Getting a puppy. How do the parents look? - Page 4

Lightning&Stomps · 08-26-2010, 05:33 PM

Correct me if I read their ad wrong, but if they have two litters a year and only one breeding pair, then they're breeding the bitch every time she comes into heat. Poor girl! It sounds like a small-scale puppy mill.

Boopus1965 · 08-26-2010, 06:00 PM

I will tell you right now the hard to train is a myth, I adopted a rescue last year almost 20 months ago she was 3 when I got her and so severely abused the horror stories I could tell you. It has taken extensive training to overcome the fears she had from the trauma she suffered, but all the basics she got right away and she had been an outside dog.

As for puppy training it all depends on you, set your puppy up to succeed and you will be successful set the pup up to fail and you will say pup is hard to train. We brought Bella home at 9 weeks potty training took me about 3 but she only had 3 accidents, why because I didn't set her up to fail. We kept our eyes glued to her, kept her blocked off in the living room with us at all times, knew to take her out after feedings 10-15 min after a drink, when she woke up, when she was done playing. When I was busy and couldn't keep my eyes on her she was either on a leash attached to my waist or in her crate for a nap. I slept on the couch the first 2 months she was here, my son and hubby took their turns when they were off and we let her out at night when she needed it. Puppies generally can hold 1 hour for each month of age at night, which I think is a little longer then that actually on an 8 hour night she would wake us twice, but all puppies vary. Puppies don't like to potty where they sleep but will if they have no choice from not being let out. If you work you better plan on coming and letting the puppy out a couple times a day or have someone who can let puppers out, or that will set you up to fail almost immediately if you fail to come home during the day to let them out to potty, and come home to a messed in crate. Not to mention the feedings when they are young, hopefully you have considered all of this and made arrangements of some kind?

It is not that the puppies don't need a good home no one is disputing that, you came here and asked our opinions based on the pictures you provided, and we all explained why if you are opting to go the puppy route what you need to look out for. Have you considered an older dog or a puppy from rescue, the rescues have all ages, and work with other rescue groups and could be a tremendous help to you. They are fostered so the foster mom or dad can tell you all about the dog to find you the perfect fit. Being new to the breed maybe that is a better option (they have puppies too, since your wanting to give a puppy a new home) or a young dog 1 year and up? The only reason I went with a puppy the second time around is Lolly was not accepting of adult dogs coming into her home and loved the puppies begging for our neighbors puppy.

You must also understand how many of us have had people come into our lives doing this very thing and then the dog ends up at a rescue or becomes too expensive with health costs for the owner to keep it.

When talking to the breeders ask them about retired dogs, a lot of breeders reputable breeders do a couple of things, keep a puppy they think has potential and the puppy is great but not quality to show so they part with it at an older age. Or they have a breeding stock that they have a few litters and retire to a forever home. Both of those are wonderful situations to be in.

Bo

Mikey T · 08-26-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

I will tell you right now the hard to train is a myth

This comes about because bassets are less bidable ( willing to please) they do not do stuff to please an owner, they do stuff to please themselves. Training becomes easier when you align the desires of the dogs with what you want them to do. If a basset has a reasonable assumption that when you call it will recieve a taste morsel it is a hell of a lot more likely to stop chasing a squirrel than if what he normal recieves from a recall is a pat on the head. Those of us the have worked withtraining basset understand in many ways they are much more intelligent and actually easier to train than some of the socalled easy to train breed. Require less repititions etc.

for exam mariah in the vidio link below was I year old rescue with fear biting issues. She was competing in agility in less than 8 mnth later.

Grand Prix

the following links I find deal with the myth of hard to train the best

Hard to Train?
A look at "difficult-to-train" breeds and the reality of what shapes these canine minds.

Media Hound, Front and Finish: July 1994
Review of Stanley Coren's Intelligence of Dogs

Quote:

Coren's analysis of working or obedience intelligence is by far the weakest link in his book.

...

