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Legendary Wise Elder
Member Since Sep 2010
Location: North Carolina
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#1
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unaluna
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Monster on the Hill
Member Since Sep 2020
Location: by the river
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#2
I sometimes walk/pet sit a part Husky, and I will attest that they are NOT for people who can't keep up or want to order the dog around. Last time I walked him (his name is Chili!) we went about 2 miles down the road half running half stopping to sniff random stuff and on the way back I just watched him play in a swamp with frogs n stuff, and then a moose showed up and it was "chili dog, we need to gtfo."
My aunt loves rottweilers, and I can't say any of her fur babies have been overtly aggressive towards anyone I've seen. Excitable, yeah. I knew a guy that had some kind of Cattle Collie, and it was like the husky in that it was active, but it's energy was more focused (probably because she grew up working that farm). I haven't had a huge amount of known experience with other breeds, but I'll say I've encountered friendly pit bulls and not so friendly labs, so it really does depend on the individual animal, their past, their owner, and the situation. I haven't met a smart little dog though, haha. __________________ [Insert thought-provoking and comedic quote here] |
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lizardlady, unaluna
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Magnate
Member Since Apr 2016
Location: Somewhere in South America
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#3
A large number of huskies are being euthanized in shelters lately due to overcrowding. A lot of people think they are cute but don't realize how high energy they are, and aren't prepared for the work they require.
That's a problem more generally. People buy/adopt a breed because they like how they look without researching if they can give the dog what they need and if the dog is suited to their lifestyle. |
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MuddyBoots, seesaw, unaluna
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Human
Member Since Apr 2014
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#4
There is nothing wrong with these dog breeds, but the fact is, people frequently seek out a specific dog breed because they think it looks cool or cute or they see the dog performing a task at a high level and don't understand that looks are irrelevant to a dog's innate function and instincts. These dogs are bred for their instinct to do a certain kind of work and you cannot train that out of them.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of backyard breeders (unethical breeders who breed dogs who are not proven for the work they are bred or health tested, etc.) and puppy mills (same as BYB but on a commercial scale) has made so many breeds seen in movies available to the general public: huskies, shiba inu, belgian malinois, and so on. Shelters are now full with poorly bred versions of these dogs - meaning they look like the breed, but have inherent behavioral problems (often but not always) and considering they are often dumped as juveniles and adults, also have already learned bad habits. I have a border collie puppy from an ethical breeder. This is not for the faint of heart. He is a terrorist. But that's exactly what I'd expect a border collie puppy that was bred for herding sheep and cattle to be. As we work on training and manners, he's calming down and fitting in, but the first 4 weeks were not that fun. I always say that I dislike the puppy phase, because when you are talking about working breeds, they are terrorists at a young age. Andy, who is a mixed breed but not of any working breed, was so much easier as a puppy, and his mix is mostly companion dog breeds. I'm winding around the point, but whether you go to a breeder or a rescue/shelter, they need to be more careful about matching breed to lifestyle. When I got my first border collie, I was running marathons, biking cross country, and super active. Astro fit my lifestyle perfectly. I'm not quite as active personally now, but I'm so involved with dog sports, the border collie still fits me. If I were to stop doing dog sports, I would probably go back to a golden retriever so I could have an active dog that would do things with me, but not need such an intense job to do to be fulfilled. Unfortunately it's pretty common these days for shelters and rescues and the above-mentioned unethical breeders to place these breeds with people who don't have a lifestyle match. So...sorry for the rant. I feel like it's the equivalent of getting a 2 seater sports car when you have 3 small children that need to fit in car seats. __________________ What if I fall? Oh, my dear, but what if you fly? Primary Dx: C-PTSD and Severe Chronic Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Secondary Dx: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild Agoraphobia. Meds I've tried: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor, Remeron, Elavil, Wellbutrin, Risperidone, Abilify, Prazosin, Paxil, Trazadone, Tramadol, Topomax, Xanax, Propranolol, Valium, Visteril, Vraylar, Selinor, Clonopin, Ambien Treatments I've done: CBT, DBT, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Talk therapy, psychotherapy, exercise, diet, sleeping more, sleeping less... |
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eskielover
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lizardlady, MuddyBoots, rechu
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Monster on the Hill
Member Since Sep 2020
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#5
Quote:
__________________ [Insert thought-provoking and comedic quote here] |
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seesaw
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seesaw
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Human
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#6
Quote:
But as to your analogy with labs, a lot of this is genetic dumpster fire stuff - meaning they've been bred poorly or mixed with other breeds and their poor genetics are all haywire. My rescue Algo Más is that way. He's reactive, and it's genetic, and we are able to do a lot to counter condition it and manage it, but to an extent it's how he's built. __________________ What if I fall? Oh, my dear, but what if you fly? Primary Dx: C-PTSD and Severe Chronic Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Secondary Dx: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild Agoraphobia. Meds I've tried: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor, Remeron, Elavil, Wellbutrin, Risperidone, Abilify, Prazosin, Paxil, Trazadone, Tramadol, Topomax, Xanax, Propranolol, Valium, Visteril, Vraylar, Selinor, Clonopin, Ambien Treatments I've done: CBT, DBT, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Talk therapy, psychotherapy, exercise, diet, sleeping more, sleeping less... |
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Monster on the Hill
Member Since Sep 2020
Location: by the river
Posts: 5,412
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4 6,325 hugs
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#7
Yeah, that lab probably wasn’t 100% perfect lab, but I’d rather blame not liking some people on the kid that broke her skin with a pen more than once.
Cool info on pits though. __________________ [Insert thought-provoking and comedic quote here] |
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