So exactly how much research did you do before getting your dog?

Ravenwood

Ravenwood

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Following on from the Puggle thread - quite a few posters mentioned about researching before getting a dog. What research did you do before getting your dog? What were the results and what swayed you to your final choice?

I have had several dogs over the years but every one of them has just landed up with me :p

I was given a Norwegian Buhund as my very first dog when I was a little girl by a friend's mother who bred them, I got my first ever gun dog (purpose wasn't intentional at the time) because the neighbours had a litter of accidental pups (Lab x Huntaway) and I had one, I was given a couple of terriers (never again! :eek:), I paid £50 for Toby (an extremely well bred dog but the only one I have ever had that has had health problems), and so it goes on - they all seem to have found me rather than me find them.

But... each and every one of them, purebreds and x cross breds have settled in to be fabulous family pets with never a problem from any of them. But is that down to the owner then? Are people researching dogs and simply expecting something perfect?
 
When I got Sweep he was from people I knew - they had all the relevant tests done:) but as much as anything he was a spangle puppy and that is what i wanted :)

Max came from Labrador Rescue - so no research on behalf at all - but Lab Rescue did have all his details regarding his pedigree/testing etc as they obviously know to pre-warn adopting families of any issues as they fund some medical treatment for the dogs lifetime if it measn they get a good home - there was a Lab the same time as Max who was a diabetic and they would fund his treatment for his lifetime:)
 
We've had a soft coated wheaten terrier and a parsons jack russell. Both times we wrote a specification and went for the closest we could get. I like terriers because they tend not to be as over bred as some (expect to be shot down for saying that!), we looked for excellent temperament because we had young children. Both were fantastic family dog choices. The scw was pedigree but the pjr wasn't.
 
When I got Bear I researched how much money I had :D I was 14 at the time and knew she was for sale and that she was 6 months old and that she was a Golden Retriever and that was it :o Luckily my parents didnt mind when I took her home! When I got Yellow Dog I knew more about dogs in general as had done various part time jobs involving them but had already decided to buy him before I knew his breeding. How can you say no to a little puppy that sits on your feet and gives you the eyes? :p
 
My old girl D was from a very strong German herding line which my mother had had an eye on for a long time.

The interim dogs have all been showring rejects, older pups who were being moved on, but all came from health tested parents, imported parents etc because in our breed especially, I think if you are paying money and want a lifelong companion, you want to know what you are getting.

The last two have been the ones with the biggest issue in terms of character and health.
Honestly, had I seen B's mother in the flesh before he was bought, I don't know if I would have brought him and his sister home. I am being brutally honest.
She is a nutcase.
I also know (now :p) that linebreeding on two males in his pedigree can lead to ear issues.
Hands up, I wanted the male because he was grey and we went back and got his sister because our other dog died and thought he might like the company.
Stupid, but has worked out well in other respects, I would not change him.

I spent a long time researching and planning for my current pup, going over bloodlines, meeting dogs and asking trusted friends, 'do you think this dog/combination of lines would suit me, would this dog be too strong for me, if I had to go away for the weekend, could my mum deal with this dog? Will this dog eat itself if it is bored?' etc etc etc.
And then the pup, who I had seen with an other owner and was very impressed with, became available.
I have met his mother and his father and I bought him more on the strength of his mother as other pairings with that sire would not have been suitable.
I know what to expect in terms of his character and strength (his father can be a total sod so I know to prepare myself for whining, tantrums, throwing his weight around) and his mother is very strong and quick in terms of responding to corrections, so I know I can tell him off and he won't collapse.
I had the choice of several dogs over months and was always advised against them.

If I had done no research, and accepted this puppy from high drive lines into my life because he was black and fluffy and cute, I would probably be on the funny farm for real :p

I think research is incredibly important, not so much for those of us in rural settings with lots of facilities, who can adapt around the dog, but for people in urban settings, with limited exercise provision, with kids, with neighbours, getting a husky because they look kewl, when all you can offer is a bimble around the block twice a day, is the reason why research is so important.
And for those getting a breed or a cross of a breed with known hereditary problems.
 
