A lot of dog selections are based on need and environment. Herding dogs are smart as hell but need a companion constantly or they can get in mischievous bullshit like a child. Bird hunting dogs get really birdy around chickens and can kill all of them in a hurry. Coon and other hunting dogs like Curs, Blue ticks, and Catahoulas are pretty chill and tough. Shepherd dogs like Anatolian ar Pyrenees are rock solid but wander a lot, usually at night. They can be come neighborhood dogs. Also they will absolutely dominate the breeding of all unattended bitches in heat. Cop dogs like Malinois and German shepherds are good choices anytime. They also can handle apartments ok. Pits are good dogs in my experience. There's been at least one around the farm my whole life. 5% seem to be just assholes. The rest are just dumb looks and cuddles. Great follow dogs in a hunt or defense. We keep a mixed breed of Anatolian/pit/and Lab or Golden in the farm dogs.
My son informed me they had to put down last Friday their black lab Caicos (13.5yrs old) My grandaughters grew up with Caicos needless to say they are heart broken she was such a sweet dog My granddaughter when she was1 and half years old --softy I am- son sent this picture and brought a tear to my eyes Elina and her buddy Caicos
Sorry to hear of this , them furry critters become a part of the family,, and it leaves an empty spot in the hearts when they leave us . My condolences to you all .
The best dog we've ever had was a dachshund named Frank. Frank was a good guard dog, great sense of smell and hearing and the bark/growl of a much larger dog. Little dogs don't know that they are little! Frank was brave, loyal and a little sweetheart, it was me and my father that you had to worry about, cause we both carried guns!
Big Ron, Have owned a lot of dogs over the years. Daughter is an ER Vet and sees all sorts of them, too. Big dogs are prone to shorter lives and joint issues. Also about 50% of dogs now die of cancer of one type or another. (Food, or environmental,causes perhaps). Some of the more care free breeds are medium sized mixed breeds, but they aren't going to handle much wildlife other than alerting you to their presence. I did have an 80# male Shar Pei (Chinese temple guard dog) who mixed it up with a racoon 2x. First round went to the dog. About 3 months later the racoon came back looking for him and the dog got as good as he gave in that round...but the racoon never came back. He wasn't much of a barker,, just a biter but the female 40# Shar Pei we have now is.a barker and notmuch of a biter. Shar Peis live between 7 and 14 years, although I've seen chat boards talking about their 18-19 yr old ones. Currently our other dog is an Ennglish/French bulldog mix. He is 32# of barking and biting piss and vinegar.(Rescue dog) Thinks he is 130# and cowers my daughter's 110# male red lab. Thank goodness he hasn't met a real aggressive breed like a pit, rottie, or German Shepard.
