Why do I want a dog now..!

[Ginevive]

I always swore that I would never want a dog. Now, I am not so sure. I loathe it when people own dogs that are annoying, untrained barking machines and do not want to fall into that trap. What I would really want eventually is a big, low-energy dog that would also be good for home defense.
Some breeds that I was considering are German Sheps, Dobermans, and Rotties. It might not be that soon until we would get one, but I am just shooting for ideas about this. My biggest bone of contention; my husband! He swears up and down that while he loves others' dogs, he would never want one. He has bad tastes in his mouth because we know of so many people who either let their dogs walk all over them, or have too many for their space and finances and let them run amok.
But.. Mark owned an English bulldog years ago. He loved that dog.. even though it was so lazy that halfway into a walk, he would just stop and sit panting and had to be carried home But Herman was dog-napped from Mark about a year before we started dating.. and he has not had a dog since. Maybe my leverage would be to look into getting a puppy and seeing what breeds he likes too? I know that we both dislike super-high-energy breeds and smaller dogs, as he would have to double as a home-security provider; otherwise we would just get another cat. My cat would nuzzle and beg an intruder for food! Granted, we have cameras for security; this is not the main reason we would get the dog..
I figure. Our landlord is ok with us having the horses.. so a dog would not be much more of an addition in the grand scheme of things. If we move, we already need to et a place that accomodates horses.. so space is not an issue in that way. There is even an unused dog-run fenced off with the garage attached, where he/she could get some nice exercise in yet still be prevented from running off into the woods. Your thoughts? My dream dog wold be one of those huge Rotties that are trained in Germany to attack and be called-off.. but we are not millionaires yet..
I have dog experience. I taught my mom's Golden how to be housebroken in one week flat, and can teach sitting, staying, lying tricks, etc. So a good mind to learn would be an asset too for a dog we would consider.. but I am not a fan of longer-haired breeds for housecleaning (by no means appearance; they are beautiful) reasons!

[Kennyxemerson]

I always swore that I would never want a dog. Now, I am not so sure. I loathe it when people own dogs that are annoying, untrained barking machines and do not want to fall into that trap. What I would really want eventually is a big, low-energy dog that would also be good for home defense.
Some breeds that I was considering are German Sheps, Dobermans, and Rotties. It might not be that soon until we would get one, but I am just shooting for ideas about this. My biggest bone of contention; my husband! He swears up and down that while he loves others' dogs, he would never want one. He has bad tastes in his mouth because we know of so many people who either let their dogs walk all over them, or have too many for their space and finances and let them run amok.
But.. Mark owned an English bulldog years ago. He loved that dog.. even though it was so lazy that halfway into a walk, he would just stop and sit panting and had to be carried home But Herman was dog-napped from Mark about a year before we started dating.. and he has not had a dog since. Maybe my leverage would be to look into getting a puppy and seeing what breeds he likes too? I know that we both dislike super-high-energy breeds and smaller dogs, as he would have to double as a home-security provider; otherwise we would just get another cat. My cat would nuzzle and beg an intruder for food! Granted, we have cameras for security; this is not the main reason we would get the dog..
I figure. Our landlord is ok with us having the horses.. so a dog would not be much more of an addition in the grand scheme of things. If we move, we already need to et a place that accomodates horses.. so space is not an issue in that way. There is even an unused dog-run fenced off with the garage attached, where he/she could get some nice exercise in yet still be prevented from running off into the woods. Your thoughts? My dream dog wold be one of those huge Rotties that are trained in Germany to attack and be called-off.. but we are not millionaires yet..
I have dog experience. I taught my mom's Golden how to be housebroken in one week flat, and can teach sitting, staying, lying tricks, etc. So a good mind to learn would be an asset too for a dog we would consider.. but I am not a fan of longer-haired breeds for housecleaning (by no means appearance; they are beautiful) reasons!

German Shepards are the BEST :] haha I love my rocco

[Ginevive]

I love them. Our LLord had his until it had to be put down for liver problems, but he was an old dog by then.. still had life and character by the truckload. He was not afraid of anything; I once saw him take on a fox..! He had to be reined in and confined to a fenced-in yard after contracting mange from it though.. boy was he an awesome dog. Out here though, the safest thing is to fence them in.. there are too many dangers. Coyotes, the possibility of mountain lions.. or diseased from raccoons or groundhogs.. I definately am keeping that in mind.

[Shelby]

Well, a lot of the protection type breeds need a LOT of training. An untrained German shepherd can be a nightmare (I live next door to two that bark non-stop at us) they are also prone to temperament problems (shyness, fear biting etc)

If you like the look of the GSD, consider a few similar breeds.. the Belgian malinois, Belgian sheepdog, and Belgian tervuren.. as well as the Shiloh shepherd.

I can't say enough good things about dobermans.. I have never met one I didn't like. One of my friends owns one, he is the BEST trained dog I know. They're super sensitive to their owners' wishes and just really sweet dogs.

