These are not the standard short answers. There is a great deal of in-depth accurate breed information. It will likely answer most of the questions you have, and will dispel some misinformation about this amazing breed, based on our decades of experience.
Lagottos are the very best dog that I have ever seen in my life for children. They are patient, playful, sweet and seem to automatically know they need to be gentle with little ones. I did not have to train mine to be this way, it was just their instincts. Every Lagotto I have ever had adored kids. They are also great with other pets. My grandchildren are 5, 10, and 15. They all interact with the puppies. the two youngest are here a minimum of two days a week. They are very gentle, soft, easy and loving with the puppies. All my babies are very well-socialized and loved on continuously. They are really good with with the kids. but here is another key issue. Children must be taught how to behave with a puppy.
There are lots of things that are tempting to do but that can lead to bad behavior. Many people think it is funny when they irritate a puppy by wuffling their heads, and making them bark or growl. It's really not funny at all. That is an animal, and you are teaching that pup that hands coming towards them may hurt and harass them. That could lead to undesirable behavior, through no fault of their own. Teach your kids to be gentle, and sweet, and they will have the best friend imaginable.
When I got my first Lagottos there wasn't much info available about them, except from experienced breeders (in Italy). My dogs didn't read that all Lagottos are high energy, so they didn't know they were supposed to be, and are not. They also did not read that they needed constant stimulation, nor did I, so they got the same stimulation as any other dog. The concept of this high energy monster dog is bizarre to me. The description sounds like a Border Collie after four espressos. This was never said decades ago, because it’s not true. In my experience this is the most adaptable breed of dog I have ever seen. They love to accompany their family members on any outings, walks, swims, etc., but also loves to snuggle and won't move from your bed if you decide to stay there on a rainy afternoon. They are not these high energy monsters that destroy the house if they're not exercised 4 hours a day.
I do not like most online forums and groups because they seem to be the number one source of misinformation. You will see the answers constantly given are parroted from other answers. It may change by a word or two, but they are all the same, day after day. People see an answer repeated over and over, they want to participate so they repeat answers they have seen. They are all wrong, but it doesn't matter. If people see 20 people giving the same wrong answer and one person giving the right answer, they tend to go with the "majority rules" frame of mind. This is where much of this highly energetic reputation is coming from.
Some people adopt puppies and do not train them. They don’t take them to puppy classes. They don’t obedience train them. They do not socialize them appropriately. They do not do anything to teach these puppies manners. These untrained puppies grow into untrained dogs without manners. Their dogs misbehave due to lack of training. They post in groups, attribute their dog’s behavior to the breed needing this and that, giving people interested in the breed incorrect information. Rather than teaching their dogs as puppies to sit, come, leave it, no, or down, they give them more exercise and complain about them needed more mental stimulation.
This is not a problem that you see outside of the USA. Ask any breeder in Italy, Australia, France, Austria, Spain... ask if their dogs are high energy and require constant stimulation. They will tell you exactly what I am about to tell you. The overwhelming majority of Lagotto Romagnolo have an average energy level. There is a rare one that has an above average energy level. Those high energy dogs are the exception and not the rule, and they do require special consideration in their placements. Some people think this is correct for the breed as a whole. They assign the personality of their dogs to the entire breed, as opposed to their individual dogs, which isn't fair to the breed as a whole.
Another reason that the breed is getting this reputation in the USA is because people are unknowingly training their dogs to be more active. They are reading these things that the novices (and newer breeders that got into the breed after this nonsense started) are saying, and go into it with the attitude that they have to stimulate and keep their puppies constantly engaged. They stay in their puppy's face playing, walking, stimulating them, so the puppy starts to expect this. Repetitive actions are how you train dogs. These folks started taking their dogs on three-mile walks, and by doing so are conditioning their dogs to expect three-mile walks.
