Positive stories of lovely family dogs

[newpup123]

Hi.

I've been doing way too much internet searching about puppy / dog training and now have the impression that all dogs have some behaviour issue or another.

Please can we have some positive stories about nice normal balanced family dogs (and maybe even some tips about how to raise one!)

I have an Australian labradoodle and a regular labradoodle- both miniature (cocket spaniel size). The AL is male and at 11 like a puppy - really bouncy and selectively deaf. He thinks everyone he meets is a potential best friend and is very jumpy. The other one is 9 and much more cautious. She is extremely obedient. Both raised in same family, both had same amount of training. Personality counts a lot.

Just like there's no such thing as a perfect child, (almost) all dogs have some behavioural quirk or other.

The most temperamentally bombproof dog I've come across in my life was a dog we had when I was young. Never a cross word to anyone or anything (almost), even after he was badly attacked by a labrador and had to have his head wounds stitched back together under general anaesthetic.

He was still fond of weeing in the house, and his recall was - at best - unreliable (though no one thought to take treats out to motivate him, so...). He did also chase cats and snapped at puppies when he got to grumpy old man stage and understandably decided that he didn't like being jumped on.

The best we can hope for is that their chosen behavioural quirks either don't matter to us (eg I don't care if DDog wants to chase cats because I don't have one and never will) or can be modified.

We have a Long Haired German Shepherd and we are devoted to his goofy, happy, sweetnatured, enthusiastic self! Pre Covid there were chidren coming and going from our house all the time as we have a few dc. He has been great from the get go. We had basic rules that we were very consistant with both with the children and with the dog.
The biggest problem was when he was a puppy and his bloody teeth were razor sharp. He was like a furry shark. It was a relief when his adult teeth came through...!

Lovely family Labrador acted as a very patient walking frame for toddlers learning to walk.

He was also the greediest dog we've ever had - we even had to tie the bins shut to stop him raiding them.

Yellow lab whilst growing up, swam in the sea with me, very loyal and protective whilst also being friendly to people and dogs. All round great dog. Housetrained, obedient in the house, but horrific recall and ate anything.
Current labs. Easy going very very good with toddler who has landed on them, dropped toys on them, used them as a stool step, obedient, don’t snatch food, calm, likes the cat, friendly to everyone but bark if they hear someone approach the house.
One likes to lick the baby given the opportunity. Tails are hazardous
One won’t walk further than he wants just lays down and you have to wait.....

My schnauzer is lovely. Her adolescence was awful, but she grew out of it, and she gets too excited when visitors arrive, but that's manageable with crate training. They all have quirks, it's just that some are very manageable.

I've been extremely lucky but I agree with PP, in my experience, all dogs have their quirks!

I grew up with a Doberman. Absolutely beautiful dog, soft as a brush and extremely gentle with me as a baby, would spend time sleeping under my rocker or next to my parents when they were holding me. As I got older, he was patient when we played with him and loved me to feed him left overs from my lunch box (in hindsight probably not wonderful for his health ). He did however like to take himself for wee walks whenever he got the chance, scared the living day lights out of us on more than one occasion but always came home.

We now have a lovely border terrier. We tried 3 different training schools but he struggled to focus in a field full of other dogs and spent the whole time on his back trying to tempt other dogs to play with him. In the end, he learned to sit, lie down and give paw but has selected hearing and depends if you have food he loves cuddles, is very gentle and patient with children and has always slept beautifully through the night. We feel extremely lucky to have found him

Yellow lab. Portly, smiling, constantly waving his tail and sending things flying. He would do a circling welcome dance each evening when we got home, sneezing, and the bring us socks. Incurably greedy. Always came and gave you a fat paw when you were upset. He was the absolute best dog in the world and I still miss him.

I look after seven dogs daily ( not mine ) out of all of them the nicest one is the cockerpoo. The others are boxers , lab and a smaller mixed breed. The cockerpoo is adorable. Clever. Affectionate and easy to train.

THE most important part of getting a biddable family dog, is choosing the right breeder. A poorly bred dog is much more likely to have behavioural issues than one that is bred properly and by people who know what they’re doing.

It could take you 2/3/4 years + to find one and get on the waiting list. You want to find a breeder that will be on the end of the phone with full knowledge of the breed and how to fix minor issues, or can point you to them preferred behaviourist for help.

Breed obviously comes into it, but a good breeder is worth millions.

We have a gorgeous golden retriever. Soft as butter, empathetic (eg knows when to go and put her head in an upset child's lap), very cuddly.

But, she acts as though we never feed her and is very bad about running up to people who she thinks might have food, so I have to be vigilant on walks.....love her to pieces though.

I have a Border collie and he's absolutely great. He was very quick to toilet train, hes only ever had 2 wees in the house, he has never been nippy or bitey, he is great in the house, he doesn't chew anything he isn't supposed to. He loves other dogs (and cats) and he is fantastic with the children. He doesn't have separation anxiety, he can be left alone for an hour or two with no problems. Never barks. The only thing I would like to improve is the fact that he pulls on the lead slightly but I can live with that. He's an all round lovely dog, and i always get compliments on how well trained he is.

