If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

What would you look for ? in 2 dogs , for the new rural homestead . Some of the dogs are outgoing and rambuctoius, and others are withdrawn.

Has anyone gone thru this process?

I walked them and its hard to decide. Male or female? age?

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Stay away from the ASPCA!!! They neuter male dogs making them useless! Get a Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Pinscher, Shepard or Husky type male dog for aggressive home defense. A neutered dog would just hump the legs of intruders dreaming of days gone by.

http://www.guarddogsecurity.com/dog.jpg

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

You have to be honest with yourself Get a dog that will fit your lifestyle........are you active? high energy breed is great....if your laid back ...there are plenty of easy riders.

It is quite hard ..........but you have to balance this emotional descion with concrete facts and find the middle road beacuse it was POOR DESICIONS THAT PUT THE ANIMAL THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

But at the gut level....... you will know the one that is for you.


Whatever you get..they are most fortunate as they found good compannions to see after them


Many thanks for saving one from the death house.


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Can you tell us a little bit more about what you're looking for in the dogs and the home you're providing. For example:

- Will they be indoor/outdoor dogs or outdoor only dogs (different breeds have different tolerances, and if you live in a warm area and intend to keep the dogs outside, you don't want a dog that has had its ears or tail docked)?
- Do you have neighbor's nearby? (Some breeds, like beagles, bark A LOT!)
- Do you have children? How old?
- How much time will you be spending with the dog? (If you don't intend to spend a lot of time with it, don't get a herding breed, terrier, etc.)
- What kind of enclosure will the dogs have around their yard, if any? (Let a Siberian Husky outside without a leash or a fence, and he'll be three counties over by dinner and probably never come home; Huskys have a poor sense of direction.)
- Are you willing to provide adequate vet care, if necessary? (Some breeds are prone to genetic problems.)
- Are these companion dogs? Working dogs? Guard dogs? Hunting dogs?

I have to speak out for rescues. Most of them do try to provide good homes for the dogs. Some do home visits to ensure the dog is getting into a good situation. However, the dogs are usually up-to-date on their vet care, socialized, and even housebroken and leash-trained by the time they're adopted out. Picking a dog up from the animal shelter is good, too, but you have to have experience with dogs and realize that you may end up spending an arm and a leg in vet care. If you buy from a breeder, inspect the facilities, and I mean see the actual dogs in whatever enclosure they're kept in, and make sure it's a reputable dealer. Don't buy from backyard breeders (many of whom should be taken out and shot) and never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, buy from a pet store (regardless of what they tell you, their dogs come from puppy mills and often come with a huge range of expensive health problems)!

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I respecfully disagree.......


I have a pooch I had whacked and that bugger raises holy hell when he hear something amiss.( I have had meter men stark afraid to come in my house because of my 27 pound cock-a poo).

We have more dogs than we have homes for and thus they suffer........

When the grid gose down there will be ample oppertunity to take in a stray or two as those dogs will be tuffer than dam nails.


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

+1 on all that .........


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I guess some neutered dogs are really pissed! I know I would be. :pissedoff:

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

My rescue and pound puppies:

Attachment 46156

They are all amazing and wonderful dogs. Isabel, the Pit Bull, is now deceased after a courageous fight with bone cancer. She was a special rescue we adopted from a dog rescue, as she had fighting dog somewhere back in her family woodpile and had to go to someone experienced with Pit Bulls and willing to work with her. It was rough in the beginning, but she turned into an amazingly solid, loveable, smart, and well-socialized dog. Freya is an all-around sweet and loving dog, but she's a Husky and can never be allowed off-harness or let out into the fenced yard without supervision, a strong person has to be holding the leash, and it took a while before she stopped being destructive (typical Husky stuff). On the plus side, she's a great varmint hunter; extremely fuel-efficient (Huskys were bred to get by on small amounts of food); can handle both hot and cold temperature extremes; is warmer than a down comforter on the bed at night; and could easily, and would happily, pull a significant amount of weight for her size. Dawn, the little tan terrier, was a dog I pulled from a notoriously bad shelter for a rescue group, then had to drive down to Florida to rescue from a bad foster home. After that, I knew I couldn't let her go. She was skin and bones and losing her fur from malnutrition, had a respiratory infection, and had been shot in the shoulder with a BB gun or birdshot when I pulled her from the shelter. She was so scared she crawled all the way out on her belly, shaking like a leaf. She quickly blossomed into a sweet, intelligent, loveable little dog and an excellent varmint hunter.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

You have to practical about it...serioulsy......all that ends up doing is providing more dogs that some @$$hole is going to abuse or ship to some testing laboratory where they endure the living death.

