Picking Pup


Dr. Sue's
Picking The Right Puppy


"Picking Pup"
by Julia Bockwinkel
age 7


PERFECT PUP MENU

INTRODUCTION

“Let’s say you’ve decided that you want a puppy, but you don’t know what breed to choose. You may have really loved a Golden Retriever you once had, but a friend’s house was burglarized while her Retriever simply wagged his tail and looked on. A dog breeder you know claims that Standard Poodles are the best all-around breed, and a neighbor swears by Dobermans. Your cousin says to stay away from Beagles--unless you like to hear barking all night.”

Thus begins a wonderful book entitled, “The Perfect Puppy How to Choose Your Dog by Its Behavior” by Benjamin L. Hart, D.V.M. and Lynette A. Hart, Ph.D. The book evaluates 56 of the most popular breeds of dogs and ranks them by 13 behavioral traits. The traits are: excitability, general activity, snapping at children, excessive barking, playfulness, obedience training, watchdog barking, aggression toward other dogs, dominance over owner, territorial defense, demand for affection, destructiveness and ease of housebreaking. Each trait is well defined as well as the way that they were judged. There is ample information on how to use the book and suggestions on to raise the puppy once you have made your choice. I highly recommend this book!

For your information and for fun, I will list the breeds of dogs with the highest and lowest rankings in each of the categories. If you want to know about a particular breed or trait, buy the book. It is a real treasure.
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EXCITABILITY

Low Bloodhound, Basset Hound, Newfoundland, Australian Shepherd, Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Rottweiler.

High Scottish Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, Silky Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier, and Fox Terrier. (Is there a trend here?)
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GENERAL ACTIVITY

Low Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Bulldog, Newfoundland, Collie and Saint Bernard.

High Silky Terrier, Chihuahua, Miniature Schnauzer, Fox Terrier, Irish Setter and West Highland white Terrier.
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SNAPPING AT CHILDREN

Low Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Newfoundland, Bloodhound, Basset Hound and Collie.

High Scottish Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier, Chow Chow, Yorkshire Terrier and Pomeranian.
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EXCESSIVE BARKING

Low Bloodhound, Golden Retriever, Newfoundland, Akita, Rottweiler, and Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

High Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier, Fox Terrier and Beagle. (okay, your cousin was right!)
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PLAYFULNESS

Low Bloodhound, Bulldog, Chow Chow, Basset Hound, Saint Bernard, and Alaskan Malamute.

High Standard Poodle, Airedale Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, English Springer Spaniel and Irish Setter.
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OBEDIENCE TRAINING

Low Cow Chow, Fox Terrier, Afghan Hound, Bulldog, Basset Hound, and Beagle.

High Miniature Poodle, German Shepherd, Standard Poodle, Shetland Sheepdog, Doberman Pinscher and Australian Shepherd.
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WATCHDOG BARKING

Low Bloodhound, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard, Basset Hound, Vizsla, and Norwegian Elkhound.

High Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, Scottish Terrier, West Highland White Terrier, and Miniature Schnauzer.
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AGGRESSION TOWARD OTHER DOGS

Low Golden Retriever, Newfoundland, Brittany Spaniel, Bichon Frise, Shetland Sheepdog, and Bloodhound.

High Siberian Husky, West Highland White Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Chow Chow, Fox Terrier, and Miniature Schnauzer.
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DOMINANCE OVER OWNER

Low Golden Retriever, Australian Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog, Collie, Brittany Spaniel, and Bloodhound.

High Fox Terrier, Siberian Husky, Afghan Hound, Miniature Schnauzer, Chow Chow and Scottish Terrier.
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TERRITORIAL DEFENSE

Low Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Brittany Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Pug and Bichon Frise.

High Doberman Pinscher, Akita, Miniature Schnauzer, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, and Chow Chow.
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DEMAND FOR AFFECTION

Low Chow Chow, Akita, Bloodhound, Rottweiler, Basset Hound, and Collie.

High Llasa Apso, Boston Terrier, English Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Toy Poodle, and Miniature Poodle.
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DESTRUCTIVENESS

Low Bloodhound, Bulldog, Pekinese, Golden Retriever, Newfoundland, and Akita.

High West Highland White Terrier, Irish Setter, Airedale Terrier, German Shepherd, Siberian Husky and Fox Terrier.
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EASE OF HOUSEBREAKING

Low Basset Hound, Dachshund, Fox Terrier, Dalmatian, Pekingese, and Beagle.

High Bichon Frise, Miniature Poodle, Standard Poodle, Welsh Corgi, Australian Shepherd, and Doberman Pinscher.
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BREEDS

Information is provided, along with a picture, for weight, height, build, coat and color. There is also a one page write-up on the breed and suggestions about other breeds with similar behavior profiles but differ in some way (perhaps coat maintenance or may be more playful, etc.).

I went through and, based on my preferences, “chose” the perfect puppy. I then found out what breed of dog the Harts have as their companion. Guess what! The same! and no, I will not tell.......enjoy your quest for the perfect puppy. -- Dr. Sue
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Bibliography

The Perfect Puppy: How to Choose Your Dog by Its Behavior
by Benjamin L. Hart, D.V.M. and Lynette A. Hart, PhD.
W.H. Freeman and Company New York 1988

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