Looking for Opinions - Page 1

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Dawulf

by Dawulf on 10 January 2013 - 07:01

I'm curious, everyone says that you should go out and SEE dogs for yourself, espescially if you are looking to buy a dog or get a pup from it... what are your opinions if the dog is having a bad day? Would you pass up on the dog all together and keep looking, or would you give him/her a second chance at a later date?

No I'm not looking to buy another dog any time soon, this is just something I thought of while doing some research.

Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 10 January 2013 - 08:01

This opinion is NOT from going to buy dogs;  and certainly not from
looking for any specifics in a dog, as far as sports etc.  But it may help
to partly answer your question, nevertheless.

I have been fortunate, in that I've seen a lot of litters of puppies at the
7 week mark (assisting a Tattooist ) without being a 'customer'.  I have
also assessed  a few adult GSDs in shelters, to see if they could suit
our purpose at work if we adopted them.  So I have had a few more
opportunities than your average dog buyer;   but I have been looking for
maybe less stringent requirements, or able just to observe the pups !

So if I was buying I would have looked out for those puppies who were
neither the most forward / pushy, nor retiring, shy / disinterested.  A nice
steady but lively pup would suit me fine, as potentially least problematic
and most versatile when it grows up.  Obviously that assumes one has
that much choice - puppies may be earmarked by that time, or it may be
a sensible breeder who sorts out what you are looking for and makes
the recommendation / pick.  I would always prefer to see the whole litter
together & interacting, even if 'mine' was already sorted.

In adults, as I really was looking to 'take away', I would be seeking the
following:
Whatever the age, I wanted a reasonably well constructed and healthy
appearance.  Temperament wise I wanted 'biddable'.  Contrary to the
popular opinion about 'security' dogs, I wasn't looking for aggression.
So dogs that showed signs of being sociable;  dogs that appeared on
simple test to be apt to learn things quickly, bright and trainable.

So the odd one that seemed ok at first, then turned and bit me when I
checked if he was entire, did not come back with us !

Does that assist, Dawolf ?



by Gustav on 10 January 2013 - 12:01

I would always be careful of pups that are shy, appear to startle easily, are reluctant to venture towards you, freeze up if handled, are reluctant to leave the comfort of their living environment, any puppy with that "worried" look in their eyes. Puppies should be vibrant, confident, outgoing, etc. if the owner will let you drop maybe a pan or object or maybe let two pans be hit together behind the pups to see their reaction. Of course if the breeder is so over protective as to think this is too much for the pups, that is a red flag unto itself. In essence you want a strong nerved pup,( unfortunately their are many litters that are all weak nerved), most aggression and shyness issues start with less than stellar nerves, so if you have a genetically sound pup, your odds are greatly enhanced. With viewing the parents, it is much more difficult to assess if the traits you see are genetic or acquired for an inexperienced person. Genetics pass to pups, training or environmental deprivation doesn't. Jmo(excluding the influence that an extremely aggressive or extremely shy mother can have on the pups development....) any extreme behavior on the part of the mother(shyness or crazy aggression) sends me the other way.

by Hutchins on 10 January 2013 - 13:01

To answer the original question, If the dog in question was everything I was looking for, I definitely would not base an opinion on just one visit. However if the dog was just an "ok" prospect, I woudl just walk away.  Just as people have "OFF" days, so can dogs. I do believe that it is normal for any living being to have that "off: day.  After a second visit if the dog was still the same, I would then walk away from him.  JMO.    

VKGSDs

by VKGSDs on 10 January 2013 - 13:01

My last pup I never saw in person before I went to get him,  but I always reserve the right to walk away.  I don't feel obligated to purchase the dog if I arrive and see stuff I don't like, stuff I specifically asked NOT to have.

The pup before that one I visited at 4 weeks and had also seen the dam many times (both in training and off the field).  Then at 8 weeks the breeder and I spent several hours making the final picks.  I ended up getting the one I had wanted at 4 weeks.

EuroShepherd

by EuroShepherd on 10 January 2013 - 23:01

I would probably pass up a dog who was having a bad day.  But, it does depend...if I'm truly on the fence about a dog, then I'll take a second look at it.  

Dawulf

by Dawulf on 11 January 2013 - 02:01

Thanks guys. Very good points all around!

The case that originally made me think of this was last night when I was looking through pictures of a trial I went to not too long ago.  There was two dogs that I liked a lot upon meeting them, and then as the trial went on both dogs failed their tracking (one due to handler error), then went on to be mediocre in the next two phases (the handler that had the error got really pissed after the tracking, and remained that way, and I'm sure it reflected on the dog some). And recently I began to realize that if I try to look at dogs like I'm going to buy them or one of their puppies it helps me be a little more critical instead of just falling in love with every GSD I see. Teeth Smile So thinking like that, I began to second guess my liking these two dogs and began to wonder what everyone else would do.

I appreciate your feedback!

I am glad to see that there are people who would give the dog a second chance, but I can also see like Hundmutter said, there are cases when you need to see something every time. I don't imagine a prospective K-9 buyer would be willing to give a second chance to a dog who displayed something undesired the first time around.





 


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