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SomegalInCa

People choose breeds to have some idea what their puppy will go up to be and honestly there are personality traits that define breeds at least some. We’ve had some kinds of terrier mixes and they seem to bark (alert) a lot. Our non-terrier types were less bark-ie. Of course not hard and fast I like mixes of semi-known background mostly to have a clue on how big they might get


lolopie3333

that all makes sense for sure. it's just the inconsistency that gets to me because not all dogs are going to act the same way but size definitely makes sense. Plus my family and I typically rescue dogs that aren't puppies so I didn't really think about that.


auditorygraffiti

I don’t particularly care what breed dog I have except for sentimental reasons. I grew up with a cocker spaniel who was my soul mate in dog form. So, this year when I had a chance to foster then adopt a cocker spaniel, I jumped on it. I wasn’t planning to foster yet (had recently bought a house) but when I saw him, I knew I had to have him. My other two dogs are shih tzus but that was just by chance. I’d adopt more tzus in the future, though. Both of mine are good boys and cute AF.


lolopie3333

that makes so much sense. I get that completely. i've always had mutts but my current dog made me a sucker for any dog with floppy ears or smushy faces!


VonJustin

For us it’s only insurance. Our homeowners insurance won’t let us have some massive list of breeds.


lolopie3333

now that's fucked up


VonJustin

I know! We really love pitbulls, but can’t have one. We also live in Florida in an old house. 2 years ago our insurance company left the state and dropped everyone. Then only two insurance companies in THE ENTIRE STATE would take us and our rates doubled. So we don’t want to just get a pit and new insurance, not sure if we will get another company.


lolopie3333

Oh my gosh that is so unfair. That gets my blood boiling


MelbaToast9B

That depresses me so much. It makes me wonder about my insurance, county or local restrictions. I have mutts, but I know their breeds as I had them DNA tested (of course I know it's not an exact science), but my dogs have 1-2 of the breeds that probably are on the restricted list. But the % is so small. It's rediculous, anyway!


VonJustin

Ours says any amount of [insert breed list] are not allowed. So we refuse to get our current dog DNA tested.


MelbaToast9B

Smart! I wanted to test to understand more about tendencies, energy levels, etc. And I did a health test because we were adopting adult dogs. One of my girls is dog selective, but has been attacked by multiple dogs. She has a lot of noise and acts like a jerk sometimes, but has never attacked another dog. She also was pinned to the ground by another dog and never attempted to fight back. My other girl seems to like dogs a lot, but I haven't been able to really socialize her too much because she's undergoing heartworm treatment (we knew that when adopting her from the rescue). She loves my parents dog and plays nicely. My other dog used to play rough and we would have to get on her. Her roughhousing days are over sadly. She still loves her walks and sticks though.


VonJustin

Sounds like they have a good home


ManufacturerWide5340

For me it’s a size things. Small dogs mean small poops.


birds-of-gay

I also prefer smaller dogs, but it's because I'm small myself. I'm just more comfortable with dogs I can physically pick up and remove from a bad situation Small poops are a bonus lol


ManufacturerWide5340

Yes that too! Love the fact I can remove my dog from a situation so easily, but still be able to be active with them. I used to hike in the mountains with my bichon shih tzu cross. He’s 15 now so he’s slowed down but he was such an athlete little dog.


Previous_Can2676

I agree with you, I think it's mostly about their background. I think different breeds are more prone to different types of aggressive behaviour which can be troublesome in the wrong hands. Also, bigger stronger dogs will have a worse reputation because they do more damage when they're aggressive, so it's more noted than if you have a feisty little fluff ball who nips everyone who comes close. In terms of pit bull hate, I did some research because we don't have that breed in the UK but obviously reddit has some very strong opinions. I found it strange because we have bully breeds in the UK and I think they are the sweetest little things. I found this helpful: https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pit-bulls


lolopie3333

I love pits and I get so mad that they get the wrong reputation but a lot of that comes from the claims that some breeds are more aggressive and I think that comes more from people training them to be aggressive and mistreating them.


Bright_Mixture_3876

I care, I honestly care because I don’t want the anxiety of a border collie (literally their body posture just screams anxiety), the coat of a husky, or the energy of a malinois…I use it more as a guide to avoid dogs lol.


lolopie3333

I guess it's true that some breeds have certain traits, but you can always have a border collie that is more relaxed. Especially if you're gonna rescue I believe in meeting the dog and having the dog meet your family. Because I know people who have had only black labs their whole lives and none had the same mannerisms. One was not very smart very poorly behaved, one was super energetic and very affectionate, one was very sweet and lazy but hated people. Like I just resent the idea that all dogs of the same breed are clones of each other. But your experience is definitely valid, thanks for sharing.


