21/03/2021
We called our weekend post 'The Week Isn't Over Yet' because just because we have clocked out of work doesn't mean we can clock out of being responsible dog owners.
So today, I want to talk about the most responsible thing you can do in regards to dogs.
Say no.
Saying no to adopting a dog is the most responsible thing you can do.
That can be you already have a lot of dogs, your lifestyle doesn't fit what the dog needs, the dogs breed is prone to medical issues, you cant handle the behavioral problems the dog may have, your not willing to put in the work and just want an easy going dog.
I personally turned down a beautiful english bulldog with zero behaviour problems, well trained, and nicely tempered. No health problems known. Why? Well with a very small income and two older dogs, I thought to myself, the english bulldog is prone to a lot of health problems and id either have to put the dog to sleep or treat him while trying to find a home that could afford to keep him healthy, what if my two elderly dogs needed medical treatment also? As much as I would have loved to have welcomed him, it would not have been fair on dog or owner because I likely couldn't afford the dog with the known common health problems of the breed.
My client base is made up mostly of German Shepherds and Border Collies. We will be talking more in depth about the German Shepherd tomorrow so in a more generalized way, the reason these dogs make the majority of my client base is because people don't chose them based on their lifestyle and knowledge.
Collies and Shepherds are what are called 'working dogs'. By Working Dogs I mean that they live and breath mental stimulation. Thats all they want. They want to work for you, they want to do agility, obedience, dock diving, protection sports, scent work, weightpulling, something to work their minds!
A common misconception is that throwing the ball gives the dog something to think about. No.
Constantly chucking the ball is PHYSICAL stimulation. I want that dog to focus and concentrate on what exactly is needed to get the ball, do it and then its thrown.
A dog that needs this mental stimulation is a working dog.
Many people had these dogs as children and thought they were great, or they got these dogs and the dog died and then they had children and wanted another dog. Unfortunately we look through rose coloured glasses when we do this, and all those red flags look white.
These individual dogs may be the same breed as your childhood dog or the dog you had before you had children, but they are not the same dog.
These dogs need structure, boundaries, clear expectations, and should their needs not be met you are going to have trouble on your hands. And thats not just for the German Shepherd and Collie.
This goes for
Collies
German Shepherds
Pitbull terriers
Staffies
Jack russells - Yes Jack russells can be a good working dog
Hungarian Vislas
Rottweilers
Doberman
Poodles and any cross (Doodles arent a thing they are poodle crosses)
Springer spaniels
Cocker spaniels
Setters
Labradors
Frenchies
Huskys
Beagles
Kelpies
Boxers
Belgian Malinois
I could keep going but I would list nearly every breed there is.
A lot of dogs now a days are bred to be pets and to be shown to exhibit what the breed should look like.
This means - a lot of the time - they aren't bred for what the breed can do but bred to show what they look like. A dog that attacks a show judge is likely not to be bred from so the dogs are bred to eliminate certain traits. For example the Doberman is bred to have a little less cautiousness when meeting strangers. These are 'show dogs' and there is nothing wrong with show dogs. But a Collie for a champion show line and a collie born on a farm is likely to be two wildly different dogs.
If you go to buy a german shepherd, and you are produced with two litters, one from a lineage that has been heavily shown, one from a lineage that has police dogs and working tested dogs all through the lineage, you are faced with two very different potentials.
The German Shepherd that has been heavily shown is much more likely to be a calmer and less intensive in its needs, the one from a lineage of working dogs is probably going to need you to sacrifice your social life. The show line is less likely to have as strong guarding traits as the working line. They are probably going to need less mental stimulation on a day to day basis and are probably much more suited to you in a housing estate with children around. The shepherd from the working line is going to need proper and very well done socialisation and training for the first year of its life minimum and then will need proper mental stimulation daily until the day it dies to prevent it eating your couch.
So if you known nothing about raising dogs, don't thoroughly understand the breed traits and how to handle them, as well as have five children under the age of 13, working full time and doing a degree, its probably a responsible thing to say no to a working line German Shepherd. However, should you dedicate your life to your dogs and dogs sports like myself, youll probably be fine getting a working line belgian malinois that has snorted about five lines of coke.
See the difference? The line your dog comes from can be the most important thing you look at because what the parents and grandparents have done is a good indication of what the pup will be able to do. This reflects to what your dog needs and we need to be realistic about whether we can dedicate our time and effort to give them exactly what we need.
Now, talking about the belgian malinois, let me tell you something you probably don't want to hear.
Just because you saw a highly trained, well bred, belgian malinois doing bite work, obedience, and military tasks, after being trained and handled by likely a professional working dog dog trainer does not mean they are the ideal pet for your home.
Belgian Malinois are not pets and they do not come born pretrained, quite frankly they'd happily p**s on you if they think you are not competent as a leader. On top of that you need to actually understand the dog and how they think and how their mind works not just expel magical leadership qualities by putting a prong collar on and becoming another yank and crank handler.
Lets take a crack on doodles.
Just get a poodle.
If you want a mutt go to a rescue or shelter, there are loads of lovely mutts needing a loving home. What ever 'doodle' you have is not actually a breed.
If you can't handle a collie, a sheepadoodle isn't for you.
If you cant handle a red setter, a Irish Doodle isn't for you.
If you can't handle a Cocker Spaniel, a cockapoo isn't for you.
And so on!
The majority of dogs I meet that have actually bitten somebody, have been 'doodles'. Why??
Because the poodle is highly intelligent, needs mental stimulation and a bit of honesty rather than telling it that its a baby. The dog knows its not a baby and yes they get fairly snappy when you lie to them about it.
The majority of those who get a doodle need a stuffed toy.
We've all seen the meme, 'You want a belgian mal? You cant handle a belgian Mal!' I feel that way about doodles.
If you are getting a dog look into them, the bad things about them not what the breed can do in a good light, real peoples experiences of what they do that's negative.
Thats why we talk about the good the bad and the ugly of the restricted breeds on Monday, because for far too long we've talked about them being babies and then people who dont understand the breed get them and make them a danger to the public!
So for the sake of society, your home, and the poor dogs life that you want to adopt, say no. Research the breed and say no if it doesn't suit your life for whatever reason!