Unfortunately, the methodology underlying Coren's conclusions is extremely faulty. All Coren has managed to do is to obtain a rough list of the success of various breeds in the sport of dog obedience in North America; jumping from that to the number of repetitions it took the various dogs to learn commands is impossible. We can even use Coren himself to challenge his own methodology. In his analysis of adaptive intelligence, Coren includes an interesting canine IQ test. The "CIQ" consists of twelve separate tests, designed to assess the dog's learning and problem-solving ability. I tested two dogs: Connie, my own basset hound (a breed ranked in the bottom tier of intelligence) and Dream, a border collie (a member of the top echelon). The results were interesting. Connie scored in the "brilliant" category, a group that fewer than five percent of the dogs in Coren's standardization group reached (no, I didn't skew the results!). Dream, on the other hand, scored in the low average range of intelligence, where, according to Coren, a dog will need to work rather hard to understand what is required of it. Connie has obedience scores which range from a low of 173 to a high of 186; she currently has two legs on her UD (and plenty of NQ's in our quest for that elusive third leg). Dream is an OTCH who has garnered many high in trials and placed at this year's Gaines Classic. Clearly, an obedience judge seeing the two dogs in the ring would conclude that Dream was by far the easier dog to train. Yet such was not the case. Connie is an extremely quick study who retains what she learns. Dream, according to her handler, always has difficulty learning and retaining new behaviors. Obviously, only erroneous conclusions could be drawn from their respective ring performances as to the amount of time and repetition it took them to learn the commands. The most striking difference between the two dogs is a personality issue, not a matter of anything that can be labeled "intelligence." Although Coren devotes a full chapter to what he terms the "personality factor," he does not seem to realize how critical a role it plays in the obedience ring. Connie is like many bassets: she's bright and happy to learn if you can convince her that the learning was her idea in the first place (i.e., if you train with food). But she doesn't have a strong sense of duty; if she's under stress or a bit distracted, she'd as soon not obey a command as obey it. Let's indulge in speculation and generalization for a moment, dangerous though it might be. Bassets are perfectly capable of shutting down entirely under stress; more than anything else, their tendency toward negative stress management is the reason why judges see so many slow-moving, tail-drooping, lagging bassets in the ring. Border collies are an entirely different story. Once a behavior is learned, most border collies seem to perform regardless of stress; indeed, many respond to stress by getting sharper and sharper. Dream is not such a successful obedience dog because of her learning ability. She has excelled because, quite simply, she loves to perform in the ring in front of a crowd of spectators

Quote:

When talking to the breeders ask them about retired dogs

An advanage of an older dog whether from a breeder or a rescue org is that you know what you are getting. Its personaility and behaviors are more bullet proof, A puppies personality is more prone to change as it develops.

Kirska · 08-26-2010, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey T

An advanage of an older dog whether from a breeder or a rescue org is that you know what you are getting. Its personaility and behaviors are more bullet proof, A puppies personality is more prone to change as it develops.

This is one of the main reasons that I adopt adult dogs. Also, adult dogs are generally not in high demand. Anabelle was in either a foster home or a shelter for many months before we adopted her. Because of this you are able to spend a lot of time with the dog before you adopt them. Just about all rescues (and many respectable breeders) will take a dog back if it doesn't work out. In fact most prefer that you bring the dog back if the situation isn't working out so that the dog can find a more suitable home. I'd give the dog at least a month or two to get acclimated before deciding it won't work out, though.

Many rescues even go the next step and allow you to have a trial period of sorts. I believe in the North Texas Basset rescue, you can foster a basset for a month before deciding whether or not to adopt. I believe the Best Friends rescue (Dogtown on TV) allows you to do overnight stays with a dog to get to know him before you make a decision.

summit · 08-26-2010, 11:21 PM

Wow, you guys are amazing. For the last 2 months I've been reading everything I can on bassets but without having a hands on experience its really hard to tell what to look for.

I think I'm going to keep waiting. I emailed everyone on the BHCA breeders site, and haven't gotten a positive response but i'm going to keep my hopes up.

This seems like a great forum and I'm looking forward to being a member during this "experience". Hope i don't come across as too annoying, or curious.

Thanks!

Boopus1965 · 08-27-2010, 03:15 AM

Not annoying at all, I think we were taken aback a little when you asked for advice then wanted to kind of argue with us, when we actually had your best interest at heart. Especially a first time basset owner. There is no such thing as too curious that is how you learn, and if it's in anyone's power to help then we will. I actually belong to another forum but it's invite only by personal recommendation, and it has a much larger membership. (I think) but several of us belong to both. Glad you made the decision to wait I really think you will be happier in the long run. Good Luck, and don't despair if you don't hear back right away, ask for phone numbers and call them.

Bo =o)

2hounds · 08-27-2010, 05:47 AM

Summit...I'm glad that after reading up and getting opinions you are willing to wait. It will be worth it! I've never had a puppy (both of mine are rescues), but from being a member of this site I have learned a tremendous amount of info from the experienced owners and breeders on this site. There are a lot of people on here who really know their stuff. Good luck to you on the hunt for your Basset.

~Heather

Yogi's Mom · 08-27-2010, 05:49 AM

Let us know how things are going and if you have any more questions. There are so many members on this site that someone is sure to be able to help you.
Best of luck finding the pup of your dreams.

