In a fit of self-indulgence, I’d like to celebrate my new “charter member” status by posting a couple photos of the fresh-new ArmadilloHound, Simon.
He’s an eleven week old Dogo Argentino who arrived from Denmark on Monday 
I am smitten. I have been in a complete and total state of smit since he stepped out of the crate. We took him to Mr. Armadillo’s lab on campus to schmooze the other day, and everyone that met him commented on what a great personality he has :). In a few hours we’re going out for his first day of training, we’re going to do some Schutzhund tracking and obedience work, eventually. I’d also like to get involved in Canine Therapy–his breed is exceptionally gentle with children and the elderly.
Meanwhile, the ArmadilloHound:
Simon
Profile
Life is hard
Cuteness
Oooh, he’s adorable! Give him some scratches and kisses for me.
Look at the size of those feet! His feet are like white turkey roasters!
Very cute. I don’t know anything about the breed except… very cute.
They are! His paws are already bigger than the ArmadilloInLaw’s 12 year old springer spaniel’s paws --and furthermore, Dogos have very small paws for their adult size 
More puppies! I love puppies and puppy pictures (and grown-up dogs, too).
Simon is adorable. mixie, out of curiosity, what got you interested in the Dogo Argentino? That’s not a common breed. I’ve only seen them in magazines.
No judgment made or implied here – I’m always curious when I see uncommon dog breeds.
Archergal, who once almost owned a Canaan Dog.
To be honest, I don’t really remember–I think I saw a photo in a dog magazine, or something, then went out and did some research on the 'net. I was immediately fascinated. I love big dogs, and really appreciate the personalities of the bully breeds and molossers. I knew I wanted a dog from working lines so that their original, intended personality, drive, and physical soundness would still be fully intact–one charming thing about the dogo is that, outside America, they’re almost exclusively working dogs, bred for working capability. That’s a huge plus to me. I’m not at all opposed to buying a dog out of a show kennel, Simon’s sire is an Argentine Grand Champion, and his mama is one of the top bitches in the world in the breed, but at the same time both are proven working dogs, imports from hunting kennels in Argentina.
Anyway, I first got interested probably six or so years ago, right around my freshman year of college. Over the years following, I spoke with people all over the world involved in the breed, lots of breeders, hunters, and pet owners, and I met them when I could. This bit was kinda difficult, as there are not many in the US, save Florida and Texas (as far as I know, there’s only one other in the Pacific Northwest, and she lives just a couple miles from me)–and the breeding of dogos in Florida seems to be mainly by pit-fighters crossing them with pit bulls to increase the size :mad: so finding dogos near enough to meet in person was a challenge. I once drove to Virginia to meet a rescue person and the dogs she had at the time. While I was in college there was absolutely no way I could give a dog the time and energy to raise him as I’d have liked, so I spent the time getting to know a lot of dogo people, and talking to my breeder, learning everything I could about them… and now that I’ve graduated, found a good job, moved in with Mr. Armadillo, and have a dog-perfect house in a super dog-friendly area, Simon has finally arrived .
Uh, okay, that’s probably way more information than you wanted…
No, that’s fabulous! I’m always happy and impressed when I see someone taking the time to do it <i>right</> when they get a dog.
I hope you and Mr.Armadillo and SimonArmadillo have many happy, fun-filled years together!
(I really want a puppy too. But it’s not the right time for us yet. And I’ll have to do the research to get the kind of puppy I want too. I know the breed I want (Australian Shepherd) – I’ll just have to find the right breeder to get the kind of temperament I want in an Aussie.)
Oh, Mixie, he is just soooo cute! I’m a big dog fan, too.
I hope you have many happy years together!
Thanks–I waited a long time for this, and I’m happy I did.
Good luck with your Aussie, I had a friend with a beautiful blue merle male who I swear was telepathic! The Aussie, that is.
~mixie