The Dong Thread

Shelter dogs tend to be better than bred dogs, on average, because they've seen what a shitty life can be like and are infinitely grateful for saving them from it. Bred dogs have a higher chance of being neurotic or have health problems.

What do you base this on? Can you provide unbiased research?

I am all about shelter dogs but I do not believe that they are better behaved because of their experiences.
 
Adopting from a shelter makes me nervous, like I will end up with the undiagnosed crack baby.

Then adopt from a rescue is the best bet. They have people who foster the dogs almost individually and the foster parents can tell you exactly how the dog is like in their environment.
 
What do you base this on? Can you provide unbiased research?

I am all about shelter dogs but I do not believe that they are better behaved because of their experiences.

Yeah - my parents have a purebred golden retriever, and a shelter dog. The shelter dog tends to get "separation anxiety" and has to be locked up whenever they leave, because if they put her outside, she claws at the door (and managed to do some pretty severe damage...)

Kind of a weird thing to say, but, she also acts more "cautious" around people... like she's not sure whether she has our approval of whatever she's doing.
 
Again I have nothing again shelter animals and I think that if you are comfortable with this option then you should do it. But I do not agree that the personality and behavior of the dog is based on whether it was ever in a shelter.
 
What do you base this on? Can you provide unbiased research?

I am all about shelter dogs but I do not believe that they are better behaved because of their experiences.

Well maybe what he is getting at is shelter dogs typically are mutts which are more likely to be much smarter than your pure-bred anything due to inbreeding. Mutts also live much longer and healthier lives, which is nice.

Sarcasmo:
  1. Never buy an animal from a pet shop; they come from mills which is bad news (pretty obvious, rite?)
  2. It is best not to buy from a breeder either, imo. Breeders are not helping the homeless animal population with their shallow business. Very few breeders out there actually care and will spay or neuter the animal before taking payment.
 
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Yeah - my parents have a purebred golden retriever, and a shelter dog. The shelter dog tends to get "separation anxiety" and has to be locked up whenever they leave, because if they put her outside, she claws at the door (and managed to do some pretty severe damage...)

Kind of a weird thing to say, but, she also acts more "cautious" around people... like she's not sure whether she has our approval of whatever she's doing.

My parents dog that was a breeder dog acts the same exact way. They had to get anti-anxiety meds for her.

Dogs act different in each situation since each situation is different. lolol
 
Potty Pads

I'm going to be blunt.. but that's disgusting. Potty training a dog is not rocket science. Brand new dogs and puppies... take them out at least every thirty minutes and gradually increase the time until they learn.

Damnit April, WTF are you doing? This is like the one chance there is of us actually agreeing on something and you're too busy shaving fly's asshole to post.

I KNOW I KNOW!!! Sorry I was sooo busy at work. Catching up now... plus fly's asshole is due for some trimming.
 
I'm going to be blunt.. but that's disgusting. Potty training a dog is not rocket science. Brand new dogs and puppies... take them out at least every thirty minutes and gradually increase the time until they learn.

What about when you were fostering . . .


nevermind I'll drop it.
 
Get one from a rescue shelter. Its good for your karma.
If you get one from a pet-store-puppy-mill everyone will think youre a dick.


edit - more than they already do, that is. Im just sayin'
 
What about when you were fostering . . .


nevermind I'll drop it.

I never said I was good at it. Our first foster took about two months to completely learn, but gosh darn it she did it.

The second foster could not handle going from possibly a mult-dog home to a shelter to a single dog home and had anxiety. Once she was placed with a family with a second beagle she was perfect. No accidents.

We came to find out we are not home enough to give the attention a dog needs. More people need to realize what it truly takes to have a wonderful dog before going out and buying this cute puppy from a breeder. Then dumping it at a shelter for (hopefully) a foster to pick up and recondition.

edit: thank gosh I fostered before giving a dog a forever home... hopefully one day when our lives are calmer we can try for dogs. Four cats in a house needs some balance with a dog!
 
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I kind'a want to get a cat, but I'm not sure if I'm allergic to them.

I'd prefer a dog, but cats do better when their owner is away for 10 hours a day.
 
i am of the impression that dogs are like kids...you might want one, and one of a certain whatever, but when you bring 'em home, you're stuck with whatcha got. i know of all kinds of dogs who are a particular breed and SHOULD have certain characteristics, but tend to stray from the breed sometimes.
i have also heard multiple times that mutts do make the best dogs. :iono: i'm not crazy enough to have a dog, and i didn't grow up with a dog, so i don't know, but maybe you can research other people/places before settling in on a particular kind of animal.
is there a shelter or whatever where you can go and list your needs and have them call you when they think they've found a good fit? i know they take their jobs seriously, and maybe that extends into a placement program or something.
good luck with whatever you decide, though! i know you'll get a ton of good things to think about on this board.