Type of Dog

[gravitation]

Rottie. Born for the job. As long as you know what your doing with big and possibly lethal, "pets".

Right on.

 

[kakariki]

I have a Shepherd & while we love her to bits, I wouldn't recommend them. The hair drives me nuts! Or maybe I should say wool cos that is what it is like. And then there is the skin probs ( which in turn leads to smelly dog), hip probs, potential temp issues ( although they are being temp tested now so as to breed out the fear-biters). I have always had Shepherds and Dana is my 4th. Each one, without exception had skin problems. IE itchy skin to the point where they would rub themselves raw. No flea treatment worked, no amount of bathing got rid of the smell & no matter how much money I spent on vets, the problem was always present. Dana's skin is not too bad atm but she is still smelly. My other dog, Aragorn is a Bull Mastiff X Great Dane. Nice short coat that doesn't turn to tumbleweed when the wind blows through my front door. It doesn't cover the furniture, he has perfect skin & isn't smelly ( unless he rolls in something undescribable!). And people who come to my gate say they would brave the Shep but not him! Temp wise, he is placid, calm, very loyal & protective. She is a bit hyper, nervous, neurotic but she is friendly & loyal. Go the Mastiff imo.

 

[gravitation]

I have a Shepherd & while we love her to bits, I wouldn't recommend them. The hair drives me nuts! Or maybe I should say wool cos that is what it is like. And then there is the skin probs

Sounds like fungus, very common in dogs that swim regularly, or get bathed and not dried correctly. You can't correctly bath a dog with a double coat without the assistance of a big expensive dryer that blows out all the undercoat, it's impossible, unless the dog is hand stripped just about every day and usually only showy people do this.

Vets don't ever seem to tell people why their dogs smell, they just give them anti biotics and send them on their way, the only way to prevent it is by not allowing the dog to swim or get wet without being dried properly.
With fleas Frontline, advocate, advatage should all work on shepherds.
Like i said before shepherds have incredibly bad hind legs 90% of the time, it's been bred into them and because of that they get things like arthritis and hip displaysia.
I see alot of them that suffer from dandruff and flea dermatitis type issues, but with propper care of coat and fleas they should have no issues with their skin.

Smell could also be their mouth/teeth, but from what you said sounds like fungus.

 

[amazonian]

Get a dog with a higher threshhold for pain.
Give a German Shephard, Rottweiller, Doberman etc a good boot in the ribs and I garuntee they will run off howling in pain. A pittbull on the other hand will not budge a muscle other than to get a better hold on or grip tighter lol

And anyone that says they are not smart obviously dosn't know the breed.
They are used in guard, Police, obedience, tracking, hunting etc in other countries and are in some cases preferred over other breeds because of their intelligence & loyalty.

 

[Mr.James]

GO THE SHEPHERDS!!!! & yes rescueing one from a shelter/pound is great idea! Just look around and walk the dog before you purchase have a play & see if you click. I own a 2 yr old shepherd female who's the BEST EVER!!! she loves everyone & all animals...(except cats) Only probs shepherds have so much hair! But its a small price to pay if you love your dog. & there are crazy dogs out there of all breeds. All I know if I visited a few shelters but when I found my bitch I knew she was the one! & she excepted me, they arent dumb and they will most likely pick you & not the other way around. All the best with whatever you decide but if you love shepherds go for it, I would not get any other dog EVER! & we got her when she was already 12 months old, no problem. Not saying they are all like that! I'll post a photo in a sec of her.

 

[BlindSnake]

BOXER - They were bred during the war in Germany, to guard the women and children while the men were at war. This meant that they were bred with both the guarding trait, but also to be great with kids.
They generally only bark when there is reason to, wich is also a great trait to have.
Peole in my neighbourhood love my boxer, as he will play with, and protect their kids, and they know if they hear him bark, that there is something going on.

They are highly trainable, and HATE to be in trouble!

Dont mistake fun and playfulness for stupidity either!! They are very smart, but love to play the clown.. perfect companions for kids.

Personally, I dont really like GSD's.. Probably 80% of the times I or my dogs have been attacked while walking, the perpetrator was a GSD..

Im sure most are great pets when trained and cared for properly, but 80% is alot of attacks considering all the different breeds.. Just my experience..

 

[gravitation]

BOXER

This would be my second choice to the rottweiler.