In a perferect and every pooch and cat would have a decent home.... till such a time is reached this is the most humane thing we can do.


It is beyond deplorable when I see any innocent suffer but in paricular animals all they ask for is food, water and a occasional pet on the head.. a pooch is loyal to the dam end. Not many can say that about friends and family.


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Dam Maddie you would have never known the terrible past that one on the middle had by looking at her now.

That was alot of hard work.......but I can see it was worth it.


Hat tip.


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

http://www.johnhouseart.com/Images/P...iever_orig.jpg


On the otherhand, can't go wrong with a good hunting dog in PAW. I borrow my neighbor's Chesapeake Bay Retreivers when I slay ducks!

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Pit Bulls and Huskys are not, in general, good dogs for home defense. Most Huskys are far too friendly to and trusting of strangers, and they tend not to bark. Pit Bulls have been bred to fight other dogs. They've been bred NOT to attack humans (they're fighting dogs; no one in their right mind would go into a ring to get their fighting dog if it was prone to attacking humans). The ones who have been trained to attack humans have been trained to do something against their breeding. Worse, they've often been trained by people who don't know what they're doing (if they did, they wouldn't be training a Pit Bull for defense!). This can produce a dog that's unpredictable and hard to control. I can't comment on the other breeds, as I haven't much experience with them.

I will tell you one problem Pit Bull owners face. We had to start locking ours in during the day when we were at work. They attracted far too much interest from unsavory characters, and we were in constant fear of their being stolen. We'd find gangsta types stopping their cars to stare into our yard, and the meter-reader (who looked like a thug!) kept asking me if she was a good fighting dog! The Pits attracted attention from the sort of people we didn't want attention from. On the flip side, nice folks like the pizza delivery guy and the mail carriers were so afraid of them that they would just honk their horns and have me walk up my driveway to get deliveries from them.

Btw, I can assure you that neutering a male dog doesn't make it less able and willing to defend its home and family! It does make it less likely to be lured away by a female dog in heat and less likely to go wandering.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Well, were doing only 2 cutings of hay a year as were in the higher elevations of Idaho. These dogs would be with me 24/7 when Im there, and in the house at night for sleep. No kennels or the like . They would travel to town occasionally and into other parts of the state when we venture out for camping and backpacking trips.
And follow along on 200 mile quad and horsepack trips (runners). Definitely watchdog and defense dogs as well on the 20 acre stead. The neighbors are 1/4 mile down the valley.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I would be very wary of a dog from a shelter that is backward or cowers from people.

I know of 2 dogs that came from shelters and rescue places that were abused and never did recover from it. They are emotionally scarred for life.

Signs of this can be cowering from people, shaking when you approach the dog, peeing on the floor when approached etc.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Thanks for the advice.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Wow! Sounds like any dog would be happy to adopt you! Other than avoiding tiny breeds or breeds that can't be released under their own recognizance (like Huskys), you'd probably be okay with most any kind of working breed or hunting dog: Pointers, retrievers, hounds, ... If they're running loose in your yard, I would suggest you avoid Asian breeds, like Chows, too. Most of the larger Asian breeds were bred as guard dogs, and some, like Chows, are notorious for biting first and asking questions later. A true defense dog should be trained for that purpose and should follow your commands without pause. It requires extra caution on the part of the owner so that it doesn't run onto the neighbor's land, bite the mailman, or snap at a kid trying to pet it through the car window. It requires a lot of responsibility on the part of the owner. A lot of dogs will be defensive if they feel their human family is threatened, but it's not a good idea to have an all-purpose dog and count on it for serious defense, too. What you're likely to end up with is an animal that gets you sued. My sister used to have a dog like that. They took it in as a stray. It looked like a Lab/Chow mix and was very territorial. Wherever it or its humans were, it considered its territory. That d@mn dog bit (and I mean, bit, not snapped at or nipped) six people. Luckily all of them were family members or understanding neighbors who didn't sue, despite being furious at my sister and her husband.

