I was thinking a bit about Solange and her pup when I was out with the crew today and pondering on the whole subject about certain breeds and their suitability in domestic situations.

I think I have mentioned before about a guy I know who grew up on a small holding in Turkey where his family kept Kangals for guarding the flock, and he has said to me how they were not pets, weren’t treated as pets, and as I understand it, had no dealings with anyone but his father, who didn’t really apply that much by way of training in the conventional sense, rather, the dog just did his job as he was expected to.

It was a very simple and rural farming community, where all the herders had guardians, who wore the spiked collars in case of fights with wolves, and the families didn’t get emotional about their dogs, took good care of their needs – after all, they were relied on to protect the homestead - but the dog was required to do what is was bred for – guarding.

So my question is, given that most breeds were put together selectively for specific jobs, i.e. gun dogs, guardians, search and rescue, hunting, herding, protection etc, are ANY of them unsuitable as ‘pets’ expected to be ‘nice’ to anyone but their master/mistress? Are we doing them a disservice by trying to extract their natural instincts, carefully bred into them over the years, by bringing them into urban areas and wanting them to ignore and suppress what is naturally there?

I’m certainly not having a pop, I think Solange is doing exactly what she needs to do for Ziva, she is facing up to her responsibility to do the right thing for the dog she chose.

I’m just thinking about it all really!

I think is a very good question and comes down to the basic issue of choosing a puppy or dog that will have the best chance to be successful in the life you have planned for it.

Not every dog is cut out for every situation, no matter how much you train them. I like to think that I'm pretty good at "training" dogs to live in a peaceful pack in my home, when the truth is, I'm probably just pretty good at identifying puppies with that capacity. Because I don't want to have to work that hard to end up with the kind of dog I have in mind.

I've never gone looking for a dog to take on as a "project"--and I have tremendous admiration for those that do. There's a special place in heaven for adopters of special-needs dogs.

But I think there are far too many people that pick a dog or puppy without any idea what they're getting themselves into. Then they and the dog struggle to "fix" the bad fit. Far too often, the dog ends up paying the price in all sorts of ways--from lifelong frustration, confinement, or losing their home. Or worse.

But I think there are far too many people that pick a dog or puppy without any idea what they're getting themselves into. Then they and the dog struggle to "fix" the bad fit. Far too often, the dog ends up paying the price in all sorts of ways--from lifelong frustration, confinement, or losing their home. Or worse.

I completely agree with your last sentence, the collie that lives a few doors away from me spends all if it's time either barking through the cat flap, or spinning in circles on the tiny patch of land she has left it now she has had the garden landscaped!

I see her walk him up the road and back again, and that isn't every day, she is a nurse that works shifts, so he is on his own a lot.

I feel so bad for him.

I think too many people see a breed of dog and like the way it looks and get it- giving little to no thought to what the dog was bred to do, what it's temperament is likely to be as an adult, or what kind of training is going to be required to produce a dog that you can live with.

The GOOD breeders out there are great at weeding these kinds of people off their lists. Others are out for a buck and sell a dog to anyone that asks.

I've never gone looking for a dog, but even when one picks me, I make a few quick assessments before bringing the dog home. Will it most likely get along with the dogs currently in the pack? Will it be comfortable with the kind of life I can offer? Will it be responsive to the kind of training that I do? If the answers are yes, I will bring the dog home. If I am uncertain of any answers, I may bring the dog home for a "Trial Run" with the understanding that if it doesn't work out, the dog will be taken back or I will find a suitable home for it (I've never had to do this, though).

Some people just can't say NO to a dog.. they want to "save" it or it's just too cute to resist- whatever... again with little to no thought to what the dog is going to be like to live with. I admire people that are willing to put in the work to make it work, but with a little forethought and research, that would not have been necessary because they would more likely have chosen a dog more compatable.

To address Tracey's question:
"So my question is, given that most breeds were put together selectively for specific jobs, i.e. gun dogs, guardians, search and rescue, hunting, herding, protection etc, are ANY of them unsuitable as pets expected to be nice to anyone but their master/mistress? Are we doing them a disservice by trying to extract their natural instincts, carefully bred into them over the years, by bringing them into urban areas and wanting them to ignore and suppress what is naturally there?"

I think this needs to be addressed on an individual basis. Each dog is different even within a breed. To say that a protection bred dog MUST be trained in protection and can't do anything else would be wrong. Caterina is a Mal but she does not like bitework much and LOVES being a therapy dog. Her littermate Toni is the opposite of her- LOVES bitework but doesn't like people.

While I don't think puppy assessments are perfect, they will show stuff like how social, independent, or willing to please a puppy will likely be as an adult. This can help you gauge whether the grown dog will likely fit into your lifestyle... if you know what you are looking for

I think forcing a dog to do something that is contrary to his breed type and puppy assessment is unfair. If you have a guardian breed that tested highly independent as a pup and force him to live in a small apt in a large city where he is rarely off leash- that's being unfair to the dog. He may adapt, but I don't think he will be truly happy or living up to his potential.

That's just my opinion, though.

"Some people just can't say NO to a dog.. they want to "save" it or it's just too cute to resist- whatever... again with little to no thought to what the dog is going to be like to live with. I admire people that are willing to put in the work to make it work, but with a little forethought and research, that would not have been necessary because they would more likely have chosen a dog more compatable"

This is a phenomenon I see time and time again with rescues over here - most especially, and sadly, small rescues - because of the volume of dogs on pts orders due to over crowding, the photos of miserable dogs, a lot of which are bull breeds, pull at peoples hearts and they jump in with the very best of intentions, and more often than should happen, return the dog because of the breeds idiosyncrasies, and the dog is then back where it started.

If these 'breeders' - and I use the term very loosely, didn't think of the bitches as money spinners, the rescues wouldn't be stretched to capacity, and the unsuitable dog wouldn't be off loaded to equally unsuitable homes.

The type of breeds that exist for specific jobs, and therefore require experienced handlers, are way too easily acquired by people that fall in love with images they see on the internet, and end up with an unknown quantity they can't or won't bring on to the satisfaction of the dog and it's innate needs.

Just my own observations.