Went Dog "Shopping" Today

[Nyboy]

I like mini and standards hate toys. Before all the doodles I would have clients get poodles for non shedding and then keep them shaved down.

 

[Beekissed]

That always mystifies me too...get a dog that doesn't shed and then cut all his hair off! Around here folks get the GPs and then cut all their hair in the summer...they don't realize that their hair keeps them insulated from the heat. I imagine it's the same with the poodles and such.

Love to see a standard poodle with a nice squared off trim of the legs and body but not shaved down. Just...neat. Sort of like the cut they give the Bedlington Terriers but not as short or as sculpted around the face.

Like this cut except without the exaggerated top knot on the head...I find this cut to be very manly, if you will, with no sissy-ness at all. Very handsome!

And this one...well...it just looks like an average dog....I LOVE this cut!

 

[Carol Dee]

Not to diss the dachshund, but I have never meet a nice one. All of them bite or nip or scared of everything and get surly. If a larger dog would do I say A golden Retriever. Our schools have them for therapy dogs. So sweet, so gentle, calm.

 

[Beekissed]

I have met a few good Doxies but put them in a pack and they are a murderous, ravening hoard. My sister used to raise and breed them and whenever a cat of hers would drop into the kennels it wouldn't get out alive...nor would she find much of it left. When they were out on the farm in a pack she would lose all her poultry and waterfowl and they even pulled a baby goat's head through the fence and killed it.

My other sister had one that fostered a baby pig and nursed her...even had a book done on it. Some are really sweet, but most I've met are some nasty little dogs.

The Golden Retriever used to be a really great dog and still is as far as temperament and intelligence...but oh, the joint problems they have now! All I hear from those dog's owners are about the expensive surgeries for joint repair...thousands of dollars. Usually have to be put down before their natural life span, even with the surgeries.

One would really have to be careful of a breeder with that breed and follow up on any pups they've been selling to see about these issues.

 

[Nyboy]

Now a days its rare for a golden to live past 7 cancer is a big problem in the breed. Clients that want a golden are getting them from out of the country.

 

[bobm]

The dachshund was on the AKC list as number 1 biting dog, I was shocked because all the ones I had over the years where nice dogs.Just make sure you have a nice amount of money put aside for when their backs start giving them trouble.

At Pathology ... whenever we had a Doxie brought in for a necropsy ... you could bet that the issue was between the third and fourth lumbar vertebra , had surgery, then put down. BIG $$$ down the drain. Since they are long and low ... whenever they jump up to greet you, or jump up onto or down off furniture, They tweek their back between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebra, which puts huge pressure on the spinal chord and needs surgery to reteive the pain / paralysis. As for the large dogs, mostly the issues are hip displasia and joint issues, cancers, heart issues , and stomach torsion. Poodles have just as many health issues as the other breeds such as cancer. When one crosses them with other breeds to claim fancy names, along with getting non shedding hair, and possibly more inteligence or dummy down, one may also double up on the inherited health issues that their 2 or more breeds are well known for.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I was just reading on a pet section of a camping forum about goldens and how the cancer rate has increased in American bred dogs. Their ave longevity is now about 7 years. Some rich people are going to England or parts of EU to get a dog with a lesser chance of cancer and a longer life expectancy.

 

[Beekissed]

Mostly crossing breeds of dogs can bring in a hybrid/mutt vigor. A Heinz 57 dog usually is healthy as an ox all their life.

That's one reason I stick with Labs or Lab mix dogs that are unwanted~read "free". They are the best of dogs and didn't cost me a dime, nor will I put a lot of money into one to preserve a longer life or repair chronic issues. They are great work partners and family dogs, no chronic health issues, and they are very easy to train...smart as a tack, those dogs.

When they finally are done with this life, they've had a great story and a great end. Then one can give a home to another unwanted, but great, dog. A new dog is a new story and can be just as enjoyable as the other dog stories one has had, so wishing each dog to have a long, long life is okay, I guess, but it doesn't leave much room for more stories.

 

[Nyboy]

A lot of my golden clients are going to Canada for dogs.

 

[bobm]

Mostly crossing breeds of dogs can bring in a hybrid/mutt vigor. A Heinz 57 dog usually is healthy as an ox all their life.

That's one reason I stick with Labs or Lab mix dogs that are unwanted~read "free". They are the best of dogs and didn't cost me a dime, nor will I put a lot of money into one to preserve a longer life or repair chronic issues. They are great work partners and family dogs, no chronic health issues, and they are very easy to train...smart as a tack, those dogs.

When they finally are done with this life, they've had a great story and a great end. Then one can give a home to another unwanted, but great, dog. A new dog is a new story and can be just as enjoyable as the other dog stories one has had, so wishing each dog to have a long, long life is okay, I guess, but it doesn't leave much room for more stories.

You had the luck of the draw so far.... From the genetic perspective..That hybrid vigor improvement may be true in some depending which inherited pair of genes is dominant or recessive , HOWEVER the mutt could just as easily inherit genetic issues from the mother or the father or from BOTH , just like any purebred dog would ... so a possible triple wammy !!! A crap shoot at best.