Others are using exercise as a substitute for training. They read this in the group forums all the time, and then put it into practice. "Puppy is chewing on the rug? You must give it more mental stimulation." WRONG. The puppy must be redirected or told to stop chewing on the rug. "The puppy gets the "zoomies" at night and starts nipping and acting crazy before bed. Wear them out by playing fetch for an hour." WRONG. Zoomies at night and nipping behavior are signs that the puppy is in distress, and needs more rest, not more activity. But you will see over and over and over that the puppy needs more activity. What they need are more naps and cuddles. This is why you should never look to these groups for any advice. For every correct answer, you are going to see at least 30 wrong answers, but they are given with such confidence that you cannot tell the difference.
Fact: The calmer you are with your dog, the calmer your dog will be. Your puppy will get most of the exercise they need by playing with their toys by themselves. A young puppy should NEVER be exercised or walked. You should focus on cuddling and bonding with your puppy instead of playing all the time. The puppies will play, you don't have to teach them that. They do need to be taught to settle down, and to be calm. The people who say that their dogs don't like to be pet and cuddled never took the time to do it when they were puppies. I am a very affectionate person, so I have loved and smooched on my dogs from the minute I got them. The phrase "dog pile" is illustrated beautifully in my house. If they can be on me, they are going to be on me.
Your dog will adapt to your lifestyle. What you condition your dog to do, is what your dog is going to do. If you live a very active lifestyle, your dog will adapt. If you are more one for puttering around the yard, your dog will happily do that with you. If you don't want a velcro dog that requires your attention 24/7, then don't stay in their face 24/7. If you want a confident dog that doesn't get separation anxiety, then help your puppy learn to be confident by allowing them some independence, and give them time to entertain themselves. Last but not least, just ignore anyone who assigns characteristics to the breed when they have only had one Lagotto Romagnolo. They are simply not qualified to speak for the breed as a whole. The greatest majority of people who are having problems with their dogs, are not doing the right things with them, and they choose to blame the breed instead of taking personal responsibility.
This is the greatest breed that I have ever seen in my entire life. They are the easiest to train. If you get one of our dogs, we will help you as much as you need and we will try to keep you from making the common mistakes. We give a 30+ page booklet of instructions, training tips, etc., and are available for the lifetime of your dog for anything you might need. No matter who you get your puppy from, please get help and instructions from professionals. If they say Lagottos need lots of exercise and mental stimulation they do not actually understand the breed, they are just repeating what they have read or been told.
Lagottos are a wonderful choice for people with allergies. I have had many people want to meet them to see if their allergies acted up and to date, nobody has ever had a reaction to my dogs. My grandson is severely allergic to dogs. He has been around ours his entire life, and he is absolutely fine with them. If anyone was ever going to have a reaction it would be him. I cannot speak for other's dogs because I do not know the purity of their bloodlines. You will not have a reaction with mine, guaranteed.
My first question to you is, are you crate training? If you are, super easy. If you aren't, then you will find it significantly harder. My second question is how consistent are you?
When the puppy pees on the floor, instead of saying the puppy "had an accident", think about what YOU were doing at the time. They didn't have an accident, they needed to relieve themselves. Was someone actively supervising or interacting with the puppy? Did you remember to put the untrained puppy in their crate, if you weren't directly supervising them? Were you on your phone, or computer while the puppy was running around unsupervised? Did you give the puppy the run of the house before they were ready? Whatever the reason, you have to look at yourself for the answer. Puppies are baby animals and are only as good as the training they receive. How easy or hard they are is entirely up to you.
If we have a puppy unspoken for that has already had their first vaccinations you can absolutely come to meet them. Some people ask if they can see or play with our puppies when they are tiny babies. I have had people ask if they can come and meet neonatal pups and get angry at me when I say no. Then they complain and tell people I wont let them come. They leave out the part that the pups are 5 days old and it is a completely unreasonable request. I'm not sure what they expect with a newborn puppy whose eyes and ears are closed. I think part of it stems from people reading on the internet that you are supposed to ask you breeder to come see the pups. The people writing these lists forget to add common sense qualifiers, and some folks are a little short on it.
There are several reasons we do not allow visitors prior to them getting their first vaccinations, and they are all to protect the puppies and their mothers. Like a new baby, the opportunity for young pups to pick up infectious diseases is increased with all new contacts. Their immune systems are building. Most illnesses and diseases are innocently carried on people’s shoes and clothing. Entire litters of puppies can be wiped out within 48 hours by the parvovirus. This disease could be picked up unknowingly by people in a school yard, a park, or on a sidewalk - and this is only one disease. We cannot risk exposing our unvaccinated puppies to diseases.
