bassets and beagles..

Rich Aitch":1z2y1ix4 said:
Everything people have said about the Beagles is spot on.
We had one when I was very little, so he was a companion for me instead of having brothers or sisters. He put up with loads of torment from me, tail pulling- literally- and me folding his ear flaps open and opening his eyelids to have a look inside when he was asleep but despite all that provocation he never went for me.
Definately disobediant and accident prone. He jumped over the fence into next doors garden when I was two and had a fight with next doors dog and got his eye gouged out and had to have his eyelids sown up, so I was raised with a Pirate-Beagle! When I used to see other peoples dogs I used to think- how weird it's got both it's eyes...

Oh he never really got housetrained and one day when we were trying to nudge him into the back garden so he could make a deposit there he got his tail trapped in the kitchen door and didn't realise so that when he was dithering and wagging his tail he didn't realise that he was splattering blood all over the walls!

But we adored him.

Brilliant , any pics of the hound :lol:
 
I've only got one from my Mum and Dad's album that was pre-"Incident" Next time I go home though I'll go through their albums and see what I can find. I hope I didn't come across as coming from some feral "Shameless" family, with fighting dogs and blood everywhere and a fridge in the garden!
 
Gravy Monster":2crlla4y said:
I remember he had quite a time of lifting it in its 1st year as a puppy as they are not to go down steps or jump out of car etc due to short legs and low slung belly 8) he was rather fragrant & did have regular trips to the dog wash / valet truck :lol:

I wonder if the personal hygiene issue is due to the short legs etc making the dog rubbish at washing itself? My uncle had a dachshund with a similar problem (although on the plus side it was able to stand on its hind legs and do a fairly good penguin impression, which I thought hilarious but then I was only about 5 at the time).

David
 
if you have young kids avoid a bassett like the plague. because of the show dog world, they are far more inbred than any breeder would admit (or their pedigrees would show). this has a couple of issues attached with it, risk of illness especially in later life is seriously elevated but more seriously, especially if you have kids is that they have a high tendency to become aggressive, almost schizophrenic due to brain illnesses of one form or another. it is a shame as they are lovely dogs but I would never ever take the risk involved with buying a 'show breed' with a similar reputation.

beagles, as already said can be very headstrong, incredibly destructive and will run all day if they pick up any scent they like the smell of. they are pack animals by nature and you will never get the most out of the dog if it is kept on its own.

the missus has worked with dogs for years, she used to work in a boarding kennels and is now a vet nurse and the majority of bassetts and other show breeds with aggression issues or bad illness in later life is very worrying indeed.

for me, if you want a family pet you need something docile enough that it doesn't mind being left in the house on its own for a few hours, something with a good personality, something easy to train, loyal and something that doesn't mind missing its daily walks if they weather is shocking.

greyhounds fit this bill perfectly despite people thinking they need lots of excercise, they only really need a couple of quick burnouts a day unlike a spaniel or a hound which really need a couple of hours. this is the same reason working strain border collies make shocking family pets. they are one of the easiest dogs in the world to train but they do need a lot of running to keep them fit and happy.

some breeds i would look at if i was after a first dog are.......

labrador crosses (springer, cocker or pointer)
german pointer (either short haired or wire haired)
golden / flat coat retriever
german shepard
rottie
doberman
greyhound

or if you have experience of training a dog start looking at...

english / welsh springer
cocker spaniel
rhodesian ridgeback
staffy / staffy cross
whippet or lurcher
 
we seem to be heading the same way ibn conclusion ...the golden lab appearst to fit the bill ...so far..
 
gibbleking":22bmecn9 said:
we seem to be heading the same way ibn conclusion ...the golden lab appearst to fit the bill ...so far..

you would actually be better with a lab cross if you don't intend to work the dog.

in pure bred labs it is very common to get hip or elbow issues which leads to a less active hence fat dog. there are a huge number of overweight labs on the planet attributed purely to bad diet & lack of exercise. they are naturally a lazy & hungry breed but they will happily work or play for a couple of hours a day if you make them. our black lab (full drakeshead pedigree) had arthroscopies in both elbows aged 1, has bad arthritis in both and also has one hip that will probably need a surgical replacement at some point in later life. these things can't be detected in an 8 week old pup as a general rule of thumb so there is always the risk even from a good, well known breeding line & litter.

a lab cross springer - if you can find one - would make the ideal family pet IMHO. we used to have a pair of them that were probably the best dogs we have ever had. (and there is a list of 17 that they sit on top of.) a couple of pups from the same litter actually went on to be police bomb dogs.
 
gibbleking":2a6ojh3l said:
were off to go look at a lab in a mo..will post up pics and reviews afterwards....

Reviews?

How about a rescue dog? One needing a new home that came from a home with kids would be my choice in the circumstances. You can get a well trained and obedient pet suited to your situation, a known quantity that merely needs a new home.
 
If you're feeling very energetic and have time to spare get one of these.....:P

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....or if circumstances dictate, perhaps something a bit more docile like Lab / Spotty Dog / Weimaraner

The Border Collie was from a rescue home and although a brilliant dug, still has issues. Magic beast though 8)
 
well last night was odd...we made the meeting with the dog owner on time...the dog seemed to be clean and well behaved...the owner stated she had to advertise to sell the last dog and was having a bitof trouble with previous potential buyers...i asked to see the parents of the dog out the back...the yard was covered in dog excrement and the mother was thin as a rake but otherwise happy..at this point i asked for any papers for the dog to wit she said they didnt have any..feeling a little cautios i told her that we would go for a quick walk to talk about the dog just to make sure we werent making a mistake...we were sat opposite the house when she came out gestured rudley at me...i began to walk over to let her know we were coming over to confirm when she yelled that she wasnt impressed and slammmed the door on me.!im not sure what to think really ...we both went home not knowing what really happened..
 
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