Getting A New Dog? A Simple Strategy For Success! 

Are you a fan of my training style, but can’t travel to Kentucky to see me in person? No worries! I offer an awesome online dog training course, which includes access to an array of exclusive videos and content, personalized coaching, journaling, and in-depth mentoring and evaluation by yours truly! If you just need some an advice or have a couple questions you need answered, I also offer professional consulting by the hour. Both of these great services can be found here: www.kentuckycanine.com Thank you all for your remarkable support over the years! I cannot express enough how grateful I am for your appreciation and patronage of this channel, my training style, and my kennel. Always remember, it’s a great day for a puppy-sized adventure!

Also not being honest with yourself is a problem. Like are you as active as you think you are? Getting a high energy dog won't necessarily make you a more active person.

I grew up with a yellow and chocolate lab, but never was the one "responsible" taking care of them. My parents always made sure the dog was fed, taken to the vet, etc. I have always thought for myself, having a dog would be more responsibility than I would want to take on. A few weeks ago, my sister talked me into taking her chocolate lab, that is about a year old. She has a farm and had 6 other dogs already, other animals also, so he was one too many. At first I thought, a few weeks and I'd be wanting to rid of him, I would get tired of taking care of him. I am so surprised at how good a dog he is, he goes for walks with me, lets me know when someone is around the house, very friendly with people, etc. He's settled in well, doesn't destroy things he shouldn't, has real good energy but not too much that I can't handle. It's been a good experience, and now I am thinking in a year or so to get him a playmate. lol

Love the black lab ATTACK of Uncle Stoney insert!! LOL 🤣😂 Those are good dogs!!

I had to come to terms with the fact that a “sporty” dog often comes with high exercise/stimulation requirements. I’m typically more attracted to the look of sporty dog but our family isn’t super active, so we’ve tried to pick prospective breeds based off of what our lifestyle is actually like and not off of some idealized version of ourselves 😅 Though I will say after starting to watch Stonnie’s we have been trying to get out and “be interesting” more often!

I have been breading Labs for awhile. I have found that in every litter we have there are 3 personalities. I call them front, middle and back of the pack. As a breeder it is my responsibility to know the personalities of my puppies, and help match them to the expectations of the new owner. I ask the prospective owner a lot of questions. This helps me to get them the right puppy. The right dog is out there just do your research.

I was told my black Millie was a 50/50. I think she looks field-type - not short and thick,tall, slim, 57#, flat, hard coat ( that sheds 24/7), slim muzzle. She has more energy than our previous chubby and the first year was brutal, but she began settling about 9 months. At 17 months I no longer "have" to hike, climb, throw for hours a day - she can self exercise as I do my outdoor chores on our mountain property, or nap where she can see me. In the evenings, she may bring me her chuckit 100 times to throw from the sofa, or play hide the ball under every possible piece of furniture, or tussle with our spicy cat. But at 8, I put the cat and ball away and she's fast asleep till breakfast. My saving grace is we have hot summers and, being black, she slows way down and looks for shade. She is perfect for me as I am a very active 78 yr lady.

Making a list is truly a great way to select a dog. Taking time, days, weeks, months, to tweak the list is helpful, too. Thanks, Mr. Dennis! Your videos are always packed full of good information.

We weren't really ready for the high energy rowdiness of our standard poodle. But, both us and the dog are adjusting.

I bought a 1/2 malinois at age 58; wanted a challenge; its been a rough time but he’s great now (6). Never again tho. English chubby looks so awesome…strolling walks. Chillin. I gotta go throw balls for the mal…. great wisdom Stonnie

i took your advice and got an 'english chubby' and it's an english field bred lab! it retrieves like crazy and it won't stop! you owe me my money back.

That was good Stonnie! You explained it well.

There's a couple of love bug dogs right there. That English Chubby is my kind of dog now that I'm a Senior Citizen. When I was a young buck I'd've wanted a Field Bred Lab. Choices and compromises.