None!
My mum had previously had a dog, so we at least had one person who knew something.
To be honest, we couldn't have got a better dog. She's a real sweetheart! Completely deaf though now!
 
Lancashire Heelers read about them in Farmers Weekly and thought they would suit me, a very healthy breed that hadnt been cocked up by greedy breeders and were owned and bred by genuine breeders who loved the dog and the club had strict ethics. I bought 2 puppies from different litters from the club secretary and they turned out healthy fantastics workers cattle, ratters etc.

Dobermanns I have always loved the breed and read everything I could get my paws on. I was offered a free to good home 5yr old entire male who had KG champions throughout his pedigree and was from the amazon line. He lived until 11yrs of age and was pts because of Wobblers. My next Dobermann 18month neutered male was returned to his breeder because he had bitten a family member. The breeder had tested her bitch and her puppies were tested vwd clear before being sold. The breeder had take the precaution of ringing all the people who had bought her puppies after Fred had been returned to her to check for aggression problems and everyone was fine. Fred was very challenging but we worked through it and he was my dog of a lifetime. He had to be pts last year age 4yrs of age due to a rare strain of Leptospirosis which I never believed he had and i still miss him desparately.

My current 2 are from Dobermann welfare, siblings who had to go together, no idea of breeding but I do know they dont have Vwd.



Do
 
No research into the actual dogs.

Craven a cross between an English & welsh foxhound was a private rehome and the owners didn't seem to have had him long.I have since done some research on him and have managed to trace him back to when he was 6/7 months old.

Flint a scenthound cross of some sort was from a local rescue,he had been a stray for at least 5 weeks and I knew nothing about him as he had only been in the rescue less than a week when I went to see him.

I have been around scenthounds a lot,having Beagles growing up and being around Foxhounds and Harriers,so I knew what I was getting,and I knew about their temperament but as for their health, I knew nothing,so far they have been fine,no problems.:)
 
Well veterinary genetics was a large part of my u/g degree, some research I was doing for UFAW and isn't completely unrelated to my work now, so I didn't do anything specific in those terms (surely the most important research when buying a pedigree after a knowledge of likely temperament/ lifestyle suitability). I researched a number of different breeders seeking one who approached it sensibly and found my beast.

With regard to suitability to my lifestyle, I knew what I was getting into with a collie anyway (anyone with half a brain knows they need exercise and mental stimulation etc) and I was more confident to get a puppy and train it to fit in where necessary than acquire an older dog through rescue and expect it to adapt. I was confident in my ability to raise him as a well adapted, well trained animal on the strength of past experience with dogs and lots of practice training all sorts of animals.

In my (very biased) opinion, he's pretty perfect, so it's all worked out ok :D
 
I fell for greyhounds a long time before i was in a position to get a dog, i was thinking i'd probably just get a rescue dog of some sort in future then met a greyhound at a meet & greet, i was smitten with its calm, affectionate nature and later when i read the leaflet discovered they were ideal for me.

So i did some further reading over the years and then more seriously once we were looking to adopt. Thankfully there is a lot of info available specifically on bringing an ex-racing greyhound home so i felt we were well prepared, it was still a bit of a shock to the system becoming a dog owner but it all worked out great.
A friend runs a greyhound rehoming group and they do get quite a few dogs returned because the adopter wasn't prepared to put the training in or give the dog time to settle, one was returned after 24hrs for being too big! I think some do expect perfect dogs and even though they are informed of the potential work involved initially for some it goes in one ear and out the other.
 
Not enough, I reckon. All the reading of books and forums I did didn't prepare me for the baptism of fire I had bringing D home. For instance, I was still under the very arrogant impression that I would be the first person in the world to train a husky to be reliable off-lead. :rolleyes:

I had a sort of rose-tinted view of nice weekend rambles, maybe biking with the dog occasionally as a nod to the whole sled dog thing, proceeding at a genteel pace along canal towpaths with my dog trotting nicely beside me, that kind of thing. :o

I would now strongly advise anyone looking at the breed to attend a rally or five first, see the dogs working and get a feel for what they're like to live with. She was just so extremely different from any dog I'd ever known.

