To research or not to research?

[wolfsoul]

My friend and I just got into a pretty heated debate.

I say you should always research the dog breed you're going to get, just so you know what you're getting into.
She says that you should never research the breed because that is prejiduce. A dog's individual personality is what counts and you should find out for yourself what your dog will be like.
I say researching the breed will give you an idea of the individual personality of your dog. It won't tell you "Your dog will be exactly this and this and this," but a hand-down of what the breed displays and what your dog will most likely turn out to be like.
She used this example "What if a person goes to a petshop and sees a doberman and a golden retriever, and they buy the golden retriever because they researched they don't bite but dobermans do, when REALLY this certain golden retriever pup WAS bred to bite and the doberman was nice."
I said "When I'm talking about the breed, I'm talking about the characteristics that are drilled into the breed by REPUTABLE breeders who make sure that the breed is bred for it's original purpose (depending on the breed; ie pitbulls aren't bred to fight by reputable breeders). And in this case, the buyers didn't research because if they did, they would have learned to go to a reputable breeder."
She says "Not everyone can afford to go to a reputable breeder; I for one am buying from a petshop."
And I said "if they can't afford to buy the breed they want, then they shouldn't own it."

What I'm saying is, I kept talking about the breed in GENERAL, and she kept saying that you shouldn't generalize a breed because it's prejiduce. She said "that's like saying all blondes are dumb.'' I said if blondes were bred to BE dumb, then maybe they all WOULD be dumb. But they aren't bred for a certain personality. Breeds are.

GRR what do you think?

[micki76]

Sounds like another person who thinks they know what they’re talking about, but really doesn’t. Hopefully, when she gets a dog she’ll get lucky and maybe it won't end up in the shelter or PTS.

[Karen]

Research on a particular breed is important - it contains a lot of information that could influence your decision. It is not prejudice to say, for example, that a Border Collie is bred to be a high-energy working dog, and that leaving one alone in a small apartment for a day will probably just lead to trouble. Research could include contacting breed rescue groups, to see the usual reason given for dogs being surrendered to rescue. Cold, hard data.

No good factual data would say "Dobermans are bred to bite. Goldens aren't." It would include other information, like Dobes can be protective and one-person dogs, and what to look for in a puppy if this is - or is not - what you want in your pup. It would include information like "If you don't want to be bothered brushing a dog, a Golden might not be the dog for you." and "A Doberman's coat is sleek and low-maintenance."

How could this be regarded as prejudice?

Just the facts, ma'am.

[2kitties]

YIKES!!! I Skewed the results. Got my people mixed up! I meant to vote for research adn accidentally voted wrong! It's a chad issue I'm certain. Is this Florida???

[CatDad]

Yea, for Karen, and very well stated.

I will now just be restating alot of Karen's point, but they cannot be said enough.

How can information, any information(especially in this case), be wrong. When you go to look at any animal, you want to know what the breed of that animal is generally like. You don't want to get a breed that requires a lot of excersise if you can't provide that excersise. There are a lot of other examples, but why on earth would you want to go into anything blind. Especially a long term comminment like this. That is just asking for problems. Even if it does sway a decision from a certain breed of dog that you think you may have wanted, is that bad? It may keep them from making a major mistake. Then like you said another animal ends up abandoned or in a shelter.

Ask if they reseach cars or any other major purchase or if they think that would prejuduce them against buying one brand over another. Once again is that a bad thing. Do you really want to but a piece of junk that may break down with all sorts of KNOWN issues.

I personally reasearch just about everthing. If I am buying a product I want the best buy and best quality for my money. If I am getting an animal I want to try to get the best match. Does that mean that if I go to look for one and I find one that my reseach say will generally not fit, will I not get it. No, I will take what I know and what that individual animal traits are. Then I can make an informed decision from there. However, I then have to deal with the consequenses if there are any, but I knew previous what they may be. I would also know how to better deal with them.

Ok, I think I have offically rambled for too long. However, even if I have not made my point I think that I have shown that I really believe in research.

[catland]

I think you are right. While I understand some of your friend's sentiments, they are misguided. Of course the individuals of a given breed will vary in personality and temperment, but dogs have been bred for thousands of years to produce specific characteristics.

I wonder how many dogs end up in shelters because people didn't bother do any research or just selected the dog on impulse and it was completely the wrong dog for them and their family.

[KYS]

This Karen, agrees with Major Karen.

Even though each individual dog in the same breed
might differ some, they still share similair
attributes for what they were breed for.
If more people would take the time and research,
what kind of breed would suit their life style,
I bet their would be less dogs in shelters today.

Like Karen stated, if I was a couch potatoe,
I do not think I would do well with a Belgium Mal.
that is usually high energy.


So a thumbs up to wolfsoul.

[Kfamr]

I think you both have good points.
Not only is researching the breed VERY important -- but you should get to know the dog as an individual, not just it's breed.

[G.P.girl]

i think you shouldvarrow it down by looking at breeds maybe,
BUT the best thing to do is adopt from a shelter
In my opinion anyways........