Great message for prospective dog owners!! We have 4 dogs -- a Border, 2 Labradoodles, and a 1 yr old Silver Lab. Each has distinctive personalities and each is different. I train my dogs with signal and verbal commands -- an expectation that must be met. (I have intentionally steered clear of certain breeds because of that expectation. ) I also have chosen my dogs to have good, happy personalities with ample energy levels, so through my life, the Golden Retrievers, Collies, Shorthair Pointer, Doodles, and the Silver Lab have met those expectations, too. My dogs have always been chosen to be "play friends" not couch potatoes or velcro-attachments. Our 1 year old Silver Lab exceeds expectations with her high energy and drive to retrieve. Her high energy and motivation was not seen in the sire & dam but we're very happy with her energy and glad we can give her what she loves & needs. She's the youngest in our dog-tribe but she's the alpha of the group. She's slender, agile, very attentive, and always at-the-ready. She has been very easy to train -- and she retrieves like no other!! Our dog breeds do well in our environment with our lifestyle. Our property is much like yours, Stonnie, so there is ample room to run, explore, and retrieve, with fenced perimeters on part of our acreage. Our Silver Lab would not have done well if we were in the suburbs or in a city -- her energy level is much too high and walking concrete wouldn't be enough for her. And being 70, I couldn't walk enough to match her exercise needs. LOL She needs and loves to run, and without her exercise & games, she'd possibly be destructive. I do hope that those who consider the more active Labs think about the environment & needs those Labs will require for happiness !

Wisdom words, Stonnie! Your approach is very objective and straight to the point!

Absolutely so important to understand the differences between field lines and show lines, I definitely didn't understand this when I got my first dogs. Now I work with herding dogs mostly (kelpies and border collies) and I find that even within the working lines there is a lot of variation in how well the dog settles and how easy they are to socialize. A good working line dog has an off switch and sound temperament IF his mental and physical needs are being met. Unfortunately there are a lot of nutty, neurotic border collies out there who really just aren't right in the head and no amount of exercise is going to fix that, but people have this idea that all their problems would be cured if they could just herd some sheep, but it really doesn't work like that.

I have an English chubby ( I love that moniker !) She is the sweetest, friendliest, BEST dog 😉 who also works as my service dog. No, not a retriever, but outstanding at picking up anything I drop. She will even pick up food - I dropped a bagel - and give it to me. Truthfully? Even if she couldn't do all she does for me, I would adore her just as much.

Stonie could talk to corporations about how to make decisions. I will leave it at that.

I definitely found this out. I took a working line German shepherd because 2 different people got her a didn't know what they were getting and she attacked there little dogs. I have a 125 lb rottweiler poodle mix I'm using to socialize her. Anyway she will retrieve a stick as big as her all day long. But some one or something new comes around and special attention is need to make sure she knows how to act

My little chocolate lab puppy has the best temperament . My last dog was a doodle…took so long for him to even out. He destroyed everything. This puppy came preloaded to obey and love on the family. He goes for off leash hikes . When he gets to far ahead he lays down and waits for me to catch up. Only thing is he is shy around strangers. I take him out and even to work sometimes.

So glad I discovered your videos!

Ha! Our last dog watched TV! He barked at thrillers. Slept through rom coms. Listened to the suspenseful music. He indicated that he wanted to watch tv on evenings we were going to read. . . We wanted our new dog to watch tv with us. BUT he is a spaniel - if he can’t smell it - it doesn’t interest him. Oh well

Gregarious, easy to live with, easy to manage...I'll tell you what breed NOT to get...a schnauzer.

Could you do another video specifically about English Chubbies? They sound perfect for my family, but I don't know anything about them. Thanks for your honest, common sense training for dogs!

I have a 2 1/2 year old Pomsky (Pomeranian-Husky mix) and a 1 year old Shiba Inu. They are great dogs, provided they get the enough exercise, socialization and/or outdoor activity. People thinking about getting a dog need to really do their homework on which dog breed(s) best suit their lifestyle/interests.

We got a Labrador puppy in January. She looks more like a field line, but has a more chill personality/energy like a chubby. Which I am glad of since I was concerned that she would be to energetic for my family. But she has been wonderful. Loves to play with us, and to fatch for a while. But she is also happy to just hang out with the family and chew on a bone or play with one of her toys on her own.

Wish there was a mini retriever as I'm getting too old to schlepp more than 10 kg up two flights ... not that I'm a fan of the mini everything craze, though, and health should always come first!

Dogs are different just like people are. I had a Texas Heeler male that would not do anything for me but got along fine with my father. Too bad for him that my father had no use for a Heeler. Just kept him for a week as a favor to me. The right dog in the wrong home doesn't work.

