How to Decide what Breed to get?

iteachkids81 · December 2013

Hello pet people!

DH and I have just bought a house. We close in 10 days! eek!

We want to get a dog in the spring, once we have settled in. My question is, is there somewhere we can go online and plug in what our lifestyle is like and find out what kind of breed is best? We definitely plan to go to a shelter, because there are far too many dogs without homes and there is no way I could ever justify buying a dog for $1-2K My original plan was to just find a dog that speaks to us when we go to a shelter, but I'd like to narrow it down to a range of a few breeds that would be suited to us.

I don't want a small dog, but I don't want a Great Dane either. LOL.

Does anyone have any advice on where to start?

Thanks so much in advance.

LuckyAngel07 · December 2013

iteachkids81 said:

My original plan was to just find a dog that speaks to us when we go to a shelter

This is really your best bet. Even though some breeds tend more toward certain personalities and activity levels than others, every dog really is an individual. We have a Boxer. We were prepared for lots of playtime and exercise for their hyper personalities, but she really ends up being perfectly well behaved with barely any exercise at all. She loves curling up and snuggling with us, and she almost always goes into our bedroom and "puts herself to bed" by like 9 most nights, even though we're still out in the living room.

You can get ideas on overall breed temperaments and activity levels by looking online (I don't have a specific site to recommend), but you'll be best off evaluating the individual dogs at the shelter to see which ones will suit your lifestyle best. Since shelters are likely to have many dogs of mixed breed, you might get more of one temperament or another, and you just never know until you meet the dog.

GL!

doeydo · December 2013

http://dogtime.com/quiz/dog-breed-selector This is a quiz that asks about a lot of stuff the gives you some breeds that might work for you. I just took it and it worked for me, two of my favourite types of dogs were in my tops picks, Newfoundland and Dachshund.

Caz1221 · December 2013

As Lucky said, each dog is an individual and may or may not conform to breed standards, so rather than focusing on a breed, I would think about what type of dog would best fit your lifestyle in terms of energy level/exercise requirements, size, age (puppy, adult, senior if it matters to you), temperament, grooming needs, etc. and then look for a dog that fits those traits regardless of breed. GL!!

WildFlower2350 · December 2013

How exciting! There are breed selector quizzes online through animal planet..its sort of fun but I didn't think the results were earth shattering. Find a reputable shelter or rescue organization...they can be the biggest resource. We adopted our dog by finding her on Petfinder, filling out the application and meeting with the foster mom. They truly wanted to make the match a success to find a forever home for their adoptable dogs so they really asked a ton of questions (like how much exercise we could reasonably provide, how much grooming we were willing to do, how much space do we have ect). By going through a good organization they will ask you the right questions and know their dogs well enough to recommend a great match. Good luck!

bpphoto785 · December 2013

I also agree with Lucky that breed isn't everything. We have a Husky/Australian Shepard mix and he is lazy compared to the nut-job we thought we were signing up for. He will act up a little if he doesn't get his exercise, but what he requires is minimal and he's perfectly content snuggling on the couch.

We used some version of these guidelines when adopting our pup 3 years ago and I thought they were really helpful in knowing what to look for, especially if you're going to a shelter or rescue. Our pup "passed" all these tests and we couldn't be happier with him!

LolaCola29 · December 2013

We just decided to get a puppy next summer, and did some of the breed selector quizzes to get an idea of what we wanted. It is true every dog has his own personality, and might not conform to breed standards, but there are other things I was focusing on. Mainly grooming needs, size, and common breed health problems.
we ended up deciding an English Setter is what we wanted, and found a great breeder.

The number one thing for me was a dog that is going to be very socialized with other pets and people. Which is something I have been discussing with the breeder and feel very good about now.

iteachkids81 · December 2013

Thanks everyone. I did a few of those quizzes and found out that a breed we both really like is actually well suited for us (The American Staffordshire Terrier-which is basically a pit bull with a black nose), but then I heard that Pit bulls can make your home insurance go higher? something we will definitely have to look into when the time comes.

