One of the greatest advantages of purebred dogs is that among the many breeds developed over the past several hundred years, there is truly something for everyone!
Purebred dogs come in a dizzying array of sizes, shapes, coats, temperaments, and energy levels.
Some were originally bred to pull sleds, some to herd sheep, some to retrieve geese out of the icy Cheaspeake Bay, and some purely as companions for man.
In fact, outside of maybe driving a car, there are very few jobs over the years that some breed of dog has not been successfully developed to fulfill.
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If you have not yet decided on a breed, the best way is to start out by making a list of "Must-Haves". This will narrow your search right out the gate - those "What are the right breed for me?" tests online can be a good place to start, although the information there may not be 100% accurate. Because of this, it's critical to research each breed in more depth by visiting its national Parent Club website before actually locating breeders. (The AKC website also contains fairly accurate general information on the breeds it recognizes.)
But before you do any of this, make sure your expectations about dogs and dog ownership are realistic, and that you understand what some of the most common misconceptions are.
For many American families today, hypoallergenic is a must-have, which has significantly increased the popularity of several of the better-known hypoallergenic breeds.
Please remember though, that hypoallergenic does NOT mean non-allergenic. The breeds generally considered hypoallergenic can still trigger allergies in some people, so it is important that the person with allergies actually spends a fair amount of time indoors with a dog or two of that breed, and more than once, as sometimes the first encounter doesn't trigger a reaction but the second one does. It's far better for everyone (including the poor dog) if the second allergy-triggering encounter does not occur not immediately after you bring the new puppy home! (It's been known to happen.) It's good to know that the most common allergen produced by dogs is a specific protein found in dog dander, not dog hair, so keeping a dog clean and dandruff-free does help. A lesser number of people react to dog saliva.
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| As American yards get smaller, size is another factor that often tops the list of must-haves, and because of this, there has been an increase in popularity among many of the smaller breeds. However, confusing size with exercise requirements can be a mistake!
Many of the larger breeds may actually have lower daily exercise requirements than their smaller but much more high-energy brethren.
An energetic little dog who receives inadequate exercise is going to develop behavioral problems, whereas a more placid dog who outweighs him by a hundred pounds may not mind so much.
A surprising number of large breeds do not require the huge estates with acres of lawn that one might imagine.
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Non-barker is another Must-Have requiring the application of a little common sense. Dogs bark because they're dogs. Although some surely seem to enjoy the sound of their own voices more than others, it's probably not a coincidence that those with the highest energy levels, and therefore the highest exercise requirements, tend to bark more than those with the lowest. If any barking at all is unacceptable to you or your neighbors, serious consideration should be given to rabbit or iguana ownership instead. (Cats can be noisy, too.)
Easy to housebreak is another common Must-Have where common sense is needed. Assuming a puppy has been properly socialized and raised in an acceptably clean environment, the ease with which housebreaking occurs is largely dependent on the new owner. Responsible breeders will explain which method works best for their breed, and at what age reliability can reasonably be expected. In general, most breeders who've had experience with both will agree that large breeds are reliable earlier than small ones, which is partly a matter of physiology and partly because expectations for large dogs tend to be higher, given the relatively larger size of the puddle.
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Another Must-Have that may need rethinking is non-shedding.
With the exception of the "hairless" breeds (many of which actually do have some hair) ALL dogs shed by definition.
Each and every mammalian hair is genetically programmed to cycle through several phases, one of which is shedding, after which it is replaced with a new hair.
It takes roughly a year for a mammalian hair to grow 6 inches. Long haired breeds are simply programmed to shed each individual hair less frequently than short haired ones, which is why shorter-haired dogs, especially those with dense coats, seem to shed more.
Double-coated breeds have twice as much hair to shed, although undercoat is often shed seasonally.
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| Some breeds that are both long and curly are usually referred to as non-shedding, when in fact what these dogs actually do is "shed into their coats." This is an important distinction to understand.
As each hair is shed, it is literally caught in the existing coat and so doesn't end up on the furniture or the owner, which is where the "non-shedding" moniker comes from. But if they are not brushed frequently or kept clipped short, these breeds will quickly develop snarls, tangles and mats.
So unless one chooses a "hairless" breed, the tradeoff for less dog hair on the couch will be higher grooming requirements.
