| I am in complete agreement that people should do a lot of research before getting a dog. It's good to know what type of dog you want (working, toy, hunting, sight dog, etc). Of course, lots of people end up with mixed breeds at the pound and while you can guess at their breed mix, you can't tell all that much about them until you get them home.
The questions I would want people to ask themselves are less about what specific breed they want and more about how devoted they think they can be. For example, when you have kids, you don't get to decide the gender or the temperment. You just have to be prepared to have your life center around your kid and deal with what comes. I think it's the same with dogs. If you're thinking about getting a dog, but you travel a lot and you don't like to go out in bad weather and you work 12 hours a day, maybe you should get a cat. If you get in fights all the time at the local bar and you want a dog to attack people who annoy you, maybe you need a therapist, not a dog. If you love dogs and you plan to do lots of training and endure fur in your house and go camping with your dog instead of going to Europe, then I think your options are pretty wide open as far as breeds go.
Of course, I'm probably biased because I'm one of those people who didn't do any research before I got a dog. I went to the local shelter wanting a smallish dog; you know, maybe a Corgi. I didn't know then that the chance of getting a Corgi at the pound was about as good as winning big in Las Vegas. :) Knowing nothing about Rottweilers, I fell in love with Bonnie. I'd like to think that was because her beautiful personality showed when I took her out to the corral to play with her. But who knows what it was. I said to myself, "A Rottweiler? Are you out of your mind!? Go home before you say yes!" So I rushed out to my car and sat and cried for a while and then I went back into the shelter and got her.
The bottom line is that I'm one of those psycho animal lovers who is willing to rearrange my whole life for my dog. I now have a whole shelf of Rottweiler books. I've learned to be a strong leader. My little house has crates everywhere. I started a dog business. Basically, getting a Rottweiler led me to devote my life to dogs and dog culture.
I think we need to address whether people are dog people, not whether they are Rottweiler people or Corgi people. A true dog lover will sort that part out themselves.  |