Picking a suitable dog for training

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by wildmoor

never buy or rescue a GSD on impulse - a rescues true personality will not come out for a few months - with pups you need to research the breeder and dont fall some of the tricks played ie they will tell you hips are scored but not show you certificates because they are not breed worthy

This is very true for a rescue dog,..and I should have said before,.. very often a rescue has spent time in a kennels and is very happy to be out, and often display that excited `I will do anything for you` mode,.. its often better to see that dog after it has settled, I dont think it takes a few months, but certainly you want to see the dog after the inital excited period

This is why I often suggest that if its a rescue that you are aiming for,.. that you maybe think about taking it on as a foster dog, this way you will see how that dog adjusts itself to you and your lifestyle

If after a few days things are not quiet as you wanted, then you can return the dog, most rescues would be happy with this arrangment

The only difference is that the rescue would need to complete a home check on you

[Vislor]

If you really want to do some serious training with a dog, the very best option is to start with a 7 week old puppy that has two healthy parents from good proven lines.

That's only if training and health are the big deal breakers. While I agree not all rescues are riddled with problems, you're much more likely to get a healthy dog from a good breeder.

Bad breeders are far more prevalent than good ones though, unfortunately

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Vislor

That's only if training and health are the big deal breakers. While I agree not all rescues are riddled with problems, you're much more likely to get a healthy dog from a good breeder.

mmmm, sorry, I cant entirly agree with this statement,..if training is the deal breaker, then fine, but I doubt there is a difference with health issues.

If a rescue dog does have a health issue, then that is mention before adoption, all dogs are thoughly inspected by a vet before being place for adoption,..any issue that doesnt show up in a rescue wouldnt show up in a pedigree.

I think it is the general view that all rescues dogs are somehow different, almost a lower class dog to others, when this is not the case, you will know the history, both medical and breeding from a pedigree you will not from a rescue, yet many rescue dogs are from pedigree lines, many rescues are no different from any other Shepherd

My Kee was born into Police Kennels, from good breeding parents,..or at least good enough to be in a Police breeding program,...yet she still ended up as a rescue

So, where I will agree with your comments reference the training to a greater degree, I cant agree with it in reference to any medical issues

[Vislor]

We had a very well bred Shepherd with an excellent Pedigree, Xantos Saghmule (think thats how its spelled), who dad trained to Schutzhund 3 and suddenly had to be retired because of a random genetic back problem we couldn't have known about (he lives with a friend who also happens to be a hydrotherapist now so he's retired in the best possible home) so you can't guarantee with any dog that its health is going to be perfect.

However, Xantos was an unfortunate fluke, and in my opinion knowing a dogs family is healthy (as Xantos' is) must provide a significant assurance that it is likely to be healthier than a dog without a pedigree. If Xantos had been checked at 2 years of age, the vet would have given him a perfect bill of health. The problem didn't express itself until he was 3 years old.

And from experience we know the pain of going through years of hard training to have it all fall down because of health. With the best intentions in the world, if its a highly trained working dog I wanted, I want to know as much as I can about it before I buy it and put years of effort into it.

I would never suggest rescues are inferior, I've just given my advice based on the information provided and my own opinion/experience/preferences. It all depends on how deeply the owner wants to get into training. Ours is a special case as training dogs is our lives, therefore my opinions are different to the vast majority of people.

No-one has to take my advice, I'm just offering another perspective

[Jon]

Originally Posted by Stuart

mmmm, sorry, I cant entirly agree with this statement,..if training is the deal breaker, then fine, but I doubt there is a difference with health issues.

If a rescue dog does have a health issue, then that is mention before adoption, all dogs are thoughly inspected by a vet before being place for adoption,..any issue that doesnt show up in a rescue wouldnt show up in a pedigree.

I think it is the general view that all rescues dogs are somehow different, almost a lower class dog to others, when this is not the case, you will know the history, both medical and breeding from a pedigree you will not from a rescue, yet many rescue dogs are from pedigree lines, many rescues are no different from any other Shepherd

My Kee was born into Police Kennels, from good breeding parents,..or at least good enough to be in a Police breeding program,...yet she still ended up as a rescue

So, where I will agree with your comments reference the training to a greater degree, I cant agree with it in reference to any medical issues

I agree with Stuart... Any decent rescue will have fully assessed the dog, had it seen by the vet etc...

I know a certain recue with a fairly young litter in at the moment...

[Stuart]

Ash, I would always take your advice, anyone more knowledgable than myself should be listened to, and someone of your experienced even more so

As you say medical problems cant always be predicted in any dog,..and rescue dogs can also be pedigree dogs,..some of the most health dogs I have ever encountered have been working farm dogs, fed on scraps and as mixed a breed as any

[Jon]

just something else to touch on, a good rescue will have something called "Recue back up", which if there is a problem with the dog they will help you, the dog will always have somewhere to go to if ever the worst happened to you as well. Kinda like insurance but not...

[Stuart]

There is a certain amount of `rescue back up`, if a rescue dog is the way to go,... at our rescue, dogs are sent out as healthy of course,... but sometimes a dog comes to us that has a medical condition that requires medical attention for life,..in this case the rescue would pay for that,.. but I dont think it would be good for the kind of dog that we are talking about in this thread.

All dogs can be registered with [ in our case, not sure about others ] the thistle scheme, that make sure that your dog has a home if something happens to the owners

German Shepherd Rescue Scotland Thistle Care Scheme - Please look after my German Shepherd if I die