Dog Owners and Breeds

Please listen to @3ml - If you don't have a lot of experience and are not going to be the pack leader in all situations (I don't mean be abusive or mean as owners like that I would like to have a few minutes alone with) do not get a cane corso. I train dogs in obedience and for personal protection and attend a class once a week with my Bouvier which is filled with dogs that were abused, are human or dog aggressive and we rehabilitate them to have an even temper. Cane corso's are incredibly strong and can do an immense amount of damage if they are not socialized, trained, and given a job to do.
Whatever dog you get, take it to puppy class and obedience class like 3ML recommended, it is fun and will make your life better with your dog. Most dogs like training and work and the bond you create with training can't be broken.
My Bouvier was a handful and if we were not strict with him he would run the house - he is now 130 lbs of muscle and is a trained protection dog. We love him as he is part of our family but he is strong willed and if he was with the wrong family, he would have been put down. It took 100 plus hours or training to get him to be a balanced protection dog as he had issues.
If you don't have a lot of experience with dogs labs and Goldens are wonderful pets but keep in mind if your not prepared to walk your dog everyday rain or snow, socialize your dog as any dog can be aggressive including both those breeds, and aren't 100% committed don't get a dog.
I am not saying this is you but so many people buy dogs on emotions or without thinking about all the times the puppy will crap in the house, the vets and food bills, if they aren't exercised and trained they might dig through your walls (my rescue Border Collie did that before lol).
All dogs can be wonderful and some are just a handful but they just want leadership, love, and stability.
Do you want an active dog to go hiking and train or just a nice family pet that doesn't need a lot of exercise?
I will shut up now, if it isn't evident I love animals and especially dogs as they give you unconditional love and will give their life to protect you if you ask them to with no thought of their own mortality.
Good luck whatever you get.

So you train dogs in protection or you take your own dog to learn protection? Wouldn't mind hitting you up for some tips on training if your cool with that.
 
Labs need constant engagement. They are very intelligent and if left under stimulated and under exercise they will get into everything and destroy things. As story said.... Marley and me.... perhaps worse.

They are four legs and s stomach as well. You have to monitor their diet or they will become obese quickly and have all kinds of health issues.

My brown lab lived until he was 15 and I finally had to put him down because he had wasted away in his hind end so badly. He was a complete weapon.... but as gentle and loyal as you will ever find.

He had terrible food allergies that presented around 3 years old. Labs can be susceptible to allergies and infections. Browns maybe the worst. Black labs seem to have less issues.

These dogs need to be outside with room to run. Don’t get a lab if you live in the city. My guy was pretty good, wrecked some things as a puppy but if he was on the run, he was pretty good. Left under stimulated... another story. This dog could open doors, the fridge and freezer, the oven and when left idle would flip the couch and mangle something.

Not because he was a shit.... it was when he was left too long and not exercised.

The problem was when I split from from first wife I moved from our large property to the city. This was not good for the dog.

Marley from Marley and me couldn’t hold a candle to my guy. The fucker open d the freezer once and ate close to 100 dollars worth of beef tenderloin. He once broke into a pantry at my girlfriends house and ate 5 lbs of dry pasta, a large bag of marmallows and 2 lbs of dark chocolate. Then proceeded to vomit and shit everywhere through her house. That was the last time she allowed him over. I said I didn’t know what the problem was? He was just trying to make s’mores and could find the graham crackers and had to improvise. He once opened the oven and took a loaf of bread out of it hot and ate it. He ate an entire 12 lb chicken once and left no evidence of it’s existence. My wife had made muffins in silicone muffin cups..... we never found those cups and expect they are still in him to this day. He would open the fridge/freezer snd doors so much we put child licks on everything before we had children. He still could open the fridge so my wife bought s shocker mat to set down in front of the fridge while we were gone. It worked.... but the fucking thing would shock me more than the dog because I could never remember to turn it off. Fuck.

Labs are babies. They want constant companionship and will not leave your side. That sounds great, but if you’re the type that likes some space. A lab won’t work for you. And again keep that diet managed. I’m sure with all that I said above it sounds like I starved my guy. Not at all. But he was in good shape which is why, I think, he lived to over 15. He was very large for a lab at 105-110lbs.... but that was a good weight for him. Otherwise if too fat, their hips go and they get disease.
 
My lab is 13 now and his back legs are going. He still want to go upstairs but you have to be behind him or he can fall back down easily. Hes on a few different medications to try and help
6 years ago he had 1 meter of intestines removed because of all the shit he ate over the years turned septic. That costs me about 6 grand but hes still here
 
My lab is 13 now and his back legs are going. He still want to go upstairs but you have to be behind him or he can fall back down easily. Hes on a few different medications to try and help
6 years ago he had 1 meter of intestines removed because of all the shit he ate over the years turned septic. That costs me about 6 grand but hes still here

When mine started wasting badly.... I seriously thought about pinning him up with some test to combat the wasting. Probably sounds horrible, but I’m still somewhat convinced if would have helped. I never did though. Couldn’t do it, just in case it caused other issues.
 
