whats your favourite and why ?

tweetypie/8 · 24-10-2007, 09:26

hi i love dogs my favourite breed is german shepherd,having had two of them i have nothing but praise for them reasons being they are very easy trained,totally loyal and commited,and a really nice looking dog,this breed can be badly malinged ie vicious dangerous and what have you i have never experienced this with any of my dogs in fact i found them the complete oppisite.i have had thes dogs over a period of 20yrs and never encountered any problems with them,i am a great beleiver in the saying there is no such thing as a bad dog,just bad owners,whats your favourite breed ?

monkey2468 · 24-10-2007, 10:08

Labrador, great with kids, general good nature, easy to train. (although they can be a bit boisterous if the haven't been neutered!)

Halcyon · 24-10-2007, 10:12

My gran has always had a West Highland White Terrier.
They are lovely and I have found them great with children too.

MadGamer · 24-10-2007, 18:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkey2468

Labrador, great with kids, general good nature, easy to train. (although they can be a bit boisterous if the haven't been neutered!)

Labradoors?? Easy to train?? I have a black one, who's disobedient.

TheDaddy · 24-10-2007, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadGamer

Labradoors?? Easy to train?? I have a black one, who's disobedient.

Probably more to do with the trainer than the dog

I have one and she was very easy to train

Uncle Peter · 25-10-2007, 00:58

Used to have a flat coated retriever but we lost him a few years ago

fantastic, loving dog and daft as a brush. I'd have another one in a shot.

I love Siberian Huskies as well but they are generally a right handfull

Anonymouse · 25-10-2007, 07:28

I'm not a dog person, but if I were I'd definitely prefer a proper dog, i.e. an Alsatian or similar, not one of those absurd rats on a lead, a.k.a. Pekinese etc.

And definitely not any dog with a docked tail. Why the hell should anyone deprive a dog of a vital organ of communication? What purpose does it serve?

And as for those mobile hydraulic presses with far too many fangs, i.e. pit bull terriers - why?!

Alsatians are easy to train provided you a) start early enough, and b) ensure they're around kids from an early age. Kids are the easiest - and worst - way to set off an improperly-trained dog if s/he isn't used to them. One of my aunts has what can only be described as a menagerie, and she's always had Alsatians - and they learn who's boss before they're even weaned. She's a no-nonsense type and has nothing but contempt for anyone who doesn't train a dog properly.

As a result, her dogs are always as well-behaved as anyone could wish for; I remember her 2-year-old grand-daughter used to ride Rebel, the one she had at the time. He was huge - I thought at first the chap she got him from had sold her a bloody wolf! By all appearances he was definitely not a dog you'd want to tackle without body armour...as a would-be burglar found out one night. Although he wasn't actually hurt - due to Rebel's careful, thorough training - he was practically begging the police to take him away.

Needless to say, Rebel got prime steak and a nice big juicy bone for dinner the next day, and quite right too. He was well aware of his responsibilities as guard dog, and well up to the task. Yet he would tolerate anything from kids; I think he growled just a bit once when his tail got pulled. Fair enough. Hers were the only dogs I wasn't scared of as a kid, for all their size and strength.

sssshhhh · 25-10-2007, 12:11

Growing up I had what was supposed to be a labrador/border collie cross. The place we had him from was full of dogs, and he looked like none of the rest of the litter, or much like one of his parents. but my mum fell in love with him so home he came. It turned out to be an alsatian/lab cross (we think) and he was enormous!! He was trained within a few days of having him, so intelligent. He was great with kids, great with other dogs (he used to let next doors jack russell share his food) and a pleasure to have in the home. he was like a giant puppy the whole time we had him (12 years) always playing and up to mischeif. As a result we were very strict with him in terms of the house rules. We had to walk him at least 5 miles a day to keep him happy, and he'd eat like every meal was his last, unbelievable amounts of food. He could sometimes be very stubborn, and had to be told twice. And although he'd never hurt anyone in his life, he would bark viciously if a stranger entered our garden. We often commented that if he had gone to a home where he was not treated so well would he have turned out to be such a nice animal?

danielf · 25-10-2007, 12:39

Ready salted. Oh wait: this thread is about dogs... Might be an idea to put that in the thread title

tweetypie/8 · 26-10-2007, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by sssshhhh

Growing up I had what was supposed to be a labrador/border collie cross. The place we had him from was full of dogs, and he looked like none of the rest of the litter, or much like one of his parents. but my mum fell in love with him so home he came. It turned out to be an alsatian/lab cross (we think) and he was enormous!! He was trained within a few days of having him, so intelligent. He was great with kids, great with other dogs (he used to let next doors jack russell share his food) and a pleasure to have in the home. he was like a giant puppy the whole time we had him (12 years) always playing and up to mischeif. As a result we were very strict with him in terms of the house rules. We had to walk him at least 5 miles a day to keep him happy, and he'd eat like every meal was his last, unbelievable amounts of food. He could sometimes be very stubborn, and had to be told twice. And although he'd never hurt anyone in his life, he would bark viciously if a stranger entered our garden. We often commented that if he had gone to a home where he was not treated so well would he have turned out to be such a nice animal?

its nice to read positive quotes on the forum in relation to dogs or all animals.the world would be a sad place if you hadnt got your trusty mutt to fuss over and them doing likewise to you.

TheNorm · 26-10-2007, 15:51

My brothers and I grew up with a St Bernard, a fantastic dog who really was "one of us". I can distinctly remember how quickly he grew from a cuddly puppy to a cuddly adult. He was of course very strong (we weren't allowed to take him for a walk unattended) but never hurt us at all. He was also a fantastic burglar alarm - one of his "woofs" could be heard several houses away, and I'm sure put fear into the heart of any would-be robber. Unfortunately he developed arthritis and then bowel cancer, and had to be put down. I like to think that he enjoyed his relatively short life with us as much as we enjoyed being with him.

I'd like to get a dog now (my daughter would love one) but it would be left alone in the house for much of the day, and I think that would be cruel. In my mind dogs are like little boys; they need food, attention, discipline and lots of love, also space to run around and enjoy the moment.