Large Dog Breed Advice (breeder, aggressive, huskies, black)
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Something to consider: any dog can be a guardian. We found a half-dead puppy on the side of the road in the middle of rural nowhere and took him home. (No, of course we didn't need another dog, and we told ourselves we'd find him a home as soon as he was healthy. ) That night we picked ticks off of him for well over an hour and he was still covered in them. He stayed at the vet's for a few days (dehydration at the very least, possibly a transfusion, some procedures, etc--we didn't ask, just paid the bill happily because it was so obvious that he felt so much better) and came home with an entirely new dog. The vet estimated he was about 4 months old and he now looks like a rottie-hound mix. The joy he exhibited at feeling good....we couldn't put him through any more changes, esp. since large(and he had the paws! we could tell he was going to be big) black dogs are a dime a dozen at shelters. He was already home, with us.
Years have passed and we can honestly say that he is a wonderful dog, a wonderful Alpha dog (we're the ultimate Alphas, of course, but he is the head of the dog pack). Not too long ago we brought in a female with a few socialization issues and he was wonderful with her, very intuitive. He takes his responsibilities as pack leader very seriously, but his devotion to us is unmistakable. He knows he has a good life with us and appreciates it. He watches over his people. I don't rely on our dogs for protection, but they let me know when someone is in the yard or something is different. I can take it from there.
He is a highly intelligent and a wonderful companion. Whatever idiot dumped him missed out on a great dog. (You can't tell that I love him, can you?? lol)
Buddy is an 8 week old male Saint Bernard and Golden Retriever mix I rescued after his previous owner had to give him up because her child was allergic.
Blizzard looks a little nervous here after Buddy attacked her from behind. Blizzard is behaving very well around the puppy. She plays with Buddy very gently, which usually involves Blizzard tagging the Buddy with her nose, then running away when Buddy chases her. I've only had Buddy for 24 hours and I already see an improvement in Blizzard's demeanor. Blizzard isn't all that happy about Buddy always being in her face, but instead of growling or acting aggressive, she just gets up and moves to a different location.
Buddy should grow up to be quite large (100+ pounds), and he is very affectionate toward Blizzard. I think we both got what we wanted.
Thank you for taking a shelter dog! I'd say go for a big black and white dog, no one ever adopts them...if you find a dog you like, perhaps the shelter will put a hold on it for you if you agree to meet the basic costs of upkeep. Not likely, but worth a shot.
As far as lifespans - Rottweilers typically don't live past about 10-12 - and I have one that will be 16 in February! It's hard to lose the bigger guys sooner, and the bigger ones do tend toward the hip dysplasia and other things - still, if you're a huge dog lover, that's what you are. Most of America isn't - so kudos to you for taking a giant breed, and we look forward to pictures!
Hey Sam ...what's the deal w/ people not adopting black dogs? ..never heard about white. Just wondering the reasons. I have a BLACK and WHITe small dog! and he's really cute!
If i was looking for a lab i would take the first lab avaiable, i am a herding breed freak though!
Just after I click the "Submit Reply" button on my post above my mouse suddenly stopped working. Buddy had chewed the cord through before I realized what was happening. So I had to go out and buy a wireless mouse today. Ah, the joys of having another rambunctious puppy running around the house, I had almost forgotten what it was like.
I'm spending today making my home "puppy-proof". All shoes come off the closet floor, wires get picked up and hidden, remote controls get placed in unreachable locations, cabinets get closed, etc. Buddy is already on his way to being house-broken. He follows Blizzard outside to the kennel, through the garage and doogie-door when she has to do her business. He is still a puppy and hasn't quite figured out what to do once outside, but he is learning quickly.
Buddy appreciates the compliment. I'm sure it is a species survival trait - "Make your babies so damn cute that to abandon them would be utterly unconceivable."
