Which breed?

[Carrie]

I like Border Collies too....a great deal of energy! And the smartest of all the breeds I think.

Come to think of it, a Doberman is a lovely family dog when raised properly. They're great with kids when brought up with them. I know of several examples. (you can look at my pictures...one playing with neighbor kids and their sleds) They're protective, terribly affectionate, loyal, playful and terrifically agile and quick, extremely atheletic. They're my preference for an all around good working dog, highly intelligent, companion and premier protection dog all rolled into one.

My Lyric boy has strong herding instincts and loves a good, long hike....tons of energy. What I love too about this breed is that they are extraordinarily in tuned with their owner's moods, very, highly evolved as far as sensativitiy. But, they're not a dog for everyone and much research should go into them before deciding on that for a breed. They do shed, but their hair is very short.

[Rip's Girl]

I've fostered a GSD before, and he was OK with my cats, but he caught and thrashed my guinea pig around (she was OK, he had grabbed her by her skin and she only had a small puncture). He was great with the animals that he had obviously been raised with, but he attacked the others.

I agree that it's not typical for a GSD to catch and kill its own animals if he's raised with them from puppyhood, but a lot of rescues (one of the reasons I didn't go with rescue, unfortunately) haven't been raised from puppyhood with all those animals, and that's where you'll run into some problems.

[Carrie]

Oh yes....of course! Poor guinea. A-w-w. Was he OK? I wouldn't trust any dog I don't suppose with that small of an animal. That WOULD look like prey for sure.

I use to have a lot of guinea pigs when I was a kid. My dad raised them. I think we had 22 at one time. Good grief. But I think they're the cutest. Do you still have yours? Did he live through that?

[Rip's Girl]

Ah.. For some reason I thought you said you were rescuing, Ritz459.. Never mind me, my mind is off in la-la land right now.

A Doberman is a good family dog, I agree, Carrie.. But you have to be SO careful with who you buy from.. Poor Dobes are prone to so many health problems, which Backyard Breeders don't take into account. A well-bred, stable, healthy doberman is a wonderful dog, which I think would also be a great working dog.

Edit: Carrie, the little girl did live through that, she was OK, but she died about 6 months later, of old age I suppose, she was about 3-4 years old.. I was young, and I didn't know exactly how long guinea pigs lived. She was sooo sweet though, she slept with me at night and learned to use a litter box.

[doberkim]

First, skip the Beauc - you don't want something like that. Not your first dog of your own.

As for a poor dobe - this goes for ANY breed. I personally wouldt recommed a BC to most people either - and a poor GSD is crippled at 2 years old by HD, which is STILL prevalant in the breed.

A poor breeder exists in every single breed - MORE so in the popular ones (GSDs, labs, goldens rotties, you name it) - Dobes are actually fairly sheltered in that they DO NOT have the popularity that other breeds have. a poorly bred dog is going to have a greater shot at poor health, poor temperament, and a whole host of problems. it isnt limited to any one breed.

I have only grown up with german dogs for the most part, so I am familiar with the temperamet. GSDs, danes, one lone weim (NEVER AGAIN), rottie, and now a dobe.....we had one lone black lab in the mix (Again, never again). CUrrently right now in the family besides my dobe there are 2 GSDs, we just lost a rottie, and my mom has a coonhound mix (we love her, but again, once she is gone, NEVER AGAIN with the mouth).

once you know and spend extensive time with a dobe and see what they are capable of, you see their versatility. There are quite a few dogs that could do anything (however, i wouldnt put a border up at the top with protection).

your best bet is to look at your lifestyle - you say now what you want ot do ad how much exercise you can give, but you dont know in the future if that is true. your size range is so vast (something from a 20 lb beagle to a 140 lb great dane?) - if you narrow down what you are looking for -

shedding? dominance levels? assertiveness? health? grooming? other animals in the house? things like this determine what you should look at.

i personally DONT recommend most working protection breeds for people who are getting their first dogs, especially when they are younger. simple facts are, they are difficult dogs to deal with in some respects - finding a place to live, dealign with the public, the REQUIREMENT of training and activity, etc. i wont tell you how may dobes get turned into rescue for isntance, by young adult owners who couldnt keep them after a year - and NONE of them have training.

whatever breed you go with i would focus on contacting the breed club, people who have the breed that you ca trust, and talking to them to locate a breeder that has what you are looking for.

incidentally, all our GSDs have always lived peacefully with other animals ALL our dogs do.

[PitBullie09]

and also if you want a SMALL breed I would consider...Jack Russell or MINI Austrailian Shepherd.

[Carrie]

I think Doberkim has excellent advice. I agree about most working dogs. They take A LOT of work! And a Dobe is no exception. They get a bad rep because of poor breeding, poor handling, lack of training, lack of socialization and mistreatment. They are truly not for everyone and especially not a first time dog owner.