I am a BIG FAN . I have a 5yr old Mali who is everything you describe. I have only been able to get her to drop, leave whatever, herr toy when we arent playing. If im reading she drops her toy to me but walking outside at the park in the woods riding bikes......she will not drop it when she retrieves and brings it back she only want to tug. TUG TUG TUG why cant she drop it chaseit and not tug!~I love her im sickk of tugging. Please do a video how to get a dog to drop it after they retrieve it, i dont mind tugging every now and then but every time?

Thanks for the information. We have a 5 month old black lab and English chocolate. Training these two at the same time in a suburban area is tough.

Wait what breed is the golden dog? English chubby isn't the real breed name 😂and he's adorable

can you do a review on the curly coated retriever?

I have yet to find a video by this man I disagree with, even on details.

Great video. Love your content every time.

Excellent video Stonnie!

Yes and yes!

☝🏽

Two amazing looking retriever puppies. Both have good blood.

Well said ! But sometimes it is hard to get the reel picture of our dreams …the dogs aren’t perfect, just like we are not perfect ! I like your videos, great job !

We had both black and chocolate labs. We hunted with them (what is commonly called American type). The blacks were also protective when needed.

I just wanted to comment about how much I love watching your videos. I had a chocolate lab that turned 2 in February and unexpectedly had a seizure and we rushed her to the vet where we found out she had a couple genetic health issues and we couldn't save her and had to put her down in March. I was so devastated. I pick up a new chocolate this Friday from a different breeder. Im so scared I wont be able to train my new puppy like I did my last one.

Expectation and reality for most people without the commitment required to dedicate to a puppy is rarely mutually exclusive. Dog pounds are full of failed human expectations and poor training skills. Stonnie's methods are the only teachings that focus on the human expectations AND the training skills required to make the canine journey a successful one, especially for the dog.

Our first Lab was a chocolate English chubby and he was the most chill Retriever. He'd play fetch for exactly 3 tosses then lay down. Lol! Our current Lab is a black American and boy what a difference. We knew he wanted a more active dog after our first passed because we had a 4 & 8 year old at that time. He was a perfect match and would play fetch until his heart exploded if we let him.

Thank you for another excellent video! Helps me to wait another year until retirement before I will buy a dog.

Uncle Stonnie for president

This is great advice. I’m going to write mine out later today. Thanks! 👍

Your training videos were our base line for training our 2 yr old yellow bench lab. Now we need a video on how to introduce a new puppy into a household with an already existing canine. Our 5 month old bench lab is IN LOVE with Mr. No Name and all of the black labs!! The videos featuring the black labs make very good "baby sitter" videos.

Easy. There is no easy. It's just a red flag that usually means you haven't figured out exactly how much daily time and effort you're willing to spend. You can also write this out along with the list of traits.

I once raised a Dalmatian from a puppy to be the most obedient dog I’ve ever had. I trained the personality right out of her. I now prefer dogs that are bit more independent and a bit resistant to training (I also train less). They are trained, but occasionally remind me that training is important over the dogs lifetime because they have a personality and don’t want to be robots.

You loved petting that chubby🥰 Loving it!

2 out of 3 of the people I got dogs from knew exactly what I needed in a dog, and delivered something else. One was a "responsible" breeder and the other a trainer. Third one was the charm.

Can you get a second male dog when u already have an older male dog? Or do u need to get a female puppy,

Good advice.

The training cost a fee. You have to pay for the options. A 6,000.00 service dog is that. A 1,000.00 puppy is just that.

I can’t wait to look up that English Chubby. As a senior also considering my next pup. Love your great talks. Such common sense. Love watching

Hey Stonnie, do you think a breed exists which would be protective of its owner if a threat arose (theoretically that is - I know you can’t guarantee it without proper training); but would tolerate strangers and strangers dogs coming to the property on a daily basis without doing their nut? I have been trying to figure this out for over a decade and haven’t got it right yet. Dobermanns tolerated strange humans unless they behaved suspiciously or I was uncomfortable; but would not tolerate strange dogs without extensive training and constant management/control. Azawakh will bite all newcomers of any species; Old English Sheepdogs were quite a good balance but the coat maintenance is prohibitive. I guess I want my cake and eat it too… is that even possible?

Ok I’m back. I looked up English Chubby an keep getting bull dogs. Is there another name for this pup??

Hi thank you my mom human needs you to teach me or her how to train me thank you🙏🐶🩵

Agreed. Bloodlines will help you understand what to expect from your expectations