The Perfect Puppy: Breed Selection and Care by Veterinary Science for Behavior and Neutering Age

By Benjamin L. Hart and Lynette A. Hart

The Perfect Puppy: Breed Selection and Care by Veterinary Science for Behavior and Neutering Age provides the most updated and expert knowledge on dog breeds to guide the selection of a puppy or mature dog. It offers the latest information on breed-specific behavior profiles and guidelines for spaying or neutering, health conditions, and life expectancy.

Researched and written by experts in veterinary science and animal behavior, this book is an unbiased and data-driven analysis of 80 of the most common dog breeds, based on interviews with 168 practicing veterinarians. It covers behavioral expectations per breed, while addressing traits or issues that can arise from environmental factors like home size, presence of other dogs, and human family dynamics. This book is written and formatted to be used by veterinarians for optimal guidance on canine adoptions, while also appealing to breeders and potential adopters as well.

• Offers detailed behavioral profiles on 80 dog breeds and differences between sexes
• Structured consistently throughout the book to provide easy access for veterinarians, breeders, and potential adopters
• Features data-based guidelines to determine appropriate ages for spaying or neutering to avoid joint disorders and cancers

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Sep 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9780323991957

Benjamin L. Hart

Dr. Benjamin L. Hart is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Veterinary Medicine in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, California, USA. Previously, he served as a Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Behavior and as Service Chief of the Behavior Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. His primary teaching expertise is in canine and feline behavior and behavior therapy.

Book preview

The Perfect Puppy

Breed Selection and Care by Veterinary Science for Behavior and Neutering Age

Benjamin L Hart

School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, United States

Lynette A Hart

School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, United States

Artwork by Emma Mooring

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Dedication page

About the authors

Preface

Introduction

History of dogs

Overview of this book

Chapter 1. Adopting and raising puppies

Age and source for adoption

House soiling

Separation anxiety

Fear of loud noises

Fear of strangers

Obnoxious begging, barking, and scratching behavior

Sibling rivalry, canine style

Aggressiveness toward human family members

Aggression toward other dogs

Chapter 2. Breed rankings on 10 key characteristics

How to find the behavioral information you want

How to evaluate the rankings in the graphs

How to use the graphs on characteristics

Behavioral traits

Chapter 3. Behavioral profiles of 80 breeds and guidelines for ages to spay or neuter

How to use the behavioral profiles

Profiles of each breed

Chapter 4. Behavioral differences between sexes—including breed profiles and appropriate ages for spaying and neutering to avoid increasing joint disorders or cancers

The most appropriate sex

The effects of neutering males and spaying females

Deciding on the age to neuter to avoid increasing joint disorders or cancers

Therapeutic use of neutering for problem behavior

Chapter 5. Why dogs do that? Eating grass, eating dog stools, howling, and yawning

Eating grass

Eating stools of their own or other dogs: canine conspecific coprophagia

Howling

Yawning

Chapter 6. The aging dog: making life easier for them and you, when and how to say goodbye, creating a memorial

Making life easier for them and you for dogs who have common problems

Medications

The final days

Creating a memorial

Appendix. Associations of ages of spaying and neutering with joint disorders and cancers for each of 35 breeds and 5 weight categories of mixed breeds

Index

Copyright

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Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

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Dedication page

Dedicated to our beloved canine companions:

Mattie (1994–2003, right),

Ginny (2005–20, left), and

Minnie (2021–Present, center).

About the authors

Dr. Benjamin L. Hart is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, where he founded the Behavior Service, and was Service Chief at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. His primary teaching expertise is in canine and feline behavior and behavior therapy. Dr. Hart received his DVM and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His current editorial responsibilities include Animals, as well as Animal Welfare and Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. He is a founding diplomate for the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (DACVB) and Fellow of Animal Behavior Society and International Society for Anthrozoology. Ben Hart has over 200 publications.