I also think you're right to get two. Dogs are pack animals, and having had one dog at a time and up to five dogs at a time, it seems to me the dogs were always happier when they had dog buddies. You might take a look at local rescues and see if there are any dogs that would be best adopted together. Sometimes they get dogs that have been used to living together and are turned over to rescue together, and it can be hard for rescues to place them together.

You'd probably do best with a male and a female or a couple that were used to living together. Be aware that, spayed/neutered or not, when dogs get about two years old, they get serious about determining their position in the pack. With a male and female dog, the female will usually establish dominance (the "alpha" in the pack being their human and thus the next in line being the dominant female). With two males or two females, they might get into more disagreements about who is boss, unless one tends to be submissive. If you get dogs from a rescue, they've usually checked out the dog's personalities, so you can have a good idea of whether they're going to get along with other dogs and if they get along with dogs of both sexes. Don't count on size being the determining factor, either. I used to have a pack of four dogs, two males and two females. The smallest female, a Basenji, ruled the pack with an iron paw, with the female Pit Bull coming in second in command, to the constant dismay of one of the male dogs (a sweet, goofy Pointer who never could figure out how the girls got to be in charge! Lol!).

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

That is because the dog was probally beaten constantly and tied to 2 foot chain 24 hours a day left sit on there own flith by reptiles.


Some dogs can be brought back for this level of unprecendent abuse but it requires ALOT work.

T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

A barking Pit will loosen your bowels. I had a friend who raised them (properly!), and when they'd see me, the greatest chance of death was from being smothered--they do not seem to understand that they aren't lap dogs. Most Pits are absolute sweeties.

The dogs that fill me with fear are Spitzs and Pomeranians--talk about multiple personality psychos!!!

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

We got our great dog from a pound. I agree with the advice that a cowering dog has too many mental problems from abuse unless you want to be a long term dog shrink, which sometimes works.

Our dog was thought to be a chocolate lab cross but turned out to be a pure german wire haired pointer in the liver color. She does all the bred in instintcs: points, flushes, retrieves, trails by nose and guards. A picture of a breed champ in her color looks just like her. The spotted ones are more common.

Her breed is often put down as not socialized at shelters because another bred in thing is for them to sniff everything out before saying hello. This pound did not do that screening, thank god, because she sniffed the meeting room before coming to us and sitting on command. And she is really smart and has a great personality. She is also a breed counted as 'stupid' when they were actually bred to think independently. They were bred to stay on the trail and ignore other input, so she comes when she thinks she is not doing her other duties first, for example.

I am one of those who think the rescue movement, which asks for everything but a DNA sample, is causing a lot of good animals to get put to death. We gave away a lot of kittens to couples and families with kids... obvious good homes, some of whom even said the organizations just made it too hard. So they are killing animals that are too numerous to foster by driving away excellent homes.

The official reason our dog went to the pound was a move and her being too big to be accepted by the new landlord. That might be true, but she is a hunting breed and her reaction to fireworks makes me suspect she is gunshy. I have not tried to hunt with her but on walks on a friend's ranch she pointed at quail, then flushed them, and caught a rabbit and offered to bring it to me. I let her eat it herself. And she brought me a bird dead by the roadside that was likely a traffic victim.

But for sure, dogs big enough to make good guard dogs can be had free, many of them superior animals. Whether it was true for our dog or not, many places won't allow big dogs.

Consider what you want from your dog in selection. If you want free range hens a bird dog would be a disaster. Genetically they would never stop wanting to hunt them. We were ok because our hens were fenced, but we added privacy fence between the dog and hens to not torment her. A herd dog is often a good choice though a border collie with nothing to herd can be trouble. German Shepherds, Rottweilers and the real collie, the original 'coalie', now called, I think, the english shepherd, protect and once they accept livestock as part of the pack will protect your hens, ducks, whatever.