RedheadBaker · December 2013

iteachkids81 said:

The American Staffordshire Terrier-which is basically a pit bull with a black nose

Um, no.

That being said, yes, many insurance companies will either flat-out refuse to insure you, or raise your rates. Try State Farm.

LuckyAngel07 · December 2013

LolaCola29 said:

We just decided to get a puppy next summer, and did some of the breed selector quizzes to get an idea of what we wanted. It is true every dog has his own personality, and might not conform to breed standards, but there are other things I was focusing on. Mainly grooming needs, size, and common breed health problems.
we ended up deciding an English Setter is what we wanted, and found a great breeder.

The number one thing for me was a dog that is going to be very socialized with other pets and people. Which is something I have been discussing with the breeder and feel very good about now.

Please note that a "great breeder" doesn't necessarily mean they are reputable. They might love their dogs and the breed, but those 2 things do not a reputable breeder make.

A truly reputable breeder does the following (and probably more that I can't even think of right now):
1) Shows their dogs in conformation and/or field (this can depend on the breed if there's field work involved)

2) Only breeds dogs that have reached "champion" status at these shows (that means these dogs not only represent, but exemplify the breed standard, so further generations will carry on those traits the breed is supposed to have without perpetuating nonstandard characteristics)

3) Fully health tests all dogs before they are bred. This doesn't mean they just take their dog for all the annual vet check-ups and vaccinations. It means going through something like OFA testing for known inherited breed defects (things like heart or hip problems, for example), and vowing NOT to breed dogs that don't pass these tests (breeding dogs that don't get tested or that don't pass is basically why so many breeds today are "known" for having certain health issues).

4) Does not release puppies before the age of 8-10 weeks (many truly conscientious breeders are moving toward 10-12 weeks because the puppies have better learned certain important behaviors from remaining with their "pack" for longer). In many states, it's actually illegal for puppies to be purposely separated from the mother before 8 weeks of age.

5) All puppies get all initial puppy shots/wormings/any other veterinary visit needs within the first 8 weeks before the breeder sends them home.

6) They don't breed dogs before a certain age/after a certain age and they don't breed females more than once a year. Having more than 1 litter of puppies per year can cause a lot of health issues for the female dogs. Puppy mills will breed the same female repeatedly for as many litters as she can produce in a year, which exhausts the animal and leads to sickness and a much shorter lifespan.

PLEASE make sure the breeder you have found does these things at the very least. Some people say that the breeders you should work with should also have a waiting list of people wanting a puppy from them. This is basically to ensure that they never breed a dog without knowing all the puppies that might result from the litter will have homes already lined up to go to. If your breeder has not met these points, I would urge you to keep looking. Yes, it might very well mean finding a breeder several hours away from you, heck even halfway across the country for certain rarer breeds. But you're doing the right thing by going with those people, because they're working hard not to add to pet overpopulation and homelessness the way most back-yard (aka "hobby") breeders do. BYBs breed regardless of having homes lined up, they don't health test their dogs, and they don't breed for conformation. They breed to make money and don't tend to think about where their pups are going once they've been sold (resulting in many of them ending up dumped in shelters).

LolaCola29 · December 2013

LuckyAngel07 said:

LolaCola29 said:

We just decided to get a puppy next summer, and did some of the breed selector quizzes to get an idea of what we wanted. It is true every dog has his own personality, and might not conform to breed standards, but there are other things I was focusing on. Mainly grooming needs, size, and common breed health problems.
we ended up deciding an English Setter is what we wanted, and found a great breeder.

The number one thing for me was a dog that is going to be very socialized with other pets and people. Which is something I have been discussing with the breeder and feel very good about now.

Please note that a "great breeder" doesn't necessarily mean they are reputable. They might love their dogs and the breed, but those 2 things do not a reputable breeder make.