We take lots of videos of them before they have vaccinations, so folks can see them in their home environment. If we allow everyone to see, touch, or spend time with the new pups, the mom’s routine would constantly be disrupted, and that could have very negative side effects. It is extremely stressful for the momma dog to have strangers visit as she is caring for her litter. They will often get frantic, wanting their babies back, and have no interest in anything else. This in turn will put stress on the new born pups. Remember, you are only one of many people who want to adopt a puppy, not including everyone else who “just wants to peek at the new babies" or "to get to know the breed". By protecting all of our puppies from stress and disease that could be brought in by visitors, we are protecting your puppy.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We take great care and much time caring for all of our dogs and puppies. It is time and energy consuming. We understand your excitement, and we are happy that you are enthusiastic about getting your pup. However, until you take your puppy home, we are responsible and the puppy’s health and safety is our number one priority. We guarantee, waiting a few weeks will be worth it.
We have people contact us almost daily and ask if they can come over and spend some time hanging out at our home "to get to know the breed". Meeting someone else's dog for 30 minutes is not going to tell you if the breed is right for you. You get to know about a breed by getting to know the breeder, finding out about the common traits and asking them questions. I appreciate folks wanting to learn about the breed and I do not mind answering questions. (Ask anyone that has gotten a pup from us about their pick up experience, and our efforts to help them by setting them on the right path and answering their questions.) I think many people think of breeders like a business with open hours. They assume that they can just come over and spend time playing with puppies. Pet stores and commercial kennels fall into that category. We do not. Often folks do not take into account that many breeders have jobs. I have a job, I am going to school part time, we have a greenhouse business, grandkids that we help with, farm chores and we spend a lot of time raising our pups in the best possible way to set their families on the greatest path of success. We do a lot of hard work for you. You will be able to clearly see that effort when you meet the puppies.
Meeting a puppy doesn’t give you an accurate idea of that baby’s personality. You’d be with them for 20 minutes, and all you see is exactly what they are doing, in that minute. You don’t have any idea whether some of them woke up, and had been running around like little maniacs for two hours before you arrived, and another two may have been napping, and woke up a couple of minutes before you got there. So what you may see is a couple of very sleepy babies, so you might just assume they aren’t playful, aren’t interactive, or don’t like you. Then you’d see the other two, and since they just woke up, you might think they were more friendly, and more interactive.
As far as the puppy liking you, baby animals don’t have those sorts of feelings. They don’t have the same thought processes, as we do. When most folks think a particular puppy chooses/likes them more than the others, it’s for the above mentioned reasons. The pup that is most awake, will seem like the one that likes you the best. They are babies, and if you are nice to them, they will love you.
A lot goes into it, but I will try to explain. It is as much about not letting you have the wrong puppy as it is trying to find the right puppy. There are different types of personalities. Pups usually fit into the categories of rebel, independent thinkers, eager to please, busy, and laid back. A puppy can fit into multiple categories, so that is where experience comes in. When you live with them and interact with them day after day, you get a feeling of where they should be or should not be.
I look for traits in the puppies that may mean they need a specific type of home. If a puppy is a little busier and a rebel, I do not want to place that puppy in a high rise in Manhattan. That situation requires a lower energy, quiet pup. I don't want an independent thinker, busy or a rebel to go to an inexperienced owner, or to a home where there is a baby and a toddler. That mom does not need a cheeky puppy added to the mix. A busier puppy will be fantastic for a family with three kids that are out of diapers, or a home where they do a lot of outdoor activities.
If there is a special needs family member or a desire to do therapy, a very particular temperament is required. Not all pups are suitable, so we do a number of specific tests to determine the best prospect. Let me know if this is what you are interested in. This will be the primary consideration when matching you with a pup.