I personally do not trust rottweilers. If you got one definitely get it from a good reputable breeder of show/working dogs. I was attacked by one when I was 4 (not harmed but it sure was scary having a 100lb dog knock you over and pin you down!) and when I was older they had them at the barn I rode at and they'd try to corner you and growl at you. Also, one of my co-workers was bitten on the neck by one (I work at a grooming salon) ..she has a good scar from that one. We've had several aggressive rotties come in.

Another option is the various mastiff breeds. Definitely low key dogs, but they are devoted guardians. The old English mastiff (aka just mastiff) is known as the 'gamekeepers night dog'. They instinctively know (properly cultivated with socialization and training) just how much is needed to avert an attacker. They are the sweetest (and biggest) dogs out there. English mastiffs and bullmastiffs are the most common, however dogue de bordeaux (French mastiff) are seen more often nowdays as well

Farm guardian breeds like the great Pyrenees are a good choice too (lots of hair though)

That'll give you a few ideas.

[Reediculous]

You have all that land.................get YO self a doggie girl!


oh yeah! Italian Mastiff (Cane Corso) my Favorite check'em out

[Sunny1]

Personally I think all the dogs that you mentioned are great, Jen. I have a GSD mix, but have had pure bred GSD in the past and they have all been wonderful. And I have not met a Dobie or Rott that I have not liked. And like others have suggested, gotta love the Mastiffs (although my 2 personal mastiff faves are the Alpine Mastiff (St. Bernard) and the Neapolitan Mastiff). The key with any dog is Training Training Training, and any dog can learn basic stuff right from the start.
So stick with training, giving your dog a "job" to do (based on the particulars of whatever breed you choose), and not letting it get away with stuff and you should have a totally wonderful obedient dog.

[juddb]

Man i would love to have a german shepard. Or a doberman.

[Ginevive]

Thanks for the words of advice Shelby, your opinion is great too b/c I know that you work with all types of dogs. I love my uncle's dobie; unfortunately he is getting older but also has some hip problems and now I guess that he has a tumorous growth also.. he does not have long to go, but he is literally the best dog I have ever met. He is huge; a small kid could ride him around like a horse I think.. but always there with a friendly lickin' of your hand.. and he has his tail intact, which means that you will get smacked with it, lol. I knew of two other dobies in my life. One, was at the barn where I learned to ride; she was trained to be a guard-type dog and I just remember as a kid being told to stay away from her; we really didn't cross paths but she was on the smaller side and seemed pretty nasty. The other one, a few of our friends inherited when they bought a house and he was there; he had hip problems too.. he was supposed to be this "vicious guard dog" as the house had been used for, of all things, a brothel before being shut down by the law for many, many violations.. but I did not know.. just got out of the car, went in the gate and pet the dog, and he was fine.. then later they're like "oh, that dog attacks people!" ::eyeroll:: I wish I could have taken him home, he was sucha sweetie..
So I would most definately get one from an awesome breeder. This does not seem like the kind of dog that you should get from a "ghetto" breeder..
A friend of ours had a rottie, and I did get an uneasy feeling about him; seemed like he did not know when to leave you alone and back off.. Granted, this guy was not an expert trainer, but still.. it seemed like something in the dog himself. He was also an intact male.. so I would not rule the breed out because of that, but they do seem a bit more energetic.
I actually like Pits. Our cousin has one who is a really sweet natured dog who is also not neutered.. but Mark thinks that they have a thug-type image.. I could try to convince him otherwise. Like, just because drug dealers might drive a Nissan pickup (his truck) would he not like his truck because of that? lol..

[TekWarren]

Check out this link...it will help you decide http://warrenreptiles.com/gallery/ma...?g2_itemId=635

These are a bunch of "cutesy" pics of our dogs, my wife took most of them. As much as it looks like it...we don't let our dogs walk on us but we also did not do strict training with them. The jack russel is actually better at recognizing things and doing what she is supposed to before being told. We have extreme opposites in dogs: the mostly lazy let me sleep all day redbone coon hound and the energizer puppy jack russel. The russel's require a certain type of attention as all dogs. Ours is a good girl mostly and not one of those annoying yappers. The hound is content to sleep or sprawl when she is in the house. She loves walks and will run around the yard chasing the little one. The russel is a fetch o'holic and recently learned to catch frisbee which is alot of fun. Between the nose on the hound and the size and ambition of the russel I will never have to worry about escaped rodents LOL. Here's something funny...our russel can howl...yep that's right HOWL. We had the hound first so the russel has learned to mimick some of her traits. It's funny when we do let them get noisy and entice them to hear that little dog howl.

[Ginevive]

Your dogs look very healthy and happy I know that you said your wife trains horses.. I have noticed that it seems like 99% of the horse people out there have dogs. (I am the 1% that does not, hehe.) I know that they are different to train, but similar also.. like horses, dogs are capable of severely injuring their handlers when not trained properly (let alone on a good day .. Whether it'd be 1000 lbs. of horse rolling on me, or 100 lbs. of dog biting into my arm..
I am going to start working on the hubby See, I spend alot of time home alone after work, etc. I always have a gun handy, but a gun can't play fetch, tilt its head cutely and play dead..