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 In considering the differences among dogs, breeds help us understand the physical and behavioral traits typical of the various types of dogs. Choosing a dog with characteristics suited to your family's care-taking abilities makes a safer and happier experience for the dog as well as the family. Breeds are so different from each other that one dog can be perfect while another would never successfully fit your home. Expect that, in a mixed-breed dog, the most difficult traits of each breed will prevail. Wishful thinking doesn't shape a dog's temperament: genetics, early life experiences, management and training do. A dog's genetic heritage will be a limiting factor on how much you can shape the temperament in the direction you desire. Let's consider some things for your family to decide as you research what type of dog to get. Remember, even if you get a mixed breed, you'll need to make sure that every breed in the mix is a breed right for your family. Size A dog is approximately as strong as three times the dog's weight compared to an adult man: 50-pound dog = 150-pound man. Consider limiting the size of your dog to one whose adult weight will be no greater than one-third the weight of the handler. Many people will have a lot more fun with a dog they can comfortably manage on the leash. Handling a larger dog requires more training, skill and practice for both the handler and the dog. For the best prediction of size, adopt either a purebred puppy or a dog who has reached adult size. A mixed breed puppy is an unknown in terms of the size dog you are committing to take responsibility for! Activity Level Does your family's dog need to be calm in the house while everyone is busy? Will there be days when no one has time to spend a few hours exercising the dog? If so, choose a breed or mix with a low activity level. On the other hand, if you're looking for a hiking partner and you are a weekday as well as a weekend athlete, a more active dog would be better able to keep up with you. A dog whose activity level fits your household will be happier, and so will your family. When considering a shelter dog, you need to judge by the activity level that is normal for the breed(s), rather than how the dog is behaving when you meet at the shelter. Shelters are stressful and exhausting for dogs, so the dog's normal activity level tends to be reduced until a couple of weeks or so after adoption. Protection Attitude If you have children, other children will be visiting your home. An overly protective dog would be miserable and dangerous in such a situation. Unless one of the parents is a serious dog trainer, opt for breeds having low or no protection attitude. The same goes for any highly sociable household, with people in and out visiting and you visiting other homes with your dog. Some breeds have been selectively bred to take on responsibility for detecting and sizing up strangers, with a view to protecting against those who don't pass inspection. This kind of dog is a big responsibility when your lifestyle involves a steady stream of new people. Aggressiveness toward Other Dogs When your dog tries to pick fights with all the other dogs you meet on walks, people can get hurt. You can reduce this risk by choosing breeds low in the trait of aggressiveness toward other dogs. You can further reduce the risk by how you manage and train your dog. When out with your dog on leash, teach your dog to ignore the other dogs. Block the path of another dog who rushes up to your dog in a frightening way. Better yet, choose places to walk with your dog where you won't encounter loose dogs. If you want your dog to have play dates with other dogs, choose safe, enclosed areas where you can remove the leashes. And of course choose friendly playmates. Letting your dog get jumped and frightened by other dogs is typically what makes your dog become aggressive to other dogs in the first place. Even a dog born with the trait of aggression toward other dogs may never show the trait if carefully managed, and the most mild-mannered dog can develop it if the family doesn't protect the dog from being attacked by other dogs. Training class is a great place to teach your dog to leave the other dogs alone when out on leash with you. One family member can work with the dog first while the others watch, and then each other family member can practice with the dog and learn the handling skills, too. Housetraining Ability Dogs are not equal when it comes to housetraining, either. Some dogs are downright easy. Which dogs would you guess those to be? Do you think the little dogs are the easiest to housetrain? Guess again! Larger dogs tend to be easier to housetrain, often having it mastered by around four months of age. Expect a small dog to be closer to a year of age to be solid on housetraining, and some never make it. Tiny male dogs in particular need consistent supervision, and are unlikely to ever be able to be trusted with the run of the house unless you have them neutered at a fairly young age. A tiny male dog who is left intact, fathers puppies, and isn't meticulously managed in the house may never achieve housetraining. Your dog's start in life has a profound effect on housetraining, too. Whatever surface the dog experiences using as a bathroom in the early months will tend to become a preferred surface. A dog who has never pottied outside can be extremely difficult to housetrain to the outdoors. A dog who has extensively pottied where the dog sleeps and eats will likely have damage to instincts that are important in housetraining. Too much time in a cage damages this as well as other important instincts in puppies. Where is Your Dog Going to Live? Plan to buy a crate when you get your dog, and teach your dog to live in the house. By planning this in advance, you can choose a dog your whole family is willing to have indoors and you will end up with a happier, better-behaved dog and happier neighbors. Every dog needs the chance to learn to rest calmly in a crate to help develop good housetraining habits; to learn to direct chewing into dog toys instead of household goods; and to be able to cope with situations such as moving, medical problems and emergencies. Resting calmly in a crate is an important life skill for a dog. If your thought is to have your dog live in the yard, rethink the idea of getting a dog. Dogs are pack animals, designed to live in a social unit with others. They can be perfectly happy if those others are human rather than canine. Getting two or more dogs to live