I'm considering one of these

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Shepherd

and a German Shepherd for our next dogs. The english shepherd escaped ruination by the AKC on a few rural farms in America. Unlike the border collie, they are gentle enough to herd chicks but as tough as the animal to be moved insists on.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Maddie, I didnt read all the responses but the best guard dog I have owned was my Great Dane... They are very gentle with family but very protective of their owners and property. Their size and deep bark are enough of a deterrent for most people.
The Great Dane Rescue has a lot of dogs and they are hard to place because of their size.. I have thought about taking in a rescue Dane in myself. They seem to document the dogs personality very well so you know what you are dealing with before you take one in.

http://magdrl.org/

http://vonknopfdanes.com/myPictures/4.jpg

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I agree with Avalon wholeheartedly. Great Danes are the best way to go, especially if you have children. They are incredibly protective. Our dane, Marmaduke, once stood between my 7-year-old son and a badger. Thankfully there wasn't a battle, I know what the outcome would have been, but "Duke" was ready and willing to make that sacrifice.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

My first dog was a Great Dane mix. She got the size part of the mix! She was a sweetie that we picked up as a stray on the road. I only remember her taking a dislike to someone one time, and she turned into a snarling, snapping hellhound.

The rest of the time she was sweet and, sometimes, goofy. She had a weird habit of shimmying 5 feet or so up tree trunks (smaller trees, that sort of tilted) and getting stuck, afraid to come down, so we'd have to rescue her. I don't know what it is about my dogs getting stuck in trees. I had a German Shorthair Pointer that would climb the ladder into a treehouse in our backyard and not be able to get down by himself. I'd have to go out there and sort of sling him over my shoulder and climb back down the ladder with him while the neighbors laughed. Darn fool dog would do it several times a day until I took some rungs out of the ladder. He saw the squirrels up there, and excellent hunter that he was, he was gonna get 'em.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Our Dane was incredible with the kids... She was the Nanny Dog and watched them like a hawk. She took her duties of protection very seriously. On the rare occasions the kids got spanked we had to put her outside because she did not approve....

My Dane loved women and children but did not like men. I had to watch her very carefully when strange men were around because she viewed them as a threat. I worked with her on it and through training the situation improved but never totally resolved.

Our Dame lived 12 years.. That is an incredible life span for a Dane.
When she died she stayed around for a long time. She is the only dog who we all still have frequent dreams about and feel her presence many years later...
Jeez, now Im getting weepy...

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Honestly, the best dogs I've ever had were rescue mutts. I prefer mixes--they seem a bit healthier and hardier in the long run. Obviously, If I needed a dog to do a specific task then I'd get a purebreed known for it.

Another thing about rescue dogs: If they're a little bit older, and you bring them home, you will know their gratitude every day of their lives. Somehow, they know you've saved them, and like a wrongly imprisoned man or someone who has survived a terminal illness, they live life even more fully than other dogs. :adore:

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

We have two caribbean island shelter mutts. Both from long lines of street dogs. And they are smart dogs and surprisingly well behaved despite their definite "wild" streak.

We think the older dog was abused, he doesn't like people BUT loves other dogs. He is a very calming influence in packs of dogs. But it was tough, he wouldn't let me approach him for over a month after we adopted. If i insisted he would run out jump the fence and slink back hours later. But he had no problem with my wife, it was only men. Want to know how we fixed him?

We adopted a puppy from the same shelter. That puppy made him a 10x better dog. All of a sudden he wanted my attention and more of my wife's. Also, he suddenly became territorial about our property and stopped going wandering the neighborhood until late at night and the puppy was sleeping.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I like Australian Cattle Dogs / Blue Heeler / Queensland Heeler

http://www.gotpetsonline.com/picture...e-dog-0439.jpg

http://www.dogsindepth.com/herding_d...g_id124_01.jpghttp://www.dogsindepth.com/herding_d...le_dog_v05.jpghttp://www.dogsindepth.com/herding_d...le_dog_v06.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...DogBlue_wb.jpg

