When deciding to bring home a dog, whether it be from a breeder or rescue, a lot of consideration should be taken when deciding on the breed. Sounds pretty obvious and something that many dog trainers will bang on about across social media.
When deciding to bring home a dog, whether it be from a breeder or rescue, a lot of consideration should be taken when deciding on the breed. Sounds pretty obvious and something that many dog trainers will bang on about across social media.
There are many reasons why selecting the correct breed matters, but we should look even further. What lineage/bloodline of dog are you getting?
Taking the German Shepherd as an example – and the same can be applied across pretty much any breed. The breed is one thing, but from dog to dog, they can vary significantly.
For a novice owner, an owner that perhaps wants the conventional family dog, should obviously choose a breed that matches and compliments this. But more and more we see dogs falling in the wrong hands, which not only sets the owner up for failure, it also doesn’t provide the dog with the lifestyle they were meant for.
As mentioned above, for someone deciding to get an active family pet, and therefore selecting a German Shepherd (as much as we love them, they wouldent be our choice), there is so many variants to the breed, it’s important you don’t get a dog that is from certain lines that are bred to be high drive, sharp working machines.
Again, sounds obvious but we see it time and time again. The honest reality is that the average dog owner is not going to stand a chance with dogs from quality working stock. Often resulting in the dog developing severe behavioural problems, being rehomed or sadly PTS. Not because the dog is bad, and not necessarily because the owner hasn’t tried. But because the dog is simply in the wrong environment and hands to meet their genetic needs and be fulfilled.
It does not matter if you have owned dogs for your entire life, as it does not equate to being able to train, live with and control a working line animal. There are far better choices out there and a good breeder, rescue or trainer can certainly give you guidance on this!
At the risk of upsetting some people with this post, we feel it is necessary to raise awareness and not only help owners, but help the dogs live a fulfilled life.