And also it's true.... about EVERY breed having their share of health and temperament problems. Watch out for bad breeders! There are a lot of them. I lucked out with my Lab. Well, it wasn't luck. She came from a good breeder. She's been lovely and quite a calm dog, even as a pup, yet plenty playful and exuberent. But I hear of a lot of highly excitable, nervous, screwy Labs out there. That is not what they're suppose to be like.

And my GSD was lovely too. That was about 20 yrs ago. No hip problems, not that extreme angulation. He wound up with degenerative myelopathy, something pretty hard to breed out of them as it doesn't show up till they're older usually. He was about 9. It was heartbreaking.

You can also type in a search, "What dog breed is best for me?" You plug in your criteria and it spits out a bunch of breeds that might fit.

Kim's advice is good. I second that.....go talk to people at shows or breeders etc about their dogs.

[Carrie]

Hey! What about a Whippet? I've heard that they don't have too many health problems and have generally wonderful, calm temperaments. Check out the AKC website and read about them if you're interested. I knew someone who had one when he was young and absolutely swears it was the best dog he ever had.

Someone else here who has or has had Whippets can tell you more. They wouldn't make much hair either.

[Rip's Girl]

A whippet would be a great choice. They are fast, intelligent, and they have a nice soft temperament.
Another dog I think that you could get along well with is a Brittany Spaniel. They are EXTREMELY agile, very smart, and not 'too much dog', although their temperament is a bit more persistent and feisty than the whippet's. They do shed, but a monthly bath and brushing seems to take care of that (I've never met a Brittany that was a major shedder) and they are medium sized and very hardy.

[Ritz459]

Thanks for all of the info. I wouldn't necessarly call the dog my first dog. I've 'raised' ten puppies and have trianed both of our dogs their basic commands. I know better than to get a guarding breed now, but I think that when I'm older, I will be able to handle one. I also know the importance of trying to find a good breeder. I'm already used to a strong willed kind of a dog. (That's Rose&Blackie. I'm also used to being on my toes if a dog is dog aggresive because Blackie has a little problem with that.) I like Whippets but can a Whippet do Tracking or Obedience? Here is pretty much what I'm looking for in a dog:
1.Can Track, compete well in Obedince, and/or can do Agility.
2.Can get along well with kids.
3.Can tolorate other dogs
4.Doesn't shed heavily year round and if it does shed a lot, it's hairs don't stick to you like a Pugs.
5.Doesn't need a whole bunch of grooming like a Poodle or something.
6.Preferibly Medium-Large in size
7.We have a big yard (3 acres. And 7 acres in feild) so It will have a space to run as well as the walks.
I've never really thought about a Border Collie before....hmmmm... that's something to think about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Favorite types of dogs:
1. Working Breeds
2. Hounds
3. Herding Breeds

[Carrie]

http://www.americanwhippetclub.net/


http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/whippet.cfm

[milo]

i used to have a wippit and there great dogs i look after mym mums best mates wippits when they go on hoilday!!There great little dogs!!

[Rip's Girl]

Ritz, I'm 14 too and I can handle the strong willed working breeds (One Karelian Bear Dog in particular comes to mind) I think it just depends on your personality and knowledge. I'm a VERY assertive and dominant person, so a 'soft' dog would not fit in well with me.
I still think that an English Springer or a Brittany spaniel would be a good choice. They are high-energy, would enjoy the exercise. They are good with kids and other animals when they are raised with them, they are VERY enthusiastic about their work and play and do very well in tracking, and most also enjoy obedience and agility. They are medium sized, about 45-65lbs, small enough to easily maneuver in hard-to-reach places but large enough to be sturdy and hardy.
The ESS can be clipped if you have a 'show lines' dog, which has a VERY long, thick coat, and the field bred ESS have a shorter, more 'working' style coat. They aren't heavy shedders and regular maintenance of the coat will control the shedding.
PLUS, they are generally easy to train and, once they get older, are mellow in the house.

The Border Collie is NOT a breed for everyone, in fact, 8 out of 10 people who own Border Collies probably shouldn't, but because you have the time and space and knowledge to devote to the dog, I think you could possibly be a good BC owner.

[Ritz459]

I have a strong willed, stubborn personality too !! lol I think I get it from my dad... lol I've been doing some research and these breeds cought my eye:
English Shepherd
Border Collie
Shiloh Shepherd
Boxer
German Shepherd (what's the diff between the Shiloh and the GSD?)
Doberman
Bearded Collie
Quite a list huh? The bad thing is I know squat about these breeds except for the Boxer, Doberman and GSD. I also saw these breeds, but I wasn't so sure about them...
Black and Tan Coonhound
Collie
Vizsla
Weimaraner
I think my fave. out of all of them though are the:
English Shepherd,Boxer,GSD(or Shiloh or whatever),Dobie, and the B&T Coonhound. (I like the Weimaraner's looks though, but I know u shouldn't get a dog just because of its looks.) Does anybody have any info on the English Shepherd? That is the breed that is new to me. Thanks for all of your help so far!!!!!

[Ritz459]

I like the Whippet too though. I just checked out those links and they are sooooo cool looking and cool sounding!!!! (I kinda want a dog that I can teach to track though.....)