Hi im not sure how much help this will be BUT heres my two cents worth LOL
Hubby and i have just recently gone through the we want a new dog, but do we get puppy or older dog thing ... We had trouble deciding on what breed (i have owned Labs and Samoyeds, and REALLY wanted another Sammy BUT Hubby loves the small Maltese etc) (im NOT a great fan of small dogs, no offense anyone, just a personal thing)
SOooo we decided upon a Japanese Spitz (a mini Samoyed i guess lol)
We got a 15 month old female, who up until we got her had NO SOCIALISATION outside her previous owners home.
We have had her a month, and she is NOW starting to walk on the lead without yelping, and though still very scared of strangers she is now approaching them (cautiously BUT she is getting there)
I had expected her to be a bit nippy (as was MY experience with smaller breeds) but she isnt at all. The only thing im finding is that she, in wanting to be on guard and protecting us, doesnt quite know how to STOP barking... that said, we have only had her a month AND she has improved tremendously. That is the thing, after speaking to other Spitz owners, i have found seems a common trait, they like to alert you of strangers by barking (lol as you can probably tell i havent had much to do with dogs that bark)
BUT i am extremely pleased we got a SPitz AND extremely pleased we got an older "pup"
as i said not sure how much thatl help BUT its my experience :D