Dr. Lynette A. Hart is Professor of Anthrozoology and Animal Behavior in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, California, USA. Her primary teaching expertise is in human–animal interactions and animal welfare, and her primary research expertise is in the psychosocial aspects of human relationships with animals, especially assistance/service dogs. She received her Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from Rutgers University. Her current editorial responsibilities include: Animals, Companion Animal Section; Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Humanities and Social Sciences; and Human-Animal Interactions Bulletin. She was elected Fellow and Distinguished Anthrozoologist by the International Society for Anthrozoology. Currently she serves on the American Veterinary Medical Association Steering Committee for Human-Animal Interaction. Lynette Hart has over 150 publications.

Preface

Puppies are such winning creatures we can't help falling in love with them. But if you are thinking of adopting one do not underestimate the careful consideration needed to make your selection; the puppy you choose today will grow into the dog that could be your companion for the next 15 years. Various experiences and thoughts come to mind in selecting a puppy. You may have really loved a Golden Retriever you once had, but a friend's house was burglarized while her retriever simply wagged his tail and looked on. A dog breeder you may have known claims that Standard Poodles are the best all-around breed, and a neighbor swears by Dachshunds. Your cousin says to stay away from barky Beagles. Whose opinion should you trust? Can anyone really know enough about all the different breeds to let you base your selection on a single person's advice?

And how can you evaluate all the books that discuss the good points of the various breeds? The truth is no one person—not even your veterinarian—can be the sole authority on all breeds. Breeders may have a bias, or at least a loyalty, toward their own breeds. Likewise, authors writing about certain breeds undoubtedly have their own biases. The main feature of this book is Chapter 3, presenting a behavioral data-based profile of 80 of the most popular breeds to aid in selection of a puppy. As will be explained later, the profiles are based on interviews with 168 veterinarians that ranked the breeds on 10 characteristics. We will suggest you select a breed or short list of breeds that are appropriate for your lifestyle and/or that of the family.

The plan for this book is based on our 1987 book, entitled The Perfect Puppy: How to Choose Your Dog by Its Behavior [1] (Fig. 1).

Many puppies adopted are of mixed breed. Often the breeds contributing to a new puppy are known, and one can get some idea of the expected behavior of the adult from the profiles of the contributing breeds. Currently there is considerable interest in so-called designer breeds with a corresponding name. For example, popular ones are goldendoodle, labradoodle, and shihpoo. The work represented in Chapter 3 gives some guidelines for adopting a mixed breed dog.

The second consideration, once you have selected a breed, is deciding on the sex. We have given some overall considerations to this issue in Chapter 4. The consideration of sex is more important in behaviors such as aggressive tendencies and affection, than watchdog barking or house soiling.

Figure 1  This current book was inspired by the enthusiastic reception of our book, The Perfect Puppy, that was published in 1987 and covered only 56 breeds.

A third consideration, also discussed in Chapter 4, is neutering or spaying (often both referred to as neutering). This is an important issue because most people adopting a puppy intend to have the puppy neutered or spayed. It is now apparent that the risk of joint disorders, such as hip dysplasia or knee joint disorders, may be greatly increased in risk in some larger breeds by early neutering at the traditional 6-month or even at the 1-year age. In some cases, there is also an increased risk of the dog acquiring one of several cancers with early neutering; these are primarily lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumors, and osteosarcoma. This consideration, which we discuss for each breed, is a new aspect of puppy caregiving and raising and reflects a 10-year research project with our extensive case record system of the veterinary hospital, with currently more than 50,000 cases per year. Data were analyzed for neutering at up to 6 months of age, 6–11 months, 1–2 years, and 2–8 years. The findings of the study have been peer reviewed in five research papers on the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepherd Dog, as well as a paper on 35 breeds and a paper on 5 weight categories of mixed breed dogs [2–6]. The neutering guidelines offered for each breed are derived from the 35-breed paper or by best estimate from looking at related breeds and body size.

The purpose of this book is to help prospective dog caregivers select the breed and sex best suited to the caregivers' personality and lifestyle. Lifestyle is important; whether you are a jogger or walker, young or elderly, a traveler or a homebody makes a difference. The environment is also important, whether an apartment, condominium, or suburban home with yard, is critical.

