In this blog, Nick Battrick looks at what we should take into account when choosing a dog. He describes the dangers of not getting it right, how best we can ensure our lifestyles match the kind of dog we want, and ways we can help make sure our dog is the perfect companion we are looking for.
A question that I am sometimes asked is “what sort of dog should I get?” Normally, what people mean is “what breed of dog should I get?”
While this is an important question, it’s often asked for only partly the right reason.
Usually, prospective owners are thinking about the breed characteristics of a dog in terms of the influence this has on its personality. Certainly, if you have a hunting breed you can expect it to have a lot of energy, enjoy nose work and to be reasonably biddable (with a little training, of course!) If you get a livestock guardian you could reasonably expect it to be less biddable, more suspicious of strange people and strange dogs and highly loyal.
Another way breed characteristics are considered is in terms of the dog’s size and general appearance.
Being sympathetic to these breed traits is important, but pretty one-sided. Essentially, it’s all about what you the owner wants. The other side of the coin is what the dog wants and, indeed needs.
Here we need to think about the sort of lifestyle you want to lead with the dog. Do you want to walk for more than an hour a day? Do you want to teach a dog how to trail scent and do search and rescue? Are you looking for a running companion or a sofa companion?
Energy
What we’re really talking about when we match people and dogs is matching their energy – and in my experience this is almost always where things go wrong.
When I’m called to help a dog and owner I’m often met by a mismatch of energy. A standard situation might be a relatively high energy dog in a household with lower energy human beings. I’m not talking about ‘couch potatoes’ here; almost all dogs are highly tuned athletes when compared to even a fit and healthy human.
What I mean is that some dogs are constantly in motion, they want to work, they have to be doing something, and if we don’t give them that opportunity then we can see the wheels come off. It’s worth remembering that most breeds of dogs were created to work, and those jobs would have both a mental and physical component. When dog behaviourists talk about energy, one way to define what they mean is the dog’s capacity to do this work. A high energy dog has a capacity for work. Or we could even say, a high “need” for work.
Let me give you an example. I’ll generalise a little, but the point still stands. There are plenty of breeds that might typify this, but collies are fine examples to prove the point because we are so culturally familiar with the work they are bred to do. We all know that collies are bred to round up sheep, a finely tuned balance between prey-drive (that’s why they chase the sheep) and biddableness (that’s why they want to please their master). They are bred to do this activity for hours on end every day, in any weather. They have incredible brain power, huge intelligence and unbelievable endurance. Collies are truly one of the finest examples of a man and dog partnership. But looking at them from an energy point of view, they are high energy because their need for work is high.
So what happens when we take a dog with such boundless energy and super-intelligence and keep them in a house with only a daily twenty-minute walk to soak up this need? We can easily end up with a bored dog on our hands and that’s when undesirable behaviours can start to creep in. An unfulfilled dog is an unhappy dog, and an unhappy dog can be destructive, disobedient, and generally a terrible companion.
When we choose a dog, we should always, always consider the energy level of a specific dog, and compare it to the lifestyle we can offer it.
Pastimes, Pursuits and Personality
And speaking of lifestyle we can get quite specific. If you like hiking throughout the year then a high energy dog, like a pointer, that needs a lot of exercise, could be right for you. If you fancy competitive obedience and dog sports such as IPO and Schutzhund, then maybe an ultra-high drive dog like a Belgian Malinois would suit. On the other hand, if you are looking for a companion to spend more time relaxing in the house then there are plenty of breeds that would appreciate a more relaxed pace of life.
How do we know what energy level a dog will have?
This is the million-dollar question. Breed, as we’ve talked about above, is an indicator although unicorn dogs do exist – maybe you’ll find a collie that’s low energy or a St. Bernard that’s high energy, but this would be rare.
With an adult dog, it’s easy to check the energy levels yourself. You can go for a walk; you can play with them, and you can sit with them to see what their reaction is. In short, the faster they settle, the lower their energy level is, if they keep bouncing off the walls the higher it is likely to be.
Choosing a puppy at five or six weeks old is a lot harder. If a puppy hangs back with the mother it might be a little more introverted and lower energy compared to the puppy that barrels straight up to you. The bolder puppy might turn out to be a bit more high energy and pushy, but early appearances can be deceptive, and the visit to the breeder is a tough situation to make these sorts of calls. If you are looking to acquire a puppy, start off by matching breed characteristics; so hopefully from a breed point of view, you’ll only be choosing a puppy of the breed you have identified as being right for you. After that, your decision will likely be based on the personality of the puppy, your gut feel, and the advice of the breeder (not to be ignored).
The implication of all of the above is that getting a dog must not be a snap decision, but should be the result of some homework on the prospective owner’s part, as well as a bit of honesty and self-evaluation in terms of being realistic about what kind of lifestyle you want and energy level you can offer.
I have too often seen the result of ill-advised, hasty dog purchases, and it’s fair to say they rarely end well.
Rescue or Puppy?
A related question I often get asked is whether it is a good idea to get a rescue dog, or to go for a puppy.
This really depends on circumstances, and there are many factors to consider.
It’s great to adopt a rescue dog but it doesn’t suit everyone. There is real value in being able to provide a good life for a dog that for whatever reason has no proper home or owner relationship. That said, there are always issues to overcome, and you need to be sure that you’re up for the journey.
Most rescue organisations won’t let you adopt a dog if you have children in the house under the age of ten; this is a legal and insurance thing.
It can take a while for a rescue to settle into a new home, and while this depends on the dog, you’re generally looking at months, not weeks. Some dogs will settle easily, and rules and exercise will set them up for success, other dogs might require more work and input.
All dogs will need a level of obedience training, and this is just one way to help build the relationship between the owner and dog.
Rescuing can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling experience, but the journey isn’t always smooth, so enter into it with that in mind.
Your other option is to buy a puppy. If you have younger kids at home, or if you have a very specific job in mind for the dog, then the puppy route is probably the one for you.
Firstly, please research the breeder. A lot goes into breeding quality dogs. The parents should be health checked to give the offspring the best possible chance of avoiding the genetic disorders which can beset some breeds.
They should also be temperament tested so that when the puppies grow up, they have suitable levels of drive versus calmness. It’s impossible not to be charmed by a puppy’s cuteness, but once you get them home don’t underestimate the work required to raise that puppy into a well-behaved adult dog. Yes, you have a puppy, but you’re raising a dog. A dog really is for life.
It’s also worth mentioning a less-often discussed topic; rescuing an elderly dog.
Don’t be put off by the phrase “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”; it’s one hundred per cent not true. There are plenty of older dogs in rescue kennels who will have lower energy levels because of their age. They could make great sofa companions so if you’re not looking for a dog that can join you on all-day hikes or your ambition isn’t to win agility prizes at Crufts, then maybe an older rescue would suit you.
In short, whether you take the rescue or the puppy route, there’s hard work ahead. In a way, that’s what owning a dog is about. The good news is that the upsides are huge – the more you put in, the more you will get out. Enjoy the journey!
Have fun with your dogs,
