| Frankie Valli | |
| The Labrador Retriever/Australian Shepherd cross that stole Emyly's Heart |
Click for more Mixed Breed Photos |
| More on the Joys of Dogs |
|
The Wonder of Mutts The Meaning of M.U.T.T. Rowena and Ziggy Juju Baron Von Dawg Sparky Baby Girl Chance Sarsha, Jo Jo, and Shaka Frankie Valli Kodak, Keesha, and Fuji Lobo Bill's Bunch Violet Brat and Buttons Trinity Jackson Sheba Tasha The Mixed Breed Gallery The Photo Gallery |
Frankie was born October 12 to "Lucky" and "Paz". Frankie has a high 'treat drive' (in other words, he'll eat anything!) and loves any kind of treat irregardless of size, shape or flavor. He has a very soft mouth on retrieves and loves tennis balls as much as Baron. He often takes the ball from Baron when Baron is playing 'keep away' from me, and then delivers it so that I can throw it again. Frankie loves stuffed animals and has really taken a liking to the stuffed mouse he got for easter (and Baby's pig and Baron's lion =) ).
How did you acquire your dog?
In late October, before I got Frankie, I told my students that I was thinking about getting a puppy to keep Baron company since I was moving away from his best friend Baby. They knew I wanted a retriever of some sort or a retriever mix. One of my kids left a post-it note on my computer that said that he had found a puppy for me and that the information was posted at the local Ace Hardware store. I went to the store and got the information and called the number.
Why did you choose him?
I took Baron with me out to the farm where Frankie and his family lived. There were 7 pups, their mom was a lab and their dad was an australian shepherd. All of the pups were black and half had the naturally docked tail of the aussie and half had the lab's otter tail. I knew I wanted another male dog to keep Baron company and I did a lot of puppy-temperament type testing, throwing things for the pups to chase, running from them, asking the family questions about their temperaments (i.e. which ones were shrinking violets, which were dominant etc.). I wanted a pup who could hold his own with Baron but wasn't the most dominant in the litter. It came down to three little male pups, all completely black, one with a docked tail and two with an otter tail. I let Baron check out the 3 pups and then quite scientifically (I had been there 2 hours by that point) decided that I wanted an otter tailed dog and then ran from the dogs and took the one that followed me first.
Where is the best place to find a mixed breed dog?
Shelters are the best place if you live in a city or urban area. If you are in small towns (as I am) sometimes the best place is the newspaper or word of mouth.
Why would you recommend a mixed breed dog?
Mixed breed dogs often have the best qualities of the breeds that they come from. Two of my dogs are cross-bred, and one is a certified mutt (don't know her lineage =) ).
What is special about your dog?
Frankie's got more of the lab qualities than the aussie. He's always smiling (with that vacant expression of a blonde) and loves to carry things around. Frankie's very food motivated and will do ANYTHING for a treat.
