I receive many calls from people who acquired a pup or dog of a particular breed based upon seeing one or having one previously as a kid that was such a great, well-trained dog, but the new one they describe as a terror. Let's be realistic- puppies are a LOT of work. I had a male Rottweiler pup that I kept from a litter I bred. I was off work for three months, so had lots of time to ensure he never had a accident in the house or chewed on something inappropriately, as well as lots of handling and socialization prior to eight weeks. I have acquired pups at 4 1/2 months old from a breeder, but I was working full-time and the housebreaking and manners took longer to accomplish. I recently read an article titled, "The 21st Century Dog", detailing how dogs were originally used for a myriad of jobs, and were busy working long hours, but now we expect to take the same breed and have him be mellow when left alone in the house all day. A dog has to be a dog. If in the wild or left outside in hot weather, a dog will often dig a big hole to lay in to cool off. Other breeds are bred to hunt rodents so are avid diggers. If you want beautifully landscaped flower beds in the back yard, be aware that your dog may really love the fresh, loose soil for a new digging adventure. While we might be able to keep an active dog from digging, the pup may end up with other bad habits to use his pent up energy and for mental stimulation. The American Kennel Club has a great tool so you can look up traits of various breeds and even compare breeds. They rate the breeds on energy level, shedding, grooming requirements, barking, train-ability, getting along with children, other pets, or strangers, etc. Many breeds need to have a job. Border Collies are highly intelligent herding dogs that excel in agility competition, but generally are too high energy to be home alone and a sedentary house dog. Check out the breed trait tool at https://www.akc.org/compare-breeds/
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