Puppylove

[melody mayheim]

I agree alpha!

[alpha2117]

I agree alpha!

No worries melody - like I said though if you are looking at shit-zhu's unless you want to have it as a show dog you are a heck of a lot better off getting one crossed with a maltese or another similar small dog breed. We had two a brother and sister and they were sweet dogs and very good but as they got older both experienced the eye issue that is pretty common with shit-zhu's and eye drops 5 times a day is no fun for you or them. If you get a crossbreed then they tend not to have the genetic propensity to the condition as it's recessive. The other thing to watch is breathing - purebreds have that same issue many flat faced dogs do where they can have breathing issues because breeders over the years have inbred to get that flat faced look- again if crossed with another small dog breed the chances of those issues is much less. All small flat faced dogs can have those issues but again crossbreeds tend to have less of the issues caused by recessive genetic conditions that purebreds have

Here's a short article giving you a bit of info on shitzhu maltese crosses.

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fac.../#.WAT6hYVOLIU

It's one of those crossbreed dogs that have come into vogue since the late 80's when people realised many purebreds have a lot of issues but when you cross similar but distinct breeds you often get very similar looking dogs with less health issues.

Whichever way you go I hope you have fun with your puppy when you get it - pets are fantastic.

[melody mayheim]

Im gona get a shihpoo!

[bigkid69]

Rubbish gmb - yapping & barking is training and treatment rather than nature. Dogs are pack animals - adult wild dogs rarely make unnecessary noise and the same goes with well trained pets - if you have one dog and you leave it by itself then it will try to do something to either get out of the area it's contained in to find it's pack leader (you) or call out in distress to try to attract it's pack leader or another member of it's packs attention or if it's more secure thanks to good training it will just hang out and chill. A well trained dog will only bark if it thinks it needs too - someone intruding in it's territory it doesn't know etc. Dogs that yap and bark constantly are either frustrated, scared, over-protective of their territory or a bit nuts - The first three can be fixed with good training when they are young and the last is actually pretty rare. There is 0% correlation between the size of the dog and it's tendency to bark other than a higher % of larger dogs are able to take the option of escaping it's area due to their ability to leap over fences or dig holes rapidly to climb under them rather than bark hoping for attention. If a dog feels safe, secure and is properly trained and has options to keep it happy and occupied they rarely yap all day long.

I mostly agree with you but some breeds certainly are more apt to bark or stay quiet. For instance, I used to own a Bullmastiff, and they are bred to remain quiet unless there is something they feel/sense/see out of the ordinary. I swear I didn't hear him bark for nearly 2 years!! Some dogs like Shelties and Boxers are very boisterous, it's in their nature.

I have found, and sure it is anecdotal evidence but I have been around a lot of dogs in my life, that generally speaking the larger the dog, the more self confident they are, thus they don't feel the need to bark. But you are completely correct, training will instill confidence in the dog no matter the size.

[melody mayheim]

I got my baby! so adorable! But she hasnt barked at all yet

[alpha2117]

I got my baby! so adorable! But she hasnt barked at all yet

Cool - post a pic when u get a chance - they are so cute when they are little.

[alpha2117]

I mostly agree with you but some breeds certainly are more apt to bark or stay quiet. For instance, I used to own a Bullmastiff, and they are bred to remain quiet unless there is something they feel/sense/see out of the ordinary. I swear I didn't hear him bark for nearly 2 years!! Some dogs like Shelties and Boxers are very boisterous, it's in their nature.

I have found, and sure it is anecdotal evidence but I have been around a lot of dogs in my life, that generally speaking the larger the dog, the more self confident they are, thus they don't feel the need to bark. But you are completely correct, training will instill confidence in the dog no matter the size.

I've known a lot of large dogs that just bark constantly. The people behind me and to the side had a german shepherd which would bark at the breeze - literally if the wind picked up and branches on trees started moving it would go nuts. Lovely friendly dog but totally untrained and dumb as a box of hammers.

You are right some breeds do prefer stealth mode. A lot of working dog breeds tend to be quiet. They bark on command to scare sheep into moving one way or the other etc but other than that prefer to creep up on the sheep or cows. Bullmastiffs were bred to see off poachers and they have that creep up and bail up mentality.

[gmb]

Nowadays you have to complete that 100-page adoption application so we know you're a fit mother.
(Then there's the regular visits from Child Services to think about...)

[bigkid69]

I got my baby! so adorable! But she hasnt barked at all yet

Congrats!! What's her name?

[melody mayheim]

Her name is mackenzie <3