outdoorslover

You don't know how any dog will react under stress. Even a dog from the best breeder will overreact at times. The best thing to do is to keep the two separated until you know the dog well. Once you know a dog you can really read them and know what they'll do and how they'll react.

If you get a dog from a shelter, you can feel like you helped an animal considerably instead of just buying a dog that you know would be fine just the same.

Cara

Just look at the thread from the lady whose Lab puppy bit her daughter. Out of the five dogs we have had, the only one that has snapped is the one that came from a breeder. We have never had a problem with the 4 rescues, including moving one that had been hit by a car. She didn't so much as growl.

Phil from Maine

It puzzles me as to why you would let one get hit by a car..[&:]

Mine has come from breeders and have had no one get bitten, alot of it is their upbringing. Some of it maybe from poorly bred dogs as well though..

Cara

I thought a fellow dog owner would be above such comments. Apparently I was mistaken. Shame on you.

Phil from Maine

Why shame on me? I keep my dogs under my control at all times...

Cara

The dog was not under my supervision at the time. It does not help to have salt rubbed into the wound.

Phil from Maine

Sorry my appologies I did not know that...

daleh

For those of you that think that you can go to pound and get a good bird dog, you are sadly mistaken. I mght be ignorant to rescue dogs, but i know what a bird dog is unlike some of you.
As Mite would say "Some people should own dogs"
Some people should not give advice about bird dogs.

Mite

Ouch daleh that's kinda harsh. True, chances are real low in getting a decent quality hunting dog from the pound. Another story, a woman with a youngenglish setter showed up at a large dog park the other day. The dog was probably around a year old or so. It ran fence line to fence line, easily 300-400 yards stopping to point once in awhile. I ask her about her dog. She told me she got it from a breeder of hunting dogs,maybe Seattle Setters. This pup was the last one and noone else wanted it and the breeder didn't want to sell it to them.The breeder told her itwas, "the best hunter out of the bunch."

Sad part is, the family are not hunters. Beautiful dog, good conformation, headup,straight 11 o'clock tail which probably grew into a 12 o'clock now. I told her to take it to a trainer to get it evaluated. Probably would make a good horseback dog. I would have liked to see the dog out in the open with no fences.

I don't know what happened to the dog but fortuneately or unfortuneately, they lived near the park and went there daily to let the dog run. If you could imagine that they didn't have the place, they'd put it up for adoption.

kdvollmer

No doubt, IF YOU ARE LUCKY, you can get a good dog at a pound. But think of it this way. Most responsible, reputable breeders have a checklist of things they expect from a potential buyer. AND, generally, these type of breeders ask a good ammount of money for their pups. Generally, the type of hunter/buyer who gets a good dog from one of these breeders isn't going to turn the dog over to a pound or shelter. This isn't a guaruntee that you will ALWAYS get a better dog from the responsible breeder. We are talking about animals. It just happens more often that you do.
Now, there are lots of the "backyard breeders that have given absolutly no thought to their breeding.
"Gee, I have a male and a femal dog, lets breed them."
Not even knowing if there are any health issues, and not bothering to check.
"Hey, we can sell the puppies for a couplle hundred bucks for some quick cash."
THESE are the dogs that usually end up in the pound. Nobody has tried to breed for a certain temperament, and activity level. AND THESE are the dogs that GENERALLY don't do as well hunting. I know, not always the case, but more times than not. They came from parents that don't hunt, and other backyard breeders. That isn't to say that you can't get a good bird dog from the backyard breeder, though you have no guaruntee. Most good breeders will give you a guaruntee that their pups will point, or retreive, ....etc something that the breed is known for.
NOW, with all that being said, you can find great dogs for family pets at the pound or shelter. Some of the best pets are the "heinz 57" dogs.

There will always be exceptions to this in all departments.


P.S.

Still debating the English Setter vs. the GSP.