A hasty, uninformed decision might lead to an unhappy relationship with your dog or, worse, a trip to the animal shelter. By carefully choosing a breed, and sex for that matter, using the information in the behavioral profiles, sex differences and neutering guidelines means that you can anticipate a happy and loving long-term relationship with your new canine companion. For those who already have a dog, selecting a canine companion for that dog requires also taking that into consideration.

In conclusion, authorities on dogs are frequently asked, What is the best breed of dog? This question is impossible to answer because there is no best breed. Different breeds are suited for different environments, personalities, and lifestyles of their caregivers. The breed or group of breeds that might be ideal for the woman living alone, or who is away at work every day, is different from one of the breeds that would be ideal for a family with children who can be expected to play with the dog daily. The best breed for a person in a high crime neighborhood may not be the best breed for someone who lives in a gated community.

This book is a data-based approach to describing the behavioral differences between breeds that shows how to evaluate the factors in selecting a puppy. Naturally, people partially choose a breed because of its size, hair coat, or distinctive coloration. But the main reason for wanting a particular dog should be for its behavior. Whether a dog has a predisposition toward aggression over the human family members or is reliably nonaggressive, whether she seeks or is indifferent to affection, or is or is not easily trained and managed, is generally more important than, say, its coloration. We have presented the profiles in a readily accessible format of text and graphs. You will see from briefly browsing through the book that there are major behavioral differences between many breeds, and so there are plenty of opportunities to select among a short list of the best breeds for you, or to advise others on breed selection.

Let us strongly assert as authors, that the behavioral information provided does not represent our own opinions but is based on the rankings assigned by 168 women and men, small-animal veterinarians, whom we refer to as authorities. The authorities were asked to rank a sample of seven randomly chosen breeds from our master list of 80 breeds, on 10 behavioral characteristics in a direct interview over the telephone and analyzed in a statistical program. As mentioned, we believe that no breed is inherently any better than another; rather, there is a niche or range of roles for each specific breed. This book can be invaluable in helping you choose the perfect puppy for you.

Many people adopting a puppy will want to consider spaying or neutering. This book offers the first data-based guidelines for recommended ages for neutering depending on breed and sex to avoid debilitating joint disorders or life-threatening cancers.

References

1. Hart B.L, Hart L.A.  The Perfect Puppy. How to Choose Your Dog by Its Behavior . New York: W.H. Freeman & Co.; 1987.

2. Torres de la Riva G, Hart B.L, Farver T.B, Oberbauer A.M, McV Messam L.L, Willits N, Hart L.A. Neutering dogs: effects on Joint disorders and cancers in golden retrievers.  PLoS One . 2013;8(2):e55937 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055937.

3. Hart B.L, Hart L.A, Thigpen A.P, Willits N.H. Long-term health effects of neutering dogs: comparison of Labrador Retrievers with Golden Retrievers.  PLoS One . 2014;9(7):e102241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102241.

4. Hart B.L, Hart L.A, Thigpen A.P, Willits N.H. Neutering of German Shepherd dogs: associated joint disorders, cancers and urinary incontinence.  Veterinary Medicine and Science . 2016;2:191–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.34.

5. Hart B.L, Hart L.A, Thigpen A.P, Willits N.H. Assisting decision-making on age of neutering for 35 breeds of dogs: associated joint disorders, cancers, and urinary incontinence.  Frontiers in Veterinary Science . 2020;7:388. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full.

6. Hart B.L, Hart L.A, Thigpen A.P, Willits N.H. Assisting decision-making on age of neutering for mixed breed dogs of five weight categories: associated joint disorders and cancers.  Frontiers in Veterinary Science . 2020;7:472. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00472.

Introduction

Dogs are absolutely unique among domestic animals in their associations with human caregivers. For one thing, their history with us over evolutionary times is the longest of any domestic species. Secondly, there is an almost unbelievable degree of morphological and behavioral diversity within the dog species.

