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Post by trainermch on May 21, 2020 17:03:17 GMT -5
So I am curious to know, hypothetically, if you could pick any breed of dog you want, which breed will you pick and why. Or maybe not a pure breed, a mongrel could do as well. I grew up with English Bulldogs all around me (my mom was a sometimes breeder and champion "show-er"), puppies galore, and tons of chores, which taught me what being a responsible pet companion was truly about. (I have great parents.) Anyway, if they didn't have so many health issues and such short lifespans, I would have several English Bulls. I cannot handle that much heartbreak though. If I can fall in love and soak my paperwork with tears like I have each time I have adopted at the shelter, that's the kind I want. (See why I am a Pollyposter? lol)
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Post by Wolfgang on May 21, 2020 18:34:06 GMT -5
So I am curious to know, hypothetically, if you could pick any breed of dog you want, which breed will you pick and why. Or maybe not a pure breed, a mongrel could do as well. I grew up with English Bulldogs all around me (my mom was a sometimes breeder and champion "show-er"), puppies galore, and tons of chores, which taught me what being a responsible pet companion was truly about. (I have great parents.) Anyway, if they didn't have so many health issues and such short lifespans, I would have several English Bulls. I cannot handle that much heartbreak though. If I can fall in love and soak my paperwork with tears like I have each time I have adopted at the shelter, that's the kind I want. (See why I am a Pollyposter? lol) I'm trying to understand this last paragraph. Each time you went to the shelter to adopt a dog, you fell in love ? All the women want to know: what shelters have you been visiting and could they have the address?
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Post by trainermch on May 21, 2020 19:57:52 GMT -5
I grew up with English Bulldogs all around me (my mom was a sometimes breeder and champion "show-er"), puppies galore, and tons of chores, which taught me what being a responsible pet companion was truly about. (I have great parents.) Anyway, if they didn't have so many health issues and such short lifespans, I would have several English Bulls. I cannot handle that much heartbreak though. If I can fall in love and soak my paperwork with tears like I have each time I have adopted at the shelter, that's the kind I want. (See why I am a Pollyposter? lol) I'm trying to understand this last paragraph. Each time you went to the shelter to adopt a dog, you fell in love ? All the women want to know: what shelters have you been visiting and could they have the address? LOL! The animal shelter is the best pickup place ever. The pickup, however, has to undergo a certain surgical procedure before they can go home with you. AND you have to pay for it. It's all worth it though.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 21, 2020 20:00:08 GMT -5
Now, I'm even more confused.
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Post by trainermch on May 21, 2020 20:02:11 GMT -5
Now, I'm even more confused. Itβs complicated.
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Post by ironhammer on May 21, 2020 21:54:07 GMT -5
So I am curious to know, hypothetically, if you could pick any breed of dog you want, which breed will you pick and why. Or maybe not a pure breed, a mongrel could do as well. I grew up with English Bulldogs all around me (my mom was a sometimes breeder and champion "show-er"), puppies galore, and tons of chores, which taught me what being a responsible pet companion was truly about. (I have great parents.) Anyway, if they didn't have so many health issues and such short lifespans, I would have several English Bulls. I cannot handle that much heartbreak though. If I can fall in love and soak my paperwork with tears like I have each time I have adopted at the shelter, that's the kind I want. (See why I am a Pollyposter? lol) Ah, bulldogs, the national symbol of the UK and part and parcel of the English Culture. They do have a wonderful temperament. Sadly, like other brachycephalic breeds, they have a lot of health problems that shorten their life span, as you said. Looking at the history of the breed though, the original bulldogs did not have such a pronounced short snout. This was later developed by breeders as a chracteristic of the breed, but at the cost of their health. Personally, I prefer health of the dog over exaggerated physical characteristics, but I'm not the one who set breed standards (and the politics that go with it), so what can I say.
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Post by cindra on May 21, 2020 23:27:23 GMT -5
Sticking with the breed I do have, a cockapoo. Long living, big enough to play around with (and they are really active) but small enough to pick up or manhandle if needed. Hypoallergenic which is nice because I get mildly sneezy sometimes around shedding. Really cute too which is a bonus, they look like little teddy bears with big floppy ears. They can sometimes have back problems as both cocker spaniels and poodles tend to do so.
