Want a new puppy? Seattle dog specialist gives Dori advice

KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson is more than a year removed from the death of his beloved dog, Star, an Australian Cattle-Blue Heeler mix who was a perfect a fit for his family. He’s now looking to find a new best friend and spoke with Seattle dog behavioral specialist Steve Duno to advise him on how to pick out a new puppy.

The first decision: A rescue dog or a purebred?

Dori: We’ve always done rescues of one sort or another.

Duno: If you’re rescuing from a shelter there are pros and cons. Pros: You’re saving a life. You’ve got hybrid vigor there, in other words, most of them are mixed-breed dogs and they’re going to have better genetics since there’s a larger gene pool to work from. They’re statistically more healthy. The cons of rescuing: There’s no predictability to what you’re getting. Very often you are not getting the dog at that 8- or 10-week-old period, which is pretty crucial. You really want to get a dog when it’s a puppy. These dogs are randomly bread so it’s kind of a DNA crapshoot.

Dori: One of our previous dogs had seemingly been abused and never got past that. He lived with us for 12 years but was somewhat emotionally scarred throughout.

Duno: It happens a lot. The odds of getting a dog like that are higher simply because they’re shelter dogs. By definition, you have to ask yourself, ‘Why are they there? Are they lacking in something, are they ill-bread, did they come from some guy’s back yard?’ You just don’t know.

Dori: Should I rethink the shelter thing?

Duno: I think you should. There is always a dog or two waiting at some local shelter that would be an ideal dog, it’s just finding that dog is very difficult. You really have to put a lot of miles on the road looking. You have to make a lot of calls. Whereas, if you go to a reputable breeder, when you get a purebred puppy, you basically know, generally speaking, what you are getting. You know what size the dog is going to be, you know breed specific traits, you kind of know what the personality is going to be like and you’re getting someone who has been raising the dog in an ideal situation with good genes.

Then came the fun part. Dori is looking for a medium-sized dog that is gentle, wants to go on about one run per day, won’t tear up the house and will also be a family protector if the need calls for it. Dori had some ideas:

What about a Rottweiler-lab mix?

Duno’s take: They can be treasure-troves or they can be nightmares. A good Rottweiler breeder is never going to let a Rottweiler breed outside of its breed. So when you get a Rottweiler mixed with another dog, that usually means that some bozo in his backyard is breeding these dogs and it can be very unpredictable. The greatest dog I’ve ever owned was a Rottweiler-Shepard mix. They can be great, but the Rottweiler mentality is high-maintenance.

What about an American Boxer?

Duno’s take: They are also high-maintenance dogs. They take a lot of training and they can be somewhat reserved with strangers. They are very powerful dogs. You would need to be a great leader with a dog like that. I generally tell people to avoid bully breeds if at all possible.

Here are Duno’s recommendations:

Breed: English Setter

Duno’s take: I like English Setters. They train up really well, they are gentle and they’re not a big dog or a little dog. They have a really gentle mindset. They are sweet.

If someone broke in at 3 a.m., most likely, they would protect but, generally speaking, they have the same temperament as like a Golden Retriever. They are pretty sweet dogs. English Setter would be a great running partner.

Breed: Australian Cattle Dog

Duno’s take: Starr, for Dori, was like being the coach of the 1980 Olympic hockey team: You can’t replace perceived perfection. I’ve had one, too, and I’ve made the mistake of trying to replace that perfection. You can’t do it. So never put that on the new dog. With that said, why not consider an Australian Cattle dog puppy. You know the personality – active dogs with good focus. They are herding dogs but they are not frenetic like a Border Collie would be about it. They are not big dogs but they are not little dogs. They can take care of business if need be, but I think statistically Australian Cattle dogs live longer than any other breed. So that’s another plus. They can regularly live 16-years plus.

Breed: Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Duno’s take: They are always great dogs. They are always very sociable. They are bigger than what you’re used to, I think, which is sort of like a lab on steroids.

Bread: Bearded Collie

Duno’s take: They are a medium-sized herding dog with a really sweet temperament. They are very happy dogs, very frisky, like Australian Cattle dogs. They have a good size, so they could take care of business if need be, but they are very sweet dogs and are quick learners. They don’t have that frenetic herding mentality like a Border Collie.

Breed: Irish Wolfhound

Duno’s take: If you went big, this is one sight-hound that I really love that has a great personality. They are big dogs and the disadvantage is they rarely live past 10 or 11 years of age but they are gigantic and yet they have this sense of self about them. They are very gentle with kids, they are good with strangers and yet someone breaking into your house at 3 in the morning, seeing a 140 pound Irish Wolf Hound is going to think twice.”

Not recommended for Dori:

Duno: I would advise you to avoid terriers because they are literally terrors. They will tear your home to smithereens. And also very high-energy dogs. You don’t want to get a French Bulldog or a Pug or something like that – those brachycephalic dogs with the pushed in faces. You don’t want that.

More advice from Duno:
I would guard against getting a breed that is known for being fiercer than other breeds. I would guard against that because that’s going to be the temperament of the dog and you’ll have to train down from that whereas you can always get a decent, confident dog to be defensive. A good, confident dog in any family will defend its pack. You don’t need to get the Ferrari to go fast, in other words.

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