Posted by Solstice on September 10, 2011, at 17:47:10
In reply to Re: Thanks » Solstice, posted by Dinah on September 10, 2011, at 16:57:15
> I'd be delighted. It's something I've studied a great deal, breeds and personality.
I figured you'd be a virtual encyclopedia! As a child, we had a basenji/rat terrier mix. She was the most intelligent, incredible dog on the planet. She did not get any formal training.. but she just "knew" all kinds of stuff. We got her before my baby sister was born when I was 11, and we just marveled at how even as a pup, Tipper knew the difference between her toys, and the baby's. And she'd lay right next to the baby's blanket on the floor, but would never get *on* the baby's blanket. A year later we moved and lived in a quad-level house. There were no barriers - but she *knew* she wasn't supposed to be anywhere but the ground-floor level, which was a large den. If we were on the next level where the kitchen and formal dining and living rooms were, she would lay on the bottom step - but would never go higher. She was a cool-headed dog. And she happened to inherit the basenji's lack of barking. After she died, my mom got a couple of poodles, and bred them. They had a variety of personalities and were all neurotic in one way or another :-) .. in funny kinds of ways. One of them drove my mom nuts because she was so attached to mom. That dog had its cold wet nose on the back of my mom's leg all day long, and had terrible separation anxiety.
My experience is limited, but do you think mixed-breed, or mutts, have more stable temperaments than purebred dogs?
>I've narrowed the huge range of dog breeds I'd like to have to just a few I *should* have. Just as well given my age, and the small number of dogs in my future.
My word! You make yourself sound like you're 91!
> The variability of dogs as a species is astonishing.What breeds are at the top of your list, and why?
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:995638
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20110910/msgs/996385.html