(VICT) Re: Dog breeds

I agree that every dog is an individual. I have had people who have been 
exposed to a couple of salukis tell me that they are nervous and skitish. 
They aren't supposed to be, but there are some out there that are. There 
are exceptions to every rule in both the negative and the positive sense. 
There are those 
that think that all pitts should be shot on principle. But I have met some 
pitts that are fine pets. I know a few boarding kennel owners who will not 
take Gsd's and chocolate labs. They swear that both have been over bred 
and that they are nasty. Are some of them nasty, yes, but certainly not 
all.

There are certain general traits that are attributable to each breed 
though. Vets have told me that they see more overweight labs than any 
other breeds out there. Then again, they are the most popular family dog 
today, so that could be why. And the very fact that they are so popular 
as pets does point to the fact that they tend to be very social and 
outgoing. I think it would be hard to argue that, in 
general, labs don't have a pretty serious food drive and that they are 
very friendly and people-oriented. There will be exceptions and, 
clearly, these tendencies are readily 
controlable. I know lots of folks who have 
labs as guides and they are wild about them. As I have said repeatedly, 
breed choice is a very personal thing. I would never go out of my way to 
own a lab again as either a working dog or as a pet, but I bet a lot of 
people who love labs would really not care for salukis and a lot of the 
other breeds that I favor. I just think that people who look to schools 
for their dogs should have more choices. At least nowadays, a lot of the 
schools allow people to pick from the selection of breeds available in the 
program. When I first went to TSE in 1980, nobody was asking what you 
wanted.

Yes, Leader has used some interesting breeds. I have heard of them using 
Bouviers as well. The school that trains vizslas has been doing so for 
years. They would be an interesting breed to look at as a guide.

Jill


On Wed, 18 Apr 2007, AnnaLisa Anderson wrote:

> Hi All,
> I'm behind on email here, but I just wanted to say that both my guides, one
> a chocolate lab and now my current gorgeous golden, have had very good house
> manners.  Neither of them has ever been a table or counter surfer, and
> neither one has been destructive at all.  I think it's an easy thing to
> generalize about a breed being unruly or food distracted, but that can be
> true of any dog.  I think a lot of it has to do with how they're raised.
>
> Also regarding breeds, I know that Leader is doing some experimenting with
> different breeds, one being the airdale terrier, and there is a puppy raiser
> right now who has a smooth coated collie, and she said he is a very mellow,
> sweet dog.  They also train standard poodles.  I think Southeastern trains
> vishalas (spelling?) and boxers.
>
> Just my two cents.
>
> AnnaLisa and Sundance
>
>
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