If the owner does not have the time or skill to do it, this will add up to literally thousands of dollars in professional grooming fees over the life of the dog, and you might as well know that right out the gate.
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Once the field has been narrowed somewhat, the next thing a potential owner needs to research is the history and original purpose of each breed under consideration.
Although most dogs are no longer required to herd, hunt, guard livestock, kill vermin or pull sleds through the snow, the instincts to do so have largely survived intact, and can influence behavior and training.
For example, hunting breeds developed to work in close proximity to the hunter, like spaniels and retrievers, tend to be more owner-dependent than those bred for generations to work independently, like hounds.
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Likewise, breeds developed for strong prey drive or guarding instincts may not be good choices for the inexperienced or less-confident owner, even if they are of the desired size or energy level.
One of the great advantages to buying from responsible breeders is that they are ALL honest about the strengths and weaknesses of their respective breeds They will inform a potential buyer in no uncertain terms that this is NOT the right breed for their situation if that seems to be the case.
Buyers who ignore this advice and then purchase a dog of that breed from a less-responsible breeder (who will generally sell a pup to anyone whose check doesn't bounce) do so at their own peril. The odds that they will end up having to give up the dog are high - in fact, that's exactly where a lot of purebred rescue dogs come from.
And the irony of this situation is that it's invariably the responsible breeder,
not the one who sold the pup to the wrong owner in the first place,
who generally ends up taking in the dog through breed rescue,
rehabilitating it, and hopefully finding it a more appropriate home
the second time around.
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Once you've decided on a breed....read this before contacting a single breeder!!!
Unfortunately, probably nine out of ten potential purebred dog owners put a lot more time into choosing the right breed than they do into finding the right breeder. And the result is too often disastrous.
Responsible breeders hear horror stories all the time that invariably start out with: "We did a lot of research before deciding on a Siberian Souphound, which sounded like the perfect breed for our family, and we finally found one, but this dog is (choose one or several) :
1. hyper instead of laid-back
2. fearful of everyone
3. aggressive with kids
4. plagued with numerous expensive health issues, and
5. doesn't look anything like what we expected."
The horror story is inevitably followed with " ...and the breeder won't return my calls."
Why otherwise intelligent people assume that all breeders of a particular breed are created equal is a total mystery.
As any responsible breeder who's had to listen to these stories repeatedly over the years can attest, most people put more time and effort into choosing a plumber to fix their leaky toilet than they put into choosing a breeder once they have decided on the right breed.
The plain truth is, one is probably way better off with a well-bred dog from a responsible breeder of the wrong breed than one is with a poorly-bred speciman of a breed that may better suit their needs and lifestyle.
Why? Because virtually all breed descriptions, including a breed's Standard, describe the ideal dog of that breed, not the average or poorly-bred one.
Responsible breeders are dedicated to coming as close as possible to that ideal in the puppies they produce- that is the goal that they all seek to attain, and is in fact what drives their passion for dog breeding in the first place, since they know damn well they can't do it well and make any money at it.
The measure of their success in achieving that goal is reflected in the results of health-screening (a measure of physical soundness that should be Numero Uno with the pet owner) and the collective success of the dogs they've produced in Conformation and Performance events, which measure both how closely the dog resembles his breed's Standard and how well he can do whatever it was his breed was originally designed to do.
The commercial or casual breeder, who may well be easier to find and usually far easier to purchase a puppy from, is generally driven by motives other than the somewhat Quixotic quest for the attainment of perfection in a given breed.
As most do not compete with their dogs at any level and do minimal if any health-screening prior to breeding, it's highly likely they are themselves unaware of what would even constitute the perfect speciman, which pretty much guarantees they are unlikely to sell you a puppy that even comes close.
Very often, the motive of a commercial or casual breeder is simply to turn a profit, and that's a lot easier to do if the breeder is not pouring the money from puppy sales back into his breeding program to help offset the costs of health-screening and competition to evaluate his progress as a breeder.
The potential owner's single best chance of getting the dog they had hoped for while poring over all that "What's the Best Breed for Me?" stuff lies in ultimately buying a pup of that breed from a responsible breeder, rather than the first one they come across with puppies available. It's that simple. As with plumbers, all breeders are NOT created equal.
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