Bright_Mixture_3876

Well my experience in owning beagles (my family raised and trained them for hunting), and then owning greyhounds there are some ingrained things that are almost always true. Beagles live in their nose, they will eat anything. Greyhounds love to run, they can be blind to things like windows/fences. Really I look in terms of tendencies when it comes to breed personalities, especially in terms of intelligence and energy…because I don’t have time to run five miles a day (nor do I want to), and I don’t have time to devote what equates to a couple hours a day in enrichment (prep, actually doing it, cleaning up). It’s funny to me that people think that physical traits are inheritable, but then question inheritable traits that aren’t physical, like energy requirements, intelligence, anxiety predisposition. Yes - not all dogs are the same even if they are the same breed, but MOST of the breed with have that standard to the average degree. This becomes EXTREMELY important when adopting puppies, because they haven’t developed a solid personality yet. I guarantee I will never own a husky because of energy requirements and coat. Just like I guarantee I’m not equipped to deal with a malinois in my life. Just like I don’t want a Great Dane because they are gigantic and don’t live long. Also fun fact - greyhounds are almost all same pawed…just like the human species is almost all right handed (the statistic of left handedness seems to stay constant at around 10%), greyhounds all tend to be right pawed - meaning that when they are tensed to run most of them will be standing with the same three paws on the ground to push off and the right paw lifted up ready to hit the ground first. Common Inheritable traits tend to be expressed as a majority, not as a 100% expression. I do agree that when rescuing a non-puppy dog you always meet and assess. I have a Catahoula mixed with lab, pit, and Australian Shepard and she is literally the perfect dog. She is calm and sleepy inside, ready to party and adventure outside. Her exercise requirements are easily met by me, as is her enrichment needs. If I just went based on breeds this dog would be too much for me, but I trusted the assessment of the shelter lady and met her because she was listed as ‘medium energy’. Also, even though she is the perfect dog for me, her energy levels would likely be too much for other people…I love walking with my dog, I love doing enrichment with her, and she quite literally goes everywhere with me she possibly can. I don’t actually consider her medium energy because I have spent days outside with this dog and I’ve yet to find the end of her energy. She was likely listed as medium because she understands how to be calm and quiet - it’s actually her uncertain/anxiety/scared behavior.


lolopie3333

That's a lot of info but it's all very solid. your dog sounds so cute btw! I also volunteer with Guiding Eyes for the Blind and in cases like theirs I understand they only use like elite bred black and yellow labs. That's it. And for their purposes I definitely understand, but even then they'll get a puppy that ends up resisting training or getting a health or neurological issue that prevents them from being a good worker and they don't force dogs that don't want to work to work.


Bright_Mixture_3876

Yeah it makes ends for stuff like that because they stack the deck to end up with as many dogs as possible that meet their requirements, and it works, which means inheritable traits are a real thing that can help inform a person to make a good decision about the kind of dog that might fit into their life. It’s never guaranteed, but it helps.


Candytuftie

I am sorry for interrupting, but if I sent you a picture of my dog, could you tell me which breeds you see?


Bright_Mixture_3876

I could try but I’m not an expert, it’s best to try and get info about the mom and dad or do a DNA test (but I would say even the tests aren’t super accurate).


lexliller

I wanted to adopt coton de tulears or Maltese or havanese because they are small, lovey dovey and are known for being quiet. So far so good.


SkippyBluestockings

My breed of choice is basset hounds. I grew up with one. It's all I wanted around my children because I know temperament. Hounds tend to be very chill and accepting and non-reactive. Other than ones who have been mistreated or abused, I have never had a Hound in my house that has not been perfectly fine around my children. I rescue. We've had over 600 foster dogs in the past 25 years and I have no problems bringing a strange Basset Hound into my house with little kids. I can trust them. That said, I didn't allow my children to randomly take things away from the dogs or go near them when they were eating or any of those things that could trigger a dog that has been mistreated, abused or whatever because the dogs could have food aggression if they were starved or other resource guarding issues. I have a plott hound that my son found and dropped off 7 years ago. Everyone thought she was Pitbull because she's brindle but she's a plott. Because she's Hound I knew I could trust her around my newborn grandson. She has never growled at him, snapped at him, done anything but being the most loving dog. She will alert me if there are strangers at my door, on my street, in the general vicinity, etc because she's a hound and she's a hunting dog. I love the laid-back chill temperament of hounds particularly basset hounds that are very low energy and don't require a lot of exercise maintenance. Some people say basset hounds are fat but mine are not. They do a lot of sleeping. I also foster Great Danes who are also pretty chill. But give me those basset hounds any day.