R is a lot easier but only because we are now mad husky people and to be fair he is a very easy husky in that he's unusually affectionate and very food orientated. Not that I ever would but I reckon he'd actually be safe off the lead, so long as I had a supply of cubed Spam. :rolleyes:
 
CaveCanem said:
I think research is incredibly important, not so much for those of us in rural settings with lots of facilities, who can adapt around the dog, but for people in urban settings, with limited exercise provision, with kids, with neighbours, getting a husky because they look kewl, when all you can offer is a bimble around the block twice a day, is the reason why research is so important.
And for those getting a breed or a cross of a breed with known hereditary problems.
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I think you are probably right. So really what we are saying is that some people cannot offer the lifestyle that their chosen dog needs. So what was the point of their research?

I whole heartedly admit that I live in a doggy world that is most likely very different to the majority of dog owners in the UK and am therefore probably swayed and biased by that. My current three dogs have jobs that they were bred to do - although we didn't have a job for the collie when we first got her (can you believe she will be two in January :eek: )

But just to pick up your point about hereditary problems - I have to disagree slightly, but only by my own experiences. Its all very well feeling satisfied that you have bought a pup from low hip scoring parents if that is prevalent in your chosen breed, for example, but unfortunately other things can rear their ugly head that you hadn't taken into consideration and it so often does.

Lets face it - look at humans - there is very little consideration in chosing breeding stock :cool:

And getting onto health checks that people preach about - hips/eyes/heart/elbows etc but if you have successfully bred a line of working dogs that have never (or any of their progency) developed any of the above - surely the physical results prove themselves? Are we losing the old fashioned breeders who know so much about dogs from years of breeding and labelling all of them as disposable, irreputable, BYB breeders?

Example - yesterday on the shoot was a fabulous old guy, a Lord no less, but battered and dishevelled who had the most amazing Golden retrievers - but not the great big, heavy, fluffly, big boned retrievers you see today who wouldn't possibly be able to cope with a day's work which is what they were bred for but slim, small, original working ones who were superbly trained - you simply never see them anymore. I would have one of his puppies like a shot (he only ever breeds if he needs another one for himself) but I bet my bottom dollar they are not "health tested" but I can almost guarantee that because of his years of knowledge and expertise that these dogs will be healthy. I really hope we don't lose sight of such experienced people in today's modern world.

PS: just for the record I have never bred a litter of pups and nor do I ever intend to do so! Its dogs not bitches for me :p
 
I think you are probably right. So really what we are saying is that some people cannot offer the lifestyle that their chosen dog needs. So what was the point of their research?

But just to pick up your point about hereditary problems - I have to disagree slightly, but only by my own experiences. Its all very well feeling satisfied that you have bought a pup from low hip scoring parents if that is prevalent in your chosen breed, for example, but unfortunately other things can rear their ugly head that you hadn't taken into consideration and it so often does.

And getting onto health checks that people preach about - hips/eyes/heart/elbows etc but if you have successfully bred a line of working dogs that have never (or any of their progency) developed any of the above - surely the physical results prove themselves? Are we losing the old fashioned breeders who know so much about dogs from years of breeding and labelling all of them as disposable, irreputable, BYB breeders?

Example - yesterday on the shoot was a fabulous old guy, a Lord no less, but battered and dishevelled who had the most amazing Golden retrievers - but not the great big, heavy, fluffly, big boned retrievers you see today who wouldn't possibly be able to cope with a day's work which is what they were bred for but slim, small, original working ones who were superbly trained - you simply never see them anymore. I would have one of his puppies like a shot (he only ever breeds if he needs another one for himself) but I bet my bottom dollar they are not "health tested" but I can almost guarantee that because of his years of knowledge and expertise that these dogs will be healthy. I really hope we don't lose sight of such experienced people in today's modern world.
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To address your points - the point of research is, you'd like a husky, but you live in a semi, can't offer long walks every day and the lifestyle a husky needs, but if you do your research, you discover the breed and its origins and its needs and pick a more low maintenance breed.

