I met a charming dog yesterday who needed a little help to stop rushing around her home shouting at anyone who passes. Poppy is a lovely girl and we made great progress in teaching her family how to help her calm down. The interesting thing about Poppy was her breeding. She was a first cross between a Lhasa Apso and an English Bull Terrier – not a mix I could have imagined or have ever seen before – the result of two neighbours not being vigilant enough! I took my camera and this is what I saw! Isnt she great. Whilst Poppy is adorable, I do not endorse intentionally crossing breeds simply to get pretty dogs. Most breeds have been carefully developed to fulfil specific jobs of work, mixing them for the “Ahhh!” factor is not a good idea. Both physical health and temperamental balance need to be carefully considered.
The Lhasa Apso was bred in Tibet, is a hardy little dog, quite independant of nature and wary of strangers. This is why Poppy guards her territory quite so enthusiastically and my help to quieten her down was required. Poppy is a well loved family pet, bred by accident, but it pays all would be owners to think first about what job a dog was originally bred to do, what traits that entails and will those traits suit your family life. Looks should absolutely be a secondary consideration.
Very good point. All too often potential owners give little or no thought to the likely behaviours of a dog given it’s breeding. I also wonder if rescue/rehoming organisations do enough to identify a dogs probable heritage and advise on what sort of home is needed. Breed specific rescues offer tons of advice of course but essentially education is needed for potential owners to realise that a cute spotty puppy like the one in the movies is going to need oooodles of exercise and that whilst a dog like that one that danced on Britain’s Got Talent didn’t learn to do it all by himself – it took hours and hours of training.