Should You Get a Purebreed Dog for Your Family?

Many people ask the question: "Should we get a purebreed or a mutt?"Why is this question so controversial? Is one dog the same as another? Is there a benefit to 'getting what you paid for'?The truth is that one dog is like another - at least in many respects. What is not true is that every dog is equally suitable for your family. Dog rescuers may tell you to look beyond the breed and breeders tell you that you won't know what you're getting with a mixed breed. They're both right.If you want a family dog the responsiblity is the same regardless of whether you rescued an abandoned dog from the shelter or paid upwards of $1000 for a puppy with registration papers. What is different is how you can predict the suitablity of a dog for your children.What You Know and What You Don't?While each individual dog has it's own personality, there are strong traits that can be breed related such as energy requirements, size, determination (a factor to consider when training your dog) and general disposition.

I say general because there are always exceptions to the rules. Getting a pure bred puppy can answer some of those questions for you and help you select a good match for your family.On the other hand you can never absolutely predict a puppy's temperment and if you are not at all concerned with size, energy or trainability then you can find a loving, good natured puppy with any genetic background. Being able to identify these traits is possible although there are still no guarantees.What About Mixed Breed Dogs?If however you are looking for a grown dog rather than a puppy you can find many dogs in shelters that have basic training and are already 'settled' into their temperament. Unless the dog has no traceable history and has shown aggressive behavior you should be able to visit with the dog and determine how well it would do with your family without too much concern.Having even a bit of understanding of the breed groups and requirements will also help you know what to expect since even broad groupings (like terriers or sporting dogs) often have predicitable traits that even a mixed breed dog is likely to show if the genetic history is identifiable. In fact you may find a unique mix that suits your family better than any other dog you could find in a purebreed.Take time to get to know the puppy or dog before buying or adopting and get your children involved!.

Shannon Emmanuel is a freelance writer and the author of 'Choose the Best Dog for Your Child'. Find out more at http://Choosing-a-dog-for-family.com.This article is free to reprint with author credits and link in place. Do not use for unsolicited email.

Dog training tip - Leash/collar training

When you're learning about something new, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.

There are many different styles of dog training, and finding the one that works best for you is important for creating a dog that is a talented, loyal and faithful member of the family.
All successful methods of dog training work to reinforce the relationship between dog and handler, and the foundation of any successful training program is getting the respect of the dog.
Fortunately, dogs are wired by nature to seek out leaders, and to follow the direction of those leaders.

This article focuses on one of the most popular methods of dog training ? the so called leash/collar style of training.

Other articles will focus on the other popular style of training dogs, often called reward training or positive reinforcement.

Both...

Dog training tip - Leash/collar training
Dog training > Dog training tip - Leash/collar training

Dog Training Collars and Harnesses - Making the Proper Selection is Essential to Training Success

Dog training is an art, and like any artist you must pick your tools carefully in order to properly train your dog. Each dog is different, and thus you must be able to decide which collar is most appropriate for your dog based on its temperament, personality, and strength. Below, you will find a description of all the major varieties of dog training collars that you might come across when deciding to purchase one for you pooch.

The metal choke collar is perhaps the most popular and widely used collar in the dog training world. It should be used in training larger, stronger dogs that tend to take YOU for a walk.

The metal toggle choke collar is basically the same as you regular choke collar with the major difference being that you can correct you dog easily by using the toggle while your dog is off-leash.

The pinch collar should be used RARELY and only in situations where the choke collar is ineffective in controlling your dog (i.e. in situations...

Dog Training Collars and Harnesses - Making the Proper Selection is Essential to Training Success
Dog training > Dog Training Collars and Harnesses - Making the Proper Selection is Essential to Training Success

Things to Know About a German Shepherd Dog

A sound temperament is a must in a German Shepherd Dog (GSD). By sound, I mean a disposition where one minute you can let a protection trained GSD play alone with your 5-year old child, pull on its ears, pet its head, tug on its tail and NEVER-EVER be in harms way; while the next minute, it should turn into the "terminator" and crush its enemies as soon as it senses an intruder.

There are three conventional methods of dog training that you can choose from in order to train you German Shepherd Dog (GSD). They are training with treats, training with treats and clickers, and training with praise. All three methods of training will work; however, there is one that stands out from the rest. That is, oral praise.

Why? Because you want your dog to listen to your commands even when you don't have any toys, clickers, and/or food. Imagine you dog wanting to jump at your every command simply because it wants your praise and love and not because you are going to bribe it with...

Things to Know About a German Shepherd Dog
Dog training > Things to Know About a German Shepherd Dog

Dog Fighting History

Dog Fighting HistoryUsing dogs in fighting has been around for hundreds maybe thousands of years. The Romans, Greeks, Spanish and French used dogs for fighting.Fighting between all kinds of animals have always been a very popular event. As far back as can be recalled dogs called gladiator were bred for the sole purpose of dog fighting.The British began breeding the bulldog for the sole reason of dog on dog combat, but they were not the first; since this event has been around since the day of the Roman Empire. The dogs that the British used are commonly known today as the American Pit Bull Terrier.The bulldog is well known for being used to manage unruly bulls, and by hunters for helping them in catching and holding wild boars or other big game.Since, the bull dog was so popular for these types of activities the sport of bullbaiting became very popular. Bullbaiting was where bulldogs and other larger animals were pitted together.Animals such as horses, bears, lions, and yes even men were...

Dog Fighting History
Dog training > Dog Fighting History