Re hips and elbows - the parents are the parents. If you research properly, not just mum and dad, and talk to people and look at pedigrees over generations, you'll know which lines to go for and which to avoid.
Also, hip and elbow dysplasia can also be accidental, overwork in youth, etc.

For my breed, you need to submit the dog's hip and elbow scores to compete at the top levels. So breeding and working dogs with no health tests, it would just not happen under our system. For one, I want to know that my dog has sound hips and elbows before I repeatedly ask him to jump a 1m hurdle and an a-frame and slam into a decoy after running the length of a football pitch.

Knowledgeable, old-fashioned breeders with expertise and people who health test, hip/elbow score their dogs etc are not mutually exclusive. I know plenty.
Almost everyone I know hip and elbow tests their breeding stock. Over the years I can count on one hand the dogs I am aware of who have had terrible hips, and I don't think that is an accident.

Maybe you (anyone!) don't want to invest in a pup with no health tests on the parents, that is your (anyone's) perogative, but I and many others do, I'd rather not take the chance - if anything, if something does go wrong, I have recompense, can say something to the breeder to warn others, avoid those lines in future if the problem can be proven to be hereditary.

It's not preaching and I am sorry you had a bad experience with your lab. It's no reason to completely discount health tests. Better safe than sorry!

Irresponsible breeding cocked up the GSD and is still cocking it up.
These health tests exist to try and lessen the risks of these conditions occuring.
It is not a failsafe but at least it is there.
If you breed GSDs and do not hip and elbow score, knowing fully well the system exists, as it has done for decades, pioneered by Dr Malcolm Willis, the breed genetecist who passed away recently then yes, I will label you a backyard/irresponsible breeder. No one had more expertise in the GSD than that man.
The only reason I can think of for someone not to hip or elbow score a breeding pair of GSDs, knowing full well the system exists, is because they are tight.
 
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LOL CC - don't get uptight - it was just a discussion I was throwing out to the floor ;)

And as for tight - in my mind, money is no object when buying a pup, because actually when you think about it - even if you paid £1K for a pup, its very little compared to the many years of enjoyment you would get out of it for the next 12/15/20 years etc. You can buy a native pony for less than 20 quid which rather puts it into perspective ;)

But now we are getting breed specific - you are exceptionally knowledgeable in your chosen breed, I am a jack of all trades and master of none - I've had so many ;) But its great to hear how rigid your competing society have become and I take my hat off to them. You cannot fault that they have the breeds best interest at heart.

But actually, at the end of the day, I could go out and buy a GSD from an ad in the paper without any knowledge whatsoever of your competing side (not forgetting that we have had GSD's in the past (although we called them Alsations :p))

So really, I reiterate - surely education is the way forward, are you perhaps preaching to the converted? How would you go about creating a world where someone like me couldn't just buy a GSD (even a registered one) if I had no intention of competing but just wanting a pet? Research? Can you be sure that I am intelligent enough not to be swayed by the advocates of any particular breed that they are not perfect for me because lets face it all breed societies (whether dogs/horses/sheep etc) will tell you that their breed is best :)
 
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Ravenwood said:
but not the great big, heavy, fluffly, big boned retrievers you see today who wouldn't possibly be able to cope with a day's work which is what they were bred for but slim, small, original working ones who were superbly trained
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Just to pick up on that, too - when talk about looking for 'old fashioned German Shepherds' they seem to describe the big, heavy, fluffy, big-bones GSDs who wouldn't possibly be able to cope with a day's work, which is what they were bred for.
When in fact the original, true old-fashioned working GSDs were slim built, wiry, medium sized, tight coated and usually grey.
Research would tell you this, not falling for the hard sell of people marketing what is in fact a modern trend.
Trend is the curse of our breed and many others :(
Is it any coincidence that bigger, heavier, weight-bearing breeds are more prone to HD?
 
