the pups to be born. study boths dogs, take the chosen pup at 6 weeks, make it a family member with better decipline than your kids, spend time training.

good luck
 
Triquetra said:
Any more it seems that buying a purebread is just as much a crapshoot as a mixed breed. .
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True to a point. There are a lot of breeders who dont show and breed for the work the dogs do not looks. Not hard to find them.

You can also find great backyard hobby breeders as well if papers are not your thing, just be more carefull and ask for references and guarantees in writing.

Skam
 
Daniel Koster said:
pitdog - I'm not saying they can't run, or take long walks - most dogs can go and go for a long time. Just, given his list, particularly this part:



...led me to not recommend a Staffie. These dogs overheat easy and "burst" when they run. Plus, even worse, they are a "don't give up" breed.

I guess I assumed he wanted a fence-runner type dog (patroling dog).
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The never give up part in combination with their high tolerance for pain, could cause them to die from the heat just to please their master. My dog will go much further than he should in the heat. Occassionally he will stop and sit in the shade during hot hikes, and I let him. However, if I gave his collar a little tug and kept going so would he. I took him for a long run when he was about 2 years old in the very hot florida summer. He stayed with me but when I got him home he was sick. I felt really bad! He is fine now, but it was a big scare. I know that if I needed him to run 20 miles with me he would, but they are better sprinters than long distance dogs.

My Amstaff had a broken foot and he still wanted to go for long walks everyday, and run and jump. Their pain tolerances are VERY high!
 
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