[quote]WildShoe wrote:
Bully Whippet, enough said.[/quote]
Be careful if you own whippets man, your neighbour might beat the shit out of you for starving your dogs!
LOL
Jacked Diesel,
I understand your desire for a large dog. I love large dogs. After 3.5 years of searching, I finally found the ideal large dog for me. In fact, he’s a giant dog - he weighs 145 pounds and is thin. He’s a Newfoundland; they look like black Saint Bernards. I’m not telling you about my Newf to convince you to get that breed. Rather, I’m writing to tell you about the process I went through.
I’ve always wanted a giant dog. However, my life didn’t allow for one until I got into my early/mid 20’s. So, until I was able to actually get a dog, I read, researched, and studied. To start, I put some time of thought into deciding some basic desires I had in my dog.
I knew that I wanted a huge canine. I also knew that I wanted a dog that had a decent amount of athleticism - able to walk and hike without any problems. Finally, I knew that I didn’t want a high-energy dog that would grow bored easily and turn to incessant yapping or house destruction to cure his boredom. Finally, I knew I wanted a dog who I could let off-leash when hiking without fear of the dog deserting me. With these basic wants as guidelines, I started accruing info on dog breeds. I scoured internet sites, went to Barnes and Noble and read about all the breeds I could find, and I looked at a bunch of different puppy litters for sale in my area. Time and again, my search yielded the knowledge that Newfoundlands are the breed I was looking for.
Amazingly, a Newf breeder popped up about 1 hour north of me with a litter for sale, right when I’d decided that the Newf was the dog for me. I went up to the mountains to check the dogs out and fell in love. The puppy whose personality I most liked also happened to be the largest male of the litter. I bought him and have been happy with my choice ever since.
I’m also glad that I took the time to research different breeds, honestly analyze my own living situation and lifestyle, and meet various dog breeds.
In your situation, Jacked, I would recommend 2 things -
- if you are bound and determined to get a dog now, don’t get a “large” dog breed. That would be any dog weighing 60-110 pounds. The reason for this is that dogs in this size range truly need a fair amount of space to have a happy life. They are higher-energy dogs who also need “work” of some type. They’re not called “working dogs” for no reason. Large dogs have a fairly high amount of energy. Labs and Golden retrievers were made to point out, flush out, and retrieve waterfowl for their hunting master. This means that retriever breeds were made to work and learn with their owner and to cover lots of terrain for extended periods. Putting such a dog in a mini-yard would be cruel. Boxers are another lovable, large breed. They were bred as all-around dogs - hunting, guarding, playing with children, and romping. They’ve got truckloads of energy and need to the space to expend it. This is just a sketch of large breeds, but the idea is basically the same - they need attention and space.
- since your living conditions are soon going to change, and you don’t know exactly where you’ll be or what you’ll be doing less than a year from now, why not simply stay the course and keep doing what you’re doing - asking questions and accumulating info on different dog breeds? This seems like the wisest course of action in your present situation.
- finally, to aid in your search, scrutinize what it is you want your dog to be like. Does size matter? Furriness? Energy level? Is there a specific activity you wish to engage in with him/her? Are there particular personality traits you wish for it to have or not have? (playful or mellow, dog-aggressive or dog-friendly, protective or welcoming of strangers, obedient or independent, sociable or aloof, heat or cold tolerant, goofy or serious… the list goes on).
I’ve had several golden retrievers in my life, and personally feel they are the smartest, most well behaved, and beautiful dogs in the world. That being said, even though I live alone in a pretty big apatment in NYC, I still wouldn’t get one, because I don’t have time to play with it, nor do I have a place for it to roll around in, as JP said…
As a Am Staff owner and somebody who has been around bully breeds most of his life I would be the first to tell you that for a number of reasons ‘pit bulls’ are not starter dogs and need a stable environment with an owner who is willing to put the time into raising a well socialized, disciplined and obedient dog.
We recently got a new pup so I have had a refresher course on just how challenging they can be.
As a whole, the breed is very strong willed, can be mischievous and destructive if not watched especially in the first 2 years of their life, and although they are highly trainable and if raised right will basically live to please you, they are not for everyone.
