Animal Planet has developed a really neat"Dog Breed Questionnaire" on their website. It asks you 10 short questions and then presents a tight list of breeds that are geared towards your desired traits.
For fun, we filled it out with the typical American dog owner's desires in a dog - small, low maintenance, good with kids and other animals, couch potato, easy grooming, etc. And the list list we received was ... interesting!
For fun, we filled it out with the typical American dog owner's desires in a dog - small, low maintenance, good with kids and other animals, couch potato, easy grooming, etc. And the list list we received was ... interesting!
Silky Terrier
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Maltese
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Chihuahua
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Miniature Pinscher
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Affenpinscher
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Yorkshire Terrier
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Pomeranian
|
Firstly, mutts are always a great place to start. With the success of the spay and neuter movement, the classic Heinz 57 all-american mutts are almost gone. Most of what you will find in shelters today is some play on the pit bull (which of course can be great dogs but from a shelter environment you should be ready to put in some work).
The fallacy of questionnaires like the one from Animal Planet is that while breed may be a good place to start narrowing down your search, getting stuck on one breed may make you end up with the wrong dog. Dogs are individuals, and while they will have breed tendencies, your dog can not be summed up in a breed book. I've seen dogs of high energy breeds that just want to sit around and I've seen Pomeranians wreak havoc on houses.
Adorable Terriers or Tiny Terrors?
While we were trying to fill out the questionnaire to find "easy dogs" (since that is what most people are looking for), I was surprised when I saw this list - these breeds could just as well be posted on a board for "dogs that keep trainers in business."
Our list came back with a lot of small terriers, or as I sometimes call them - tiny terrors. They look small and cute, so they attract people who don't want difficult dogs, but they are at their core bred to work and since they are terriers they are bred to kill something. Putting these dogs in a home environment where the owners are looking for something easy often leads to restless, barking dogs that potty train slow and won't give the owners peace. While they are the size of cats, they are still dogs and still need someone to invest time to train and socialize them and to fulfill them with meaningful work.
The Reality of Pure Bred Dogs
Pure bred dogs in general can be tough for a novice dog handler. They have years and years of finely tuned DNA that has programmed them for a very specific purpose. Often times, people will get a hunting dog and then be frustrated that their dog wants to hunt squirrels in their neighborhood. Or maybe they want a terrier, but then they get angry that their terriers can't get along with their cat.
Fulfilling a pure bred dog is an important and sometimes challenging task. If you are a breed enthusiast, make sure that you are prepared to honor the breed's instincts and fulfill them so that they don't turn into a frustrated nightmare.
Look at Breeds as a Suggestion, Not a Rule
It's difficult to pinpoint the breed that is perfect for you, since breeds are often only a suggestion at the types of things a dog might need to be happy. I like to tell people that energy compatibility is the true key to successful relationships - dog or otherwise.
For example, it'd be a difficult for a gym rat, athletic girl who also loves hiking to marry a guy who just wants to sit on the couch and watch Game of Thrones while eating a bucket of chicken. You wouldn't marry someone so different from you in lifestyle - so why get a dog that is?
Breed can be a great place to start and can give you an idea of the benefits and challenges of a dog, but it certainly doesn't tell you the whole store. When looking to add a dog to your life, zero in exactly what you want from a dog and find a dog that will like you for you. Dog selection is the biggest moment of your training process.
The fallacy of questionnaires like the one from Animal Planet is that while breed may be a good place to start narrowing down your search, getting stuck on one breed may make you end up with the wrong dog. Dogs are individuals, and while they will have breed tendencies, your dog can not be summed up in a breed book. I've seen dogs of high energy breeds that just want to sit around and I've seen Pomeranians wreak havoc on houses.
Adorable Terriers or Tiny Terrors?
While we were trying to fill out the questionnaire to find "easy dogs" (since that is what most people are looking for), I was surprised when I saw this list - these breeds could just as well be posted on a board for "dogs that keep trainers in business."
Our list came back with a lot of small terriers, or as I sometimes call them - tiny terrors. They look small and cute, so they attract people who don't want difficult dogs, but they are at their core bred to work and since they are terriers they are bred to kill something. Putting these dogs in a home environment where the owners are looking for something easy often leads to restless, barking dogs that potty train slow and won't give the owners peace. While they are the size of cats, they are still dogs and still need someone to invest time to train and socialize them and to fulfill them with meaningful work.
The Reality of Pure Bred Dogs
Pure bred dogs in general can be tough for a novice dog handler. They have years and years of finely tuned DNA that has programmed them for a very specific purpose. Often times, people will get a hunting dog and then be frustrated that their dog wants to hunt squirrels in their neighborhood. Or maybe they want a terrier, but then they get angry that their terriers can't get along with their cat.
Fulfilling a pure bred dog is an important and sometimes challenging task. If you are a breed enthusiast, make sure that you are prepared to honor the breed's instincts and fulfill them so that they don't turn into a frustrated nightmare.
Look at Breeds as a Suggestion, Not a Rule
It's difficult to pinpoint the breed that is perfect for you, since breeds are often only a suggestion at the types of things a dog might need to be happy. I like to tell people that energy compatibility is the true key to successful relationships - dog or otherwise.
For example, it'd be a difficult for a gym rat, athletic girl who also loves hiking to marry a guy who just wants to sit on the couch and watch Game of Thrones while eating a bucket of chicken. You wouldn't marry someone so different from you in lifestyle - so why get a dog that is?
Breed can be a great place to start and can give you an idea of the benefits and challenges of a dog, but it certainly doesn't tell you the whole store. When looking to add a dog to your life, zero in exactly what you want from a dog and find a dog that will like you for you. Dog selection is the biggest moment of your training process.
Take the questionnaire and tell us which dog(s) you got! Do you agree with their suggestions?
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