OT: The purpose of dogs

My sister-in-law has a Shih-Tzu. The last time she paid us a visit with the little mutation, my son suggested that we rent a Komodo dragon.

It's disheartening to realize that such an annoying little dog descended from wolves, and that there were people with such poor taste that they actually assisted in the process. But hey...there are still idiots who collect beanie babies.

We would probably agree upon the breeds on this list. Essentially, the only useful or proper dogs belong to four groups. Working, sporting, herding, and hounds.

The rest of a more useful purpose in feeding predators or on the plate in a Korean restaurant or Tijuana taco shop.

For me, it's a simpler concept: On their own property, fine. Off their own property, they're targets.

And of course these dogs if kept as pets and not for the purpose they were bred for, make for a miserable dog with behavior problems and a horrible pet. There are many wonderful non-working/non-sporting breeds, that make much better pets than a working dog, The problem is that insecure macho men see their dog as an extension of themselves, so they have to have the smartest,biggest, toughest dog, instead of a dog that makes for a good family pet. I feel sorry for all these Border Collies, Siberian Huskies, and Labradors, etc that are force to live in a small yard in the suburbs with people who have no clue or a care about their special needs. That's why the shelters are overflowing with these kinds of dogs, and very little small dogs. I grew up in the country and we always had big wonderful dogs, but now we have two great little Boston Terriers, who are smart, full of personality, don't bark and don't destroy my yard and house. It also helps if people take the time to properly train and exercise their animals.

A matter of opinion. Toy breeds are yipping, annoying little ego-maniacs whose bark writes checks their little scrawny butts can't cash. Most haven't got enough brains to make them trainable. Indiscriminate breeding has caused the "evolution" of dogs that look good, but are pretty much useless for much else as their behavior wasn't considered when matching pairs. The AKC, IMO, is as much to blame as the backyard breeders.

Very true. I own a Boxer. One of the most non-pretentious breeds on earth. They're clowns, and never cease to make people laugh. They're also brilliant. Due to this brilliance, they are NOT a beginner's breed as they're tough to get to channel that intelligence to help them stay out of "trouble". Their needs are greatest up to the age of one or so, and you've got a puppy until at least four. But a more rewarding pet you'd never own.

Rottweiler owners, for one, can be the "macho" type owner you described so well. I've seen a T-shirt emblazoned with Rott picture stating "I don't call 9-1-1". Pathetic, but very common for the moron needing a living "extension" to match his Porsche or 'Vette.

Bostons are great dogs. I should have included Terriers in my original post. Though Bostons for some reason are in the non-sporting group, they are great pets with good personalities. My nephew has a male, Napoleon, who is aptly named.

I too feel sorry for any dog that's "owned" by the inept. Very few animals are exercised or cared for properly. Due to their tough training needs when very young, Boxers are also one of the "overflowing" breeds you mentioned.

Unfortunately the type of owner you describe all too often has children as well. Makes you wonder about their care.

I hate these dogs too, but I have seen some, with the right owner, that were pretty good dogs. I personally hate miniature Schnauzers. Most yippy obnoxious dogs I have ever seen, but I do have a friend that has one that is quite well behaved and isn't yippy at all. She happens to be good with dogs and trains them.

Pit bull owners are the worst. If they weren't the dog of choice for insecure, uneducated macho morons, there wouldn't be so many ill bred, untrained, dangerous ones, and they wouldn't have such a bad reputation.

I didn't really want a little dog, but my daughter was going through some tough times and she talked us into letting her get a dog. I finally agreed but said I didn't want a big dog. She picked out the Boston. They are a small dog that rarely barks. It's funny to see them outside looking at the neighbors Schnauzer through the fence, being perfectly quiet, while that damn Schnauzer barks it's brains out.

Boxers are cool dogs. Although I had a girl friend once whose family had one, and that dog wanted to kill me whenever I came over. She'd say "It's OK, he's friendly" but I knew that look in his eyes, and always waited outside for her. I guess the dad trained it pretty good :)

You have to pick one that fits into your lifestyle. My Brother in law has a Labrador, he hunts with it, lives on a lake so the dogs can swim whenever it wants to, and he runs it every day. Damn dog is obsessed with fetching a ball, but it's a good happy dog. The Labrador is also the most common dog in shelters, part because there are so many of them, but mainly because people have no clue that these are hunting dogs, and if you don't feed those instincts, like most, working/ hunting dogs, they can develop real bad habits.

With all the choices there are for good family dogs, I just shake my head at these people with children that get a Pit Bull. They probably also leave there guns loaded in their dresser drawer.

My Boxer does that. But our cats are de-clawed...fortunately for him.

ACDs can be a one-person dog, and are not known for being good with small children. Obviously every breed has its exceptions.

Are they OK with having a target taped to their torsos?

They're not bad dogs. I just wouldn't own one, particularly around kids.

You might have approved of what the Russians did during WWII with Mastiffs. They're large and strong enough to carry heavy satchel explosives. The Russkies trained them to crawl under German tanks just before detonation.

Yeah, that I like.

Garden season begins here soon. I'm always looking for new ideas to control dog criminals and criminal dogs.

That's because you've never owned a Mastiff. They wouldn't hurt a flea. A burglar maybe, but not a flea.

My diaper changing days ended when my son was little.

Area denial system - that sounds like just the ticket.

???

Gotta love toys.

If I have to clean up someone's/something's crap, I have to get something in return. Dogs offer nothing that I need.

Ah. I thought you were a dog owner.

Interestingly enough, I speak to my Boxer along these lines at time:

"What are you good for, buddy? Turning perfectly good dog food into piles of crap."

He loves me. Good thing is "vocabulary" isn't *that* good.