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Post by ironhammer on May 22, 2020 0:26:03 GMT -5
Sticking with the breed I do have, a cockapoo. Long living, big enough to play around with (and they are really active) but small enough to pick up or manhandle if needed. Hypoallergenic which is nice because I get mildly sneezy sometimes around shedding. Really cute too which is a bonus, they look like little teddy bears with big floppy ears. They can sometimes have back problems as both cocker spaniels and poodles tend to do so.That's the problem with purebreed dogs, many health problems. Not saying mongrels don't have them too, but "hybrid vigor" often gives them an advantage, health-wise. Health problems is a particularly pertinent issue with the popular purebreeds, because their demand drives unethical puppy mills to breed dogs regardless of their health. So for example, German Shepherds are known for a prevalence in hip dysplasia. Their sloping backs, which breeders prefer, contributes to the problem (if you look at earlier German Shepherds from early last century, their backs are much more horizontal). Golden Retrievers are prone to epilepsy and cancers. Cocker Spaniels are prone to pancreatitis and heart disease. Beagles are known for allergies and hypothyroidism. The bulldog's plight is one of the worse in terms of health, suffering from many serious conditions, especially those related to its abnormally shortened snout, such as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) (i.e. breathing problems, panting, chronic discomfort, exercise intolerance and difficulty eating) and brachycephalic ocular syndrome (eye damage related to shortened nose). These problems in many cases can be traced to inbreeding and excessive breeding for certain physical attributes at the cost of their health. Purebreed dogs do have advantages in having a more predictable temperament. While each dog is an individual and no two dogs are entirely alike in personality, purebreeds usually have more reliable temper that falls within a certain range. So German Shepherds have tendency to guard and be good guard dogs. Golden Retrievers are great at retrieving, swimming and obedience training, Beagles like to chase and dig, Siberian Huskies like to run fast and long, Malamutes are stubborn yet friendly and so on. Mongrels by contrast you can't really predict what their temperament will be. So its a hit-and-miss affair. The trick is to be real careful in selecting a responsible and reputable breeder who takes into account the health of his or her dogs.
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Post by trainermch on May 22, 2020 21:45:53 GMT -5
Something mighty special about that one tennis ball.
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Post by ironhammer on May 26, 2020 10:16:37 GMT -5
This is just what I need to watch under lockdown. A Malamute refusing to take a bath, hahaha:
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Post by Wolfgang on May 26, 2020 13:11:03 GMT -5
Sticking with the breed I do have, a cockapoo. Long living, big enough to play around with (and they are really active) but small enough to pick up or manhandle if needed. Hypoallergenic which is nice because I get mildly sneezy sometimes around shedding. Really cute too which is a bonus, they look like little teddy bears with big floppy ears. They can sometimes have back problems as both cocker spaniels and poodles tend to do so.That's the problem with purebreed dogs, many health problems. Not saying mongrels don't have them too, but "hybrid vigor" often gives them an advantage, health-wise. Health problems is a particularly pertinent issue with the popular purebreeds, because their demand drives unethical puppy mills to breed dogs regardless of their health. So for example, German Shepherds are known for a prevalence in hip dysplasia. Their sloping backs, which breeders prefer, contributes to the problem (if you look at earlier German Shepherds from early last century, their backs are much more horizontal). Golden Retrievers are prone to epilepsy and cancers. Cocker Spaniels are prone to pancreatitis and heart disease. Beagles are known for allergies and hypothyroidism. The bulldog's plight is one of the worse in terms of health, suffering from many serious conditions, especially those related to its abnormally shortened snout, such as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) (i.e. breathing problems, panting, chronic discomfort, exercise intolerance and difficulty eating) and brachycephalic ocular syndrome (eye damage related to shortened nose). These problems in many cases can be traced to inbreeding and excessive breeding for certain physical attributes at the cost of their health. Purebreed dogs do have advantages in having a more predictable temperament. While each dog is an individual and no two dogs are entirely alike in personality, purebreeds usually have more reliable temper that falls within a certain range. So German Shepherds have tendency to guard and be good guard dogs. Golden Retrievers are great at retrieving, swimming and obedience training, Beagles like to chase and dig, Siberian Huskies like to run fast and long, Malamutes are stubborn yet friendly and so on. Mongrels by contrast you can't really predict what their temperament will be. So its a hit-and-miss affair. The trick is to be real careful in selecting a responsible and reputable breeder who takes into account the health of his or her dogs. The sloping-back German Shepherds are not that common anymore. All of my German Shepherds were (are) of the straight-back variety; that is, the European line. Two of my dogs were from Guide Dogs for the Blind so they were bred for work, not for show. They told us their parents were from Germany. (We believed them.) A third was a rescue. We suspect he's Russian because he has features common with the Russian line of German Shepherds. Plus, he loves Borscht and can speak Russian, so dead giveaway. The sloping back feature is common among the American German Shepherd line and I don't see them anymore. All (100%) of the German Shepherds we've encountered in parks and walking down the street are of the straight-back variety. And before you say, "Oh, you must not have seen a lot," let me tell you mister that we've seen nearly fifty. We only see the sloping-back variety on TV Dog shows, so I don't know where you've been seeing mostly the sloping-back variety. In real life, people own straight-backs.