outside doesn't fill their need to be part of YOUR family. Dogs who live with other dogs and spend little time with people can develop some bad behavior problems, such as disturbing the neighborhood peace with barking. If you want a dog in the family, make sure the dog will be IN the family. Grooming Some breeds, like the Poodle, require lifelong visits to a professional groomer. So do many other breeds you might not think of, like the Cocker Spaniel. Every dog should have a few minutes of grooming every day, for the wonderful training and conditioning to human handling it provides. Plan the time it will take for the daily grooming, as well as the time and the money to take the dog to a groomer if that service will be required. Generally the dogs who require professional grooming should have an appointment every 2 to 8 weeks. Discuss the grooming with some professionals BEFORE you get the dog. A puppy of a breed that requires professional grooming will need to start the grooming visits young, so that the pup will develop the necessary coping ability. The matter of grooming is another reason to pass by the puppies at the animal shelter. Don't worry; someone else will adopt the cute puppies (all puppies are cute). But you need to know what commitment you are making when you get a dog. If you were to choose a puppy who is going to grow to an unknown size, unknown activity level, unknown degree of protection attitude, unknown attitude toward other dogs, unknown housetraining ability and unknown grooming-you would not even know what you were committing yourself to for the next ten to fifteen years of having that dog! That's why at least half of these puppies lose their homes in the first year. We don't want that for your dog! Potential Genetic Illnesses When researching any breed, find out what genetic illnesses show up in dogs of that breed. Every breed has one or more genetic problems. Mixed breed dogs have these, too, but they are less predictable. Make sure any breeder you decide to trust for a puppy has done everything reasonable to screen the breeding dogs for genetic problems. A responsible breeder is very knowledgeable and careful about placing puppies in homes. The breeder will want to know you. You become "family" with the breeder in a sense, because a responsible breeder will help you with the dog and will take the dog back if that is ever needed, for the dog's whole life. Don't get a puppy from any other kind of breeder. Since you don't meet the breeder of a puppy who is for sale in a pet shop, you know the pet shop puppy did not come from a responsible breeder who meets the families and follows the puppies throughout their lives to protect them. Adult dogs can come from breeders as well as from shelters, and are much easier to check for genetic and temperament problems. Adult dogs also tend to be much quicker to train than puppies. If an adult dog doesn't have a responsible breeder to help, a rescue often steps in and fills that role for the dog, out of love for the breed. In that case, you don't have as much genetic information or history on the dog, but you do have the expert, committed support from the rescue just as you would from a responsible breeder. Training Some breeds are very trainable because they were selectively bred to work as partners with humans. The catch is that these high-powered working type dogs MUST be trained in order for you to live safely with them. If you don't have a family member willing and able to learn to train with the dog and to spend about an hour a day for a minimum of several months on socialization and training, you don't want an untrained dog of one of these breeds! A weekly class needs to be part of the training commitment. Another option with a dog of a working-type breed is to adopt an adult dog with training. You'll still have to learn to properly handle the dog and to maintain the training. "Use it or lose it" applies to dog training in a big way. If you aren't positive you want to take up dog training as a pretty serious hobby, stick to the types of dogs who were selectively bred to be easy-going companions rather than serious or sporty workers. Size, activity level, protection attitude and aggressiveness toward other dogs all profoundly affect how much training your dog will need. If you choose a large, highly active, highly protective dog who is aggressive toward other dogs, and don't do a LOT of training in teamwork with the dog, your family will fail with that dog. It's not just the dog who needs the training skill. It's much more the handler of the high-powered dog who must acquire the skill to handle that type of dog. It takes time, work, and the right teachers.
The Years Ahead in Your Life Dogs live 10 to 15 years. Kids usually leave dogs with their parents when they move away. Think of the dog's future needs and whether your family will be in a position to fill those needs. Are you subject to military transfer or other foreseeable changes in your living arrangements in the years ahead? Think about whether this is the right time to bring a dog into your life, and what kind of dog can go with you where you will be going. For the dog's sake, think ahead. Other Members of Your Household If any members of your family are allergic to dogs, they're looking at years of potential misery. Complications from allergies can become so severe that it's impossible to keep the dog. Consider all these aspects, and whether getting a dog is fair to everyone in the family. That will provide better security for the dog, too. Step aside from the emotion of meeting a cute puppy or a personable dog, and think about what life would really be like in the long run with a dog, with THIS dog. Read online sources and books that give the traits of various breeds you might be considering. Don't even go look at a puppy without first doing your homework. Print out this list and keep it nearby whenever you talk to a breed expert, so you don't forget what you want to ask. Remember that breeders, people who love a particular breed, and people who write breed books are going to tell you the best things about that breed. They're not trying to be dishonest, but after all, they love the breed! So dig deeper, and learn the true responsibilities of having a dog of that breed in your family. The research can be a great deal of fun. Take your time with it. If your family should decide it's not the responsible choice to adopt a dog right now, don't be too sad. Making that decision can be an act of great love for dogs.
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