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Reply to "Worst dog breeds...tried it once but never again"
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[quote=Anonymous]11:55 here again. The issue of breed/lifestyle is very near and dear to my heart, because I grew up with a couple lovely dogs who were herding mutts. One was a golden retriever border collie mix and the other was a lab australian shepherd mix. Both dogs were wonderful dogs, and my mom chose those breeds because she enjoys having an active, highly intelligent and trainable dog. She enjoys having long walks as a form of getting exercise (also fetches with them for extended periods of time and takes them to the dog beach) and trains them in a way that is intellectually stimulating for them. However, my mom was a SAH mom who had a pretty active lifestyle. My dad and I also went jogging with the dogs. I know both of those dogs would have gone crazy and been totally destructive and neurotic in another household. My SIL has a border collie/lab mix and for the life of me I don't understand why she got a dog. She has three young kids (which is a huge handful in and of itself) and only my oldest niece is really old enough to engage with the dog. Her dog is border collie smart and very athletic, and if she actually had the time for him, he would be a great dog. They got the dog because my three year old niece wanted a puppy--of course three year olds are not really old enough to engage with taking care of the dog and want all kinds of things. My older niece is allergic to dogs, which begs me to wonder why they didn't consider getting something like a poodle, which would at least have a chance of not bugging her allergies. Because of this, they keep the poor dog outside all the time--and because she's a busy mom of small kids, she doesn't have time to walk him. On top of it, they aren't a particularly active family and she thinks a dog walk is a quick stroll around the block. He wrecks the yard and jumps all over/herds the kids (so they are now terrified of him), and then she complains about how he's such a bad dog and how she wishes she could have a good dog, blah blah blah. I think they scooped him up when he was a cute little puppy, and then he grew into a big dog and they totally lost interest. She loves the idea of having a dog--the American dream of having the three kids, white picket fence, and obedient dog--but doesn't put any of the work in to train her dog to behave well around people/around the kids. Because the dog is in the yard all the time, and doesn't engage with the kids at all, I worry that he's not going to associate them with being part of the "pack" and bite one of them/start becoming territorial, even though he totally has a sweet, intelligent demeanor. I guess this shouldn't bug me so much, but it makes me think about how my dogs could have turned out with another family, and it just makes me sad--so I'm ranting about it on an anonymous forum, lol. I completely understand how kids take priority over the dog--I'm not one of those dog owners who considers my dog my child--and how a busy family with small kids and two working parents wouldn't have time for a dog. But a lot of people seem to think of a dog as just an accessory. They also think that some dogs are just "good dogs" as if you don't need to do anything to train them to be good dogs. My dog is very trainable, mild mannered, sweet and low key by nature and certainly is not nearly as much work as a lot of dogs to train, but even she would be a neurotic, destructive mess in the wrong hands. I think that an owner who doesn't meet the dogs needs can turn even the best natured dog into a bad dog.[/quote]
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