The humane society staff at our local shelter once told me that they have far more large breed dogs and puppies come in and be put down for lack of homes. The reasons, they said were that a lot of people don't bother with neuter/spay of their dogs and large dogs tend to get loose more often and roam farther than small ones do, thus resulting in more unwanted puppies.
And the other major reason? Most people don't like large dogs that jump on them or get out of control....but a goodly number of them TAKE a puppy that is GOING to be BIG in a year and then they don't bother to train it properly. So when the pup is full grown and chewing on their hands or slippered feet (aww it was sooo cute when they were pups! [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) they get mad and dump the dog on the shelter, in ads in the paper or on the street.
So the solutions seem sort of simple: spay and neuter pets, train the puppy to behave the way you want him/her to from the start! So simple but it just doesn't happen.
I love big dogs. Wish my house was bigger, I'd have a couple... although my cats would object! Hubby wants a medium sized dog so we may get one in year or two. Then again.. it may be a big one, cuz like your wife, Variol, I may break down and then we'd end up with a big pup. [img]smile.gif[/img]
LOL, my dad's always said he'd like a SMALL dog... like a chihuahua sized dog. All my life I've heard him say that....and to date, he's never had one smaller than a bassett hound and the rest have been Lab mixes or that size. His current dog is a shepherd mix!