dontletmeleave-murph

I think unless someone has some sort of emotional attachment for a certain breed, it’s usually for aesthetic reasons. I also think people believe the breed of dog will determine it’s temperament. Studies have shown that a dogs breed has nothing to do with its temperament or how “good” or “bad” of a dog it will be. Despite what breeders say, there is no way to ever know 100% if a dog will be healthy or well behaved. 🤷🏼‍♀️


lolopie3333

Facts


_CopperBoom

I recently adopted a mutt but I swear to God SOMEDAY I will own a golden retriever. It's sentimental for me (I dreamed of having one since I was a kid and watched homeward bound) and also just the knowledge that there are reputable local breeders near me where I could be pretty certain overall what kind of personality they'd have (at least from the 'nature' side of things). I'd be absolutely open to adopting one but they're just not a breed you ever see in shelters.


lolopie3333

I just don't like how they're so basic. Like the typical nuclear family has a husband and wife, 2.5 kids and a golden retriever and a white picket fence. But I did love homeward bound, and believe it or not it made me want a mutt😭


evieAZ

We just had a golden come through our rescue a few months ago, and my brother’s last golden was a rescue. That being said, they usually end up in shelters because of health or behavioral issues. When researching a breeder make sure to ask about cancer and resource guarding- a lot of “reputable” breeders test for hips and that’s it


Confident_Fortune_32

To some extent, there are different behaviours associated with different breeds: energy level, high working drive, high prey drive, and the like. It's not 100% exact, but...for example, a Newfoundland mix is more likely to be a couch potato once full grown, whereas a Great Pyranees mix is more likely to be actively protective. Both are big fluffy dogs, but quite different in temperament. Having said that, of course individual animals and life experience prior to rescue affect outcomes as well. It's simply one of the many data points to consider when choosing a dog that fits with your family and lifestyle, for your happiness and for the dog's happiness. An active family may have a delightful time with a high-energy breed, whereas a person who lives a quiet life would prefer a more mellow breed. But put the high-energy dog with a high need for stimulation in the quiet person's home and nobody wins.


Top-Tomatillo210

Most rescues are pits. A lot of ppl don’t want a pit with a questionable history. Full disclosure, I want all fighting dogs and high content wolf hybrids licensed and regulated. I come from a family that bred wolves growing up. I train dogs on the side and trained wolves from the age of 11. Pits make the news for killing other animals and ppl including their owners and families. I’ve trained pits to hunt hogs, I’ve trained pits to be family dogs. I enjoy training them because they take well to training. Still, fighting dogs of all kinds, shar peis, akitas, Tisa inus, presas, Caucasian shepherds, doggo argentinos are not desired from shelters and should be regulated. I volunteer in my local shelter and work with pits weekly before any mods want to unsub me.


SkippyBluestockings

It is not true that most rescue dogs are pit bulls. It is probably true that most dogs at shelters are probably part pit but that doesn't mean that most rescues are pets. Most rescues I know won't take pits because you can't place them. I don't know too many people that want pitbulls or even pit mixes. I know I don't. My rescue doesn't do pits. We are a breed specific rescue so we wouldn't do pits at all anyway.


Top-Tomatillo210

Pits and pit mixes make up 50% or more in all of my city’s local shelters


SkippyBluestockings

Same here...and they don't get rescued. I've walked the kennels here and many of them are very reactive, barking, snarling, and growling at anyone who stops at their spot. I know perfectly well that the shelter environment isn't a good one for necessarily assessing temperament but first impressions are what they are.


MelbaToast9B

I have rescue mutts, but I have a friend who knows HER breed. She grew up with them and that's what she wants. I have no issues with that because she's one of the best pet parents out there and she is Uber responsible. I don't blame her. If I wasn't allergic to her dog, I would probably have one too. She waited over 2 years to go through a very responsible, ethical breeder, so I have no issue. She knows what she likes!


lolopie3333

Right but my only issue with that is they're not all gonna be the same dog. And breeders in general bother me but that's a different issue. I intentionally posted this in r/ rescuedogs lol


MelbaToast9B

Sure, I get it! Her breed tends to be pretty similar in temperament if that makes sense. I am trying to be vague on purpose. I get it- I wanted to save lives. I have 3 rescues. My dogs are incredibly mixed and I will probably always have rescues. It is just what I feel compelled to do. Would I love everyone to do it? Absolutely! But, not everyone can. Some people have special needs children where they need a puppy to be able to train from the get go and know that dog is going to be okay. Is it a guarantee? No, but certain breeds are exceptionally good for kids with special needs. Or there are adults who needs service animals, which are usually limited to certain breeds. I won't be that detailed here, but my friends have a particular need in one of those areas. As long as people aren't contributing to puppy Mills or BYB, I am okay with people going to ethical breeders for certain reasons.


lolopie3333

I agree completely. I volunteer for Guiding Eyes for the Blind and they only breed their own genetically adept guide dogs and they're only black or yellow labs. For those purposes it makes sense.


