new adoption

Question
we are about to adopt a 16 month old begal springer spaniel mix. They say he is loveable, housebroken and nutered.  My question is we will be the third owners of this dog and is this a good natured mix? What problems might be anticipated. We are an adult family and I work but the dog will have company most evenings.  Is this enough?

Answer
It is impossible to determine the nature of a mix-breed dog since that is purely genetics. Yes, some breeds are known for being good-natured such as golden retrievers, but genetics involves individual dogs, and not all are good-tempered.

We once had a "schnoodle" as a neighbor. He was a schnauzer/poodle cross, and, unfortunately, that dog had all the bad genes of both breeds. He was hyper, yappy (all day), ate a hole in their carpet, and then started working on the hardwood floor. He also bit the kids. I loaned them one of my obedience books, and he ate that, too... a signed copy by the author, no less.

Since you would be the third owner of this poor dog, I would want to know WHY this dog is being dumped so often. It may be a simple thing such as the dog just needing training; people are so lazy nowadays and think these dogs can train themselves. Then the dog does something wrong and then they MUST get rid of him ASAP!

He sounds like a nice dog; just ask lots of questions to find out WHY, and then plan on getting him into a series of obedience classes and work with the dog every day. I would crate-train him and use that when he cannot be watched or at night. Just pretend you brought in an eight-week-old puppy and go from there. Most likely he will be just fine.