Quote:
Originally posted by Kurt V
+1. Go to the pound and get one. Mixed breeds are smarter and have less health problems then pure breed dogs.
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I'm sorry, but that's pure myth. The real issue is puppy mills, since dog breeding is voluntarily regulated by breeders, at least as far as the AKC is concerned. My German Wirehair, actually a Deutsch Drahthaar, is closely regulated by the Breed club,
VDD/GNA, and the chance of getting a bad or sick one is nil. Dogs don't get smarter than this breed. Select a good breeder for almost any pure bred dog will produce positive results. Buying into a mixed breed of unknown parentage, or unknown mixes, will produce very random results, often with negative results.
Pure bred dogs by reputable breeders are far and away superior in that you know what it is you're getting, there's very little chance of a problem from genetic disorders. With "mutts", you don't have that at all. Almost none of them are Xrayed for hip problems nor are they checked for blood disorders via Veterinary screening.
Our younest dog is an Anatolian Shepherd, which we acquired as a 9 month old pup.
http://www.angelfire.com/oz/asdca/dogshome.html shows pictures of these dogs.
This is our boy, Xtra, at just under one year of age, he's almost two now. Small for a male Anatolian, he's about 85 pounds, and of the shorter haired variety. There is some variation within the breed as to coat length and whether they're loose skinned or not.
He's very obedient, very mild mannered, prefers to remain close to the house if outside, and shows strong herding instinct when he's out of the dog run. He really wants to do what you tell him to do, and is easy to keep on a verbal leash. If you have a city home, even if on a small or medium sized lot, I'd say this breed would do fine, since he's not answering the call of the hunt like my Chocolate Labrador and German Wire Hair do. Those two want to run in the field and look for things, Xtra has no interest in doing that at all.