There are some puppies that are naturally drawn to kids. They all like kids (kids who are respectful of animals, and don't mistreat them), but the ones that crawl up on my grandkids from the time they start to toddle are the puppies who would really love to be in a home with kids. That doesn't mean that the pup needs that, but I consider the puppy's needs too. It isn't just about you, it is about them too. That doesn't mean I won't place that puppy in an all adult home, but if I have a family with kids then that will be the one I will want that puppy to go to.
This is a question that all breeders have to deal with, and we all hate it. It is a pointless question that doesn't really make sense at all. What do you expect someone to say? Some people assume that there is something wrong with the last puppy, which is absurd, and insulting. It could be one of a dozen things, none of which are that the puppy is less desirable in any way. Some people want to wait for a personality match for color//gender. I don’t place puppies by color or gender alone. They must be a good fit. We may have held back the very best show prospect puppy, to see how they develop, then decided to go a different direction. I rarely offer that puppy first thing, unless I have no need to retain one back for my breeding program, or I have no reservations for a show puppy. Then they are sold as companions. Only after I decide to not hold a puppy back, will I offer him/her for adoption. I may not decide until they are 16 weeks. At that point the person who gets them is incredibly lucky. They will have had some training, and will be done with all series of shots, so there are no extra vet bills.
I have offered many top show quality puppies as companions, and they have been the last placed. You can't tell if a puppy is going to be show quality until it is older. I occasionally have puppies that are owed to me as a stud fee, or are from a co-owned litter. I have had puppies that were reserved first, and for whatever personal reason, the people couldn't take their puppy. I have had people ask for one more week, then one more, then one more, then I hear nothing, and now I have a 16 week old puppy available. I could have had 10 people, all wanting the same puppy, none may have been a good fit, or something about all of them made me uncomfortable with them, so I didn't approve them at all. It could be that the puppy was reserved, then the people did something that gave me great pause, so I was uncomfortable allowing them to have one of my babies and returned their deposit.
I will keep a puppy for the rest of it's life before I will ever allow them to go to a home that I am not comfortable with. With all this in mind, if I have a puppy available, it is one of these reasons. While people can choose which breeder/puppy they would like to have, we breeders have the final say about who and where our puppies go. If a breeder has a puppy available, thank your lucky stars. Don't insinuate something may be wrong with the puppy by asking for justification of it's availability, because that is actually what you are saying.
Before I got my first Lagotto puppy, I read how much they like to dig. I had multiple gardens. I had a walk through herb garden, with a fountain in the middle. I had a rose garden, a perennial garden, and grape arbors. I feared a little for my plants. I took it all to heart. I bought a kiddy sandbox. All prepared. I got the first puppy, took him outside, excitedly put him in the sandbox. He hopped out. I out him in, he hopped out. Ok, so he wasn't ready, but it is there if he wants it. I tried again a couple of weeks later. He hopped out. I put him in, and tried showing him how to dig. He hopped out and looked at me like I was crazy. Ok, so this one wasn't a digger. I will put the sandbox away, because the next one will surely be a digger. Wash, rinse, repeat. She didn't like it either. Hmm.
From all I read now it sounds as though these dogs are little back hoes. They are not. All my flower beds and gardens are safely intact. Here is the thing, if they want to be, they are world class diggers. They could dig a hole faster than you could imagine. The don't have this obsessive need to dig, which is what it seems like most breeders were trying to say. They dig when they are bored, just like any other breed. They just happen to do it better.
They can be taught to dig for truffles. They are amazing at nose work. If you don't leave them outside for long periods of time, without you, they aren't going to want to dig. If you do, and they get bored, they might, but usually not for no reason. That's why I think the sandbox didn't work. There was nothing interesting for them. They weren't bored.
I cannot speak for all other people, they may have a different experience. I am not saying they are wrong, I am just saying that none of mine have ever been big diggers. Don't take the things you read as gospel. Every situation is different. A person can post how terribly their dog digs, but doesn't mention that they leave their dog outside unattended for 5 hours a day. When I see a person complaining and posting a video of their dog digging craters, my first instinct is to ask them why aren't redirecting/calling their dogs or telling them to stop, instead of taking a video and complaining. Variables make all the difference.
