What Kind Of Dog(s) Do You Have?

[ThreeJane]

If this has been asked recently, forgive me. I couldn't find it on a quick search.

I have a yellow Lab. Over 100 pounds, dumb as the day is long...I mean DUMB as the day is long, very loyal, very friendly. Starting to get territorial.

Just curious what kinds of dogs other folks have.

The Lab was hubby's idea. When I was growing up, we always had mutts around (Bassett Hound/Doberman mix, Chow/Sheepdog/Something mix, you get the idea). They seemed to live longer and had less problems than the purebreds.

Most folks around here have mutts too. Although I"m noticing a big increase in Australian Shepherds and Cattle Dogs and the like.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We have 6(!) dogs, three Great Pyrenees, which I think is one too many. We may be looking for a good home for one in the near future. They live outside and in the barn, and keep the bears and cougars from dining on lamb and children. What a bunch of big, loveable doofusses. We also have a pug, a border terrier, and a mutt terrier. The pug of course rules the place.

[MelissaW]

Oh boy, hon, I bet you've opened a can of worms! I'm figuring you'll get at least 50 replies before the days out because we all have our favorites!

We have 3 German Shepherd Dogs and a sheltie/border collie cross. They were all easy to train, and are great farm dogs. The sheltie/border has the highest prey drive, which is not always a good thing when you have poultry around. I like the herding dogs because they train quick, can follow a person or tractor around the farm all day without missing a beat, and stay close to home.

How old is your lab? They take a L-O-N-G time to mature, so don't give up if yours is young. He or she may just mellow out to be the best dog ever.

As for the health issue, I've heard it argued about mutts as well. In my experience, some are, and some aren't. Yes, the gene pool is bigger, but I've known many mixed breeds to inherit plenty of problems from both parents. I like 'em all!

[fordson major]

our family has two springer spaniels, one brittany spaniel and two border collies. the springers are clowns and the brit brain dead compared to the bc's .old bc(11) enjoys retirement and the occasional sheep round up were the young one keeps her flock tightly knit and loves ball and frisbee!!!

[cathyharrell]

Bruiser, yellow curly lab mix, he is 16, Spaz is a blue heeler, Venerette is a poodle cross, Arrfums is German Shepard cross and I am not sure what Barrett is. He is big white with big black spots, short hair and brown eyebrows. He is the boss dog.

[Queen Bee]

3 Dachshunds, 1 Brittany, 1 boxer mix, 2 lab mix, 2 feist mix....(last five are dogs that have been thrown out at our farm.. but we love them just them same.) Debbie

[kppop]

We have 4 dogs. 2 male yellow labs..one is 11 (81lbs) and the other is 6 mths (72lbs) Best pets ever..I've always owned labs..they are awesome with children and contrary to what most believe..they will protect their family. I also have 2 chihuahuas..female black and tan 2 yrs (4lbs) and a male fawn 3 yrs ( 5lbs). They beat up my lab puppy He could take them out with one swipe of his paw but I dont' think he realizes he's not the same size as them.

[ThreeJane]

Melissa:

I had hoped for that, in earlier years. But he's just turned six.

And as stupid as ever. I don't know how he gets up in the morning, he's THAT dumb.

At least we broke him of peeing on the deck (Trex deck, no less, yechhhh). THAT was something I was just not gonna tolerate, family member or no!

On a funny side note: Hubby wanted to know why he "had" to build a pen for the chickens.

"Why not just let them free range?" he wanted to know.

Let's put aside the fact that we live next to thousands of acres of State land, in the country of weasels, raccoons, coyotes, mountain lions, bears, hawks and bald eagles. Mmmmyeah.

So, without further ado...

I relayed the story of how I had a 2 week Wyandotte chick in my hands, letting Lhasa sniff it. He carefully and delicately sniffed head, sides, body...sniffed a little more, and very slowly and delicately began to open his mouth to eat the tasty hors d'oeuvre I was obviously offering him.

I told hubby I wasn't about to give the dog a fifty buck snack in chickens. He agreed. We're building the pen this weekend.

[Farmer K]

My family has a big black lab named Einstein. He's very smart but scared of everything, except people. Actually, he thinks he is a person. He's very loyal and very much attached to my sister.

My dad was flipping through the channels on TV and stopped at a basketball game. Einstein was watching and then ran to get his mini basketball to play with. Well, at least I think he's smart.

~Kelly

[Siryet]

1=great pyr 100lbs
1=Australian shepherd= 35lbs
1= chinese crested powder puff 9lbs
1= long haired chai 2.5lbs

[mammabooh]

One 7-pound mostly Miniature Pinscher, named Weasel.

[heather]

French Brittany

orange roan

he will be 5 in July

full of energy - never stops - perfect with our children - very friendly -
very personable - loyal - obedient - extremely proud after a good hunt -
very strong - medium size, about 42 lbs - neutered (that was my xmas present 2 years ago! )

You can see pictures of him if you click below:

Pictures of our dog Renny

[GR8LIFE]

We have three great danes. They are all three house dogs and spoiled rotten. We bred and showed great for many years and loved doing it but when hubby got sick three years ago we gave it up. Now we are just keeping the ones we have until they go to doggy heaven. They are a wonderful breed and we have thoroughly enjoyed them but as we have gotten older we recognize that they are not a breed we will have into our old age simply because of their size. As to brains, some of the are extremely smart and some have been dumber than doornails. But most have been very loveable. We only had one who was standoffish, even with us. She acts more like a cat in that she only wants attention when she wants it not when we do.
Colleen

[crashy]

