Discovering the Best Dog Breed for You
Choosing a puppy can be an emotional decision that turns out to be a nightmare or a blessing. Discovering the best dog breed for you should be a fun process that adds value to your life. I would like to recommend a book for you.
Your Purebred Puppy by Michele Welton is a great book that will describe dog behaviors in each breed and so much more. Purebreds were developed to increase predictability in appearance and behavior. This has been very helpful as we all different. We have different needs and desires. This is the primary reason to choose a purebred puppy and why mix-breeds produce less predictability in appearance and behavior. Variability increases even further when a dog is comprised of more than two breeds.
In 2005, we read this book and ended up choosing an English shepherd. Her name was Belle and we brought her home to northern Minnesota from Louisiana. She fit our family well and served her purpose. Consequently, she lived a good life with a loving family.
Most dogs that end up in shelters end up being there for one of two reasons.
First, the buyer shouldn’t have purchased a puppy in the first place. They were eagerly given a problem dog or purchased a cheap one that they couldn’t even afford. Usually, they have the maturity and parenting skills of a 7th grader. Financial stress comes and this poorly trained dog is then dropped off on the side of the road as a cost-saving mechanism. My job is to decide if I want to sell you a puppy. I have a fairly rigid algorithm that is about as sophisticated a Google’s. Just kidding, but sometimes I get it wrong. At least I try.
Second, the buyer had no clue of the behaviors a dog would display. They could have learned the breed behaviors if they would have taken time to research beyond looking at puppy pictures online. All dog breeds are bred for a specific purpose over the millennia. This was typically done to assist their owner with specific behavior. Pointers point, retrievers retrieve, sled dogs pull, guard dogs bark, and little cute dogs… well they just look cute and satiate our desire to have a perpetual baby.
I want to make you feel uncomfortable by criticizing the way some people pick their puppy. I don’t appreciate when people troll me on Facebook by telling me on my business page that my being a dog breeder is evil and that I am responsible for dogs in shelters. These crazy people do have a valid point though. There is a problem and I am hoping to improve it. That is why Up North Pyrenees requires customers to sign a contract to never bring their Pyr to a shelter. We will assist them in finding a new home. Winston Churchhill said “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” So, thank you for your criticism.
I have said this many times. There are very few bad dogs, but mostly just bad owners. Whatever you do… be a good one. We believe Up North Pyrenees is the right choice for Great Pyrenees puppies. Take some time to research dog breeds before you buy your next puppy. You’ll be glad you did.