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I didn't want to hijack someone else's thread. For Want of a Poodle asked & I'm tickled to try to explain what's been my lifetime of work. So thank you for letting me share & to geek out a bit while doing so
I'm sorry this took so long but between severe storms, my BFF calling last night, I thought I posted &... (eeek) didn't.
For Want of a Poodle wrote:
"Dogsavvy - one day, I would love a post about what to look for in a guardian/working type puppy and breeder, and what an owner needs to provide them with. I love the Guardian and working types, have thought of a Bouvier or a Giant Schnauzer, not in a situation right now where they are appropriate but... one day. However, I have been noticing a lot of guardian types with weird temperments lately. Skittish cane corsos, nervous mastiffs, scatterbrained german shepherds, etc. And then the physical issues (the last bouvier i saw had such bad hip dysplasia it could not run). I am sure sure one of it is socialization and training, but they just somehow less... capable and confident then others I have seen over the years. I find nervous working breed dogs scary, I much prefer the "Queen of all I survey" type confident dogs."
What to look for in a breeder:
Honestly this is a bit tough any more. In an ideal situation, you find someone who prides their breeding work in the job that you want the dog for. If you want a dog to be a guardian but you have kids. You find a breeder who has kids, grandkids, neighbor kids who are around his dogs. You check his attitude about dogs & kids. You watch how his dogs interact around his children. Or maybe you're someone that lives in a sketchy neighborhood or works in a sketchy neighborhood, this dog is going to be a dog that has a higher chance of seeing some action so you look for a breeder who not only understands this is not an imagined threat, this is real & you want a dog who is mentally stable, self confident, but willing to take it to the mat if he needs to. You will ideally want parents & grandparents of this perspective pup to be the kind of dog you would like to own. Find out how much & what kind of training they put in. There are the very rare dogs that require very little training & they are ready to rock. Those are dogs who are very carefully placed with someone who understands just what a responsibility they are (that's told as a precaution.) Those top deck dogs tend to be the ones I take on & I love them but they are not for most folks (more later on that if you're interested).
Breeds are always interesting in these discussions. **** I lost everything I wrote due to the storm so stay tuned... I will come back & add more tomorrow. Sorry to have you wait.
For Want of a Poodle wrote:
"Dogsavvy - one day, I would love a post about what to look for in a guardian/working type puppy and breeder, and what an owner needs to provide them with. I love the Guardian and working types, have thought of a Bouvier or a Giant Schnauzer, not in a situation right now where they are appropriate but... one day. However, I have been noticing a lot of guardian types with weird temperments lately. Skittish cane corsos, nervous mastiffs, scatterbrained german shepherds, etc. And then the physical issues (the last bouvier i saw had such bad hip dysplasia it could not run). I am sure sure one of it is socialization and training, but they just somehow less... capable and confident then others I have seen over the years. I find nervous working breed dogs scary, I much prefer the "Queen of all I survey" type confident dogs."
What to look for in a breeder:
Honestly this is a bit tough any more. In an ideal situation, you find someone who prides their breeding work in the job that you want the dog for. If you want a dog to be a guardian but you have kids. You find a breeder who has kids, grandkids, neighbor kids who are around his dogs. You check his attitude about dogs & kids. You watch how his dogs interact around his children. Or maybe you're someone that lives in a sketchy neighborhood or works in a sketchy neighborhood, this dog is going to be a dog that has a higher chance of seeing some action so you look for a breeder who not only understands this is not an imagined threat, this is real & you want a dog who is mentally stable, self confident, but willing to take it to the mat if he needs to. You will ideally want parents & grandparents of this perspective pup to be the kind of dog you would like to own. Find out how much & what kind of training they put in. There are the very rare dogs that require very little training & they are ready to rock. Those are dogs who are very carefully placed with someone who understands just what a responsibility they are (that's told as a precaution.) Those top deck dogs tend to be the ones I take on & I love them but they are not for most folks (more later on that if you're interested).
Breeds are always interesting in these discussions. **** I lost everything I wrote due to the storm so stay tuned... I will come back & add more tomorrow. Sorry to have you wait.