http://www.dogsindepth.com/herding_d...le_dog_h06.jpg

http://www.dogslife.com.au/__data/pa...attle_dog2.jpg

http://www.dogsindepth.com/herding_d...le_dog_h05.jpg

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"><td class="profile_hdg" width="31%">group: herding</td> <td class="profile_hdg" width="51%">height: m 18-20"/ 45.7-50.8 cm
f 17-19" / 43.1-48.2 cm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>types:</td> <td class="profile_info">weight: 33-51 lbs /
14.96-23.13 kg</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">colors:</td> <td colspan="2">red speckled, blue mottled/speckled may have black patches or white patch on head</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">physical traits: </td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">sturdy, compact, energetic</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">hair type:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">straight, harsh, weatherproof outer coat; dense undercoat</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg" height="28">personality/
temperament: </td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">sturdy, watchful, alert, intelligent, alert, courageous, trustworthy, loving, loyal, brave, energetic, protective, devoted to work, wary of strangers</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>maintenance/
special needs:
</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">plenty of exercise, easy to care for, not good with other pets</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">nickname: </td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">Blue Heeler</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">origination: </td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">Australia</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">bred for:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">herding, droving cattle</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">identifying traits:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">ideal for:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">farms, ranches, family, cattle herding, guarding, companionship, country life, outdoors, any climate</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">good with kids?</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">yes and no. good with children it is familiar with but not with children it does not know</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">life expectancy:</td> <td class="profile_info">12 yrs</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td class="profile_hdg">of interest:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="profile_hdg">health concerns :</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">ear: deafness</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>kennel clubs:</td> <td colspan="2" class="profile_info">fci-(cattle dog group), akc -(herding dog breed group), uk-(pastoral group), ukc, saku, ankc-(working dog group), jkc,</td></tr></tbody></table>

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Only one person has barely mentioned that you can rescue 'BREED SPECIFIC' animals.

We have been rescuing Great Pyrenees/Akbash's now for almost twenty years. We've saved 10 Pyrs/Akbash during that time period. We've had as many as 5 at a time. We love our animals. We've lost two so far this year. One to old age. The other just died. We don't know why. Went out, played. Came in, ate lunch, took a nap and didn't wake up.

Great Pyrenees are known as 'gentle giants'. Akbashs are a little more aggressive, but not much. They are both great with children AND are excellent guard dogs.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

After Airedales when my father was growing up, I was growing up, and my kids were growing up, it was hard to change. Airedales are VERY protective of children and very protective of homes. They'll also take on just about anything that bleeds. On the downside, of the four Airedales that I have owned, three were dumber than a box of rocks. "Winifred" was so smart that she was spooky.

Now we have a four year old blue tick that we got as a puppy from the local shelter. "Tessie" gets along with the world, guards the property and the house like she's on a contract with Blackwater, and keeps my feet warm at night.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Pyreness are excellent guard dogs when there coats get molted it becomes a armor like thickness.......I saw a pyreness chase a bear up a tree that was trying to steal a sheep.


Those dogs mean buiness when it comes to protection.


Sorry about your loss....... but at least he was in the best of care when he passed( maybe he knew he had to "make room" for another one.)


T

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Pets tend to be very similar to their owners. :D

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

You can't go wrong with a Golden Retriever, they are extremely Intelligent and very loyal.
Once you "go Golden" you will never want another breed.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

You hit the nail on the head with that statement! When we lost our oldest lab, we tried going the rescue route, but the questions and restrictions were too much for me to swallow. I thought; "Are you people in the business of finding homes for these dogs, or not?" In our case not. We tried the shelter route as well, but it seemed that every dog that we were interested in (age, size, breed) just had too much baggage. I still feel guilty about that now, we should have tried harder, invested more time and effort. In the end, we went the easy route and went to a breeder (not the backyard kind!). I made a promise to myself that we won't do that again.

I truly love Great Danes, but the short lifespan would be so hard to deal with. 7-8 years is just not enough. I just don't know how you Dane people do it. I know a couple that is on their 4th GD.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

TA,
Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm NOT supposed to have favorites, especially when our 'pack' is so large. I am also the 'Alpha male' of the pack.