Well, I, like so many others here, like large dogs, my wife and I have 11.26 acres, 2.5 carved out of the middle so our dogs, 1. a very large (96 lb) male, mostly black with dark brown legs and feet, German Shepherd, Dreifus by name, and his daughter, also a black and tan Shepherd, smaller of course, the females are normally smaller, Jorja. Dreifus is 6 and is my second Shepherd, the first I had to put to sleep years ago, I waited ten years between dogs, knew I would judge any new Shepherd by "Dawg" (The first) unfair to any dog, so I waited. I like really smart dogs, at 6 mo, Dreifus could track me (I was given a 30 min. head start) through the woods, across a creek and several hundred yards later, back across, and I would, sometimes, run and jump to a limb, then climb the tree. He always found me, or my wife, dependant upon which of us was hiding. He knows the command "FIND" really well and will transfer it to virtually any noun he understands. Shepherds have a sub-arctic coat, (Germany is fairly far north in Europe) while visiting Alaska, I saw several nice Shepherds, apparently they do well in your climate. Dogs smart enough to have a sense of humor, can make life interesting. D
Well, I, like so many others here, like large dogs, my wife and I have 11.26 acres, 2.5 carved out of the middle so our dogs, 1. a very large (96 lb) male, mostly black with dark brown legs and feet, German Shepherd, Dreifus by name, and his daughter, also a black and tan Shepherd, smaller of course, the females are normally smaller, Jorja. Dreifus is 6 and is my second Shepherd, the first I had to put to sleep years ago, I waited ten years between dogs, knew I would judge any new Shepherd by "Dawg" (The first) unfair to any dog, so I waited. I like really smart dogs, at 6 mo, Dreifus could track me (I was given a 30 min. head start) through the woods, across a creek and several hundred yards later, back across, and I would, sometimes, run and jump to a limb, then climb the tree. He always found me, or my wife, dependant upon which of us was hiding. He knows the command "FIND" really well and will transfer it to virtually any noun he understands. Shepherds have a sub-arctic coat, (Germany is fairly far north in Europe) while visiting Alaska, I saw several nice Shepherds, apparently they do well in your climate. Dogs smart enough to have a sense of humor, can make life interesting. D
Ever consider Schutzhund training? I couldn't go that long without a dog. Every dog has their own unique personality, and I've never forgotten any of the dogs I have previously owned. They were all special in their own way.
I lived in Germany for a few years, and while it doesn't get nearly as cold as Alaska, most breeds seem to do just fine here. I just wouldn't leave them outside all day, even with shelter (unless it was heated). Even a Great Pyrenees or a Saint Bernard would find -50°F very uncomfortable. Most of the large breed guardian type dogs prefer to be inside with the family they are protecting anyway. My dogs have access to the outside via a doggie-door in the back of my heated garage, so they can stay outside as long as they like and come back in to warm up as needed.
My first priority with Buddy is to train him to go outside when he has to do his business. So far I'm getting mixed results. He has learned to use the doggie-door, but hasn't quite figured out what to do when he gets outside. More often than not he does his business in the garage. At least that is an improvement over my living room. He is still very young, and it will probably take another 3 or 4 weeks before he gets the hang of it, but he is learning.
Hey Sam ...what's the deal w/ people not adopting black dogs? ..never heard about white. Just wondering the reasons. I have a BLACK and WHITe small dog! and he's really cute!
If i was looking for a lab i would take the first lab avaiable, i am a herding breed freak though!
Sorry - what an unbelievably wild week!
Statistic show that large black dogs, or large black and white dogs, will be the last a potential adopter looks at. I guess they just aren't exciting enough unless they are a Dalmatian? I heard a guess from a long-time shelter operator, something about the black dogs and black and whites being "stark" colors, and that people would naturally gravitate to a brown dog because it's more of an earthy, warm color - whether there's any truth to that I wouldn't know, but the states are only for LARGE dogs, which we know get passed over more than others simply because of their size. Funny how much emphasis people put on color and not on character...
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) That night we picked ticks off of him for well over an hour and he was still covered in them. He stayed at the vet's for a few days (dehydration at the very least, possibly a transfusion, some procedures, etc--we didn't ask, just paid the bill happily because it was so obvious that he felt so much better) and came home with an entirely new dog. The vet estimated he was about 4 months old and he now looks like a rottie-hound mix. The joy he exhibited at feeling good....we couldn't put him through any more changes, esp. since large(and he had the paws! we could tell he was going to be big) black dogs are a dime a dozen at shelters. He was already home, with us. 
Heeerrreee's Buddy!
Precocious Puppy
So I had to go out and buy a wireless mouse today. Ah, the joys of having another rambunctious puppy running around the house, I had almost forgotten what it was like. 
