Breed Hype?

Sangmort

I've seen this mentioned several times around the forum [ s ] in various places, various subjects, & regarding various breeds.

So I'm curious...have you ever owned / met a dog who lived up to the "breed hype" & "breed description?"

Obviously no dog will ever meet the standard 100%, but have you ever met / owned anything that came close?

I'm beginning to wonder just how accurate these breed descriptions are, whether breed-hype is really that common, & if these breed standards / descriptions apply to the dogs of years past, but not of their modern counterpart. ~

shishiinu

I know a few Chihuhua's that are freak'n annoying as hell, is that a breed hype for a Yokiero tacobell mut?

sukoshi_mom

I actually had a Border Collie named Frisky who lived up to the BC "intelligence" description. He was a wonderful dog. Very charming guy with occasional escape artist tendencies if given the opportunity (such as an accidentally opened garage door.) His fur was a tad more wooly than most BCs, so he may have had some Aussie in him. He was definitely a herding dog. One time we were walking toward some neighbor's large golden labs. At the distance you couldn't quite see what they were, but they looked like "woolies" to him and he did an immediate BC drop to the belly and started giving them the BC "eye". I hadn't had him that long and the behavior completely amazed and amused me. I had a good laugh!

okiron

Well let's see.

Gen and Momo lived up the the "hype" but not sure if they would've if not treated like a typical dog in Japan. Nature vs nurture thing.

Bacon doesn't act like a chihuahua or a dachshund. Not sure what breed I would compare him to but nothing like your typical small dog. More of a medium to large dog demeanor.

Not much on Mihku yet, too new and too puppy to see if he'll live up to his breed.

Most dogs I've met have lived up to their hype but once again, is it because that's how the dogs are or because of how they were raised.

BradA1878

I think there is "Breed Hype" and then just general "Dog Hype". I don't think any dog, of any breed, lives up to "Dog Hype".

I have owned a few dogs that have lived up to their breed's hype, or at least I can see how in the wrong hands some of my dogs could meet the breed hype. But sometimes hype just goes too retarded, for an example of this check the link below (stumbled across it today)...

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f7/caucasian-mountain-dogs-leave-your-pitbull-home-1304195/index2.html
^28 pages of breed hype. So lame.

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tjbart17

Breed hype can be derived out of some levels of truth. Was my Rott mean and aggressive, no. Was he protective of me, yes. I can't say that any of my dogs have lived up to negative breed hype, but all of them have lived up to some of the breed hype. I can walk Koda and Maymay off leash which is against breed hype but they are both excellent hunters, aloof with strangers, like to climb on top of things (ie the back of the couch), and on and on and on.

I think that Rina hit it on the nail with the whole nature v. nurture argument applying. There are some things that are innate in our dogs and some learned behavior.

Sorry this is a really short answer to a complex question.

ShikokuSpirit

It depends...some dogs live up to their breed hype and some others don't. I like to take dogs on an individual basis primarily and with breed type coming in as secondary. I think environment came in as third rate.


In general though...don't you see a trend in most dog breed hypes? "Aggressive", "Mean", "Will Turn on You", etc. However, most people don't realize that certain dog breeds can make for an excellent family pet and just not care for strangers who intrude. They only see the flip-side of it. While other dog breeds perhaps didn't get the proper socialization & exposure that they required so as to not be fearful of the outer world. Or maybe they never had any boundaries and were spoiled; getting whatever they wanted that they may react in an aggressive manner if they don't get what they want or it is taken away (no difference from a spoiled, rotten, little brat of a human child).


Perhaps rather then studying dogs and their breeds limited to strictly canines. Perhaps we ought to study individual households and their dogs. See if there is "a pattern" between all the dogs of the same household. If there is a pattern, this would definitely be related to how each puppy is raised within that household but also one cannot forget the preferences of each household...
...example: One household prefers a more aggressive, assertive dogs while another may prefer the less-reactive and more laid-back type of dogs.


It might make for an interesting study.