A truly reputable breeder does the following (and probably more that I can't even think of right now):
1) Shows their dogs in conformation and/or field (this can depend on the breed if there's field work involved)
2) Only breeds dogs that have reached "champion" status at these shows (that means these dogs not only represent, but exemplify the breed standard, so further generations will carry on those traits the breed is supposed to have without perpetuating nonstandard characteristics)
3) Fully health tests all dogs before they are bred. This doesn't mean they just take their dog for all the annual vet check-ups and vaccinations. It means going through something like OFA testing for known inherited breed defects (things like heart or hip problems, for example), and vowing NOT to breed dogs that don't pass these tests (breeding dogs that don't get tested or that don't pass is basically why so many breeds today are "known" for having certain health issues).
4) Does not release puppies before the age of 8-10 weeks (many truly conscientious breeders are moving toward 10-12 weeks because the puppies have better learned certain important behaviors from remaining with their "pack" for longer). In many states, it's actually illegal for puppies to be purposely separated from the mother before 8 weeks of age.
5) All puppies get all initial puppy shots/wormings/any other veterinary visit needs within the first 8 weeks before the breeder sends them home.
6) They don't breed dogs before a certain age/after a certain age and they don't breed females more than once a year. Having more than 1 litter of puppies per year can cause a lot of health issues for the female dogs. Puppy mills will breed the same female repeatedly for as many litters as she can produce in a year, which exhausts the animal and leads to sickness and a much shorter lifespan.

PLEASE make sure the breeder you have found does these things at the very least. Some people say that the breeders you should work with should also have a waiting list of people wanting a puppy from them. This is basically to ensure that they never breed a dog without knowing all the puppies that might result from the litter will have homes already lined up to go to. If your breeder has not met these points, I would urge you to keep looking. Yes, it might very well mean finding a breeder several hours away from you, heck even halfway across the country for certain rarer breeds. But you're doing the right thing by going with those people, because they're working hard not to add to pet overpopulation and homelessness the way most back-yard (aka "hobby") breeders do. BYBs breed regardless of having homes lined up, they don't health test their dogs, and they don't breed for conformation. They breed to make money and don't tend to think about where their pups are going once they've been sold (resulting in many of them ending up dumped in shelters).

Thanks for your concern, but the breeder I'm using does meet all those qualification. Both parents are champions, I've seen their pedigree papers, she's also the president of our local English Setter club which I plan on joining. She teaches grooming classes, and helps with training to everyone she sells to.

I did my research, I made sure I'm not using a back yard breeder.

LuckyAngel07 · December 2013

LolaCola29 said:
Thanks for your concern, but the breeder I'm using does meet all those qualification. Both parents are champions, I've seen their pedigree papers, she's also the president of our local English Setter club which I plan on joining. She teaches grooming classes, and helps with training to everyone she sells to.
I did my research, I made sure I'm not using a back yard breeder.

I'm so glad to hear this!! It is not the norm, by any means, to find someone who really knows the responsible breeders, which is why I piped up with my (admittedly really long) post. So very glad you didn't need that info (though hopefully anyone lurking or coming across this post in the future will pick up some valuable knowledge!).

doeydo · December 2013

http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?location=usa&animal=&primary_breed=American+Staffordshire+Terrier&distance=&pet_name= Maybe you could use petfinder to find a dog of the breed you want that is up for adoption.

LolaCola29 · December 2013

@LuckyAngel07

.I understand. I don't know if this board has a regular mod, but it might be a good idea to write up a "How to find a good breeder" post and have it sticky to the top of the board. I'm sure lots of people would find it very useful.

Meery82 · December 2013

All I can add is that I have a boxer and she is the best dog ever.

RedheadBaker · December 2013

LolaCola29 said:

@LuckyAngel07
.I understand. I don't know if this board has a regular mod, but it might be a good idea to write up a "How to find a good breeder" post and have it sticky to the top of the board. I'm sure lots of people would find it very useful.

It's in the FAQs, which is sticky-posted at the top of the board.

How to Decide what Breed to get?

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