Ravenwood said:
LOL CC - don't get uptight - it was just a discussion I was throwing out to the floor ;)

And as for tight - in my mind, money is no object when buying a pup, because actually when you think about it - even if you paid £1K for a pup, its very little compared to the many years of enjoyment you would get out of it for the next 12/15/20 years etc. You can buy a native pony for less than 20 quid which rather puts it into perspective ;)

But now we are getting breed specific - you are exceptionally knowledgeable in your chosen breed, I am a jack of all trades and master of none - I've had so many ;) But its great to hear how rigid your competing society have become and I take my hat off to them. You cannot fault that they have the breeds best interest at heart.

But actually, at the end of the day, I could go out and buy a GSD from an ad in the paper without any knowledge whatsoever of your competing side (not forgetting that we have had GSD's in the past (although we called them Alsations :p))

So really, I reiterate - surely education is the way forward, are you perhaps preaching to the converted? How would you go about creating a world where someone like me couldn't just buy a GSD (even a registered one) if I had no intention of competing but just wanting a pet? Research? Can you be sure that I am intelligent enough not to be swayed by the advocates of any particular breed that they are not perfect for me because lets face it all breed societies (whether dogs/horses/sheep etc) will tell you that their breed is best :)
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I'm not uptight, I love debating this subject :D
And the system where health and working ability dictate success isn't new, it's been around for a long time, although only recently introduced to showing in England :)

I mean tight in terms of, being too tight to put the health tests on the parents, just wanting to breed them without spending money on health tests and make the maximum profit off the puppies.

If I help one person make an informed decision on here or in 'real life' then I don't think I am preaching to the converted and I do speak to potential puppy buyers both here via PM and off the forum, there are a lot of people willing to offer the route to education if people want to look.

I recommend breeders I think are doing it right.
My advice is to always insist on health tests (with good results on the parents) go online, go and meet the breeders, ask lots of questions, visit a show, a breed club, see what type of dog you like and take it from there, speak to as many people as you can.
If you just want to go and buy a pup from the small ads there is nothing I can do, really.

Healthy family pets and health tested parents are not mutually exclusive.
Even if you don't want to show or work, you can still get a pet dog from health tested parents.
A tiny minority of litters go on to work or show, maybe one, two, three in a litter, the rest go to pet/active non competition homes. The vast majority of breeders doing things responsibly still manage to send most of their puppies to pet homes.
TBH mine are both pets first and foremost, hence asking all the questions about whether my current pup would fit in with my lifestyle. He is asleep at my feet :p

And regarding being swayed, again, we could go into things to look out for all night, I have listed them here before and will warn people looking to buy a pup for buzzwords and other things, mostly via PM.

Right, I'm knackered with all that, off to bed!!!
 
Night CC - I must go to bed too, up early in the morning! Life seems to be so manic there is very little time to sit down and chew the cud as we are doing tonight.

I take all your points on board and actually I agree with them also but it doesn't cover the dog owner like me, who's pups just seem to turn up. If you take me as an example - is it just luck that all the dozens of dogs or so that I have had, bar one with health problems, is a coincidence that they have all been perfectly healthy?

Can we say that actually, health problems in cross bred dogs are a minority spoiling the few? Without any particular statistics of which there will never be and I don't think we can count charities because they are not regulated but do seem to have a voice in a certain self righteous ego type of way. How will we ever know that in the land of the humble dog owner that mongrels are any less of a dog than a champion pedigree? (obviously discounting your own breed specific who seem to have it nailed) but actually there must be thousands of mongrels out in this world who make the most loved family pets.
 
For the last 30 years all our dogs except one have come from Bath Cats & Dogs Home. There's been no 'research' per se. We just know the types of dog we like in as much as we go mainly for taller dogs, with short hair rather than woolly coats, and we try to always run a dog and a bitch at the same time. We never have a lone dog, they always have a companion - or two! We don't do puppies- we prefer older dogs (age range 18 months to anything you like).