We feed our adults Wellness Core. It is a 5 star foods, grain free and provide high quality protein. Lagottos seem to do better with a grain free diet. Actually I think most dogs do better with a grain free diet. Most grains are fillers. Wolves do not eat grains in the wild, so it makes sense that neither should dogs. I also feed raw organic beef or venison bones, to supplement their diet. It provides them with a natural source of minerals. Bones are the greatest things for keeping their teeth pearly white. No need to brush their teeth, if you feed bones on a regular basis. Mine get them every week, but a couple of times a month will do it. I have zero food related problems. My dogs have great coats, bright eyes and plenty of energy.
Our puppies eat Wellness Core dry puppy food.
You will need to have a bag Wellness Core dry puppy food. You MUST have this on hand BEFORE your new puppy comes home. Too often people wait until they have their puppy to get food. If they walk into a pet store and they are out of it, they get another brand that the clerks will say is just as good. Any sudden change in food, will make your puppy sick.
You will also need two bowls, preferably ceramic or stainless steel. They can chew plastic. Get a variety of toys with different textures, so they always have something interesting to play with. Never give rawhide, or antlers. The rawhide can make them sick, and/or get it caught in their throats. Many dogs die yearly from the use of rawhide. Much of it comes from China, and is substandard. While some people rave about antlers, this is another thing that is not a good idea. There are so many broken teeth each year from these things. They are just too hard and can hurt your dog.
You will need a crate, preferably a plastic one with metal door. They are portable and easy to clean, and they are safe for traveling in a car. They give the pups a safe "den like" space to sleep. Tan 8 week old puppy will fit into a 23" kennel. For an older puppy the best size is approximately 28 x 20.5 x 21. This will give your puppy room to grow.
The all wire cages are not great. They aren't cozy. Some puppies hate them, and will scream unless they are covered. If this is what you plan to use, plan on covering it on all sides, except the door. They can be dangerous when puppy is little, because they can get their teeth caught.
The puppy will be too little for taking walks for awhile. You will not find a collar or harness that fits initially, unless you are getting an older puppy. If you want to go ahead and buy one, you will need to get extra small. The collars with the snap buckle are easier to get on and off. It is a matter of personal preference, so just get what you like. This applies to 8-10 week old puppies.
People ask me about tooth brushes. I don't like them. The dogs don't like them. It is unnatural. I used to take my dogs to get their teeth cleaned annually. Wolves have sparkling clean teeth and never get a cleaning. So why is that? It is because they eat raw bones, which naturally cleans their teeth. I do not feed my dogs chicken bones. I give my dogs raw beef or venison bones. I have not had to have their teeth cleaned in years. I feed a combination of kibble with the addition to raw, meaty bones once or twice a week. You don't need to do it that often, but every two weeks wouldn't hurt. Don't give them initially. Wait one or two months, after you get them.
If you choose to brush their teeth, there is nothing wrong with that, but I cannot recommend a brand because I don't use them.
I use a greyhound comb and a soft pin brush for grooming. They don't need brushed as often as you might think. The shorter the clip. the less grooming. I would still brush them fairly often, so they stay used to it. Make it a bonding, pleasant thing. Keep the grooming sessions short. Touch their paws often, to keep them desensitized. We do it every day from the day they are born to make nail clipping easier. When they are little, you can use regular fingernail or toenail clipper. When they get bigger, use what every you feel comfortable using
What’s the difference between boys and girls?
This is a question I get almost daily. I have people tell me they only want a girl or boy for this, that, and every reason. Here are some of the reasons people give:
There are more but those are the most common.
The majority of people incorrectly assign things to an entire gender. It is usually bias from past experiences with other dogs, both positive and negative.
When I was a child my grandmother had a Pekingese. This Pekingese was one of the worst little dogs I’ve ever seen in my entire life. He was a toy hoarder and would bite you if you tried to pick up one of his toys. He was dog aggressive.
On one occasion the Peke was making a run for this tiny little dog and I saw it. I ran for the little dog, scooped him up and held him over my head so the Pekingese couldn’t reach him. He ran for the dog, jumped up to bite him, clamped onto my leg instead (accidentally) and locked his jaws. He was hanging off my leg by his teeth. I still have scars from that dog.
