Soft dog - Page 3

My wife's female is in heat right now and becomes even more needy, if thats possible, during that time as well. During her "peak" time, she will also court the other female dog looking for possible action...
Speaking truthfully, I cannot deal with needy dogs. I do not mind high pack drive where the dog prefers to be around you, but, needy is also nervy and cannot deal with a dog that is either always staring at you, or, jumps every time you switch butt cheeks on the couch because it thinks you may go somewhere without it....
I like a dog that comes to you for a few seconds of attention, but, then goes away and does what it was doing, a dog that will run around in a field, but, swings by you and checks up every few minutes. I need a dog that is able to function independently as well as take direction from me.
My wife likes her dogs to be up her butt, to lay on her while she watches TV, no thank you. Lay down by me, great, check with me every so often, awesome, but, too needy, no thanks.

“ a dog that is either always staring at you, or, jumps every time you switch butt cheeks on the couch because it thinks you may go somewhere without it....” you cracked me up Hired Dog! Yes, sometimes it gets overwhelming, but that’s how she is. I don’t think I can change that. Thanks for a laugh!

crazystyna, you are welcome again...as long as you like your dog the way she is, you are good.

Yeah Hired Dog I don't think I'd really appreciate the behaviour THAT clingy. But the contrast when you have your dog follow you from room to room, even to the loo, and lie down at your feet a lot when he probably could be more comfortable over on his bed, etc, is quite marked when you (I) have been used mainly to kennelled dogs rather than the few that have lived in the house with me, so I still don't mind. Not saying I don't get a little bit cross sometimes; but then, mine are not trying to climb on the furniture with me.

My GSD is far from being my “perfect dog”. But her positives outweigh the negatives so I’m keeping her.
Hired Dog, Hundmutter, when you get a puppy, do you know exactly how the pup will turn out? What do you do if the dog develops something you don’t like ( no civil drive, clingy, etc. anything that you don’t desire in the dog)?
Thanks!

crazystyna, I cannot answer for hundmutter, but, if you are buying a dog for a specific reason and the dog does not work out, I wash it...that means find it a home where it will be happy.
Anytime you buy a puppy is a gamble, regardless of where that puppy comes from, you are taking a chance. Personally, I need a dog that I can work, if that does not happen, I cannot use the dog, which is why I prefer young adults that can be tested and show you what you want to see.

just to add, and in my opinion only, there are people very, very good at spotting the potential in a puppy.

there is no one that can guarantee a puppy will turn out to meet a for sure criteria. there are just too many things that can go wrong along the way.

Rik, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The breeder of my puppy is like looking into a crystal ball, so far, EVERY single thing she has told me he would be, he is, that woman is amazing.
As far as guarantees, no, there arent any, its a puppy, always a gamble.

Rick, its a matter of experience, ability to notice nuances by placing pup in situations, in which his/her innate nature unconsciously kicks in.
and of course fundamental knowledge learned from more experienced people.

My circumstances are a little different; puppies I have had the extended opportunity to assess, as distinct from those I've had care of from whelping onwards, mainly fall into two camps over more recent decades:
The first litters were those bred by my mentor, a Show exhibitor, and so what I'd be looking for there was conformational promise combined with temperament suitable for the Showring, first & foremost. IE NOT very 'aloof' because they would have to be kind to handlers and judges ! Nothing too OTT in terms of high energy/'drive', as these were not normally to be worked, and those not making it to the Showring would usually be sold as pets. However that would not rule out looking for a degree of spark, and aptitude for work / sport, because the breed here in the UK is not as divided into 'Working' Dogs and 'Others'; and, at least on the 'Germanic /International' side, S/L are just as likely to end up doing Obedience, Working Trials etc, even where not IGP training, if their new owners had the interest in doing those things. Several dogs from this (now deceased) breeder also went to the Police and the Prisons Services.

I have had two of her dogs as my own companions. The first was a bitch who had to be taken out of the breeding programme because her hips scored poorly; she was a reasonably successful Showdog who I then turned into a (less) successful Obedience Competitor (she'd have done better if I had been a better, more competition-experienced handler & trainer !). The second was a higher-energy young male who we rejected because of size and overbite, who went to a pet home with a relative, but then was re-homed to me @ 18 months. He was a bit of a spoiled nightmare by then, but eventually developed the 'Off' switch and settled as a nice steady dog, who didn't really Show or Work but with which I had some fun training and doing a limited amount of Tracking. [See my avatar pic]

The second batch were puppies ( and older rescues) bought in or otherwise obtained for my last employer, after they stopped breeding their own stock. Here I would be looking less for conformational points as these dogs were not Shown, and more for suitability in the role they held with us, which I cannot go into detail about but which included being useful for guarding duties, but also temperamentally stable and capable of being             around strangers, without difficulty. Mostly we got that recipe right; I can only think of two we had to move on (both adult rescues, not our own or other breeders' pups) because they did not 'fit'. One dog not bred by us but by a local breeder and obtained as a 10 week old turned out to be quite the nicest GSD I've ever known by the time he matured; not the most beautiful, but not fugly either, he'd have held his own in a Show even if not placed. He had a brilliant temperament.

Not sure if that tells you anything that helps, OP - but I have never had occasion to go out and buy a puppy, with any express intention for what I wanted it to turn out capable of !