The huge diversity of breeds among dogs has recently stimulated a flurry of activity by scientists, using cutting-edge genetic techniques, to understand the ancient history of the dog and the genetics behind the ancestral development of the dog from the wolf and then dog breed–related characteristics. Using paleontological evidence, it was thought for decades that the domestication of the dog occurred about 12,000 years ago in the Middle East. This was based on finding a canine skeleton buried along with a human skeleton with the human hand placed lovingly on the rib cage of the dog [1]. Using modern DNA analytical techniques to track where changes occurred over time, a different picture has emerged with several studies from different parts of the world giving much older estimations of the earliest domestication, dated at 100,000 years ago. This estimation of the age of the companion dog should be particularly striking when we point out that anatomically modern humans evolved only about 200,000 years ago and modern human speech capabilities are thought to have arisen no longer than 90,000 years ago.

History of dogs

In reflecting upon human ancestors of say 10,000 years ago, different people were attracted to different behavioral characteristics. Some people probably appreciated the instinctual territorial and pack guarding behavior of the wolfdog as it was raised and bonded to a human family and treated the human family as pack members. Such a companion could offer substantial protection when one's home or community was attacked by other people. Other people raising wolfdogs may have been attracted to the affection seeking of puppies and selected, as parental stock, wolfdogs that retained such puppy-like displays of affection in adulthood. The same human caregivers may have also selected parental stock, which were less aggressive overall. Still others of our human ancestors must have found that some wolfdogs displayed valuable hunting behaviors and could be trained to retrieve game or help point to game to make hunting much more efficient. Over the years, other people were attracted to variants in body size and hair coat and found that by selective breeding they could enhance various physical characteristics.

Centuries passed, and the dog became more and more genetically separated from the wolf ancestor. Official organizations, including several European kennel clubs and eventually the American Kennel Club, set out criteria for specific breeds, generally based on physical characteristics. Once a dog breed was recognized by a kennel club, the only dogs that could be registered for a breed were those whose parents were registered. What this does is to create barriers to the influx of new genes. These genetic boundaries set the stage for the development of specific genomes for each breed, and nowadays for the genetic analyses of various breeds of dogs.

A particularly important study is one that used molecular markers in the dog genome to study genetic relationships in a diverse collection of over 400 purebred dogs, representing 85 breeds [2]. Through a process called microsatellite DNA analysis, the investigators found that almost all breeds are genetically distinct, and one can genetically assign over 90% of individual dogs to the correct breeds based on genetic analysis alone—no pictures needed. Even though breeds are genetically distinct they still can be grouped together according to genetic similarities. The most prominent genetically related group is traced back to the wolf ancestry in Asia and Africa and includes the Chow Chow, Shiba Inu, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Chinese Shar-pei, and Akita. In collecting data for this book on behavioral characteristics of breeds, we found that these wolflike breeds are all similar in ranking high on several aggressive traits and low on affection demand. Clearly, in this group of dog breeds, the aggressive tendencies, and absence of affection demand, are conserved from the wolf ancestry. However, in other traits such as activity level, watchdog barking, and trainability, these wolflike breeds do not cluster together, indicating that in the development of the breeds, each breed was selected for specific behavioral characteristics. These wolflike breeds, all covered in the book, also differ quite markedly in body characteristics.

Ancestral humans evidentially selectively bred some of the wolf descendants to genetically reduce the aggressive and nonaffectionate behaviors. This is evident in another group of genetically related breeds, referred to as the herding group, that includes the Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, St. Bernard, and Irish Wolfhound which generally rank low on the aggressive traits and high on affection demand. Like the wolflike group, those breeds in the herding group tend to be differentiated based on other parameters, such as activity level and trainability.

As will become evident in the breed descriptions, most dog breeds came about as a reflection of useful roles they would play in human families and communities. The roles include guarding and protecting the home; joining as hunting companions, pointing to quarry; killing vermin around the home and farm; and herding cattle or sheep. Behavioral characteristics that are breed specific tend to reflect these functional roles. Within these general roles breeds were further differentiated, with regard, for example, to activity level, affection demand, trainability, excessive barking, and snapping.

