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[music playing] >> Kate
This week on the Paw Report we will talk to Ellen Johnson from Charleston's Puppy and
Dog Training group about how to choose the perfect puppy for your family.
There is more to consider than you might think in making sure that you make the right chioice
can be very important for you health and your happiness for the whole family.
That is next on the Paw Report. Welcome to The Paw Report, I am your host
Kate Pleasant and we are talking about choosing the perfect puppy today.
As you can see I have some guests with me today, Ellen Johnson.
She is a Puppy Class instructor from the Charleston area dog club.
And this is Rody and Reba theya re joining us here today as well and Rody is just kind
of hanging out on set. I think they the will be able to help us in
order to pick out the perfect puppy. Ellen why don't you start by telling us, the
things you should consider when you are deciding to choose a puppy for your family.
I assume there has to be a general decision made first for wanting a puppy.
>>Ellen That is correct and it should involve all
of the adults in the family and everyone should be in agreement that getting a dog is the
right thing to do. The purpose for getting a dog usually to make
your life better. To enhance it. Beyond that you may have a
specific job in mind that you may want the dog to do.
If you have several children you probably want one that likes children.
If you are a jogger you would like one that is fairly active.
If you are a hunter of course you want a dog that can be a hunting companion and if you
are an older person you may want one that is sitting in laps and watching television.
So it is very important to decide exactly what job you want the dog to do.
Because all dogs pretty much were breed to do a specific job.
And one of the things you want to ask yourself when you decided, and I suggest to people
to start with three things. What job was the dog bred to do?
Where was it bred to do it? What was the weather like there?
>>Kate We have very specific type of climates here.
>>Ellen Absolutely.
Dogs that were bred to pull sleds in the arctic are going to have a more challenging time
in the summer. It is going to be more difficult to provide
them with an opportunity to do what they are bred to do.
Unless you have a teenage boy with rollerblades then you will be fine.
>>Kate Or a sled on wheels or something.
>> Ellen Right and you get up early because you wont
be able to take your Malimut out to run in the heat of summer.
So the weather that the dog is used to is very important and I just don't think that
a lot of people just do not think about that. >>Kate
What are some of the other things that you can consider because Im sure there are other
things that people do not think about as well. >>Ellen
Well can the place where the dog is going to live, the home, the yard, the people within
the home, can they meet the dog's needs? That is probably consideration number one,
if you can not meet the needs of the dog it will not be happy.
It will not be healthy. You may have problems.
And that may interfere with her stress to the family.
So you want a dog where you can meet the dogs needs.
One of the most popular dogs of course is the labrador retriever.
And one of the most difficult issues that people have with this breed is that they do
not consider how much exercise that dog needs. A labrador retriever was bred to retrieve
ducks from very cold water in November anytime of the year where you are shooting ducks.
And it needs about two hours worth of exercise a day or two miles twice a day running off
leash with other dogs to keep it in show condition. Few people can provide that and that is why
sadly we have so many labs in our animal shelters because people do not think about can I meet
the needs of this dog. >>Kate
What I assume too is space is something that you want to consider.
You probably don't want to keep a large dog like Rody here in a very tiny home or tiny
yard for that matter. >>Ellen
Well it depends on the lifestyle of the family. Actually some of the giant breeds are very
inactive in the house and so you actually could have a very very large dog that could
live in a small home if you didnt mind. Some large dogs are as big as the dining room
table. And if you dont mind the dog taking out most
of the floor space in your living room. And the other thing is the age of the dog.
An elderly dog like Rody is not going to be problem as far as her exercise needs go.
And she is not active in the house. >>Kate
So let's talk about some scenarios, maybe you are a young family with maybe a baby.
What kind of breeds should you be considering. >> Ellen
If the baby is very young. I would reccommend that people should get
an adult. I think that it is very challenging.
Especially today when many people work outside of the home.
That raising a puppy is something that is very challenging for people when no one is
home. An adult dog who has already proven to be
good with children, from a stable temperment, would be the safest and best thing under those
circumstances. If both people work from home and they have
lots of dog experience and they have raised puppies before then of course a puppy could
work under those circumstances. >>Kate
What are some breeds that get along very well with small children?
>>Ellen Well the New Finland of course is the ultimate
nanny dog. And every breed has a down side.
The New Finland has a dog that is as big as your dining room table.
They also drool because that is how dogs cool themselves off.
They are a wonderful dog if you have a swimming pool, but they can sort of be a substitute
life guard. The only problem is that they save children
that don't want to be saved. If the children are in the middle of the pool
making too much noise the dog may decide that it isnt a good situation I will go in and
save that child much to the child's distress. And they shed quite a bit.
