What to know when buying a dog?

Thank you for saying what needed to be said Chris! That’s the one of the reasons we buy puppies at 8 weeks old, aside from the breeding aspect. Had a rescue dog right out of college, a 1 year old male that we think was a lab/GSD cross. He was a total asshole and nothing I did to try and discipline him worked. He broke boards off my fence to get out, chewed up my furniture, and never would chill out. And even worse, he chomped on my mom’s Yorkie and blinded him in one eye. As bad as it may sound, I was almost relieved when he broke out of the pen and disappeared. All of that bullshit is why I’ll never get another rescue dog.

 

Best of luck with your new adventure. We have always done rescue dogs and have had fantastic luck. My wife and I's first rescue was a Husky/Lab mix. We got him when he was 3. The place that had him had given him the name "Snowy River". We thought that was a bit too foo-foo, so we changed it to "Rio". Great freakin' dog. Already trained, well-mannered, great with the kids - he was awesome. The only issue that I had with him was his recall wasn't very good.



We had to put him down when he was 14. Tore me up and like the OP, I swore I would never get another dog. However, about 8 months later I spent a week on vacation with some friends that had a dog. After that week, I came back and decided to go get another one. So, we went to the shelter to look at a Husky, but it had been adopted already. That is when our next dog caught my attention and started "talking" to me. He is a Viszla/Boxer mix. Super great dog once again. We named him Ragnar. He was already trained and is great with the kids. The only problem with him as that he is doesn't really like to be alone - EVER. He didn't tear anything up or stuff like that - he would just sit and whine whenever we were gone.





After another year or so, we started thinking that we would like to get a puppy and go through the training process ourselves. A little later than that, we saw that the shelter had just brought in a litter of pups that were taken from a hoarder's place. We were lucky enough to get one of them. They had DNA testing done on him and he has Rottweiler/Lab/Akita running around in that body. We have been through a training course with him and he is doing very well so far. His name is Odin. Him and Ragnar are pretty good buddies.



Anyway, life is better with dogs. No denying it. Best of luck again!

 

Rotties (at least here in Florida) were plagued by inbreeding, poor bloodline and other issues in the 90s and are just now back to a state of relative safety with regards to the breed as long as you have some common sense when looking at the breeder, lineage, etc. Still a ton of "bad" bloodlines out there but not nearly as prevalent as the 90s and early 2000s. I just spent $1500 on my male import and he has been by far the most difficult Rottweiler i've ever had from a standpoint of "puppy" health issues. I chalk it up to not having issues with any dog purchased or saved in my life, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Great breeder, known her for 20+ years but used the cheap deworming medicine that the worms have built up a tolerance too. Dealt with a pretty bad case of worms about a month after we got him. Cost me $270 in vent bills for 2 dogs to be dewormed, examined, etc. As they say, "Shit happens" even when you spend a lot of money for something.

Now thats over and done with he's a "normal" dog, i'd say above average intelligence. He follows me around and watches like he understands everything I'm doing. Acts like a cat a lot of the time, (rubs on your legs, runs in between your legs, walks along directly in front of you like he knows where you are going). Picks up on training super fast, but also has that Rottweiler stubborness to boot.

 

Agree. I have children, they got to go pick their puppy, visit, even spend time with the mom and dad. While I say they are my dogs, they belong to my children, and must behave accordingly. Not gambling with that, and if it’s stupid I wear it well.

 

Do your research then do even more research. So many variables go into finding the right dog for you and your family. I have had several dogs in my lifetime some purebred and some mutts and quite honestly you never know what health issues can come up either way. Don't rule out rescuing a dog from a shelter which can actually be even more rewarding in the end in many occasions. In my opinion all breeds can be great pets (yes even and sometimes especially pitbulls!) and will be great pets if you remain calm, assertive and consistent with them. I currently have an English Bull Terrier that is everything I could dream of in a dog but she does have many allergies and has had some health issues. Pet insurance was truly a life saver. Best of luck, but remember research, research and even more research!

 

We went with a Golden Doodle...maybe the best dog I've ever had.

 

One other point to consider...let the dog pick you. What I mean is the picking goes both ways. Play it cool and see which ones in the litter hang around you and your family. Of course all will run to you as soon as you are seen, that's not what im referring to. Its the ones that loiter or keep coming back, they are the ones that have picked you. Some people go with the 1st born, some with last, some with the runt. I've always let the dog pick me and have never been disappointed. This last go around we let my 13 year old son do the picking. I explained what I have done and to his credit he did the same thing. We had our pick of 2 out of the 6. One was very rambunctious the other very calm. We went with calm...however that all changed once he was home lol. I wouldn't say rambunctious more very curious and always like the gears are turning.

