Quote: Candi Campbell

As a 10 week old puppy, my well-bred & well-socialized Akita bitch (who scored very well as a GREAT BET for a potential family pet on the Volhard temperament test @ 7 weeks of age) displayed the SAME reaction to anyone Wielding a "Stick" that your Tucker did as an adult rescue -- In-Born trait for her, and possibly for Tucker as well, though you cannot know whether it was a Learned Response for him ... But either way, it is something that can be adequately handled through proper Management & Training.

oh, don't get me wrong. This was something he did when I first got him. It's under control now with just a Nuh-uh from me.
But, he still doesn't like wrestling...lol...but now with that it's just more of a "let me get in between here and make sure everything's ok" kind of thing. No lunging or barking.

Note: Nuh Uh is a Canadian term meaning "no"...lol

I have no delusions of him doing it as a protection aspect. His response is all more than likely based on fear aggression. I am not under the illusion that he would do more than just display aggression and wouldn't follow through if someone was seriously looking to hurt me. If the person actually came towards him swinging a bat i am sure he would turn tail and run the second they got too close. He's all show...and probably no go...lol

but his past is a mystery, so i'll never know why he acts that way. I am hoping its not because someone somewhere in his life thought they could protection train him and figured pretending to strike him was the way to get him to bite. Yikes!

Interesting discussion! In the last 25+ years, I've had three dogs acquired as pups from a breeder, and two young adult rescues. We're still getting to know the second rescue who is a recent addition to our household.

There are definitely pros and cons both ways, and of course personal preference plays a big role. I will probably continue to do it both ways as long as I'm able to own dogs.

What I love about puppies is that whole blank slate aspect. All three pups that I raised turned out to have exceptional house manners, a really important factor for me, since my dogs are personal companions first and foremost. But as mentioned by others, there is a huge time commitment involved. I've been fortunate to work from home for a long time, which made things much easier.

Adult rescued or adopted dogs often do come with bad habits that have to be unlearned. Not always, but one should always be prepared for that possibility. After all, they went through their formative months in another home or even multiple homes, and we usually don't know what kind of training they did or did not receive. Hopefully, any issues can be resolved with time, patience, and diligence.

In either case, puppy or adult rescue/rehome, it is indeed very gratifying to see the dogs beginning to understand the things we are teaching them, to see them thrive as a valued member of our families, to see them just plain enjoying their lives.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

 Quote: Candi Campbell

As a 10 week old puppy, my well-bred & well-socialized Akita bitch (who scored very well as a GREAT BET for a potential family pet on the Volhard temperament test @ 7 weeks of age) displayed the SAME reaction to anyone Wielding a "Stick" that your Tucker did as an adult rescue -- In-Born trait for her, and possibly for Tucker as well, though you cannot know whether it was a Learned Response for him ... But either way, it is something that can be adequately handled through proper Management & Training.

oh, don't get me wrong. This was something he did when I first got him. It's under control now with just a Nuh-uh from me.
But, he still doesn't like wrestling...lol...but now with that it's just more of a "let me get in between here and make sure everything's ok" kind of thing. No lunging or barking.

Note: Nuh Uh is a Canadian term meaning "no"...lol

I have no delusions of him doing it as a protection aspect. His response is all more than likely based on fear aggression. I am not under the illusion that he would do more than just display aggression and wouldn't follow through if someone was seriously looking to hurt me. If the person actually came towards him swinging a bat i am sure he would turn tail and run the second they got too close. He's all show...and probably no go...lol

but his past is a mystery, so i'll never know why he acts that way. I am hoping its not because someone somewhere in his life thought they could protection train him and figured pretending to strike him was the way to get him to bite. Yikes!

No worries -- I really meant that last sentence more for the OP

I have been lucky enough to have 5 pups in ten years - I include Bon and Kaiser in that, despite the fact they were 6 and 8 months respectively, they were still pups – and have loved every minute of it, and those needle teeth and the toilet training were worth it, because the sweet breath and the soft bellies and paws made up for the short lived exhaustion!

I really want to rescue some older dogs one day, because a friend of mine is involved in the placement of abandoned and abused dogs, and she says the old dogs with their grey faces and cloudy eyes keep her awake at nights, knowing everyone will chose pups and youngsters first, and the pictures posted on the numerous smaller rescue site pages break my heart because they look so unhappy and confused.

I won’t say I will never have another pup, but there is an epidemic in the UK at the moment of abandoned dogs, and they invariably get put to sleep because there are limited spaces and limited funds.

I really upsets me just thinking about it

 Quote: tracey holden

I have been lucky enough to have 5 pups in ten years - I include Bon and Kaiser in that, despite the fact they were 6 and 8 months respectively, they were still pups – and have loved every minute of it, and those needle teeth and the toilet training were worth it, because the sweet breath and the soft bellies and paws made up for the short lived exhaustion!

I really want to rescue some older dogs one day, because a friend of mine is involved in the placement of abandoned and abused dogs, and she says the old dogs with their grey faces and cloudy eyes keep her awake at nights, knowing everyone will chose pups and youngsters first, and the pictures posted on the numerous smaller rescue site pages break my heart because they look so unhappy and confused.

I won’t say I will never have another pup, but there is an epidemic in the UK at the moment of abandoned dogs, and they invariably get put to sleep because there are limited spaces and limited funds.