I think there's something in a dog's eyes that just tells you whether you and he/she are going to get along. OH and I both come from dog families and while we've had one or two with behavioural problems they've always been sortable thanks to excellent dog training classes (and a bit to our perseverance). Our dogs' are all family pets, and the one thing we would appreciate their being is good watchdogs, which they have all been.

So, over the years we've had:

1 Kerry Blue x Schnauzer (prob.)
 
Sorry, computer blip. following on from last post - unresearched dogs over last 30 years:

1 Kerry Blue x Schnauzer (Dog's Home)
1 Bassett Hound x Dandy Dinmont (wished on us by mother-in-law)
1 GSD x Yellow Lab (Dog's Home)
1 Choc Lab (Labrador Rescue Society) - very bad experience - would never use them again
1 Collie x terrier (Dog's Home)
1 Lab x terrier x Tasmanian Devil (her nickname) - found abandoned in local layby
1 Foxhound x Dalmatian or pointer (Dog's Home)

Plus our original homebred Black Lab and a rescue yellow lab direct from a home that couldn't cope.

All 'unresearched' - all much loved.
 
When we went looking for a dog we wanted a dog that we could walk a lot as we have a local park, local fields and woods, plus the beach is a short bus journey away (shame the pooch is car sick) and we went to our local pound and saw the dog we wanted, an 18 month +/- collie cross, so off we went and researched border collies and that was the dog we wanted, but because we have a young one in our extended family who has special needs (she is 100% okay with animals and loves RDA) we were told we couldn't have him, which is understandable. Then we saw and ad for a 7 week old lab x border collie and went to see him and took him home that day. I already had a fair amount of knowledge of labs after working in a kennel. He's about 6 months now and acts like a collie with the belly of a lab. If I had the oppurtunity to inspect the parents and what not I would have, but that wasn't a possibility unfortunately.
 
Before I got my MinPins, no research. However, that's going back some 20 years ago and I guess I was just ignorant of the facts. I was, however, working for a vet at the time. The result is that as much as I loved my girls, I would never get another MinPin again. Maybe it's that I've outgrown them as a breed or perhaps they aren't really suited to my lifestyle as I am now.

The girls were middle aged when we got the BT. I had already experience of dogs, the vet tech experience behind me, but wanted to research. The age of the internet was well upon us and I spent hours reading about different terrier breeds. I was actuallly considering either Westies, Cairns or Borders - but borders came upon me like a total accident. I had taken an online questionaire (on PetPlanet) which came back with Borders as an option. It also came back with Munsterlanders, but they were too big for our in town flat. I spoke the the vet that I took the girls to about BTs and they assured me that Borders were some of the healthier dogs with fewer genetic issues.

As for buying that particular pup - that came as a referral off the back of contacting SKC for lists of breeders, speaking to several and was put in touch with someone who was down in Leeds. The rest is history.

Then entered the poodle....

Having been a dog groomer for several years I knew what I wanted....I loved poodles (my family has always had them, my grooming tutor has them and I was also wanting something to show my "work" on.). Several came my way by referral, but the timing was never right. Merlin wasn't initially offered to me; his brother was. The brother was an unneutered male, had been shown and the owner wanted to keep him entire as a stud. I wasn't interested in an entire male, for a variety of reasons. I met him anyway, and he was lovely but I just didn't click with him. So the owner told me that the breeder had a brother still, neutered and was looking for a special home. At ten months old, Merlin was still at home because he'd had a retained testical and was neutered and she no longer could part with him to "just anyone". Not that she'd parted with any of her pups carelessly - but the bar was raised for Merli. I spoke her, met her, told her why I wanted a poodle. She shows as a hobby, but works also as a groomer so she understood me. The rest is history there too. I was really really lucky with him - he was a perfect young dog to have for me. He was house broken, all his jabs done, well socialised, well trained, neutered -- and cost me a fraction of what a pup would have cost. Parents were all health tested (PRA and so forth) and he came with a contract which states if I can't keep him that he goes back to her.
 
Daisy Doberman- researched the breed a lot and then reserached the breeder thoroughly. Made sure the parents were health tested etc.