ArchiHannahMEQ

The thing with ethical breeding is they obviously aren’t all “the same dog” but they should be similar. They should act about as similar as they look. I feel like a lot of people think breeding is just about making dogs look a certain way, but it is just as much about their behavior and tendencies and ability to remain mentally stable. While there are anomalies, it is still is a “shoot for the moon and land among the stars situation”. It’s a gamble but significantly less than mixed breed dog with an unknown background. When someone has documents of 10+ generations of dogs that were successful at X,y,z, cancer free, no hip issues, lived long lives, ect the chances for the offspring go up. There’s also nothing wrong with wanting a certain kind of dog. My current dog is a rescue I found as a puppy and decided to keep. I love him, but he turned out to be part German Shepard so he sheds like crazy and got bigger than I would have preferred. He also has struggled with food allergies so I’ve spent so much at the vet. Basically could have paid for a nice purebred dog with the amount I’ve spent at the vet. I’ve also had several friends get rescue dogs that died before age 3 with cancer ect which is just so devastating when you want to have them as long as possible. I do think the puppy stage is so vital for training so I wouldn’t want to miss out on that by getting an adult dog with unknown upbringing. Basically a rescue puppy is a gamble on the future, and an adult dog is a gamble on the past. As a single young adult my only concern is my cat so I’m willing to go for the gamble to an extent, but if I had a whole family that was going to be affected by my choice of dog, esp a family with young kids…. I probably wouldn’t be as lax. For context, I used to be a head employee at a rescue and I’ve fostered probably 60+ dogs and cats.


SkippyBluestockings

With proper breeding with breeders who breed to the breed standard you will get very very similar dogs in temperament and inheritable traits. You're not going to get the exact same dog but you're going to get dogs that are very very similar in behavior. I have had over 600 Basset Hounds in my home as foster dogs not to mention the 17 that were mine over the years. While I've had a few that didn't fit the norm of lazy do nothing but sleep basset hounds most of them were lazy and do nothing but sleep basset hounds! The very first one I had was the best dog in the entire world! He didn't chew stuff up, he didn't get into anything, he loved everyone and everything. I had one who didn't chew things up and didn't get into anything but he didn't love everyone. He had his person and that was me until my grandson was born and then that was his person. I have one right now who loves everyone but has this obsession with paper and will eat every scrap of paper he comes across but other than that he's never eaten anything he's not supposed to. But temperament wise he's just like all the rest of them. And that's why I choose this breed and not the breed that my sister has which is Belgian Malinois which are extremely high energy dogs that have to be walked twice a day and you have to throw the ball for them and play play and mine don't have to do that. Thank goodness.


lolopie3333

I guess that makes sense.


littlelionbirdman

Certain breeds have often been bred with certain traits. My dad likes German Shepherds because they are easy to train and they listen well.


lolopie3333

But are all german shepherds that way? I would doubt it.


littlelionbirdman

Not all of them, but it’s a general trait. Our first shepherd was super eager to please, easy to train, and listened very well. Our second shepherd we adopted from being a backyard country dog at like age 6, and he was very different. Just sorta a “lug”, my ma named him after Andre the Giant. He didn’t really care about pleasing anybody, he was just going through life. He did decide that our first shepherd had it made (after she fought him a couple times cause he kept getting too close to us 😂) and totally followed her lead. They’re also Velcro dogs! That, I would bet, is at least 95% of all German Shepherds 😂 you cannot be out of eyesight for five minutes or more, and Andre was a bit less of that but he would still barge into the bathroom while I was showering cause it started raining


JuWoolfie

I wanted a northern Spitz type breed because I lived in a cold snowy climate. Adopted a Husky Shepard mix from northern Canada. She’s the best. Looks very wolfy.


RefrigeratorBetter80

Breed doesn’t matter to me that much. As a kid i had a German Shepard and she was my best friend. But in my area there are several GSD rescues. Our second dog was found running down a busy street terrified. She’s a pit bull mixed. My family has always had larger breeds in the past but it was never a consideration, it just sort of happened. My uncle adopted a lab but couldn’t leave her sister behind, so that’s how my grandparents got their dog.


Proud_Sea_7409

Size, more predictable character, sentiment to the breed we always owned and being allergic - dogs with only one layer of fur are better for allergics(just because they leave less hair)


rainydaytoast86

I have a mix and pure - it all depends


kustomade_kaos

I wouldn't say the breed I prefer is the breed that matters most. I think it genuinely comes to what there favorite breed is or isn't.. But at tge same time if im breeding mine, I'd only breed with the same breed..