Best All Around Dog for TEOFTWAWKI

[savingdogs]

Farmfresh, your dogs are beautiful and I agree with your strategy.

pinkfox I agree with everything you just said.

Hiker I think you have gotten a lot of food for thought here! I have enjoyed this discussion. However it has been my hobby for many years to "match" people to dogs so this is my passion and I love the topic of matching the dog to the purpose.

 

[MsPony]

Cane corsos <33

My dog grew up with one named Solomon, they are bff's, forever and always. Because Solomon plays hard and Jax is big, he's only allowed to play with Jax, also my dog is submissive and won't bring out anything.

But I've seen a drool string from Solly,be ware!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Farmfresh, your dogs are beautiful and I agree with your strategy.

Thanks! My strategy, as you call it came from years of showing dogs. When I was a kid we raised and showed German Shepherds and Persian cats.

Our dogs were old German lines. They were big and square. They were calm and intelligent. Often we did not place well in the bench classes, because narrow dogs with slouchy hips and a float in their gait tended to get top marks. With that slouch came back end weakness and hip dysplasia. Often "winning" dogs were coon footed as well and sometimes even crooked. We got the necessary points - then shifted our dogs to the obedience and performance classes. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - true, but it disgusts me how many good working breeds are trashed to fit a visual image.

The cat shows were the same. Often the champions had bad defects. At least in my opinion if a cat can not eat solid food due to tooth placement or breath properly it is a problem.

Newly imported breeds like the Cane Corso are still not "Americanized" to the point of disaster. That is why they are nice. For now.

Breeds that until recently were valued for their work ability over beauty, including some hunting lines are usually healthier.

I use the Husky a lot as an example. Even at the beginning of this century a Husky that showed a physical weakness was destroyed usually by the breeder. If they can't pull or come up lame they are worthless. The only defect allowed was (hard to believe) blindness! In a team a blind dog can still do his job. Consequently Huskys still lose eyesight as their genetic defect. A purebred Husky, however, will not make the ideal dog that we are talking about. While they are incredibly strong, healthy and intelligent and can survive horrendous conditions (Watch the movie Eight Below) they have far too much independence and predator instinct which makes them very difficult to train as a farm dog. Cut that blood ... maybe Lab, Collie or ???... and they are GREAT!

 

[savingdogs]

Yes, I love huskies but even husky enthusiasts will agree with you here, they have a strong prey drive. Their purpose is sledding and living in snow, I always remind people to look at the reason the dog was bred when choosing the breed.

It is sad what has happened to the popular breeds esp golden retriever and labrador retriver, such health problems now. Ours has hip dysplasia and the ear/coat thing. And so many of the large breeds were not bred for health, just as you say.

I have known some really great dogs that were cross of two purebreds, it tends to make a really pretty dog and can neutralize some of the overly strong characteristics. I just fostered a doberman/ridgeback and he was an interesting guy.

Chessie/lab, rottie/aussie and lab/pit are the three crosses that people will continually come to rescue LOOKING for however, sometimes people say lab/shep but the cross I've been asked for the most was chessie/lab.

 

[tortoise]

OMG I want a borderstaff!

http://www.ontargetbcs.com/themixesstaffy.cfm
http://www.ontargetbcs.com/creature.cfm

The ultimate dog. Compact, easy keeper. Prey drive can be shaped into rodent/hunting or protection. Unusual enough to make a stranger wary. Looks a bit ACD, a bit APBT, etc.

Be seriously, SHTF with only one dog. I'd choose a Chessie.

 

[ninny]

OMG I want a borderstaff!

http://www.ontargetbcs.com/themixesstaffy.cfm
http://www.ontargetbcs.com/creature.cfm

The ultimate dog. Compact, easy keeper. Prey drive can be shaped into rodent/hunting or protection. Unusual enough to make a stranger wary. Looks a bit ACD, a bit APBT, etc.

Be seriously, SHTF with only one dog. I'd choose a Chessie.

They are cute. why would you use a chessie?

 

[savingdogs]

eeek! Border staff can be a very BAD dog too.

One of the best dogs I had was a chessie/lab. That is why I brought that up, chessies are not the most versatile but mixed with lab they make a great dog.

I seriously knew two border collie/pit bull mixes and they were terrible dogs. Maybe if they had not been "rescues"?????

Brian Kilcommon has a book about dog mixes, how to pick good mixed breed dog. I don't remember the title but it had a lot of good information. He had seen a lot of different mixes as well and put down his impressions.

 

[tortoise]

Yeah, it's another "in the right hands" kind of dog. *I* would love one because I love a dog that can GO all day long, brilliantly smart (a problem in pet dogs!), and crazy prey-drive (a problem for pet dogs).

I love what you wrote about GSD's. SO true!!

 

[savingdogs]

I've seen people intentionally breeding austrailian cattle dogs to pit bulls, they call that a "bull heeler". I've actually fostered several litters of them. They were okay dogs but I was very careful how I placed them, I treated them like placing pit bulls. Personally I found them to be terribly cute but too uncontrolled a prey drive for living with all my cats.

 

[ninny]

what about a poodle lab cross. We had one she was ok. I like the idea. If they are all like her though i dont want more.