Labrador. Gentle, affectionate, constantly available for games and cuddling up. Until 14 months would chew anything left in reach though. Now he's chilled, easy recall if you have food in your pocket, a genuine delight to have around. Loves long walks and swimming. Helps to settle DS to sleep by lying at the end of his bed. Eternally cheerful.
Likes the cat, never aggressive. He's my best friend

My family dog growing up. Big springer spaniel. Lovely dog. So easy going. No quirks except stealing socks so that we would give him a treat to get them back.

My current dog however.,,,,,,,,🙄

Our rough coated Jack Russell is extremely easy to look after. Her recall is good unless there is a squirrel/rabbit to hunt. Very loving (especially to me). Sleeps in the kitchen at night and can be left for a few hours on my work days. We have done no training really - she came ready made like this via rescue.

I think all animals are like people (often better) and it's just personality and no-one's perfect.

As long as the big stuff (aggression, house trained) is taken care of and you're aware of their faults if it's to do with how they behave around others (like making sure they don't jump up or run off) then it's worth the effort if you love them.

Every single dog I know (I'm a walker) has some kind of quirk that would put people off. Some are mouthy, some jump up, some bark, some have no recall and can't go off lead, some react to other dogs, some will steal food or escape the garden.

But when it's your dog it's different and you do learn to love them for their quirks and despite their bad habits. No dog is perfect and I think if you go into pet ownership wanting a mythical "perfect dog" you'll be disappointed.

Even a well behaved adult dog requires 2-3 years of solid training and work. And even that won't necessarily get you a dog that never jumps or barks or pulls or steals off the counters

We have a 10 month Old cockerpoo. I worried endlessly before we got her that we’d end up with some untrained little horror.

She’s adorable, cuddly, trainable, good with people. Calm.

I read dog training books, joined a puppy class and Facebook group dog training advice and support (excellent). . There’s some basics it’s good to know.

We knew the breeder and had met other dogs from her.

Ours has her quirks, barks at the doorbell, barks when the car stops somewhere exciting. And not sure about being left alone. But she is a gentle soul, Helped probably by the fact she gets a long walk a day in a glen with a river and sticks.

We have a MN hated poodle cross. What an absolute pleasure he is, calm, gentle, funny and just no trouble at all.

Oh and most of the dogs we meet when walking her are lovely too.

The only dogs I know well who are little gits are the totally untrained apart from house training little dogs of a friend, I won’t go round to he4 house anymore. But while she loves them, she did no training at all.

We just lost our springer in the summer - still totally heartbroken as she was the most wonderful dog, gentle, loving, perfect recall - loved to run in the woods but would come if called (in fact if I stopped walking and stood in silence she would come back immediately to check on me). Was a nightmare on the lead - nearly pulled me over many times in excitement and joy but would walk to heal if not on the lead

Fairly easy to train as would do anything for a treat kids used to build obstacle courses for her in the garden.

She definitely had her quirks which just made her more lovable and my house was always a death trap of tennis balls as she would leave them everywhere to tempt someone to play (kitchen, bottom of the stairs, in a shoe).

Springers are retrievers so would also bring a gift everytime I arrived home so we had a bout a year where every pair of shoes we owned had teeth marks until we learnt to put shoes away

And she would eat anything not locked away - dh's birthday cake (left an empty cake board and some icing powder paw prints on the kitchen surface - she somehow managed to jump to chair - kitchen table - kitchen worktop!!)

And she once ate an entire chicken carcass out of the bin (she taught herself to stand on the pedal!!) Cue an emergency trip to the vet.

She was such a personality, everyone's favourite in the house. Like others have said it's all about personality but the quirks and mischief just add to the fun. Having a dog is absolutely the best thing ever

My older dog is gentle, kind, loving, incredibly sensitive to knowing when people have special needs (he was outstanding with my mum who had dementia), adores my son and would do anything for him, is brilliant with the cats/chickens, and obedient within the limits of him not being very bright. He is however, far too excited to see people in the house, and licks faces.
Ddog2 is also an absolute sweetheart, very emotionally sensitive and empathic, very protective of me when we're out, loving, and gentle. He likes to cruise around for food, and can be stubborn.
They are both rescue dogs, ddog1 was bred for hare coursing, ddog2 for deer coursing - you'd never know it though

I have a border collie.

She has grown up with all of my children, two of them from babies and is the sweetest, gentlest, loveliest little soul.
She loves children, especially babies and used to love sleeping right next to my children when they were babies.

My DD at about 2/3ish had a habit of sneaking out of bed in the early hours and we’d always find her in the morning snuggled up in the dog bed with the dog.

The only real negative thing I’d say about my collie is she isn’t dog social.
She is absolutely fine with dogs around her but she tells them to go away if they try to interact with her.

But tbf to her, she has had more than a few instances of unfriendly dogs going for her so I’m not surprised.

I have a cavalier cross cocker. She is amazing, loves the kids (although is a terrible cheat with hide and seek) loves the cats and and other small furries. The only downside for her is her tracking instincts. If she catches a scent of something all her training goes out of the window I just have to walk her on a lead, not the end of the world. She is perfect though, soppy loving doofus!

Our cavalier is amazing. Gentle, loving, affectionate, has no separation anxiety, great recall, eats well, hardly barks.

She loves to steal socks though