>>Kate That is another thing that many people do
not consider is shedding, I would assume you would have to consider, does anyone in the
home have allergies. How often do you want to clean, things like
that. >>Ellen
Yes. You have to remember you are talking to dog
people, to us dog hair is a fact of life so when you say I want a dog that does not shed
we kind of look at you like "Well I am going to have children but I do not want any dirty
clothes". Barring that, people that do have allergies
there are many nice breeds that do not shed. On of them is of course the Bashan that you
have and then the smaller terriers. Poodles are good if you do not mind the grooming
extent because poodles do have to go to the groomer about every six weeks.
Sometimes even more often. The thing that is important is to look at
the whole picture and to say what is the down side to this breed, what are the problems
that can be encoutered living with it, and what are the good things?
>>Kate You notice that something people should take
in to account with research maybe before hand, should they be looking to places like the
American Kennel Club or something like that? >>Ellen
Absolutely. What I reccommend people do is go to AKC.org
which is the website for the American Kennel Club and then put in the names of the three
breeds, or whatever you have chosen and then study the material put on the website by the
parents clubs because those are the people that are the authority on that particular
breed and they are very honest about health problems.
I looked up the Lainberger recently and it has said if your a fastedious house keeper
be aware that the Lainberger coat is usally full of leaves from the outside.
>>Kate Ok something to consider.
Those are the kind of things you find when doing research and maybe you will find some
things that you really love about a breed or really don't.
>>Ellen Absolutely and the thing also that is important
is what does the family like to do becuase if you are a boating enthusiast there are
several dogs that do very very well on boats. The Habanese is one, the Bashanes do well
on boats, there is two. Belgian barn dogs are famous for being on
boats. Then of course there are the water dogs.
The Portuguese water dog, the New Finland, and there are six retrievers.
Some of the retrievers are over looked and that is kind of a shame because most people
can name two: The labrador and the golden and there is acutally four more.
Say the Pearly Coat retriever, they are little bit harder to find but you do not have to
worry quite as much. Puppy mills do not breed those dogs and you
do not have to worry, everyone is breeding the top ten.
So you have to be very very careful when you are getting one of the top ten popular dogs
about picking an ethical, educated, experienced breeder. If you pick a little bit less popular
dog, you wont have to worry quite so much. >>Kate
So a lot to consider when choosing the right puppy.
What about breeders versus shelters? What do you need to consider there when you
have decided the breed that you want, I assume there are advantages and disadvantages of
going to the shelter and saying that is a cute dog.
>>Ellen Well the obvious advantage is that the price
is usually more reasonable at a shelter. If the dog is an adult then it is already
what it is going to be. Now assessing temperment and personality in
a shelter dog would be kind of assessing human temperment and personality by visiting a prison
population. You have to understand that the dog is not
going to be at its best under those circumstances and when you go to the shelter it is a good
idea to take an experienced dog person with you.
It is not a good idea to take your children because the practical aspect of dog owner
ship is not going to be considered very well when you do that.
When you get to the shelter you have to understand that the dogs expectations when you come,
if it is a good shelter, a volunteer has walked the dog, so that is what the dog thinks is
going to happen. So if the dog does not interact with you right
away that is not a special concern. But you want to visit several times.
You want to take the dog home with you and undrstand if you can't meet the dogs needs
or the dog can't meet your needs or problems develop, the dog needs to be returned or rehomed.
People should never keep a dog and be miserable because if they are miserable then so will
the dog be miserable. And there are chances that there could be
another home where the dog could be very happy. I think that people who through no fault of
their own make a mistake. We all are human and I think they should do
their best to remedy it and not feel bad. >>Kate
What are some things to consider when you are looking into breeders?
>>Ellen You want and ethical breeder first of all.
If you go to the parent club you will find that on their website they have a code of
ethics. Everyone should read that concerning that
breed so you know what kind of things that the breeder is a standard that the breeder
is supposed to be trying to live up too. One of the things that is very important is
the breeder needs to be aware of the genetic health problems of that breed and have they
done everything that they can possibly do to screen those problems out of that breeding
stock. In Golden Retrievers, for example you want
to ask about epilepsy you want to ask about hip displaysia, you want to ask about elbow
problems, about heart problems, eye problems, and an ethical breeder should be able to show
you yes I have the breeding stock examined the University of Illinois and this is the
heart test this is the eye test this is the hip displaysia rating this this is the results
of the elbow x-ray. No I do not have epiliepsy in my lines and
they should also be able to tell you how old the dog's grand parents lived to be, the number
one killer of dogs is behavioral problems. Number two sadly in this particular breed
is cancer. So you want to ask about that.
