Dear Brianah,

The whole entire point of *A BREED* is to have certain physical and behavioral characteristics.

Sincerely,
Tresa Hendrix

 Quote: Brianah Maloney

Because i again, HAVE met and owned some "less dog" breeds that have really made all the mals i have ever met seem like 100% angel.

Its not about "less" or "more" but what is required to meet a dog's needs. You're talking about behavioral issues vs genetics. The weim you described was not behaving normally for a weim or a Mal. Generally speaking BCs and Mals are going to require hours of daily attention devoted to their physical and intellectual needs.

 Quote: Brianah Maloney

What i'm saying is... i'm tired of these people ranting off about how much harder or different there breed is, or another breed is. Like the breed itself is the only breed to ever have "issues".

They are not talking about issues; they are talking about the genetic predisposition of their breed. The breeds are all different based on the purpose they were bred for. Some are harder, some are more compliant. And IMO, some certainly should not go to a first time dog owner; I would include BC and Mal in that category.

As far as people saying you have no dog experience unless you have owned their breed is pretty silly. That's their issue, and doesn't take away from everything you have done with the dogs in your life. Somewhere along the line; their needs (the people spouting off such nonsense not your dogs needs)were not met!

These posts make sense. Thanks.

I guess its just repetition of hearing stuff along the lines of "You do not own a typical high drive breed. Or a breed that typically has many "issues". So we question you about your ability to handle this or that type of dog. And we have handled this or that breed, so we are superior."
Its got me real sour.

Went to a group today all border owners, literally laughed out loud when i told them i have a weim, and am interested in a mal one day, maybe 10-15 years. They again, reassured me that i would have great difficulty caring for a typical mal, because i have never owned any typical high drive breed. Like they have.

I don't see what the fuss is all about.
It makes me think. Am i missing something about their breed?

Because a lot of the "genetic predispositions" (issues) of this or that breed, i have heard about, and just don't mind. And have no problem at all living with managing, and dealing with, daily 24/7. And in fact most of the time, when it gets around to it, i have dealt with way more "issues" with my own little bird dog than they have with the high drive dogs they own.

So yeah, thats my rant.

High-drive and "issues" are completely different.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

High-drive and "issues" are completely different.

seem to go hand in hand

No. They are completely separate things.

"Issues" means something has gone awry, whether in breeding or socializing or whatever.

I also meant to say...we LOVE talking about our individual dog's quirks and general breed quirks...sometimes we sound like we're complaining...but its all LOVE-hate I promise.

I've had numerous terrier breeds over the years. Crazy, high drive, in your face, yadda, yadda but I've never had any issues with any of them.I'll probably have another before it's over.
I've had two mals and didn't keep either one more then 5-6 months. Definitely not all but I saw two many environmental issues with them. I have two working line GSDs at present and I couldn't begin to compare either to the other.
There are a few things that you can say make up this or that breed but there are way to many individuals in each breed to say it's a given.

 Quote:

Went to a group today all border owners, literally laughed out loud when i told them i have a weim, and am interested in a mal one day, maybe 10-15 years. They again, reassured me that i would have great difficulty caring for a typical mal, because i have never owned any typical high drive breed. Like they have

Well, there is a bit a difference between a weim and a BC or Mal. And people with the high drive herding breeds hear the line "I want one of those" from LOTS of people. And 90% of those people probably aren't prepared to have one.

With the smart, high drive herding breeds (and some other ones) you have to be committed to make it work. You have to be proactive. Without this type of owner, that type of dog can be a disaster in a hurry. Hence the horror stories.

Now, are you personally able to handle one? I'm not able to make a judgement call over the internet. But you do sound like you know more than the average person about proactively handing high maintenance dogs so quite possibly you'd do fine.

But trust me, if you do get one, you'll most likely tell some people the exact same horror stories some day. Because it will be "wow, I love this dog/breed but they sure aren't for everyone"

 Quote: Brianah Maloney

Because a lot of the "genetic predispositions" (issues) of this or that breed, i have heard about, and just don't mind. And have no problem at all living with managing, and dealing with, daily 24/7. And in fact most of the time, when it gets around to it, i have dealt with way more "issues" with my own little bird dog than they have with the high drive dogs they own.

I'll also point out that most people have no clue about the issues that I've worked on with my dogs or the hours that have gone in to training them. They see the finished product and say "hey, I can handle one of those".

And then when you have issues combined with high drive, well, that's loads of fun