Uh… You want to do what? (part 2)

Maiwenn and Gavin making candy apples.

So why did I choose a Swiss Mountain Dog? Especially since I always thought I’d end up with a shepherd mix or an Australian shepherd?  Brian and I like medium to large dogs generally, and now that we have two small children, we knew we needed a dog with an even temperament. After reading Cesar Milan’s latest book,  “How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond” he drilled homed the idea that a medium energy dog would be the best choice for us. Not to mention, to pay special attention to what the dog’s heritage is, and what it was bred to do.  What was our lifestyle, and what kind of personality would fit in with us?  I knew a lot about dog breeds from my childhood but  trying to assess what breed fit with the character of our family was a little like trying to solve one of those 500 piece jig saw puzzles not knowing if all the pieces are in the box.  Brian and I are outdoorsy, like to hike and camp but we’re not exactly athletic types. We needed a dog that could be good with small animals and didn’t have too much prey instinct. We knew we wanted a short-medium haired dog. Most importantly, we need a dog that with the proper socialization.. can be great with kids. Initially, this seemed like a lot of requirements and have you ever actually seen how many dog breeds there are?  Its enough to make your head spin. I love Petfinder because not only do they list dogs from shelters all across the state (and even the country) they also list local adoption agencies .. but day after day,  I started to notice that unless I wanted to adopt an older dog, it was going to be really difficult finding the right combination of dog and an agency that will also adopt to families with small children. I know plenty of people who’ve made it work.. but it became very frustrating to me very quickly.

Not to mention, I really didn’t want a lab, retriever or a shepherd. And i definitely didn’t want a bully breed, even if they have gotten a bad rap. So what breed was a good fit? Luckily, Dr. Google had just the right medicine.  Lots of dog websites have match selectors that allow you to narrow down the choices. I took a bunch of these at different sites and the extra large dogs kept coming up, including the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.  I am not intimated by extra large dogs; it’s probably something having to do with growing up and training horses so this intrigued me. I started researching. I found document after document that convinced me that this dog might be the right fit. One of the best beginner guides I found was at www.gsmdca.org called The Beginner’s Guide to The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.

I will talk about specific personality traits, physical traits what I’ve learned about Swissies in a later post, but after a long deliberation I decided I really needed to meet these dogs and just see them up close.