Overview of this book

Chapter 1 covers the adoption process, including age for adoption, purebred breeder versus other sources, selecting, and welcoming the new puppy. Many of the most important questions about raising dogs are answered here. How you can avoid the problem behaviors such as of house soiling, make sure that your dog is not aggressive to you or other members of your family, and how you can avoid separation anxiety.

Chapter 2 discusses the 10 behavioral characteristics used to develop the behavioral profiles of the various breeds. This part contains graphs of the 10 traits used in the profiles of each breed, with each breed listed in order from lowest to highest on each trait. What to expect from a dog that ranks high or low on each behavioral trait is also covered. For example, just because a dog ranks low on trainability, does not mean it is going to be impossible to train. All dogs are trainable by nature, but some are more easily trained. The 10 behavioral traits were chosen to represent the most important areas of behavior for a dog that is to be a companion; we do not go into professional topics such as field trial performance: rescue dogs, police dogs, or seeing-eye dogs. By reading through the information on these 10 traits you can pick up a great deal of basic information about dog behavior in general. You can see immediately which breeds are at the top, bottom, or spread throughout the middle of the rankings for each trait. The graphs are designed to help you come up with a list of key behavioral traits for looking at your lifestyle, personality, and considering your living situation when you are selecting a puppy.

Chapter 3, the core of this book, describes the behavioral profiles of 80 of the most popular breeds. You will want to consult this part in detail after preparing a short list of dog breeds and after you understand the traits that are of particular importance to you. Thumbing through the pages in Chapter 3 will give you an idea how much information there is here. We have included, with each breed description, a brief look at the history of ancestors of that breed. The history of the development of dog breeds is extremely variable and fascinating; one could write a history of the world from the standpoint of development of various dog breeds.

Although this book provides a practical approach to selecting a dog breed, it is nevertheless advisable to follow up by consulting knowledgeable people for additional information once the choices are narrowed. One should seek out advice of breeders, members of local dog clubs, and obedience trainers for their insights into the behavior of the various breeds. The advice and comments from most reputable dog breeders will usually be honest and candid. They are generally in the business for their own enjoyment and love of dogs, rather than for the money.

There is a great deal of variability among individual dogs within a particular breed, which needs to be considered when comparing breeds. While this variability limits the accuracy of any specific behavioral breed profile, individual dogs within a breed are generally going to come closer to our behavioral descriptions than will dogs from other breeds.

There are over 170 breeds of dogs recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC). The 80 breeds covered in Chapter 3 represent only those most frequently registered over a 3-year period just before our study was launched. These breeds are those most familiar to people and could be most readily ranked by our authorities. Our method of developing behavior profiles, based on the ranking by authorities of various breeds on different behavioral characteristics, would not function with the less well-known breeds because information about them would be less reliable.

Our ranking technique does not ask authorities to assign an arbitrary score but simply to rank a list of seven breeds. The computer processing did the rest. Since different authorities could have different standards for assigning a numerical score, keeping the scoring as comparisons avoids the issue of arbitrarily assigned scores.

As mentioned, our own opinions, as authors, are not represented in the data. Thumbing through Chapter 3 will give you not only an idea of what a breed behavioral profile looks like but also includes key points in the breed's history and information about the size, hair coat, and conformation. Some information is also given about genetically acquired predispositions toward certain diseases you can ask a breeder about. Nowadays genetic tests on the parents of the puppy in question are common as are tests on the puppies themselves.

Chapter 4 deals with differences between sexes independent of the breed membership. Choice of sex interacts with breed membership and should be a serious consideration.

The issue of spaying and neutering invariably comes up when a puppy is adopted. Most puppies are spayed or neutered either before or after joining the new home, often because breeders require these procedures. Responsible dog caregivers may wish to leave their adopted canine gonadally intact; others may wish to know about the best age for spaying or neutering. At our center we have devoted 10 years (2010–2020) to analyzing case records of different breeds of dogs to compare the occurrences of joint disorders and certain cancers in breeds. We found that certain breeds, including the popular Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepard Dog, have an increased risk of one of these diseases with spaying or neutering before a year of age, or sometimes even