Doggy “personalities”

[ellz]

Ellz:

So my question is do Dolers think bonding with a puppy really happens at the breeders? Can you really pick a puppy that is well suited to you or do you just love that puppy as part of raising him/her?

No, I don't think bonding happens at the breeders. It take some time to form a bond. It also takes time away from litter mates and in your home to develop.

I think breeders will generally do a far better job of selecting a pup than buyers. They've had weeks to observe the litter. Buyers only get snapshots.

I think temperament is partially inherited and partially shaped by training and environment. Breed DEFINITELY plays a part (after all temperament is one of the things selectively bred for) and that's the reason why people need to have an understanding of typical breed temperament when selecting their breed of choice. Incompatibility is a real possibility and contributes IMO to unwanted dogs.

Ummm...confused.....that quote isn't mine????

Sorry Ellz.. brain in neutral. I'll fix it.

S'ok. It's Monday!!

[Monah]

I bond very quickly, too quickly really, just visiting friends i can bond

I love a demanding and affectionate dog, and have always had ones like this, the viz takes it to a whole new level though I choose the breeds for this trait which is why I've never had an independent breed. Even the wolfie , although a sighthound, was VERY cuddly.

I know many friends see how the dogs I have are always in your face (and the cat breeds I choose), and often wonder how I can stand it, but I love it that way (I suppose I'm needy )

Breeders have usually chosen the dogs for me, although one was a singleton so no choice there.

[Dame Aussie]

It's interesting isn't it. I picked Lili at the breeders because she was a little less mad than her siblings Little did I know that meant NOTHING

I have a wonderful bond with both of my dogs. We call Mo our Buddha, he is so calm and has this wisdom about him....

[ellz]

It's interesting isn't it. I picked Lili at the breeders because she was a little less mad than her siblings Little did I know that meant NOTHING

What it means is that the siblings are probably even worse and you may have gotten off lightly!

[SparkyTansy]

I believe that the best possible person to choose your pup is your breeder... yes bonding and shaping takes place at home but you always have to fit around their personality and them around yours... much easier when you have a compatible dog.

[W Sibs]

I've always believe you get the dog you need and not necessary the dog you want...

Charlie and I instantly bonded from the split second we met. I know this is going to sound corny and cheesy but really when we first met each other.. he came into me and sat down in front of me, scratched his ear and looked at me as though he was saying 'oh there you are. I've been waiting for you'. I looked down at him and all the dark clouds I had around me all disappeared and it was all good. It was instant bond between us. Charlie's "breeder" didn't really want to give him away but saw us together, she said it would of been too cruel to keep us apart.

After talking to Emmy's breeder, she offered Emmy to us saying that she was perfect for my family. I didn't meet Emmy till I met her but I already named her although I wasn't 100% if she was going to go home with me I felt her energy before I saw her, she was soooo happy. Her tail never stop wagging, she had the biggest grin on her face and she automatically jumped in my arms. I was instant in love. When we got her home, she walked into the house as though she has lived there all her life. She zoomed into Charlie for cuddles and then ran into the backyard and did zoomies. She is what the family needed. Her happiness, hyperness, affection and just her. She was exactly the fresh of breath air we were looking for. And, that alone has kept her in this family She is a handful... a typical hyper and happy puppy, who was a bitch to toilet train, has no attention span but constantly needed to do something because she doesn't do boredom very well.

[Dame Aussie]

It's interesting isn't it. I picked Lili at the breeders because she was a little less mad than her siblings Little did I know that meant NOTHING

What it means is that the siblings are probably even worse and you may have gotten off lightly!

True ellz, must keep things in perspective

[Golden Rules]

And believe it or not, I have a firm opinion that toilet training can be "in bred" too. I don't recommend that people who are seeking a house dog, consider a puppy from breeders whose dogs are SOLELY kennel dogs. My experience over many years has been that dogs from kennel-bred lines can be VERY challenging to toilet train. Anecdotal, but my firm opinion.

I would be inclined to agree with you there ..... I have had a kennel bred pup and she was a bitch to toilet train.

[Bubitty]

What is a kennel bred pup?

Does it mean they have never been inside the house?

[Golden Rules]

What is a kennel bred pup?

Does it mean they have never been inside the house?

In my instance, the parents were never properly toilet tained and mostly lived in kennels, some occasional time inside but they would pee inside!

[ellz]

What is a kennel bred pup?

Does it mean they have never been inside the house?

Not necessarily although this can be the case. Whilst I would say that many/most breeders whelp their puppies inside, there are a large number of those who then remove the puppies from the home environment into a kennel environment as soon as they can, meaning that they miss out on a lot of the subtle early cues to toilet training that a breeder can give the little ones.