We have 3 dogs:
one male rottie hes 1 1/2 yr old weighs 125 most loveable dog ever
One female NOT wieler dumber than a rock think theres some coonhound in her we is 3 yr. and weighs 80 lbs. She is a nice dog around us but I do not trust her around many people.
One 'ol boot' female shepard/coyote mix. she is like 10 yr old. she must weigh like well she is Over 100 lbs. She was a stray and she is wonderful smells like an old boot but we love her. She is starting to 'molt' LOL she has a double coat PPPEEEWWWW!!! And we always know where she is LOL
At times they are a handful but we love them and they are part of our family and they keep 'The Coffman Compound' safe

[GoldenMom]

As you can guess from my user name, I have goldens. Sage is 7 and you couldn't ask for a more laid back, wise old man. He is getting pretty gray in the face now and his front leg gets crippled more every year (accident as tiny puppy), but he loves life! He is a big (by AKC standards) boy, standing about 25.5 inches at the shoulder and weighing 80 pounds. Ruby is 9 months old now and is the biggest clown. She is a small golden, only about 22 inches and 50-55 pounds. She started ruling the roost when she was only about 3-4 months old (they don't call them bitches for nothing!). She is the smartest, most agile little dog I could ask for (good things for me, I got her for competitve obedience, agility, and field). I didn't think she had a protective bone in her body until last week, I heard her barking and went out to yell at her. She was barking at a coyote in my pasture! Gooooood dog!!!!!!

[longshadowfarms]

I LOVE Labs! We currently have 3, 2 at age 10 that we inherited about 2.5 yrs ago and one at 13. We also have a puppy on order. That said, what I see in the breed these days really bothers me. I've had two Labs (not mine) growl at me in the past year when I was not any threat at all. That should NOT happen with a Lab! We've been looking for a puppy for about 5 years now. It is REALLY hard to find someone who is breeding good Labs (in my opinion). With any dog it is vitally important to do your research and then do more of it. It doesn't guarantee you'll end up with a good dog but it certainly improves your odds. Dumb doesn't really bother me as long as they have a good temperament. We've had Labs run the range from one that was so smart we swear that he knew how to figure the pheasant limit for any # of hunters in the group. Heaven help you if you couldn't shoot because he'd quite hunting once he'd put up the limit for the group! We have one that we inherited that is truly dumber than a post. He's soooooo sweet though that he can be forgiven anything. Smart is better IMO but I haven't really figured out how to determine that in puppies. Temperament is pretty easy to test for in puppies. Timidness is a huge no-no IMO in any breed of dog. They are more likely to bite. We also currently have a Pyr who is wonderful but had one in the past who was dangerous. Pyrs are a whole 'nother story that I won't go into since you mainly mentioned Labs. I love my Pyr to pieces but I don't trust him like I do my Labs. P.S. Labs are 85 (female), 95 and 105 (males)lbs, Pyr is 150. None of them are fat.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

I'd like to hear more about your Pyrz. Mine are big, loveable galoots, from a reputable breeder with temperamentally stable dogs...still, if one was mean they could do do some damage. I did know of a woman with a mean one, but he was chained up all day, every day. Not good for a Pyr.

[BeeFree]

We have a chi/pom mix. 2 yr old and weighs about 7 lbs. Her name is Precious. She wants to run our yard squirrels and birds.

We also have a yellow lab that is fairly dumb. He is about 2 and a half yr old. I would guess his weight to be about 80 lbs. His name is Ole Yeller'. He likes chickens [to catch and hold for me] [neighbors doesn't appreciate it]and loves to jump in the lake.

[birdie_poo]

The first dog I got, 9 years ago, was a border collie. She's excellent around the animals and hunts mice, rats, gophers and crows.

About 2 years ago, I was having baby blues and the safest thing to do was get a puppy. I got a mini poodle. Slyder the bc and the dogs that I took in that were my grandfathers (terrier/poodle mix and mini schnauzer) wanted nothing to do with little Hercules, so i got him a puppy, that was a pomeranian/bishon frise mix.

Now, the older dogs, Barney and Ruggles are 15 1/2 and deaf and Ruggles is almost blind. They don't do much around the yard, but the other three are unstoppable. They team up going after gophers and mice/rats. It's hilarius to watch.

Barney is riddled with tumors, but not showing signs. Ruggles has learned from hand commands and still has a few years in him, I think. Slyder still acts ilke a pup, as long as she has Hercules and Grizzly Bear to hunt vermin with, I think all of them will keep each other young.

[longshadowfarms]

Originally Posted by LisaInN.Idaho

I'd like to hear more about your Pyrz. Mine are big, loveable galoots, from a reputable breeder with temperamentally stable dogs...still, if one was mean they could do do some damage. I did know of a woman with a mean one, but he was chained up all day, every day. Not good for a Pyr.

First Pyr was a house dog. Too timid to go outside much. He was raised exactly like the Labs as a result. At age two he turned on me and the kids and started attacking with no reason. With a lot of help from a # of professionals, it was determined that he had a mental illness commonly called rage syndrome. It is similar to bipolar disorder in humans. We had him put down. Another dog in his litter, a female, also developed this. Our current Pyr was a rescue dog. He was a stray so we don't know his story but all evidence points to his being abused at a prior home. He is fine with most people, esp women and kids, but if he doesn't approve of someone or what they are doing, he's been known to bump them or even take their body parts in his mouth and hold on. He's never bitten anyone here or hurt anyone but I am always cautious with how he is introduced to people to guage his and their reaction. His gate is always locked for his and their protection. He's never a problem off our property but he does take his job seriously. I don't hold that against him at all. I just don't trust him if I need to take people through his territory.