But Gabe WAS my favorite. In twenty years, he's the only one who would get up on the bed after my wife left for work and just 'cuddle' with me for as much as half an hour. Then it was time to get moving and our day started. He did that the day he died. It's been a real blow, as he was only four.

So I'm kind of in mourning over the loss of my best friend.

Oh, and the difference between Great Pyrenees and Akbash (Turkish version of GP's)? When a threat to the herd is discovered, a Great Pyrenees will chase the threat off and then return to the herd. An Akbash will chase the threat down, kill it and eat it. In Turkey, they are literally fearless. Most of them wear four inch leather collars with large spikes on them so bears can't get to their necks.

Here's a pix of my buddy Gabe - he was 'my boy' and I hope he'll remember me the next time we meet:

http://www.goldismoney.info/forums/a...1&d=1214431154

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

My Dane lived to almost 12 years old. She had a stroke three years before she died. Her back legs were wobbly for months and we had to help her walk but she eventully made a valiant recovery. She was slow but steady those last three years. I used homeopathy on my Dane after her stroke... I also used homeopathic remedies on all my other pets to antidote damage from vaccines..

My Golden Retriever lived to 16 yrs old.. It still wasn't long enough. You are never prepared to lose them..

eddied to add I used to teach Dog Obedience classes. We had a few great Pyrenees come through a year.. Wow they could be tough dogs.. They take a certain type of owner. Like Danes they can have a strong guarding instinct..

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Fine looking boy wallew...fine looking boy.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I fully expect all my critters to be waiting. :D

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

+1

I am not a dog owner, but this is the first on my list if I ever go that route. (I usually just head down to the pound and take whatever's available when I'm looking for a new cat, so I may not be particular about dogs either.)

The only drawback to the herding dogs is that they need something to do every day.

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I have my husky. As maddie said, he'd be the worst home defense dog. He's as ferocious as the average marshmallow: :marchmell The only people afraid of him are hispanics...for some reason. He cries/howls when he sees someone enter the house. He loves all people and all dogs. We haven't neutered him, as we have seen no need. He's walked frequently, so when he is at home, he's like a house cat (especially as summer has come). He's fond of all things dairy. I love him to pieces!


He was 8 weeks old here. He's now 16 months old.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7853/82584212nf6.jpg

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

Here's my contribution: We adopted this 32# pup who we named Finnigan. He's very laid back, but barks at the right times. We got him from a rescue organization. I would never buy from a breeder but that's just me. Good luck !

Re: If You were gonna adopt from animal shelter or pound
 

I'd go for an Austrialian cattle dog, blue heeler, Austrailan sheperd, german sheperd (right temperament), possibly border collie, high energy/protective herding types for the long travel and protection.

Also, some German Wirehairs (hunting dogs) are VERY protective (don't care for cats too much) as well as good hunters, good with horses, and high energy.

Hard to know what you are getting though from a rescue, you don't know the parents or breeding behind it. See if they have done temperment testing on the dogs first and see what they say.

HE he he, if you got a wirehair the problem would be as you're mowing hay, it'd be POINTING birds for yeah :).

Our GSD's would periodically after checking out the permimeter of our yard herd the horses into a tidy circle and then lay down and watch them...we never trained them, they just did it.

I took my female to her herding instinct AKC course, she was only 8 months old, granted I took her through obedience training, but I had the handler "handle" her as I'd never put her on sheep before, didn't even know what she was "suppose to do".

She got a standing ovation from the GSD crowd, and the President wanted to buy her...all instinct, I didn't give her any sheep herding training. So if you want something that will watch/protect you, your lifestock, but still be good with people/kids, it's bred into the herders. Again, though, chancy on the "aggression side" adopting from a rescue when you don't know the breeding behind the dogs.

The above dogs can have agression issues if poorly bred (except the border collies I've met are usually pretty sweet, I don't know about the protection part in them, and they'd probably herd a bit too much...would need to talk to someone knowledeable about the breed). They are higher energy than the other breeds except maybe the blue heeler is pretty high energy too.