How to choose the right dog for you
A first time dog owner should not be looking at raising a Rottweiler, Husky, or Shepherd, something even experienced owners can struggle with because of the inherent drives and dominant traits of these dogs.
You walk into a pet store, your son or daughter by your side. A few crates hold puppies of different breeds, some sleeping soundly, others playing around. A few pups look eagerly at you as you pass by, pressing their little noses to the crate door in hopes of a pat or a treat. They don’t know that one of them is going home today. You walk out of that store with your child holding their fluffy new puppy in her hands, kissing its soft head and admiring the sweet pink paws.
Fast forward 6 months, and you have an oversized pup making a mess of your house. Now 8-9 months old, this animal is almost the size of a fully grown dog, and still has the behaviour of a puppy. He chews on your furniture, your hands, your shoes and your clothes. He leaves a mess and pees and poops everywhere - on the floor, the carpet, the sofa, even the bed. Nothing is safe. You have a wagging tail following you everywhere from the kitchen to the bathroom, and scratching the door down if you dare to leave him alone at home. You’re exhausted, irritated, and wondering what possessed you to buy a dog in the first place.
Some of these issues can be avoided with early training. Crate training, potty training, and basic obedience taught as a puppy will solve many problems an adult dog may have. But sometimes you may have done everything right, and still find a dog who looks like he might bite you if provoked, or denied his favourite treat. A dog that might want nothing more than to run far away and not come back no matter how many treats you offer him. A dog with so much energy that he zips and zooms around the house at full speed, knocking down anything in his way. A dog that refuses to get off your bed or sofa, no matter how many paw-fect beds you buy for him. A dog that will bite people who try to pet him, even though no one has ever hurt him before. A dog that wants to seriously hurt other dogs and goes crazy at the sight of them.
Dog genetics bring to light many behaviours in your dog that training cannot overcome or suppress. Energy levels, aggression, resource guarding, defensiveness, prey drive, even health - your dog’s genes has markers for all these traits and more. What often sets one dog breed apart from another is what they are “bred for”. Herding dogs are bred for helping shepherds and cowherds manage large groups of animals. Hunting dogs are bred to search for and run after prey, sometimes even for bringing down larger prey like the Lion dogs of Africa. Belgian Malinois are bred as working dogs for the police and military, perfect for apprehending dangerous criminals or detecting bombs and narcotics, with their insanely high drive, energy and a body structure designed to work. Rottweilers were bred to pull butcher’s carts in medieval Germany, the dogs working all day, and relaxing with the butcher’s family in the evening while acting as a family guard dog as well. Huskies were bred to pull sleds in polar snow and ice. American Pitbulls were originally bred for dog fights, having descended from English bulldogs whose purpose was to bait and kill other animals such as bulls.
And sometimes some traits that were bred into these dogs are carried over into their great-great-great-great grand puppies even today.
Ever seen a Rottweiler act stubborn and refuse to be corrected or change its behaviour, no matter what? That’s genetics. Ever seen a dog run really fast after a moving object like a ball, ignoring anything in its way? Genes. Huskies being hard to train in obedience, German shepherds excelling in dog sports, Jack Russel Terriers out-performing everyone else in Agility competitions, Border collies doing tricks like dancing with their owner on Instagram. The list goes on and on. The exceptions are dogs who have slowly lost the dominant genes that defined the characteristics of their breed, or mixed breed dogs, also known as stray dogs or Indies.
The answer to the question, “How to choose the right dog for you?”, is therefore not so simple. Breeds are a good filter to use. A first time dog owner should not be looking at raising a Rottweiler, Husky, or Shepherd, something even experienced owners can struggle with because of the inherent drives and dominant traits of these dogs. A person with a small apartment or senior citizens at home may want to avoid bring home a high energy puppy or adopting a high energy adult dog, because they tend to get destructive when bored. Even docile breeds like Labradors can be very high energy, since they can also have working line traits, having been bred to retrieve small game when hunters shot birds or ducks by the lake. Hence the name “Labrador retriever” or “Golden retriever”.
Besides breed and energy levels, you want to look at how social the pup or dog is too. Does he enjoy the company of other people and dogs? This might indicate he is potentially safe around children and other dogs. Do you need a dog to guard your home and not allow strangers to come in? Don’t expect a Beagle to be your guardian angel, though if you don’t have the experience to handle a larger breed like a German Shepherd, you might get bit yourself. Are you looking for just a playmate for your children? A Spitz or Pomeranian may not be the best choice, even if they are the best looking - small dog breeds have significantly higher bite rates among humans than their larger counterparts. It even has a name, “Small dog syndrome”. If you enjoy running and walking with your dog, almost any dog with an athletic body will be a good companion for you, be it a mixed breed or a pure breed.
Pure breed dogs also often suffer from health issues that their mixed breed brothers and sisters don’t have, such as joint problems, skin infections and sensitivity, thyroid issues, eyes and ear problems, serious digestion problems, and so on. The list is long because of a long history of inbreeding, or choosing the breed dogs who had these issues to begin with. This has also caused some dog breeds to behave outside of their defined breed standards. For example, we often see Retrievers or Beagles who bite, Rottweilers who are timid, and Pitbulls who love other dogs. At the end of the day, a dog is a family member you will adopt for 10 years or more of your life, and your choice must be well-researched, vetted and selected personally. Only then, you might have a chance of a happy life together with your canine companion.