Negatives are cancer as it's quite common in boxers, hip displaysia as with most large breeds and they really need to be socialized with other dogs, often aggressive towards them if not properly trained.

 

[Mr.James]

(Old photo though)

 

[itbites]

Get a chihuahua they rock best gard dogs ever...

 

[Dipcdame]

Why not try for a cross-breed? We have a german shepherdxenglish mastiff... he's a real softy with kids, loves all family members, sleeps a lot of the time, as mastiffs do, but if anyone tries to come near the place now, he's the one going ballistic when they get close. Just look up the traits for mastiffs, and what they were used for, then look up the disposition, they are a perfect family dog AND guard-dog, especially with the shepherd in him too.

 

[draqonfly]

i got attacked by a german shepherd when i was about 10 yrs old. walking home from school, the dog jumped its fence, and came towards me and growled and bit me pants on the ankle area... i was scared *****less and the mommies across the road didnt help me at all. i was stuck there stiff as a pole for 5 minutes with that dog growling in front of me. if i move, he'll show aggressiveness.
then a man walked by and "shoo" the dog back over to his fence. i almost pissed me pants. to me theyre not the best dogs.

i prefer american bulldogs. johnson's type for looks, but scotts type for performance.

 

[CountryTriton]

If you want a loyal smart trainable dog that'll round your kids up for you look at a border collie.
All K9 are great but do your research they are just like your reptiles when they come to personality.
Best place to go would be a K9 club or obedience school.

 

[Kyro]

i got attacked by a german shepherd when i was about 10 yrs old. walking home from school, the dog jumped its fence, and came towards me and growled and bit me pants on the ankle area... i was scared *****less and the mommies across the road didnt help me at all. i was stuck there stiff as a pole for 5 minutes with that dog growling in front of me. if i move, he'll show aggressiveness.
then a man walked by and "shoo" the dog back over to his fence. i almost pissed me pants. to me theyre not the best dogs.

i prefer american bulldogs. johnson's type for looks, but scotts type for performance.

I actually laughed when I read your post, I was attacked by a neighbours german sheperd when I was 5yrs old & it mauled my face quite badly, I still remeber being shaken like a ragdoll & would never own one as i'm scared of them.
:lol:American bulldogs on the other hand are absolutely brilliant family dog's & I would highly reccomend one. We lost our beautiful girl to a paralysis tick but will definately get another in the future when our old boy passes on.

 

[bkn351]

Probably not the best first dogs but id go pitbull, smart, friendly and very protective i got two and there not what people make them out to be.When they are out they follow me around like shadows, but jus get what u like, shepards are great dogs but buy from a reputable breeder so to avoid hip problems.

 

[gravitation]

May i remind victims of attacks that just because a dog attacked you that happened to be of a certain breed it doesn't mean the breed is bad in general, it means the owners were morons.

How do you think pitbull type dogs got such a bad rap? ^

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

Watch Pittys with other dogs, especially around tea time. Just had to pull Sharna's Pitty/Mastiff off my Staffy girl. More punctures in my dog's leg, a few small gashes into the muscle. All Sharna's dog got was sore ribs...

 

[draqonfly]

I actually laughed when I read your post, I was attacked by a neighbours german sheperd when I was 5yrs old & it mauled my face quite badly, I still remeber being shaken like a ragdoll & would never own one as i'm scared of them.
:lol:American bulldogs on the other hand are absolutely brilliant family dog's & I would highly reccomend one. We lost our beautiful girl to a paralysis tick but will definately get another in the future when our old boy passes on.

hehehehe we have something a little in common .. being attacked by the same breed of dog .. sorry to hear your loss though. I would like to get one in the future, but dont know if i could cope with it passing away when the time comes.... it would be heart breaking.
i have a white pomeranian at the moment, and she is old and the thought of losing her makes me sad. wish i could have your experience in owning an american bulldog, just looking at them on youtube is so exciting.... i can imagine your dog to have ab muscles ( six pack ) !!

being mauled and shaken from your neighbours dog would be so scary...... no words can describe it..

 

[Pythonking]

Nasty Den, I got a kelpie and a bullmastiff and suprisingly my mastiff is the one the gets beated up when they get into fights however the mastiff is the one the postie is scared off the most

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

Yeah? Never had a Kelpie, mates out of town use them on cattle, nippy buggers!

 

[gravitation]

God yes, they can have serious mouthing/biting issues if you don't put them in place.
They can be suprisingly nasty.