They have high prey drive and basically an unwillingness, until they are well into their elder years, to back down when confronted by another dog. These two components make training and socialization are critical.
There are regions of the country were a boat load of these dogs end up in shelters and are killed every year b/c people get them thinking it will be cool and have no idea the level of responsibility they are taking on.
If this is your first dog (childhood dogs don’t count b/c you weren’t the one raising it) and you cannot provide a stable environment with a fenced in yard and bring a willingness to take the dog through obedience training, socialize and exercise regularly, choose something else.
rottweilers love a good long walk, and some srint intervals in the park, but in the house they love just dozing around. You also have to consider what to do with the 18 stone of feces it makes and the 14 gallons of piss
Sorry Jacked, I was opening the door and someone surprised me with a camera…LOL.
Seriously, ditto what apwsearch said about pits. They are high-energy dogs, and are even worse as pups(which lasts from birth till about 4-5yo in that breed). We got Elwood(our late pit) without knowing anything about the breed, but we bought every book we could find on the subject and educated ourselves.
Unfortunately, we had trouble finding an obedience class in Guam that didn’t cost a few hudred, so we did it ourselves. He was fairly well trained, but you could never trust him offleash. If you called him while he was offleash, he would look back to see what you wanted…as he sprinted down the road and out of sight. Pits(as all bullies are) are very stubborn dogs, and take a while to house break. They will destroy the house out of boredom if you let them, but if you have the time to give them plenty of exercise and attention, you will have less problems.
Establish dominance early and often, and he will know his place in the house. I don’t mean beat the snot out of him, I am talking about the typical mounting and making him submit kind of stuff. We took to biting Elwood on the ear, since that is a kind of pack-mentality thing, and it worked very well. We have tried it on other breeds, who didn’t have the pain tolerance, and they would try to nip back.
As far as exercise, pits are pretty easy to please. If you have a dog park nearby, take him there for a couple hours. They are very athletic dogs, so you have an instant running partner once they are few months old(I started running Elwood about 6mo, and had him chasing water buffalo by 8-9 months). They love to wrestle, and will bite as part of their play, but it is the grab ahold kind of thing, not trying to break skin. It took a little while, but we had Elwood to where he knew he could play rough with me, but not with pretty much anyone else. Once we had kids, those were HIS kids, and be damned if he would let anything happen on his watch.
They love tug of war, and learn pretty early how to shake out a good hold. According to books I have read, they usually don’t bark much, unless they learn it from another dog. We already had a very vocal mutt, so Elwood learned to bark at an early age. They are protective dogs, but not aggressive if properly socialized. However, they are not usualy very good watchdogs. The old joke goes, if someone breaks into your house, the pit will let him in and then wait in the robbers car to go for a ride.
CONS: Definitely high-energy, but you can find ways to burn it off. They have short, coarse coats, though I have petted a few who had super-soft fur somehow. They shed constantly, so get used to the idea of millions of little short hairs all over everything. Elwood would get excited, and drop about a pound of hair in whatever spot he was sitting. You will have to have a tie-out for them, as they are known escape artists. Elwood spent a summer at my parent’s place in Florida, outside under the orange tree because he kept breaking stuff inside(we didn’t have breakable stuff at the time, so he was used to doing whatever in the house). He eventually ended up chained to the tree, because he dug under the fence in a matter of seconds, and then figured out he could jump it(6’ privacy fence, from a standing start–how’s that for explosive?).
I’m rambling again…seriously, if you live in an apartment and get a pit, you better make a serious commitment to getting out and keeping him active, or he will destroy everything. He used to pop fresh racquetballs(straight out of the can), and then lose interest in them.
I would have to say I love my Staffie Bull as well!
[quote]belligerent wrote:
tell me you don’t want that dog[/quote]
Boxers are one of the worlds most popular breeds. There is generally a good reason for popularity. Having owned one, I can say that it was best dog I’ve ever had and my friends always wanted me to breed it so they could get the pups. They are brilliant dogs. Just not for the OP and his mini yard.