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Post by mln59 on May 26, 2020 13:55:48 GMT -5
This is just what I need to watch under lockdown. A Malamute refusing to take a bath, hahaha: that's a great channel.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 26, 2020 16:01:03 GMT -5
Some people say dogs stink.
Not me. I love love love to bury my face into my dog's fur and just breathe in that sweet complex aroma. Well, there's also a "mystery" smell that I can't quite figure out but I try to ignore that.
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Post by ironhammer on May 26, 2020 16:53:24 GMT -5
That's the problem with purebreed dogs, many health problems. Not saying mongrels don't have them too, but "hybrid vigor" often gives them an advantage, health-wise. Health problems is a particularly pertinent issue with the popular purebreeds, because their demand drives unethical puppy mills to breed dogs regardless of their health. So for example, German Shepherds are known for a prevalence in hip dysplasia. Their sloping backs, which breeders prefer, contributes to the problem (if you look at earlier German Shepherds from early last century, their backs are much more horizontal). Golden Retrievers are prone to epilepsy and cancers. Cocker Spaniels are prone to pancreatitis and heart disease. Beagles are known for allergies and hypothyroidism. The bulldog's plight is one of the worse in terms of health, suffering from many serious conditions, especially those related to its abnormally shortened snout, such as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) (i.e. breathing problems, panting, chronic discomfort, exercise intolerance and difficulty eating) and brachycephalic ocular syndrome (eye damage related to shortened nose). These problems in many cases can be traced to inbreeding and excessive breeding for certain physical attributes at the cost of their health. Purebreed dogs do have advantages in having a more predictable temperament. While each dog is an individual and no two dogs are entirely alike in personality, purebreeds usually have more reliable temper that falls within a certain range. So German Shepherds have tendency to guard and be good guard dogs. Golden Retrievers are great at retrieving, swimming and obedience training, Beagles like to chase and dig, Siberian Huskies like to run fast and long, Malamutes are stubborn yet friendly and so on. Mongrels by contrast you can't really predict what their temperament will be. So its a hit-and-miss affair. The trick is to be real careful in selecting a responsible and reputable breeder who takes into account the health of his or her dogs. The sloping-back German Shepherds are not that common anymore. All of my German Shepherds were (are) of the straight-back variety; that is, the European line. Two of my dogs were from Guide Dogs for the Blind so they were bred for work, not for show. They told us their parents were from Germany. (We believed them.) A third was a rescue. We suspect he's Russian because he has features common with the Russian line of German Shepherds. Plus, he loves Borscht and can speak Russian, so dead giveaway. The sloping back feature is common among the American German Shepherd line and I don't see them anymore. All (100%) of the German Shepherds we've encountered in parks and walking down the street are of the straight-back variety. And before you say, "Oh, you must not have seen a lot," let me tell you mister that we've seen nearly fifty. We only see the sloping-back variety on TV Dog shows, so I don't know where you've been seeing mostly the sloping-back variety. In real life, people own straight-backs. Sorry, I am not buying your argument and I am not conceding my point. If no one owns sloping backs, they would not be an issue. Clearly people do own them, especially in show-line dogs. There might not be any sloping backs in your location, but nation-wide and globally? So unless you got verified data like statistical survey to show they don't exist or only in a very small minority, you are just typing your own subjective ideas which may not be an accurate representation of the true picture. www.allshepherd.com/german-shepherd-sloping-back-vs-straight-back/
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Post by Wolfgang on May 26, 2020 17:14:50 GMT -5
I didn't think you would take it so seriously. You can have your point if it means that much to you. LOL!
For what it's worth, that link you provided is just a general discussion of sloped-back vs. straight-back. No numbers to back up your claim. You're also using a subjective "estimation" of which type of German Shepherd is predominant.
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