08-27-2010, 05:47 AM	#37 (permalink)
2hounds Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 1,152	Summit...I'm glad that after reading up and getting opinions you are willing to wait. It will be worth it! I've never had a puppy (both of mine are rescues), but from being a member of this site I have learned a tremendous amount of info from the experienced owners and breeders on this site. There are a lot of people on here who really know their stuff. Good luck to you on the hunt for your Basset. ~Heather __________________ Mommy to Gibbs and kitty kitty Eva Dear sweet *Lily (ATB )* you will never be forgotten.

08-26-2010, 05:33 PM	#31 (permalink)
Lightning&Stomps Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Versailles, Ky. Posts: 1,203	Correct me if I read their ad wrong, but if they have two litters a year and only one breeding pair, then they're breeding the bitch every time she comes into heat. Poor girl! It sounds like a small-scale puppy mill.

08-26-2010, 06:00 PM	#32 (permalink)
Boopus1965 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Currently Alabama Posts: 29	I will tell you right now the hard to train is a myth, I adopted a rescue last year almost 20 months ago she was 3 when I got her and so severely abused the horror stories I could tell you. It has taken extensive training to overcome the fears she had from the trauma she suffered, but all the basics she got right away and she had been an outside dog. As for puppy training it all depends on you, set your puppy up to succeed and you will be successful set the pup up to fail and you will say pup is hard to train. We brought Bella home at 9 weeks potty training took me about 3 but she only had 3 accidents, why because I didn't set her up to fail. We kept our eyes glued to her, kept her blocked off in the living room with us at all times, knew to take her out after feedings 10-15 min after a drink, when she woke up, when she was done playing. When I was busy and couldn't keep my eyes on her she was either on a leash attached to my waist or in her crate for a nap. I slept on the couch the first 2 months she was here, my son and hubby took their turns when they were off and we let her out at night when she needed it. Puppies generally can hold 1 hour for each month of age at night, which I think is a little longer then that actually on an 8 hour night she would wake us twice, but all puppies vary. Puppies don't like to potty where they sleep but will if they have no choice from not being let out. If you work you better plan on coming and letting the puppy out a couple times a day or have someone who can let puppers out, or that will set you up to fail almost immediately if you fail to come home during the day to let them out to potty, and come home to a messed in crate. Not to mention the feedings when they are young, hopefully you have considered all of this and made arrangements of some kind? It is not that the puppies don't need a good home no one is disputing that, you came here and asked our opinions based on the pictures you provided, and we all explained why if you are opting to go the puppy route what you need to look out for. Have you considered an older dog or a puppy from rescue, the rescues have all ages, and work with other rescue groups and could be a tremendous help to you. They are fostered so the foster mom or dad can tell you all about the dog to find you the perfect fit. Being new to the breed maybe that is a better option (they have puppies too, since your wanting to give a puppy a new home) or a young dog 1 year and up? The only reason I went with a puppy the second time around is Lolly was not accepting of adult dogs coming into her home and loved the puppies begging for our neighbors puppy. You must also understand how many of us have had people come into our lives doing this very thing and then the dog ends up at a rescue or becomes too expensive with health costs for the owner to keep it. When talking to the breeders ask them about retired dogs, a lot of breeders reputable breeders do a couple of things, keep a puppy they think has potential and the puppy is great but not quality to show so they part with it at an older age. Or they have a breeding stock that they have a few litters and retire to a forever home. Both of those are wonderful situations to be in. Bo

08-26-2010, 11:21 PM	#35 (permalink)
summit Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 41	Wow, you guys are amazing. For the last 2 months I've been reading everything I can on bassets but without having a hands on experience its really hard to tell what to look for. I think I'm going to keep waiting. I emailed everyone on the BHCA breeders site, and haven't gotten a positive response but i'm going to keep my hopes up. This seems like a great forum and I'm looking forward to being a member during this "experience". Hope i don't come across as too annoying, or curious. Thanks!

08-27-2010, 03:15 AM	#36 (permalink)
Boopus1965 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Currently Alabama Posts: 29	Not annoying at all, I think we were taken aback a little when you asked for advice then wanted to kind of argue with us, when we actually had your best interest at heart. Especially a first time basset owner. There is no such thing as too curious that is how you learn, and if it's in anyone's power to help then we will. I actually belong to another forum but it's invite only by personal recommendation, and it has a much larger membership. (I think) but several of us belong to both. Glad you made the decision to wait I really think you will be happier in the long run. Good Luck, and don't despair if you don't hear back right away, ask for phone numbers and call them. Bo =o)

08-27-2010, 05:49 AM	#38 (permalink)
Yogi's Mom Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,109	Let us know how things are going and if you have any more questions. There are so many members on this site that someone is sure to be able to help you. Best of luck finding the pup of your dreams.

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