[quote]BlakeAJackson wrote:
I would have to say I love my Staffie Bull as well![/quote]
Yeah buddy!
I hate boxers
[quote]Jacked Diesel wrote:
I hate boxers[/quote]
Quite the educated opinion… Do they hate you in return?
[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
Jacked Diesel wrote:
I hate boxers
Quite the educated opinion… Do they hate you in return?[/quote]
haha, I was going to post something very similar.
Here are my two boys. The brown one is a boxer/lab mix and the white one is a mutt, spaniel, boxer?, pit, who knows.
They are both very high energy and tons of fun. If they don’t get exercised as much as the need, you can tell. They just go crazy in the house. We fenced in the backyard to give them some room to run and even that’s really not enough.
I can take them to the dog run, which is on the beach and run them for an hour straight. They get home and still want to play. They are nuts! But I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
I’ve wanted a dog since I was 18 but was never had the time to devote to the dog. They are a huge committment, just keep that in mind. Good luck with your choice man.
[quote]dre wrote:
The brown one is a boxer/lab mix [/quote]
A Boxador, awesome mix. I’m keeping the 2 breeds separate, but getting a Boxer this coming June to go with my currently 4-month old yellow lab. Talk about energy…
Whoa, excuse me for having an opinion on what I like and what I don’t like, where the fuck do you get off? Every boxer I have ever been around has been dumb as fuck, not to mention an eye soar to look at. I spent an entire year living with one because my roommate had one, and I have never wanted to kill an animal more.
[quote]boatguy wrote:
They are protective dogs, but not aggressive if properly socialized. However, they are not usualy very good watchdogs. The old joke goes, if someone breaks into your house, the pit will let him in and then wait in the robbers car to go for a ride.[/quote]
Ha. My dog exactly. I have an APBT who will greet anyone at the door with a sloppy tongue and wagging tail. But he only does this when he’s home alone. He’s just happy to have company. And, yes, he loves car rides.
However, if I’m home, he is protective and will bark at anyone coming to the door or around the yard. In fact, the other night he was barking out the front window going nuts and I couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t stop. Apparently he saw, or heard, this kid that was going down the block trying to break into the parked cars.
[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
dre wrote:
The brown one is a boxer/lab mix
A Boxador, awesome mix. I’m keeping the 2 breeds separate, but getting a Boxer this coming June to go with my currently 4-month old yellow lab. Talk about energy…[/quote]
Yeah, he’s one of a kind alright. If it were up to my wife we would have a pure bred Boxer along with our other two. I just can’t imagine having 3 high energy dogs! Boxers are awesome dogs. Although, they seem to have more medical issues than other breeds.
One that can help out with yard work.
Don’t know if you can tell much from this pic, but does anyone see any Pit in my dog at all? I really think he’s got some pit in him. Just by his stocky, muscular build and his strong will.
And like Malonetd mentioned, when he’s in the house he barks at everyone and everything that walks buy. He goes crazy when dogs go by. But yet, he’s not aggressive when we are at the dog park or when he meets other dogs. He plays really well.
[quote]dre wrote:
Don’t know if you can tell much from this pic, but does anyone see any Pit in my dog at all? I really think he’s got some pit in him. Just by his stocky, muscular build and his strong will.
And like Malonetd mentioned, when he’s in the house he barks at everyone and everything that walks buy. He goes crazy when dogs go by. But yet, he’s not aggressive when we are at the dog park or when he meets other dogs. He plays really well. [/quote]
you can see it a bit in and around his eyes
[quote]Jacked Diesel wrote:
dre wrote:
Don’t know if you can tell much from this pic, but does anyone see any Pit in my dog at all? I really think he’s got some pit in him. Just by his stocky, muscular build and his strong will.
And like Malonetd mentioned, when he’s in the house he barks at everyone and everything that walks buy. He goes crazy when dogs go by. But yet, he’s not aggressive when we are at the dog park or when he meets other dogs. He plays really well.
you can see it a bit in and around his eyes[/quote]
I thought so. Thanks!