When mine started wasting badly.... I seriously thought about pinning him up with some test to combat the wasting. Probably sounds horrible, but I’m still somewhat convinced if would have helped. I never did though. Couldn’t do it, just in case it caused other issues.
I thought the same. I mean eq is for horses and hes a big dog so why not try some. Never did it but its not off the table because most medication that the vet gives barley makes a difference
 
I live in the city of Toronto but on the flip side we live close to a dog park and I'm always outside everyday either cycling or jogging. Im definitely an outdoor person so I have no issues walking the dog as many times a day as needed.

I'm willing to do what it takes and will do whatever I can to have a healthy happy dog. Just still narrowing down which breed I want. I wish my other half was more open to going to a shelter but she wants a puppy... Sigh
 
My fam always had Goldens when we were young. Amazing dogs, calmer than a Lab in my opinion. Either way though, the two breeds are very similar. My best bud growing up always had Labs.

My first dog as an adult was a Boxer, knew nothing about them just happen to go check one out we saw on Kijiji. At the time the wife didn't want a dog but came to look. The guy brought the pup out and put her down. She immediately walked over to my wife and lied down in her lap and went to sleep. lol, SOLD! She and my wife were best buds for 13 years until we put her down last year. (dog, not wife, unfortunately)
 
What about leaving a dog at home while at work? I work early from 530am to 130pm so it might only be for 3-4 hours after my wife leaves for work. Is that reasonable or not? I feel bad when dogs are stuck at home all day and they have to take a piss or shit. Maybe I am wrong but what do the people with dogs here think about that?


Walks is key! All dogs value a walk with the pack (your fam) if they have the exercise they will have no problem being home alone for 5-8 hours even. Obviously not ideal but what can you do. We kenneled our dog all day, sound harsh but her kennel was her room. She went in there at night and while we were gone.

Watch some Ceasar Milan. (sp) we learned a lot from him on dogs and their pack mentality.
 
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my lab could always go 9-10 hours at home by himself without issues. He trained himself not to drink too much while we were gone. But morning walks before work is a must
 
Never used any harsh training regimes and all my rotties were the friendliest dogs in the park.They are protective of vehicles and property of course.
 
I had springer spaniels growing up and they are great very loving and loyal dogs.

Aren’t really destructive as puppies and good with kids.

Also had a beagle. Great dog other than his tendency to run. If you ever left the door open he was gone.
 
when my labs goes, we are going to get a dog from a shelter. I dont think the st bernard is going to do well on his own and im tired of puppies lol.
Their cute as fuck but way too much work.
Either that or get a English bulldog. Had one when i first moved out on my own and he was awesome
 
So you train dogs in protection or you take your own dog to learn protection? Wouldn't mind hitting you up for some tips on training if your cool with that.
I hired one of the best trainer in Canada to train me and I trained my dogs. When I had problems he helped. Did 15 private classes with him and also go to a class each week to stay sharp/learn and my dogs love the class as they have friends they play with and its good for them to meet new people and new dogs.
Yes, I do my own obedience and protection training (now) but I would never recommend training a dog for protection without someone's help who has done it many times and specializes in it. You can end up with a hyper aggressive dog that doesn't think of it as a job or a game and stop on command - they think its their job to attack people and can't tell the difference between a suspicious person and a friend. Not all dogs can be protection dogs, you need a stable confident dog as a foundation and then they can be taught to attack on command or protect the family.
I am happy to help you with tips on training for obedience. Just PM the questions so we don't derail the thread.
 
I had springer spaniels growing up and they are great very loving and loyal dogs.

Aren’t really destructive as puppies and good with kids.

Also had a beagle. Great dog other than his tendency to run. If you ever left the door open he was gone.

Yep. Every friend I had with a beagle said the same thing. A bunch of us rented a house in the 70s and we had my Bull Terrier and a friend's Beagle. They both would bolt every chance they had.
 
I live in the city of Toronto but on the flip side we live close to a dog park and I'm always outside everyday either cycling or jogging. Im definitely an outdoor person so I have no issues walking the dog as many times a day as needed.

I'm willing to do what it takes and will do whatever I can to have a healthy happy dog. Just still narrowing down which breed I want. I wish my other half was more open to going to a shelter but she wants a puppy... Sigh

You can find puppies in shelters. I adopted an 8 week old boxer bulldog mix. I had her DNA tested to figure out her makeup. You likely won’t find many pure bred puppies but mutts seem to cost less in medical bills over time. They have a more robust genetic makeup whereas pure don’t benefit from the diversity
 
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