Daisy has cost over £8k so far in vet bills.


Boris GSP- I saw him advertised in the local paper, googled GSP to see what they looked like and then went and saw him and put a deposit down :)
I have no idea whether his parents were tested (I doubt it though judging from where he came from and the price he was).
 
Once I'd picked Henry from the rescue centre I went and got a book on Cocker Spaniels (which in hindsight, was useless!) and a book on settling rescue dogs in. I played it by ear a lot, far too much probably. If I was starting again I would have got a book on gundogs and started as I meant to go on, but there we go - he's not turned out too badly really:)
 
We've had the same breed since the 1950's and despite some idiot breeders the amazing GSD character still comes shining through. Always been fairly lucky regarding their health issues, even with rescues (mostly fear biters)they come good. Never bothered with research, just love the way they look and move:)
 
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as a child/family pets,

my parents had a dog pre children, she was a rescue case and had to be sadly PTS when i was a baby so i dont know much about her, breed etc. I do know they collected a brown dog... when they bathed her she was actually golden under all of the cr@p!

Next, my parents go a Lhasa Apso from the Lhasa Apso rescue and rehoming centre, i believe they looked at a few and had quite a wait for the right one (as they had children), she was already an adult when they got her, had mutiple phantom pregnancies and cost a fair bit at the vets, she made us all so taken with the breed - she was stolen from our garden boxing day 1989 - they climbed over a solid 6ft fence to get her, thousands of leaflets later, the local paper doing articles about it months later, and nothing :-(

My parents then knew what the wanted, so they went on the search of another Lhasa Apso, they went to one of the best breeders in the country and a lady who judges. We went to buy a puppy, but she had a 8 month old that had been returned (bought as a wedding pressie, bride didnt want a dog!), we bought him. They then wanted to breed, so again started the search with the help of the breeder we had the dog from a few years earlier, we found a bitch down south, breeders hubby was a vet and had checked her over etc for breeding.... she came up north, we took her for her jab and a check over and she had 2 hernias and was not suitable to breed from at all, she was returned to the breeder sadly and my parents never replaced her, i dare say as they saw how upset us children were. He died of old age at 19 in 2008.

My parents have just got 2 new Lhasa Apsos, on friday (you may have seen my post about one having a large lump), they want them mainly for companionship now then are older, it does seem to have given my dad a new lease of life :-) they already knew different lines etc from our previous dog, they would like to breed a litter from them but that depends on his lump, its not the end of the world if they dont as that is not the main purpose.

Last year, now i am all grown up, married, children etc we decided to get a family dog.... hubby wanted a KC reg lab puppy, i wanted a smaller dog like i had always known.... he wanted a puppy, i wanted an older one and i wasnt bothered about KC papers! We ended up with a lab x border collie puppy...... well.... thats what we were told she was!!!! she was riddled with worms when we got her, had been fed on chips and gravy and adult pedigree chum in gravy.... all before 8 weeks. Needless to say this has left her with stomach issues and shes on a special diet.
Before getting her, i did lots of googling on the mix, asked on here etc. She is very much what we expected but is she right for my family - i'm not so sure! Hubby is not interested in her at all :-( hence shes left totally down to me, but with toddler twins, 14 horses, chickens etc, it's hard work. She is one of the most loyal dogs you could ever meet though! I have told hubby only last night actually that if he doesnt let her be a part of this family and he doesnt start showing an interested and making an effort, that come january she will have to be rehomed to be fair to her :-( . He is happy for her to go but i want him to make more of an effort before she goes otherwise i wont forgive him for it. Her breeding, well, the vet is certain there is GSD in there, someone else said staffy, so who knows. my research and the way she is, certainly match up (apart from her looks!).
 
I confess that I did very little in the way of actual research, but I met both parents of both my pups and was fully satisfied that they were friendly, biddable, well cared for etc. Also saw photos of dogs from previous litters and some letters from happy owners. Of course, I had no proof that any of this was genuine - I just had to trust the breeder.

