I loved my Alaskan Malamute. Sweetest dog ever and highly protective, especially of my mother. She (the dog....) was about 130lbs or so. 95 lbs of that was fur. Bred to pull heavy freight sleds, her front quarters were uncannily strong. At my strongest, I couldn't hold her on a leash for long at all. Plus, she looked very much like a wolf which is always cool. The bad thing was the grooming. She shed enough fur in the spring & summer to weave enough Indian blankets to supply the entire population of the US Reservation System 100 times over. Love these dogs,but I will not own another. It's just too hot for them here, imo. It's a Herculean effort to ensure they have plenty of cool fresh water. She drank constantly during warm months. They are also proficient howlers, like wolves. I thought it was really cool sounding, but one's neighbors might not agree. Guarantee you'll know if there's a siren from an emergency vehicle activated within a 250 mile radius. Her howls would almost perfectly match the pitch of the sirens. Great loving dog though.
I know too many people that do zero research before they buy a pure bred dog and have no clue what to do or how to handle them. My sister was one of these people.
I regretfully admit that I was one as well. My dog had just been killed by a car, & I always wanted a Malamute or Husky because they looked so awesome. Beautiful dogs. My brother & I bought her when we were around 16 and 18. However, we didn't shy away from the care she needed once we realized all it would take. Lesson learned.
I've now had two pure bred labs and they were / are very different dogs. Mom and Dad are important in that research. One of my dogs was from a line of field trials champions and the other more show dog style lab. The field trials dog was just an athletic monster and the one I have now is scared of her shadow. I didn't do my homework, but you can't when you're taking a dog that someone is going to get rid of. We adopted / rescued the second one and you get what you get. She's a good dog and really bright, but radically different.
We (my parents) have an English lab and I know everyone is biased to their own dog but I've never come across a better one.
I bought 2 basset hounds in Tennessee years ago, paid 200 coconuts each. Looked into buying 2 more a couple of years back, here in Florida, they wanted 1200 each. I went to the Broward County pound and found one of the best dogs I've ever been around.
I am talking more breed generalities. Like Great Danes and stomach flipping. Each dog will differ somewhat in personality or traits, depending on stock, but each breed also has things you should know about prior to buying them.
You can't go wrong with a beagle. I found mine and couldn't track down an owner, so he's been staying with me temporarily for 6 years or so. I would definitely get another someday.
I cannot have a dog that sheds, so we are limited to dogs with hair (shih tzus, lhasa apsa, poodles, etc) Shih Tzus are great dogs, and so are lhasa apsas. Dog we have now was saved from Young-Williams and we have no idea what he really is, but we think he is half Scot Terrier and half Lhasa Apsa. Great, great dog.
A good friend of mine trains field trial labs. We hunt with one he trained named Willie. The dog lives and breathes to retrieve. The dog knows the difference between a rifle and a shotgun. He gets antsy when he hears a safety click. He's an awesome duck dog. He's made several retrieves over 100 yards and he gets pissed if you miss. Hearing "no bird" kills his soul, I think
You can train shelter hounds and labs (and shepherds too, for that matter) to as high a level as a registered dog. Not pooping on anyone's dog, just pointing it out if it weighs on someone's decisions on where to go for their critter. Breed-specific rescues exist all over the country too, and there are groups that will help get a matched dog to you like a pony express. We really got to get the irresponsible breeders out of business. I have no beef with people who don't try to make their entire living off of breeding dogs.
Seems like you see a lot more of forcing them to live pregnant as often as possible in a feces coated cage until their uteruses fall out and they are tossed on the street.
There are some piece of shit human beings that breed dogs. There's a lot of really good, responsible breeders too, but I've seen some worthless people do it.
I have seen a lot of dogs. I have tried nd competed schutzhund and trained and hunted, mainly quail, over probably a couple hundred. I have never seen a shelter dog that could do either at a high level. Selectively breeding to produce the traits nd characteristics you want isn't perfect by any means, but it is sure s hell better than leaving it to chance.
