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Ask the Vet: Troubled Breeds

Submitted by Scout_the_blogg... on Wed, 2008-04-30 08:37.

Q. What breed of dogs do you not recommend?

This is another tricky question because every breed has different characteristics, and every family has different needs.

One of the more difficult dogs that I have dealt with in our hospital is the Chow Chow. Most Chows are great dogs, but some are rather stubborn and mean. I don’t think there is any “in-between” for this breed.

Another breed that is popular but I find difficult at our hospital is the German Shepherd. I’ll probably receive a lot of flak for mentioning this breed but I have seen my fair share of “fear biting” German Shepherds. This is where the dog looks at you like he is shy, but if you put your hand near his head he will bite you. This has happened to me on many occasions. Again, the German Shepherds are a great breed but there are a few that can be “bad.”

These two breeds stand out the most to me but every breed can have a stubborn, aggressive, and biting side to them. And again I have met many great Chows and German Shepherds in my practice.

-- Rob Santos, DVM

Dr. Rob Santos and Dr. Brandon Barrett of Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital will answer a general interest question from The Hive every week. You can email your question to mshea@modbee.com or post one below.

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My experience has been

Submitted by LSK49rs on Wed, 2008-04-30 09:01.

Any breed that suddenly becomes incredibly popular goes down hill - and fast - because of over-breeding. This is why I would never get a chihuahua or any of the other suddenly popular 'purse puppies' right now. Thank you, Paris Hilton....

popular breeds

Submitted by pizzlerot on Wed, 2008-04-30 19:17.

Yes..it is amazing..what breed a movie star has or what breed is on a sitcom..those are the popular breeds. If they are over bred they have more then behavior problems..they have medical problems as well.

I had heard

Submitted by LSK49rs on Thu, 2008-05-01 03:45.

from another Vet, however, that German Shepherds are problem dogs..she insists they be muzzled before she will treat them.

I love Scotties because they think they are big dogs, are small but would no sooner be a purse puppy than they would stand up and do the hula.

Dogs that have a reputation as being dumber than a box of rocks? Irish Setters....they will get lost walking to the end of their leash....but it's because all the setter-smarts were bred out of them here in the US..overseas, they don't look like our Irish Setters and they can out-hunt a lab....

Not all German Shepherds are

Submitted by MioC33 on Thu, 2008-05-01 08:07.

Not all German Shepherds are bad necessarily. They do have strong temperments but are great dogs. Ownership can have a lot to do with the way a dog acts. As does breeding.