An ethical breeder should agree to take the dog back.
Anytime within the life of the dog that you cannot keep the dog, for any reason, if your
circumstances change. Sometimes people return dogs to breeders because
a medical intervention is needed and there is no possible way that they can afford to
do it and send their children to college and no one expects anyone to do that to their
children. An ethical breeder should agree to take the
dog back anytime that you can not keep it. Or at least if you can not keep it and say
a family member wants the dog, the ethical breeder may want to meed the family member.
They will also want reports on how the dog is doing and some of them would want picitures
posted on the internet. They call you up, especially with a puppy,
they call you frequently to see how you are doing.
You can expect to be grilled by an ethical breeder.
They want to know what is your dog experience, have you had this breed before, what kind
of yard do you have, how high is your fence, what happened to your last dog.
>>Kate That is a good question and it is a fair question
I would assume for everybody to ask. So it is really more to choosing a dog or a breed
than just saying that is cute. >>Ellen
Oh absolutely. Because if you have small children, a small
cute dog is not going to work out well for you.
You need something that is able to tolerate the children and enjoy them.
On the other hand it is a terrible mistake to get a dog that is phyically more challenging
that you can manage. >>Kate
A good example would be someone that is elderly that is looking for a companion.
They are not going to be looking, unless they are very active, for a dalmation or a breed
like that is exceedingly active and in need of exercise.
What kind of breeds are good for more companionship and low energy levels?
>>Ellen Well I would look at the toy group.
And the toy group that has small dogs this size.
This is very good example of the toy group. Reba is a long haired chiuaha.
Chiuahas have a special efinity for the elderly. Supposedly they are also good for people with
asthma. If you want a watch dog you wont do better than you wont do better than a chiuaha,
they hear absolutely everything before the other dogs.
They are perfectly willing to do exactly what reba is doing.
>>Kate Reba is a very good demonstration of a chiuaha,
just laying there being peaceful. Lap companion, you are being a very good example.
Thank you Reba. >>Ellen
What would not work well for any of the toy breeds because they are bred to be companions
is for people who work twelve hours a day, six days a week.
The dog will not be happy. It can be metigated somewhat if you have more
than one, so they have some companionship, but a chiuaha will not be happy being the
only dog and being alone. >>Kate
Something to consider as well, you know a lot of dogs do not like to be left alone they
have separation anxiety and they start to tear up your things and have behavioral issues
and things like that. So say you are someone that works twelve hours
a day, what are some of the breeds or maybe some things that you can consider to keep
a dog happy at your home? >>Ellen
Well I would get an older one. I would possibly get a breed that gets along
with cats, or get two dogs of opposite sex. There are dog daycares that could help and
pet sitters. Twelve hours is too long to go without going
to the bathroom. If it is a very small dog of couse it could
use a potty pad. Large dogs you probably do not wat to do that.
>>Kate You probably do not want Reba going on a potty
pad >>Ellen
No or your mastiff. I did want to mention our rule for finding
a dog. Finding a dog for the right job, from the
right place, at the right age. Because you may find a golden retriever that
has wonderful parents, but it is a puppy and that may be the wrong age for your family
at that time. So you may want to get an adult, so if you
wait five years until the children are older then a puppy would be fine.
>>Kate Well I think that something again that people
do not think about is getting a dog at a different age.
I think most people think that I need a dog so I need to get a puppy and I am going to
raise it and that is a really good point to bring up that maybe a puppy is not right for
your family. You can get older dogs whether it is shelters
or breed specific rescues. >>Ellen
Well a lot of show breeders will place a dog after it has had its second litter.
Show breeders tend to keep more females. After they have had two litters, most of them
are retired. So they have a lot of years of love and companionship left.
>>Kate And they are probably pretty good dogs.
Wasn't reba a show dog? >>Ellen
Yes she was. >>Kate
See you were a show dog and you make a good pet too.
So you did not get Rody as a puppy? >>Ellen
No. I did not. Roady was a retired show dog and the thing
that is nice about retired show dogs is that they are calm.
Most show breeders will not breed a line of dogs that is nervous and hyper because they
wont show well. I prefer people to go to show breeders to
get a pet. If they want a hunter, then you are going to go to a hunting line say with
setter. But if you want a pet and you are not going
to hunt go to a show breeder because those dogs will be as I said, calmer.
>>Kate Well Ellen Johnson we appreciate you coming
on and talking about pets today. We are about out of time.
You brought up a lot to consider in getting a puppy.
There is a lot of research out there and a lot of pet people just like you available
to talk to about that. So we appreciate you coming on the show and
hopefully we can talk to you in the future. >>Ellen
Thank you >>Kate
Thanks >>Announcer
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