Movie DogStars 


When selecting a breed, don't be duped by celebrity dogs appearing in films or on television. These dogs are highly trained canine actors. In fact, Lassie has been played by at least eight different canine actors. The dogs are acting, and often the requirements of their role mask their true breed and individual characteristics. This is no different from Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands—two very different roles, and both of them completely different from what we may suppose is the real Anthony Hopkins. It's acting, and in a sense you need to teach your puppy how to act—that is, how to act appropriately in a variety of domestic settings, such as the living room and the park. Eddie (Moose) appears to be calm and controlled on the set of Frasier, because Moose the Active was trained to be calm and controlled to play the role of Eddie. Moreover, Eddie's endearing television demeanor and his acquired social savvy, charming manners, and acting skills have successfully overcome his original delinquent disposition.

When to Get a Puppy Aside from the obvious answer—not before you are ready—the time to get a dog is when you have completed your doggy education. And when the pup is ready. An important consideration is the age of the pup. Most puppies change homes at some time in their life, usually from the home where they were born to the homes of their new human companions. The optimal time for a puppy to change homes depends on many variables, including his emotional needs, his all-important socialization schedule, and the level of doggy expertise in each household. Leaving home can be traumatic, and limiting the pup's emotional trauma is a prime consideration. If the puppy leaves home too early, he will miss out on early pup-pup and pupmother interactions. And since the first weeks in a new home are often spent in a doggy social vacuum, the developing puppy may grow up undersocialized toward his own kind. On the other hand, the longer the puppy stays in his original home the more attached he becomes to his doggy family and the harder the eventual transition. A delayed transition also postpones allimportant socialization with the new family. Eight weeks of age has long been accepted as the optimal time to acquire a new pup. By eight weeks, sufficient dog-dog socialization has taken place with mother and litter mates to tide the puppy over until he is old enough to safely meet and play with other dogs in puppy class and dog parks. Yet the puppy is still young enough to form a strong bond with the members of his new family. The relative level of doggy expertise in each home is a vital consideration in determining whether the puppy is better off staying longer in his original home or leaving earlier to live with his new owners. It is often assumed that breeders are experts and owners are rank novices, so that it makes sense to leave the pup with the breeder as long as possible. A conscientious breeder is usually better qualified to socialize, housetrain, and chewtoytrain the puppy. When this is true, it makes sense to get the puppy when he is older. (In fact, I often ask novice owners whether they have considered a socially mature and well-trained adult dog as an alternative to a young pup.) This of course presupposes the breeder's superior expertise. Unfortunately, just as there are excellent, average, novice, and irresponsible owners, there are also excellent, average, novice, and irresponsible breeders. With the combination of an experienced owner and a less-than-average breeder, the puppy would be better off moving to his new home as early as possible, certainly by six to eight weeks at the latest. If you feel you are a qualified puppy raiser but the breeder will not let you take your pup home before eight weeks of age, look elsewhere. Remember, you are searching for a puppy to live with you, not with the breeder. In fact, you might be better off looking elsewhere anyway, since a less-than-average breeder probably produces less-than-average puppies. 

Where to Get a Puppy

 Whether selecting your prospective pup from a professional breeder or from a family breeding a litter for the very first time, the criteria are the same. First, look for puppies raised indoors around human companionship and influence. Avoid pups raised in an outdoor run or kennel. Remember, you want a puppy to share your home, and so look for a puppy that has been raised in a home. Second, assess your prospective puppy's current socialization and education status. Regardless of breed, breeding, pedigree, and lineage, if your prospective puppy's  socialization and training programs are not well underway by eight weeks of age, he is already developmentally retarded. A good breeder will be extremely choosy in accepting prospective puppy buyers. A prospective owner should be equally choosy when selecting a breeder. A prospective owner can begin to evaluate a breeder's expertise by noting whether she ranks the puppies' mental well-being and physical health above their good looks. Assess several factors: whether the breeder's adult dogs are all people-friendly and well-trained; whether your prospective puppy's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relations live to a ripe old age; and whether your prospective pup is already well-socialized and well-trained. Friendly dogs are self-apparent when you meet them, and so meet as many of your prospective puppy's relatives as possible. Friendly dogs are living proof of good socialization by a good breeder. Beware the breeder who is only willing to show you puppies. First, a good breeder will take the time to see how you get along with adult dogs before letting you anywhere near the pups. A good breeder wouldn't let you leave with a puppy if you didn't know how to handle an adult dog, which your puppy will be in just a few months. Second, you want to evaluate as many adult dogs as possible from your prospective puppy's family and line before you let a litter of supercute puppies steal your heart. If all the adult dogs are people-friendly and wellbehaved, it is a good bet that you have discovered an exceptional breeder. The single best indicator of general health, good behavior, and temperament is the overall life expectancy of a kennel line. Check to see that your prospective puppy's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relations are still alive and healthy or that they died at a ripe old age. 

Conscientious breeders will have telephone numbers readily available for previous puppy buyers and for the breeders of the other dogs in your prospective puppy's pedigree. If the breeder is not eager to share information regarding life expectancy and the incidence of breed-specific diseases, look elsewhere. You will eventually find a breeder who will accommodate your concerns. Before you open your heart to a young pup, you certainly want to maximize the likelihood that the two of you will be spending a long and healthy life together. Additionally, long-lived dogs advertise good temperament and training, since dogs with behavior and temperament problems generally have short life expectancies.

