i'm a firm believer in form following function. i'd much rather have a dog bred for health, soundness, longevity, and usefulness, than one bred for beauty contests.

when looking at purebreds, the lines that are bred for function are working lines, yet what i want in my life is a pet.

what do you think about selecting a pet puppy from working lines? will the working drive that is more likely to be present create problems for pet owners? do these pet puppies need to be handled differently than pets from show lines?

is there a better solution for would-be pet owners?

lastly, and maybe a dumb question, but does anybody breed simply to produce good pets?

It's very simple to find pups in many workingline litters that will make great pets.

Yes, it will require a bit more work on the part of the owner. Increased exercise needs being the major requirement. Most pet owners don't give their pet level dogs enough exercise, so that would be a concern to me.

Other than that, you can take a nice working bred dog with a solid temperament and turn them into a great great pet. He'd probably end up being the best pet you've ever had.


Alice wrote: "lastly, and maybe a dumb question, but does anybody breed simply to produce good pets?"


He, he, he. . .there are a good number of workingline breeders here in the US that simple produce good pets.

Whether they mean to do so or not is another question. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



Most any good breeder can select a pup from a working litter that will make a good pet. Many pups just won't have the drives that others in the litter will and they are good candidates for active pet homes.

I'm very happy with mine, I'm training her for Sch but in reality she's just going to be a super pet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> She was supposed to be my dog but everybody else in the family became completly in love with her.

my breeder had one litter that practically all the pups would not have made good pets.

the litter i chose had a good mix of both the pup i chose would probly not have made it as a pet but his litter would have grant it it would have to have been an active one but he still could have.

just go talk to breeders and find out what your looking for.

also attend a schh trail or club meeting in your area before you do they can help you find a working dog breeder. also you never know you may get bit by the schh bug like i did

very interesting, david. the litter my pup came from was one of the most active the breeder had ever had. they ran her ragged. barking contests and "happy attacks."

i'm very interested in lots of training and obedience activities, but i don't think schutzhund will ever be one of them.

if there's anything i've learned from this experience it's that i prefer a "soft" dog and don't need personal protection. the soft mastiffs i've had have been more than up to any needed protection when the chips were down. you'd never guess they had it in them, but they all launched into heroic action when they judged it was needed. and their judgment was very good.

I can only speak for the mals. A mal from a working line (eg Ring and in a lesser manner IPO) aren't pets. They have to much energy and if they can't expel the energy they will find ways to do so; ways the owners won't like


Greetings


Johan

That's the only thing that saves the Mals, no cute and cuddley there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> And really, when they're standing still(rarely) they don't look all that "Macho" so that saves them from the "gotta have a BAD Dawg crowd". JMHO. I plan on getting one when the kids are older

 Quote:

That's the only thing that saves the Mals, no cute and cuddley there

Amen!! Cute, maybe, but not exactly cuddly. It's pretty tough to cuddle a dog with no "off" switch. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

IMO there is no point in getting a dog that doesn't come from working lines. My experience is limited to just a couple of breeds but it is that instinct/ethic to work that is bred into them, that makes them the dogs they are. Considering a dog from another source (ie: showlines) means you are considering a breeder whose dogs were NOT bred for workability first. Not every puppy from every litter is going to be a go-go-go sport dynamo so odds are you will be able to come across a nice pet-quality pup with enough instinct/drives to nicely do what you ask of it. Good luck in your search.