Posted on 04/23/2010 4:33:02 PM PDT by SmartInsight
About Courage: A 3-year-old German shepherd was taken by a Good Samaritan to an Orange County veterinary clinic April 7 near death from starvation.
German Shepherd Rescue Group of Orange County stepped in and offered to pay for the dog's care.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
What I’m reading is to be careful of the who you buy your dog from. Working dog breed is better then show breed. I guess the temperament is better, maybe less problems with hips? What’s the best way to find a good breeder?
Try to buy from a breeder who has imported his breeding stock from Germany or Austria.Those countries produce the best dogs,breeding for good body and sound temperment.
He’s beautiful! So glad they got to him in time.
Thanks for the ping, SandRat.
People interested in a working dog are looking for a good, healthy example of the traits for which a given breed was bred. They’re not looking for a pet, they’re not going to jump on the latest bandwagon as far as appearance, bone structure or what have you.
Several breeds have been severely set back or almost ruined by unscrupulout pet breeders. As a for instance, you’d be far better off with a Labrador Retriever bred from a field champion line. They’re smarter and healthier. What you get that might be a surprise would be a very high energy dog that remains that way well into adulthood. It’ll be a dog with an irrepressable urge to retrieve.
Such a Lab will not settle down into the happy-go-lucky, almost lazy loveable oaf that most people seem to believe is the predominant trait, until he is getting on up in years, close to a decade old. These traits are predominant in Labs bred for pets because that’s what pet owners think they want. What has come along with this, though, is hip problems, obesity and a general loss of intelligence and drive. The “block head” aesthetic preference has gotten so out of hand as to interfere with whelping as well, in some instances. People can be so stupid about this sort of thing, and the AKC isn’t necessarily helping matters.
I got a German Shepherd once that her owner moved away and left her to starve. What great dog she was. They are my favorite breed.
Thank you, that’s what I will be looking for.
sheperds have these eyes that just stare into your soul. What great faces these guys have. Love them!! Glad to see this one get a second chance
That’s a good looking terrier. I love terrier breeds too. I happen to have a 13 year old toy fox and I just love her to death. I have been thinking of getting another dog now for awhile. I’m not sure if now is a good time, but, I’m looking. I also have a cat and have to keep a cat or two around because I live in the country and we have some problems with getting field mice in the house. Both my cat and dog do a good job of getting them though :)
woof
SUCH A FINE HOUND!
SO INTELLIGENT! Just enjoying the beauty of nature and life!
She's a great dog. They have free training for the dogs they sell.
I’d say the best are LAB/Shepherd mixes...
I am a careful pet owner. I won't get an animal unless I'm 100% sure I'm ready for it. They take up a lot of time early on and if you spend that time with them when they are young you end up with a great dog.
I have a brother and sister that are a little over 2 years old and they are dolls. They are smart and learn quickly and I am glad I got them. I would take Courage in a minute, he is about the same age as Libby and Junior.
They insist on having an actual relationship with you. I’m sure the GSD people could fill volumes with examples.
I can’t really speak for training the GSD as a puppy. I had one as a teen and he was a great dog, but he came to us as an adult. We lived out in the country, well off of any main road, and he had the run of the countryside. The farmers loved him because he hunted and killed groundhogs. He had a self-taught hunting method in tall grass that was amusing to watch, he’d start springing up over the top of the tall grass, boing boing boing, rapidly looking left and right the whole time. It flushed whatever he was after, and he could see it from above. Smart boy.
I can say that a male Lab puppy from a field bred line is going to be a hellion until he’s about three years old. They’re very eager to learn and very fixated upon their people, but they’ll retrieve or swim or go go go until they drop. Giving them a task, a job to do does wonders. You need at least a large enclosed back yard if not acreage, and if you don’t have surface water on your property a big, heavy duty baby pool will get used a great deal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.