re: Dog breed thread

"Dachsund- very entertaining and protective of the family. Smart but stubborn and hard to train, but it can be done. They have a huge personality and make great pets. Think they are bigger than any dog out there. The ones I've had we're damn near fearless." Great description. We had one that I just had to put down last year at age 15. Loved that little bastard.
Also, had a black lab for 15 years. She was the sweetest, most energetic dog. A retrieving machine when younger. Another bad day when we had to put her down.

2 rescues . Beagle and Healer mix.

I had never owned a dog ever in my life until my McNab Border Collie. So smart that he's scary to me most of the time. It's like he understands every word I'm saying. Most of the time he actually does understand. Oh and he can spell

ETA: The best part is that we rescued him from the pound. I fostered him for 2 days before realizing that he may be the smartest dog on the planet and dropped off my payment to them that same day.

Deutsch Drathaar


Had some trouble with his separation anxiety when he was a puppy, but we got it figured out. At almost 4yrs old, he’s really a great dog who is still velcroed to my side at all times at the house but stays outside majority of day while I’m at work. Great around kids if they’re willing to throw the ball or frisbee to them. He’s extremely focused on the task at hand at all times and his drive to hunt is pretty remarkable even though I wish I could do more with him. He can point, flush, and retrieve just about anything I tell him to, and not to mention is a beast in the water. One of the most athletic dogs I’ve ever seen in my life as far as speed and agility goes. I sometimes wish he would be a little lazier, especially when I want to be Maybe with old age he will settle down a little bit. As a first time dog owner, he’s taught me a lot of pateience and responsibility which I can’t really say I was 100% ready for when I got him, but I’m in the position now where I can relax and not worry about him as much. Did I mention the boy can jump about 5’ in the air?

Black Lab mix- This was the first dog I remember and it was a demon dog. His name was Hershey and he only lasted a few months. Us kids were barely able to get near him.

Chocolate lab- Next was Candy, the total opposite of the first. Biggest sweetheart you could imagine which is amazing considering she was an abused rescue. Had her for years until she got hit by a car. We were all torn up about it.

Chocolate Lab- Then came Bud. This was my dude. A big powerful stud that i rough housed with until it drove my mom crazy. My dad used him to hunt a bit and he was smart. We were inseparable. When I was 11-12, my brother was born with a lot of lung issues and dr said it would be best to not have a dog in the house. My dad knew a guy with a farm who took Bud in, and he lived out his life running on acreas and even studding a couple of litters.

Boxer- Eventually we found out my brother’s lung problems weren’t as severe as we thought and we got Molly when I was in high school. She wasn’t the brightest dog but man did she love people. Goofy as heck too. She died a few years back, about 12-13 yrs old.

Boxer/rotty or Doberman mix- Jax. A lot like the other boxer. Dumb and loving. VERY protective when people approach the house, but a lap dog once you get in. He showed up at my in-laws with ribs and hips showing, he didn’t have much longer until they took him in. He’s still a high light risk.

Chocolate lab- Roux. My sister and brother in law bred their lab while I was deployed and I had to have the chocolate. He was extremely smart and followed me around like crazy. Unfortunately he unexpectedly began to get aggressive towards my 1 1/2 yr old last year around Christmas and I had to give him away. Really tore me up to do it but had to be done.

They shed very little.

Thanks man. He sheds moderately, but I don’t brush or bath him often.

As a kid:
Rat Terrier - great pet, lived to 17, no dog has ever lived up to her memory
Rat Terrier - lived to around 13 I think, supposed to be a miniature but pretty sure she was half weenie dog, sweetest dog ever

As adult:
Roadside Beagle - was bad about trying to run away. Barks too much, eats too much but is an awesome dog
Rat Terrier - picked up from shelter, beautiful dog, loves to hunt lizards, very loving on her terms, was definitely abused in the past
Boxer - Just turned 7, great pet, friendly, laid back, only barked at strangers, probably not good for much other than laying around.
I honestly don’t know what I will do without this dog, she is by my side unless I’m at work

quote:

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As a kid:
Rat Terrier - great pet, lived to 17, no dog has ever lived up to her memory
Rat Terrier - lived to around 13 I think, supposed to be a miniature but pretty sure she was half weenie dog, sweetest dog ever

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My Ex and I had a rat terrier together. She was a good dog, but a little territorial and a little nippy. Looking back it was fear aggression. She got my nephew on the lip once upon a time and it required a stitch. Good thing my Brother-In-law has a level head and was cool about it or she would have met an early demise at the hands of my wife. It was my boy's first dog and we still miss her very much.