So what do I do? Do I look at that experience and make the decision that all pekingese dogs are terrible? Do I decide male dogs are bad so I only want female dogs for the rest of my life? Or do I think that all small dogs are bad? Does that mean I can only trust larger female dogs? Some would say yes.
When I was 9 years old I was walking home after school. There was a dog on someone’s porch. She looked like a German Shepherd. I walked down the sidewalk and was in my own yard going towards the door. The dog jumped off the porch and started barking at me. I got scared, ran and tripped. The dog bit above my knee, and I still have a scar from that dog, above the scar I got from the Pekingese.
Well now I have a conundrum. If I decided that small male dogs are all horrible because of the Pekingnese, then that means I only wanted a large female dog. The small male dog bit me accidentally. The large female dog bit me on purpose. So what do I blame? Do I assign blame to her size, gender or breed? None of the above.
The Pekingese dog was a spoiled brat that was not trained, never told no and was a little tyrant. It would be silly of me to blame his behavior on an entire breed or gender because of my experience. That dog was the issue.
Same goes for the female German Shepherd. She was allowed to roam free, was untrained and dangerous. There is no reason blame bad behavior on gender.
Here is another issue. People want to project some of the perceived traits of humans onto canines. Women are stereotypically thought to be calmer, more nurturing, gentle, affectionate, etc. Men in the whole are to be more assertive, independent and dominant. (Obviously this doesn’t apply all people.) People project these stereotypical human traits to canines, which is inappropriate. They are not humans and our human traits shouldn’t be assigned to them.
Nobody has ever had a positive or negative experience with a dog simply because of their gender. If a dog is horribly behaved blame the trainer, not the gender.
All puppies go with age appropriate shots. We give the first shots as close to 8 weeks as possible, because the mother's antibodies in the milk will interfere, if the shots are given too soon. There are some that are unnecessary, and others that can be dangerous. We give the core vaccines only. All puppies are on a stringent deworming schedule. We alternate medications, because there is some resistance with certain parasites, and we want to make sure we do everything possible to ensure our puppy's health. Puppy owners are given a record of everything the puppies have been given.
Frontline Plus is what I recommend you start with. It can be given starting at 10 weeks. No need to use it in the cold months. It is a once a month topical. It does not require a prescription. You can order it online.
I use Seresto collars for my adults. There have been some reports about Seresto collars causing a reaction. From what I have read it is actually the counterfeit collars that are causing the majority if issues. They are cheaper on Ebay or Amazon, but are not the real deal. Also, it does not tell us anything about the dogs that had a reaction. Were these dogs with skin allergies that had reactions to everything? Were they breeds that are notorious for skin allergies and prone to contact dermatitis? We don't know. All I know is that they are incredibly effective, and I have never had an issue. I buy mine from Chewy. All my adults have them including the moms, so the puppies are exposed to them before they go home, so you know they will not have a reaction.
DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG ORAL FLEA MEDICATION. As opposed to repelling fleas and killing them before they bite, the insects don't die until they bite your pet. It is literally poisoning your dog's blood, so it poisons the fleas when they bite. Who thinks this is a good idea? Vets. Vets do, because it is a prescription item and they sell it. Those pills were invented to give one dose to a flea infested animal. Of course they figured out that they would make more money if they marketed it as a once a month thing. Now there are hundreds of thousands of people poisoning their dog's blood with insecticide. I do not want mine bitten in the first place, Think about how it would feel if instead of using bug repellant on yourself, you take a pill that kills mosquitos when it bites you. The bugs die, sure, but now you have tons of bug bites, Does that seem like a good idea? Be kind to your dog. Try to keep them from getting bitten and suffering itchy bites.
