This is something that I REALLY struggled with.
In my family we have had mostly rescued dogs, either rescued by us or from the shelter. Heck my Grandparents rescued many dogs over the years, they owned a dairy farm and Grandpa was a skilled trainer/behaviorist so they started taking in dogs in need. It snowballed from there and for about 25yrs they actually worked with the local shelters taking in dogs that for sure would have been put down otherwise. They had to stop when I was 7 (Grandpa had health problems), but I remember dogs that were starved, beaten, abused in just about every way imaginable. Most had behavior problems, some severe, others were very sick or injured and my Grandma (and my Mom) took care of them. But with a lot of patience, love, and hard work nearly all of them became happy loved pets that were able to find families of their own.
So this is what was going through my head this past fall/winter when we were thinking about buying a puppy. All of our rescued dogs were wonderful pets, but Mom and I were both just so drawn to the poodle breed. Also I admit I was just tired of dealing with problems caused by other people. In the last 17yrs we have had 3 dogs . . .
Max my pit bull mix was beaten, starved and near death when animal control found him. He turned into a good dog, but he was also small animal aggressive, food aggressive, and dominant. He tested me quite a bit I had to keep an eye on him all the time for the 1st year that we had him. He was also gentle and loving with his family, and a wonderful guard dog he actually caught a burglar once.
Lilly our Pom (possible mix) came from the local vet where her owners abandoned her. She was a breeding dog that they no longer wanted. She was extremely under socialized and had also been beaten/terrorized. It took her years to fully trust me when I told her something was OK, it was months before we could pick her up and hold her. She became my little lovey but it took sooo much work to get her there, and she never was a dog I could easily take out in public.
Charlie my poodle mix was the easiest of the 3. He wasn't beaten or starved, he came from a nice family who simply had no clue what they were doing. At 2yrs old he was totally untrained, and very, very naughty. And so incredibly stubborn that when he would get caught doing something wrong he would try it again later but differently so he wouldn't get caught. Eventually he learned but I knew that if he had been taught properly when he was a pup it wouldn't have been a problem.
Then my Mom reminded me that not ALL of our dogs were rescued. My Grandpa needed and valued good farm dogs, so he had and sometimes bred what farmers in my area call "farm collies". They are purpose bred (sometimes mixed) collies that are bred to be great all purpose farm dogs. If Grandpa had a really good female he would breed her just once keep the best female then he'd give the rest to other farmers, and he certainly bought pure bred collies from breeders.
So that helped me feel better, but in the end it just came down to one fact . . . a mini poodle is the right dog for us, and to get one we had to buy him.
Wow sorry about the long ramble, this has been rattling around in my head for awhile and I just needed to get it out. Plus I figured it might help to talk to/read stories from others who may have faced the same dilemma.
I did manage to dig up this picture of Charlie and Lilly together taken in I think 2010 when Lilly was 13yrs old and Charlie was 5yrs old. My 2 little sweeties . . .
And just for the heck of it my little man Beau
In my family we have had mostly rescued dogs, either rescued by us or from the shelter. Heck my Grandparents rescued many dogs over the years, they owned a dairy farm and Grandpa was a skilled trainer/behaviorist so they started taking in dogs in need. It snowballed from there and for about 25yrs they actually worked with the local shelters taking in dogs that for sure would have been put down otherwise. They had to stop when I was 7 (Grandpa had health problems), but I remember dogs that were starved, beaten, abused in just about every way imaginable. Most had behavior problems, some severe, others were very sick or injured and my Grandma (and my Mom) took care of them. But with a lot of patience, love, and hard work nearly all of them became happy loved pets that were able to find families of their own.
So this is what was going through my head this past fall/winter when we were thinking about buying a puppy. All of our rescued dogs were wonderful pets, but Mom and I were both just so drawn to the poodle breed. Also I admit I was just tired of dealing with problems caused by other people. In the last 17yrs we have had 3 dogs . . .
Max my pit bull mix was beaten, starved and near death when animal control found him. He turned into a good dog, but he was also small animal aggressive, food aggressive, and dominant. He tested me quite a bit I had to keep an eye on him all the time for the 1st year that we had him. He was also gentle and loving with his family, and a wonderful guard dog he actually caught a burglar once.
Lilly our Pom (possible mix) came from the local vet where her owners abandoned her. She was a breeding dog that they no longer wanted. She was extremely under socialized and had also been beaten/terrorized. It took her years to fully trust me when I told her something was OK, it was months before we could pick her up and hold her. She became my little lovey but it took sooo much work to get her there, and she never was a dog I could easily take out in public.
Charlie my poodle mix was the easiest of the 3. He wasn't beaten or starved, he came from a nice family who simply had no clue what they were doing. At 2yrs old he was totally untrained, and very, very naughty. And so incredibly stubborn that when he would get caught doing something wrong he would try it again later but differently so he wouldn't get caught. Eventually he learned but I knew that if he had been taught properly when he was a pup it wouldn't have been a problem.
Then my Mom reminded me that not ALL of our dogs were rescued. My Grandpa needed and valued good farm dogs, so he had and sometimes bred what farmers in my area call "farm collies". They are purpose bred (sometimes mixed) collies that are bred to be great all purpose farm dogs. If Grandpa had a really good female he would breed her just once keep the best female then he'd give the rest to other farmers, and he certainly bought pure bred collies from breeders.
So that helped me feel better, but in the end it just came down to one fact . . . a mini poodle is the right dog for us, and to get one we had to buy him.
Wow sorry about the long ramble, this has been rattling around in my head for awhile and I just needed to get it out. Plus I figured it might help to talk to/read stories from others who may have faced the same dilemma.
I did manage to dig up this picture of Charlie and Lilly together taken in I think 2010 when Lilly was 13yrs old and Charlie was 5yrs old. My 2 little sweeties . . .
And just for the heck of it my little man Beau