I got a call a few days ago. A prospective first-time dog owner was calling me to get a piece of advice on the breed of dog they were planning to get. They could not decide between a golden and a lab. When I asked about the future they were imagining they will have with the dog and about their reasons for getting a dog, I received a response “we just want a dog to give love to.”
Don’t get me wrong, the fact that these people were seeking advice in the first place deserves a huge respect and points to the seriousness of their intentions, and I did not fail to mention that.
However, it got me thinking about the part where they indicated that all they wanted to do is to have a dog to love. See, life with a dog is never “just love.”
It can be a great struggle if you chose the breed wrong and managed to get more of a dog than you were equipped to have.
It can be an immense pain if you chose the breeder of your dog wrong, and ended up with an animal who struggles with a hereditary disease.
It can be a glorious disappointment if you were hoping to have a loyal and attentive hiking partner but instead got a dog who prefers following scents on the ground above everything else.
It can be a huge inconvenience if you like to (or have to) travel a lot, and your dog’s size makes such travel barely possible.
Finally, it can be disastrously dangerous if you were looking to get a service dog for yourself or your loved ones and ended up with a dog who is not suitable for the task.
Of course, not everyone, especially not those people who never had a dog, can imagine what they actually want from their canine companion.
How much energy are they willing to put up with? What about shedding? Barking?
How much independence are they willing to tolerate? How much neediness they can cope with?
The people who called me narrowed their choice down to a golden and a lab. They said these two were a part of “fabulous five” breeds on the list they found online. In other words, they were making a choice out of a list someone else made for them.
The other breeds on this list were German Shepherd, Standard Poodle, and Rough Collie. These are all great dogs, very trainable, social, and easy for first-time owners IF those owners are looking for those traits.
When I asked the people who called me what exactly they liked about either goldens or labs, they said that they do not know the breeds well enough.
However, they would love to have a quiet dog who will follow them around but not too much. A dog who is easy to bathe and cheap to groom. A dog who will not cost much in vet care. A dog who does not shed or sheds only a little. A dog who likes them but is neutral/border aloof to strangers.
Neither lab nor golden completely fit the parameters, especially the shedding part. I suggested that they sort their preferences in a list according to the importance they assign to certain qualities—from highest (absolutely essential) to lowest (can tolerate it)—and then to start their search for a perfect dog all over again. This search will likely involve reading about specific breeds, talking to breeders, spending some time with these dogs in real life and making notes of their play styles, sociability and friendliness, calmness or excitability.
There is a reason there are over three hundred breeds out there and even more breed mixes. Some people love hard-headed, stubborn dogs. Other people adore fast, flashy, smart dogs. Yet others cannot stand that energy and like chill, independent companions.
I am a firm believer that there is a perfect dog for everyone who seeks canine companionship. However, it can take some time to find that perfect match, and there is nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day, it is much, much better to spend a few months looking for a right dog rather than spending multiple years wishing you would have made a different choice when you had a chance.
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