If you ask one breeder what they think of another, you are just inviting the breeder to trash their competition. Think of two Italian restaurants directly across from each other. Do you go into one and ask what they think of the other's food? What do you expect them to say? "oh, yeah, their pizza is really better than ours". Common sense, folks
Here is where I differ from many breeders. I don't gossip about them. I am not going to name names. I am not going to make up stories, or spread rumors just to make a sale. I don't need to put someone else down, or trash their dogs, to make my own look good. Any person that gossips is insecure and not confident in their dogs or their abilities to raise puppies appropriately. A person of good character does not do this. My dogs are wonderful and I do a great job raising my puppies. They stand on their own merit. You either like me or you don't, and vice versa. I don't like perfect strangers calling me out of the blue to bad mouth someone. If I don't know you, I haven't the slightest idea whether you are telling me a half truth, embellishing or outright lying to me because a breeder made you mad for some reason. I don't care what you heard about someone. There are plenty of breeders that love that sort of thing. Gossip is not acceptable to me. There is an old saying that fits, Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.
I will be the first person to tell you I have made people mad. Some are mad because they wanted breeding rights, after the fact, and I denied them. There are a few of those out there. I have made some people mad because I chose to cancel the adoption. I would never cancel without a good reason. Some people throw some major red flags that made me very uncomfortable with them, and/or nervous about placing a puppy in their home. I have made people mad by choosing not to approve them. I am sure there are people mad at me that I don't know are mad, because they never told me. (This is a frequent problem with most people, regarding most things. They won't tell the breeder/restaurant/store/company and give them the opportunity to fix or address the issue, they just complain online). All breeders/people make some people mad, deservedly or not. You should judge each person you talk to, on your own feelings, not mine, and not anyone else's. I want you to really want my puppy, not because I scare you away from wanting someone else's. Every person is not a good fit for every breeder, and vice versa. You should choose the breeder that you feel most comfortable with.
Please reach us at Enchantedlagottos@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
What’s the difference between boys and girls?
This is a question I get almost daily. I have people tell me they only want a girl or boy for this, that, and every reason. Here are some of the reasons people give:
There are more but those are the most common.
The majority of people incorrectly assign things to an entire gender. It is usually bias from past experiences with other dogs, both positive and negative.
When I was a child my grandmother had a Pekingese. This Pekingese was one of the worst little dogs I’ve ever seen in my entire life. He was a toy hoarder and would bite you if you tried to pick up one of his toys. He was dog aggressive.
On one occasion the Peke was making a run for this tiny little dog and I saw it. I ran for the little dog, scooped him up and held him over my head so the Pekingese couldn’t reach him. He ran for the dog, jumped up to bite him, clamped onto my leg instead (accidentally) and locked his jaws. He was hanging off my leg by his teeth. I still have scars from that dog.
So what do I do? Do I look at that experience and make the decision that all pekingese dogs are terrible? Do I decide male dogs are bad so I only want female dogs for the rest of my life? Or do I think that all small dogs are bad? Does that mean I can only trust larger female dogs? Some would say yes.
When I was 9 years old I was walking home after school. There was a dog on someone’s porch. She looked like a German Shepherd. I walked down the sidewalk and was in my own yard going towards the door. The dog jumped off the porch and started barking at me. I got scared, ran and tripped. The dog bit above my knee, and I still have a scar from that dog, above the scar I got from the Pekingese.
Well now I have a conundrum. If I decided that small male dogs are all horrible because of the Pekingnese, then that means I only wanted a large female dog. The small male dog bit me accidentally. The large female dog bit me on purpose. So what do I blame? Do I assign blame to her size, gender or breed? None of the above.
The Pekingese dog was a spoiled brat that was not trained, never told no and was a little tyrant. It would be silly of me to blame his behavior on an entire breed or gender because of my experience. That dog was the issue.
Same goes for the female German Shepherd. She was allowed to roam free, was untrained and dangerous. There is no reason blame bad behavior on gender.
Here is another issue. People want to project some of the perceived traits of humans onto canines. Women are stereotypically thought to be calmer, more nurturing, gentle, affectionate, etc. Men in the whole are to be more assertive, independent and dominant. (Obviously this doesn’t apply all people.) People project these stereotypical human traits to canines, which is inappropriate. They are not humans and our human traits shouldn’t be assigned to them.
I assure you that nobody has ever had a positive or negative experience with a dog because of their gender. If a dog is horribly behaved blame the trainer, not the gender.
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