Mine are crosses (horror of horrors :D), but even if I had gone for pure breeds I am not sure that I would have placed too much emphasis on breed-specific research - to me (rightly or wrongly) the most important thing was/is what the parents are like. But then mine are only pets, and I am not involved in working or showing circles so wouldn't know anything about pedigree lines etc. It had to be enough that I liked the breeder and liked her dogs. I imagine this is the same for most pet owners like me tbh.
 
Ravenwood said:
I take all your points on board and actually I agree with them also but it doesn't cover the dog owner like me, who's pups just seem to turn up. If you take me as an example - is it just luck that all the dozens of dogs or so that I have had, bar one with health problems, is a coincidence that they have all been perfectly healthy?

Can we say that actually, health problems in cross bred dogs are a minority spoiling the few?

How will we ever know that in the land of the humble dog owner that mongrels are any less of a dog than a champion pedigree? (obviously discounting your own breed specific who seem to have it nailed) but actually there must be thousands of mongrels out in this world who make the most loved family pets.
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You say your pups just turned up, grand, so did most of mine! But I researched and found out about the breed over years.
They just became available.
The older dog now, is probably the one I researched most, restrospectively and has been the only unhealthy one - like you, a one off bad experience.
This current pup is the one I did most thinking about.

There are quite a few people on here with crosses/mongrels with health problems (HD, allergies, etc)

I think we are all humble dog owners! I don't think mongrels are any less of dogs than champion pedigrees, never owning anything amounting to a champion myself.
Of course there are loved mongrels out there, but going back to my original point, if you are looking for a dog and a GSD x Husky becomes available, if you live in an unsuitable space, can't offer a lot of stimulation for a cross like that, then better that you do a bit of research and go for a calmer, more suitable cross than have it eat your house, eat itself, run away or have to be rehomed, etc.

Collie and labs and GSDs are one thing but there are a lot of other high drive breeds out there that are being bred, and bred together, and being sold to unsuitable homes (a combination of shyster breeders and potential buyers over-egging their capabilities) when a bit of research into what makes a good breeder and what type of dog would suit your home would go a long way.
Go on Gumtree and read ads for 'Staffie x Collie' 'Rottie x Akita' and 'Husky x Alsatian' and 'Wolf hybrid' - aye, right....the sales pitch is 'lovely markings' 'cute' 'chunky' 'fluffy' '£££' 'will make good guard dog' not 'will grow massive' 'will need a tonne of exercise' 'will need brain stimulation, not shut in a yard to be used as a breathing burglar alarm' 'might chase livestock' - which is what a bit of research might tell you.
There are a glut of puppies out there being sold on the strength that they look cool/cute/striking, purebred and cross, but are completely unsuitable for the average low-energy pet home and can be prone to health issues and the poor owners have to pick up the pieces.
THAT is why I am so keen that people do their research, especially having owned a Lab/Foxhound/JRT mix - ARGH!!! :p

The mongrel thing, I have no issue with mongrels. I DO have an issue with people breeding them, whacking a funny name on them, charging top dollar with no health tests and laughing all the way to the bank.
When someone could have done their research and found same or similar for much cheaper or in rescue and not paid through the nose for some smart chat.
(And yes, I realise shyster breeders of purebreds do this as well and my feelings are the same on that, hence why I am always dinging on about doing research :p)
For £1k I would want a dog to poo gold, TBH :o
 
How clean would the streets be if dogs pooped gold? :D

Quote of the day from, of all people, Cesar Millan: You don't always get the dog you want, but you always get the dog you need.
 
A little.....

I've always had dogs when I lived at homebut whenwe looked for a family dog we done some research and decided that we could cope with a dog on the lead 24/7.

We got Chilli when she was 7 weeks old and went straight to puppy classes. I can let her off lead in certain places and she is fab with the horses and has been known to lick our flock sheep on the nose! She is really affectionate and loves playing with my little girl. Definitely one of the best presents my OH has bought me.

She is barely walked on the lead now and has a better recall than my old spangle!
 
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