Movie DogStars

Movie DogStars 


When selecting a breed, don't be duped by celebrity dogs appearing in films or on television. These dogs are highly trained canine actors. In fact, Lassie has been played by at least eight different canine actors. The dogs are acting, and often the requirements of their role mask their true breed and individual characteristics. This is no different from Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands—two very different roles, and both of them completely different from what we may suppose is the real Anthony Hopkins. It's acting, and in a sense you need to teach your puppy how to act—that is, how to act appropriately in a variety of domestic settings, such as the living room and the park. Eddie (Moose) appears to be calm and controlled on the set of Frasier, because Moose the Active was trained to be calm and controlled to play the role of Eddie. Moreover, Eddie's endearing television demeanor and his acquired social savvy, charming manners, and acting skills have successfully overcome his original delinquent disposition.

When to Get a Puppy Aside from the obvious answer—not before you are ready—the time to get a dog is when you have completed your doggy education. And when the pup is ready. An important consideration is the age of the pup. Most puppies change homes at some time in their life, usually from the home where they were born to the homes of their new human companions. The optimal time for a puppy to change homes depends on many variables, including his emotional needs, his all-important socialization schedule, and the level of doggy expertise in each household. Leaving home can be traumatic, and limiting the pup's emotional trauma is a prime consideration. If the puppy leaves home too early, he will miss out on early pup-pup and pupmother interactions. And since the first weeks in a new home are often spent in a doggy social vacuum, the developing puppy may grow up undersocialized toward his own kind. On the other hand, the longer the puppy stays in his original home the more attached he becomes to his doggy family and the harder the eventual transition. A delayed transition also postpones allimportant socialization with the new family. Eight weeks of age has long been accepted as the optimal time to acquire a new pup. By eight weeks, sufficient dog-dog socialization has taken place with mother and litter mates to tide the puppy over until he is old enough to safely meet and play with other dogs in puppy class and dog parks. Yet the puppy is still young enough to form a strong bond with the members of his new family. The relative level of doggy expertise in each home is a vital consideration in determining whether the puppy is better off staying longer in his original home or leaving earlier to live with his new owners. It is often assumed that breeders are experts and owners are rank novices, so that it makes sense to leave the pup with the breeder as long as possible. A conscientious breeder is usually better qualified to socialize, housetrain, and chewtoytrain the puppy. When this is true, it makes sense to get the puppy when he is older. (In fact, I often ask novice owners whether they have considered a socially mature and well-trained adult dog as an alternative to a young pup.) This of course presupposes the breeder's superior expertise. Unfortunately, just as there are excellent, average, novice, and irresponsible owners, there are also excellent, average, novice, and irresponsible breeders. With the combination of an experienced owner and a less-than-average breeder, the puppy would be better off moving to his new home as early as possible, certainly by six to eight weeks at the latest. If you feel you are a qualified puppy raiser but the breeder will not let you take your pup home before eight weeks of age, look elsewhere. Remember, you are searching for a puppy to live with you, not with the breeder. In fact, you might be better off looking elsewhere anyway, since a less-than-average breeder probably produces less-than-average puppies. 

Where to Get a Puppy

 Whether selecting your prospective pup from a professional breeder or from a family breeding a litter for the very first time, the criteria are the same. First, look for puppies raised indoors around human companionship and influence. Avoid pups raised in an outdoor run or kennel. Remember, you want a puppy to share your home, and so look for a puppy that has been raised in a home. Second, assess your prospective puppy's current socialization and education status. Regardless of breed, breeding, pedigree, and lineage, if your prospective puppy's  socialization and training programs are not well underway by eight weeks of age, he is already developmentally retarded. A good breeder will be extremely choosy in accepting prospective puppy buyers. A prospective owner should be equally choosy when selecting a breeder. A prospective owner can begin to evaluate a breeder's expertise by noting whether she ranks the puppies' mental well-being and physical health above their good looks. Assess several factors: whether the breeder's adult dogs are all people-friendly and well-trained; whether your prospective puppy's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relations live to a ripe old age; and whether your prospective pup is already well-socialized and well-trained. Friendly dogs are self-apparent when you meet them, and so meet as many of your prospective puppy's relatives as possible. Friendly dogs are living proof of good socialization by a good breeder. Beware the breeder who is only willing to show you puppies. First, a good breeder will take the time to see how you get along with adult dogs before letting you anywhere near the pups. A good breeder wouldn't let you leave with a puppy if you didn't know how to handle an adult dog, which your puppy will be in just a few months. Second, you want to evaluate as many adult dogs as possible from your prospective puppy's family and line before you let a litter of supercute puppies steal your heart. If all the adult dogs are people-friendly and wellbehaved, it is a good bet that you have discovered an exceptional breeder. The single best indicator of general health, good behavior, and temperament is the overall life expectancy of a kennel line. Check to see that your prospective puppy's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relations are still alive and healthy or that they died at a ripe old age. 

Conscientious breeders will have telephone numbers readily available for previous puppy buyers and for the breeders of the other dogs in your prospective puppy's pedigree. If the breeder is not eager to share information regarding life expectancy and the incidence of breed-specific diseases, look elsewhere. You will eventually find a breeder who will accommodate your concerns. Before you open your heart to a young pup, you certainly want to maximize the likelihood that the two of you will be spending a long and healthy life together. Additionally, long-lived dogs advertise good temperament and training, since dogs with behavior and temperament problems generally have short life expectancies.