I really upsets me just thinking about it

THANK YOU for this post !!! We also have 3 adopted-as-adults rescue dogs in our extended household now (one "unplaceable" male Doberman, one female Dobie, and a Rat Terrier) all of which were destined to be put down before we made them part of our family -- I write monthly support checks to 2 rescue groups, because we cannot even foster any more dogs at this time, due to our limited living-space ... Yes, it IS truly Heartbreaking.

I prefer to raise my own puppies....

At some point I do hope to be able to support some grouchy old seniors but in that case I'd be going into it knowing that there may be behavioral quirks that just aren't worth fixing. It will be at a time in my life were I don't have to worry about relocating at a moment's notice to a non-pet friendly area where I'll have to present PERFECT lassie/rintintin cross superdog canine citizens of non bully breeds to convince a landlord to take me in. I can not deal with a permanent doggy resident currently that has genetic temperament instability because the day will come (and has come a few times already) where I need to test my dogs and put them in the weirdest of situations and they need to not just be "okay" with it but need to enjoy it. Gam's first convention he was assaulted by people in huge large eyed squeaking animal costumes in a small tightly packed elevator...his response..."THIS IS THE MOST AWESOMEST THING!" Then he sat politely, tail wagging and smiling like an idiot leaning up against whoever pet him.....there are not many dogs who would have shared that mindset, my previous housemate's dog tried to murder a completely passive non-engaging fire marshal 30 ft away because he was in uniform....same dog was described as a super human friendly cat eater at the shelter, he snuggles cats and is human (and dog) reactive with some fear problems....

That being said....clearly I have trouble practicing what I've typed....I've told myself twice now I'll be going to a good breeder for a puppy for my next dog...you know, one with a pedigree, who had expert early handling, been imprinted to marker training, etc.

First time I said this....
Ryuk arrived at 5.5 months, I found him on craiglist after he's torn through his first home's house tasmanian devil style... his previous owners bragged about beating him with a 2X4 to keep him off of them. He has no pedigree, the only information I have about his parents are second and third hand, his father was "black demon wolf that killed cows" mother was "a great farm dog, to bad she let herself get knocked up by that mutt"....In the first 30 second he charged out of the trailer as bold as can be, headbutted me in the stomach and sunk his puppy teeth into my leg, when I got him off he attached to my hand, when I got him off of that he stole my wallet and ran teased me with it....

Second time I said this....
"HELLO MY NAME IS GAMBIT AND I LOVE YOU"

though at least the second time I did end up with the right breed, and I was WAS looking for a social handler soft male....just sort of figured he'd be closer to 8 weeks rather than a year >_>

next puppy, next puppy is going to be from a breeder..and is going to be a little puppy.....I mean it this time...

The last 2 dogs I've raised really showed the difference between a quality well bred animal and a backyard scenario, and while I wouldn't trade the Pinker(and I met all of you because of him) , my English Shepherd was SO EASY,so well adjusted, so athletic, so brave,so calm------it was almost like not having a puppy at all.

A good dog, well bred and mentally sound, is easy to raise, and I can't see any reason to choose an adult unless you just want to do a nice thing---or you fall in love with a certain dog.

I will always adopt my pit bulls as adults, just like I did last week. I will always purchase/adopt my malinois as puppies because I've seen the ugly side of 'fixing people's mistakes' and it was painful for everyone involved.

As a rescuer for almost a decade I can say that I'm really burnt out on fixing what someone else has screwed up, but that's more about me fostering at least a hundred dogs over the last 9 years instead of actually adopting and getting emotionally invested.

I've had both and both are rewarding and at times challenging. i woulsd say, in general, if you have to work outside the home an older pup (6 months or so) or adult dog would probably be best. Of course,I didn't follow that excellent advice (lol). Otherwise, follow your heart and you won't go wrong.

My next dog will definitely be a rescue. And I am seriously considering going for a senior or at least what might be called middle aged, or possibly a special needs dog (depending on the need).

Before Sadie, all of my dogs had been raised from puppyhood. Most were rescues in one form or another, but I've also had a few purebreds. I love puppies, and always got a lot of satisfaction from raising the dog I wanted them to be. I have also been through the heartbreak of raising one and having to give him away because he inevitably turned into the dog he was bred to be (a Chow) despite my efforts.

After my last dog, Tera, died, I wanted another, but knew a puppy was not in the cards. I was working five 10hr nights a week and sleeping as much as possible, and that would not have been fair to a young pup, nor conducive to proper training. With heavy heart, I declined to accept one free rescued pup (who eventually made his way back to the lady who had lost him
http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=33085&page=1#373039).

Then came Sadie. She came from a "free to good home" Craigslist ad. At 2.5yrs, there was plenty to overcome, as has been chronicled on this site. Because she was jolted from the home she grew up in, she stuck like glue to me, and we have formed a cement bond. It was easy to make myself the center of her world, so overcoming the challenges has been like checking off a grocery list. We don't dwell on them; we meet them head on and toss them aside.

While I still miss raising puppies and hope to do so again, taking on Sadie has easily become one of the top two most rewarding dog ownership experiences of my life, and I am more attached to her than I have ever been to another dog. Tera was special, too, because my son and I raised her together and she died right after he left home, but Sadie may just have to take me with her.