Dogs in kennels tend to be less choosy about where they toilet. You do get some who like to toilet in the same area instinctively of course, but most will just go where they happen to be at the time and I have found that puppies from kennel settings, whose parents are kennel dogs, whose parents are kennel dogs (etc) are very much the same no matter how they are reared.

[Remarkabull]

I bond very quickly, too quickly really, just visiting friends i can bond ;)

I love a demanding and affectionate dog, and have always had ones like this, the viz takes it to a whole new level though I choose the breeds for this trait which is why I've never had an independent breed. Even the wolfie , although a sighthound, was VERY cuddly.

I know many friends see how the dogs I have are always in your face (and the cat breeds I choose), and often wonder how I can stand it, but I love it that way :D (I suppose I'm needy :D )

Breeders have usually chosen the dogs for me, although one was a singleton so no choice there.

I am also like this. Even though everyone loves my dogs, most people ask how I can stand them being in my face all the time. Hubby often gets jealous and annoyed at how much time and affection I give them.

I have 'chosen' every one of my dogs and in every case there was an immediate bond with them. They all have different personalities, likes and dislikes but they all clamour to be near me. I rarely get to go to the toilet or have a bath or shower alone anymore! Don't know if it's just me but I think that male dogs are usually more likely to be 'needy' and less independant that the females?

[MsKatie]

We asked for a smoochy pup - and it is only now that I am feeling the smooch - I think with the size of him - Bloodhound - and the occasional resource guarding he did when he was a few months old I was a bit overwhelmed by it all - add to that the fact that OH did nothing along the lines of training etc. But now I am much more comfortable and he is definitely a smooch - just loves people.

So the bonding has been a growing thing - probably because i think too much about his behaviour and its implications and trying to be consistent in my training whereas OH just loves him *sigh*

Edited August 30, 2010 by KelpieHoundMum

[lanabanana]

For me personally, the bond is either instant or comes with raising them I guess. I bond with all my dogs, though not all immediately.

Most of my dogs thus far have been very similar as adults as they were as babies. Pippis so far has only just gone one so still quite young but Barney was a big change.

When we got him, he was the most boring pup ever. He would get up and play for like 5 minutes and then sleep for 5 hours. I guess it was coz he was a big boy when he was young. He didnt really have much of a personality at all.

I remember saying to my OH "ooo I have picked a dunger here, what a boring dog, hes just a lump" I assumed he would just lay around all the time and be low energy etc

Well I spoke much too soon.

He is now 5 and he is the most annoying dog ever. he has far too much personaility now LOL. He doesnt sit still fo rlonger than 5 minutes, he has to always be in ya face getting pats or making noise, or playing with something youve got.

The change has literally been from one end of the spectrum to the other.

I love himn to pieces though and I wouldnt care if he was boring or annoying because he is my baby and I have thoroughly enjoiyed watching him grow.

I do have a friend though who adopted a pound dog and there is no bond at all. The dog lives in the back yard by herself and thats it. I did advise them that they would be better off with a pup as I had suspected they would not bond with an adult. Also, for some reason they were both crazy about barney and were looking for a dog like him (they cheekily asked if I would be prepared to give him to them - yea right) so I am wondering if the bond hasnt developed because she is not like him at all.

Anyway, quite an interesting topic.

Like I said, if I raise it, I love it and bond with it - sometimes instantly. I would like to rescue a small adult breed at some stage but I dont know that I would bond with it. However, even if I didnt, the dog would receive the same treatment as the others. But maybe the bond would happen - I dont know.

Waffling now

[Kajtek]

My 2 bully girls were chosen by the breeder and I could not ask for better. The boy became a FF in no time at all.

I fell for him :D but most people seem to do too so it's probably his survival skill rather than bonding

Edited August 30, 2010 by HonBun

[Sayly]

We fell in love with Gracie immediately at the breeders, we had a choice of 4 bitches and picked her. Yet she's the dog we all have bonded with the least. We love her to bits, don't get me wrong but not the same head over heels way as the other girls.

Ruby we didn't pick, the breeder offered us the pick bitch to show and we said yes. She's awesome and we are missing her so much right now (she's interstate to be mated). She makes us all laugh, is incredibly sweet and I think she might be Mum's heart dog.

Poppy was a petshop pup I bought when I was 17. No one else bar me liked her or bonded with her for quite some time after we got her, she was alot of hard work but it made me feel like a team with her, if that makes sense. It was us against the rest of the family, I worked my bum off training her and trying to stimulate her. She was PIA to toilet train, she destroyed everything, helped Gracie dig out and was just a terrible teenager of a pup but with the training and age she fell into being a wonderful member of the family. Everyone else did end up bonding with her but it took some time. Dad adores her now but he won't tell you that. She also was a huge help when I was suffering from pretty severe depression, she was sometimes the only reason I decided not to do anything to myself.