One last piece of advice. When I got my first Rottweiler many years ago she was from a very reputable breeder who trained police dogs as well as show dogs. He offered 2 months of training which sadly the distance didn't allow. It was the real deal. Her lineage was back to 1934 when he distant relatives were first brought over from Germany. Lots of paperwork, OFA certs for everything, first right of refusal if I sold her, first pick of litter and the list goes on and on. I got her for a steal because he fell on hard times when the airlines shut down large dogs riding in cargo after a pitbull ate part of the plane lol. His main clients were Canada and abroad and his prices were $2500 and up at that point. I got her for $700 because he couldn't move them fast enough and his main clients cut out of the picture with no ability to ship. His one tip i've used time and time again and has always made life easier.

Dogs, regardless of breed are pack animals and they respect the pack hierarchy. What he told me to do was get on the floor with the new pup at their level and nip them on the ear. Literally bite them on the ear. Not hard enough to draw blood mind you, enough to get a yelp. Did this with both females and all I have to do is look at them and they know. The new male pup we got i've had to do it twice, hes a little more stubborn and wanted to test after the first go around. There are many examples of "The alpha factor". Some say to hold the dogs head on the ground, I think that's rather cruel and demeaning. If they learn with a simple nip thats over and done with in seconds then i'm all for it. It hasn't failed me yet.

 

Wish I could like this again.

When I'm going to commit to 15 years I want a good dog. I've had untrainable dogs in the past and they are miserable. Pay the cost, if you can, for exactly what you want and enjoy the next decade.

 

The only time my dog was in the Tundra was the day I had to bring him to the vet to be put down.

There’s dog hair everywhere. I plan to bring the new pup everywhere with me so dog hair in the truck will just be a new reality. Question is, do you guys think I need to get the interior detailed to get the old dog out so the puppy doesn’t piss in it?

I’ll lose my mind if My truck gets pissed in lol

 

Puppies having accidents is part of training. I don't think just the smell of another dog will make the new pup wanna pee. Usually they pee when they smell pee, which is useful when training.

I followed the guides at leerburg.com with pretty good results but the methods aren't for everyone.

 

Get a mat for the back seats. Muddy and Duluth trading have them. They will help contain accidents.

 

We got the pick of the litter when we got our male golden. Wound up picking the biggest one after being able to spend some time with them all and see their personalities.. It is so tough because you could pick any of them and not go wrong. Sometimes when he's acting like an idiot I think to myself what our second choice would have been like. I can think of a number of occasions where my money was not well spent, but my dogs is not one of them.

 

Here he is. Did a bunch of research, talked to probably 10 AKC Breeders within 200 miles of us that had pups for sale and we finally found one that had all the right records, was happy to answer any questions and was all about us bringing our daughter to meet the pups

 

You don't want the pup running around your truck until he has a little training. Put his crate in the backseat until he is trained. You might really loose your mind if he chews up the seatbelts or headrest. Don't worry about the detail.

I build my own dog sling for the back seat. Pictures in my build thread.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/over-the-line-2016-cm-4-x-4-build.5884/

 

Here's a picture of our pound puppy. We've had him 7 years now and my son and him have the best bond I've ever seen. He has been a great addition to our family. We also have a pure bred blue nose pit that is also a wonderful dog. In the future we have decided that we'll be rescuing dogs when the time comes. Every dog deserves a chance.

 

Good looking pup, Congrats!

 

Here is our new guy. Roughly 10 weeks old. He is great with my kids .Meet Dexter .

 

Dexter watching the Masters .

 

I have a English Setter that is great for hunting upland birds over. He is great with me. They are a hard breed to have if not able to get tons of exercise and will drive you a little crazy during the non hunting months when they just want to go get them birds. He is a handsome fellow though.

 

Cute pup! Labrador Retriever?

 

We went with Husky liners for the kids but also the dogs. Accidents may occur, be it some puke, piss or worse, so always be prepared. Some dogs travel better than others. We've been lucky. Both our dogs travel very well.
One pup is a German ShepardXCollie and our other is an Australian ShepardXHeeler -- the Collie is much more calm and the heeler loves to play/fight/chase but both are great with the kids. Just have to be prepared to play differently with them.

"The Kids"

 

Yeah. Yellow lab .

 

Boxers here too! Their goofiness is worth all their craziness(in a good way)! Lol

 

I've always picked the calmest puppy in the litter. Dogs always come out of their shell after they get used you and to the new surroundings, so if they're already jacked before you get them be ready for a hell raiser. A calm pup that seems introverted will just turn out to be friendly, more obedient, and generally less cray-cray. Just my opinion.

 

That’s exactly what we did. He was super chill and just didn’t seem to care much about what was going on around him.

 

Because of how hard retrieves are where I duck hunt, and how often I hunt, I do the exact opposite. I want the pup with the most attitude and prey drive.

 

Great looking dog. Congrats!