----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Loveless" Subject: Re: I gotta brag
> On 1/30/07, William Robb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> We have found that three dogs is the right number of dogs. One dog is >> rarely >> the right number, two dogs is generally not right either. >> A happy dog has other dogs in the family. >> > Durn. I always wanted a St. Bernard. Might as well buy horses with > what it's gonna cost to feed three of them. Any dog may get along well as an only animal, but my experience is that one has feer behavioural problems when multiple dogs are present. One tends to act as a foil for the other. Three seems good because if one gets anoyed, the other two will generally amuse each other. > > I had a malamute when I was in high school. She was a wonderful dog. > Wanderlust was a problem. She'd disappear for a few days every month > or so. Gave me fits, but she always came home. That breed is a > little on the irritable side in general, and mine didn't much care for > small children who couldn't take a hint. Got any recommendations for > a low key breed that gets along well with small kids? If you want a smaller dog, either a Couton or Havanese might be worth a look. Wheaton Terriers also seem to get along well with kids, and are a bit bigger. Staffordshire Terriers (not Pitbull or AmStaff Terriers, which are an American invention of dubious worth) are also good with kids, and were, in fact, known as Nanny's dogs in Victorian times. The Mastiff breeds also tend to be good dogs with kids, although because of the size of them, can accidentally hurt a child without meaning harm. I am as inclined to look at the individual temperment as well as breed temperment when choosing a dog, and would advise this especially when choosing a dog that will need to interact successfully with children. Stay away from breeds which tend to be dominant (Shih Tzus are a good example), or dogs from a breeder who breeds eitherShutzund or police/military dogs. Belgian Shephers might be a good dog to look into, apparently they are quite child friendly, and a smallish female will be less than 50 pounds/22 inches. Male vs. female is a toss up. I would tend to go for a female with kids, but a calm and stalwart male can also be a good choice. My neice, when she was about 6, taught my Rotties to let her ride them. I think Rollei would have died for her, but he was a very easy going boy. Leica, as easy going as she is, doesn't suffer fools, which makes her a bit less able to tolerate children, though she has never shown anything other than infinite patience for them. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