Growing up we had miniature schnauzers which were good dogs, but not a breed I would repeat. Nothing wrong with them, but they just aren't why my lifestyle is today.

When my grandfather died in 1977, we inherited his English Setter birddog. She was a sweetheart and I've talked about her on here before. But she was a hunter and an outside dog and not much of a pet. Still loved her.

After Ladybird died, my parents got a Boykin, Prissy. She was a great dog. A good retriever, and just an all around good animal. We duck hunted with her a fair amount. But my parents mostly had her after I had gone to college so I didn't spend TON's of time with her.

When I graduated from Grad School, I got one too, "Buddy". Buddy was smart as a whip, eager to please and WIDE OPEN. The first thing he did when he met my Ex was jump on her and pulled the earring out of her ear. Not good. Long story short, when I got my first real job and moved in to a city/suburban appt with my ex, Buddy just didn't fit that life style. My parents adopted him from me. My still gives me crap about having to take my dog, but mom and dad will both tell you, he was the best dog they ever had. The pain of losing him was almost too much for them and is why they have never gotten another dog.

On a side note, in my almost 50 years on this planet, I've seen my dad, a ER doc and a surgeon, cry 4 times. Three of them were when he lost a dog.

While living in the Apartment, my ex comes in one night and announces that her parents are getting her a Yorkie for Christmas (her parents had one). I was ADAMANTLY against it. She got mad and said I didn't have a say in the decision and they'd already picked the dog out. I know how to choose my battles. Looking back with the lens of hind-site, I've only been more wrong about a few things in my life. Blue was a great dog. I never figured myself as a froo-foo type dog lover, but I did love that little dog. Once upon a time I took a pen and paper and started writing down all the words blue knew, and got to well north of 200.

I believe in forgiving people and letting bygones be bygones, but I have to say this. When my ex told me she was leaving, I asked her about the dogs (we, thankfully, had no kids). She said she was leaving them with me. So when she split, she left the dog, that her parents had bought her as a christmas gift, and had slept by her on the bed for 8 years with me.

My current wife came along and loved and spoiled that little dog like no other. Her ex had forbid her from having a dog. The little guy was blind and pretty much deaf at that point, but it didn't matter. He snuggled her belly when she was pregnant. And stuck by her like glue. Unfortunately, he was only with us together about a year before he passed.

One night we were sitting on the couch watch TV. Among his many ailments he had a little congestive heart failure. Blue was walking around got wobbly, like he'd been drinking and fell over, limp. My wife screamed bloody murder and started crying. I held his lifeless body in my hands. Instinctively, I took my hand and cupped it over his mouth and blew, hard. Nothing. I did it again. Nothing. The third time, he shook a little bit and woke back up. Scared us to death.

We final had to put him down about a month or two after that as those episodes became more frequent. It was a blessing because after the baby came, I don't know if we could have dealt with the geriatric dog and the baby (our kid was rough for the first 2 years). My only regret in the decision was not taking our Rat Terrier with us. We left with her best friend and when we came home he was gone and I couldn't explain it to her. She sniffed his bed forever after that happened.

Our rat terrier past a few years later of kidney failure. She had gotten into and eaten a bunch of ibuprofen when she was about a year old. It almost killed her then and shortened her life significantly. It was hard on my wife and boy. It was a sad experience experience, but good for us to see the cycle of life. He was 4 at the time and we involved him in the entire process.

Fast forward about 6 months and after a rough series of life events in our house, we decided that another dog was in order. I found a "rescue" boykin on a local classified website and decided that he would be cheaper than therapy (the cost benefit analyst on that one is still out). We love Wrigley to death, and he's a sweet heart, but he still has some residual bad behaviors from being locked in a cage all day for most of his first year. We aren't 100%, but we're pretty sure he was hungry at some point in his life. That dog is FOOD MOTIVATED. LOL.

Well this ended up being way too long, but what the heck. If I have one regret in my life, is that I didn't at least explore using my biology degree to consider Vet school.