Holly I met when she was about 12 weeks old before she became mine (long story with Holly :D ), she and I didn't click at all. I tried so hard but she did not like me and didn't want a thing to do with me. She loved her breeder and no one else got a look in. Now that she's mine and her whole world revolves around me, I couldn't be happier. I love love love my baby girl and miss her like hell when she goes back to her breeders for a few days here and there. Ask my OH, family, dog show people and they will tell you how nuts I am about my girl. I love my big softie of a dog.

Bree, I clicked with pretty quickly. She loves people, she's happy and outgoing and while she loves everyone, the way she reacts to me makes me feel pretty special. I adore this little thing! I love her confidence and she's just so happy. She's confident, determined, naughty and isn't much like Holly at all but I wouldn't change her for the world. I love both personalities for different reasons and have clicked with both.

Poppy, Bree and Holly all had difficult times for one reason or another and I think it helps me appreciate them better. I found my strongest bonds with dogs have come after I have had to fight a battle for/with them or been through the wars.

[Niques]

I initially fell for James because he had a scar on his neck... :D Felt a curious bond towards the scabby dog.

His personality amused me but if I'd put any serious thought into it, I probably would have been less pleased. Whilst his many siblings played, chewed on each other and pulled tails, etc., he would snuggle his way into a corner for a nap. Until their mother walked in at which point he'd be the first one dashing across the room for a feed He made me laugh but if you'd asked me then I would have said I wanted a more bouncy, playful pup. Fortunately for me, I was wrong James is so, so me.

Luckily, I'd completely fallen for Warthead by the end and his breeder (without having been told of my fondness) had him picked out for us anyway.

[sebastion 2]

This is a great topic and has made for a very interesting read. Most of my dogs have been pound dogs so not pups, I would say that is is possible not to bond with a dog though one of our rescues a terrier x I never bonded with and neither did anyone else all our visitors disliked her she was yappy and reserved. Even our family didn't bond with her not that we treated her any differently she still slept on our knees and on our beds right up until the we lost her at 11

[Fleuri]

What is a kennel bred pup?

Does it mean they have never been inside the house?

Not necessarily although this can be the case. Whilst I would say that many/most breeders whelp their puppies inside, there are a large number of those who then remove the puppies from the home environment into a kennel environment as soon as they can, meaning that they miss out on a lot of the subtle early cues to toilet training that a breeder can give the little ones.

Dogs in kennels tend to be less choosy about where they toilet. You do get some who like to toilet in the same area instinctively of course, but most will just go where they happen to be at the time and I have found that puppies from kennel settings, whose parents are kennel dogs, whose parents are kennel dogs (etc) are very much the same no matter how they are reared.

I really think you might be right with this. From my experience as a pet owner (i'm not a breeder/show person) the only dog I had major problems toilet training was the one that came from a registed/show breeder that didn't seem to keep her dogs inside. We didn't even see where she kept them, they were brought in for us to see. Back then I didn't know any better I should have asked to see where they live. The other dogs we've had came from breeders that kept their pups and adult dogs indoors in their home, such a big difference with toilet training these dogs. I think the pups learn from the toilet trained parents in the home.

[mita]

It really is a tricky question....what makes you bond with a dog and when.

We had 2 shelties with totally opposite personalities. Danny was sweet, biddable and so good his nickname was Saint Danny. Shelley, the girl, was a lunatic redhead on 4 legs. As a neighbour said, 'Shelley's so awful, she's loveable!' But i adored them both.

Danny, from the first. He was rescued from the streets in an awful condition. Sheltie Club members took 3 1/2 hours to clean him up. All the time, he kept his chin in my hand for support. When finished, the Sheltie Club lady lady said, 'He's bonded with you. Can you find it in your heart to adopt him?' Yes...Danny became my darling.

Shelley came from a top breeder, at 7 months, grown too tall for showing. A nervous Nelly at first, because she'd had no experience outside her kennels. So it was a case of gently persuading her that she could walk up steps & along a footpath etc. THEN when she gained confidence, she turned into the opposite. An extrovert redhead who had something to say about everything. She became my favourite lunatic.

Tibbie breeders picked out my 4 tibs, saying I was the person they wanted for each. And were they right! Whether the bonding hit at first sight (like my lovely Nina Zena the platinum blonde, looking just like a small golden retriever, walking out of her transport van)....or within a month or so (like my wonderful Gracie, my amazing Angel, and my present Miss Viking, Annie from Sweden)... the bonding was so strong.