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SiliconX posted:Having grown up in northern Canada she really wanted a Husky but I was not keen having done some research and seeing that they are really high strung, very demanding and prone to separation anxiety due to being pack animals. After discussing it at length, we agreed that a good breed for us and our future life would be a Border Collie. We are both quite active and we wanted a breed that is intelligent, would fit an active lifestyle, and would be well behaved around people and children. "really high strung, very demanding and prone to separation anxiety" are all things I'd associate with under exercised, under worked Border Collies... They're nippy and will herd anything if under stimulated too so I'm not sure "good with children" is a default collie trait... maybe American lines differed greatly in temperament and needs to the farm dogs and sheep herding dogs we get in 'round here but I have seen precisely one Border Collie out of dozens I would want to own; she's twelve, owned by a dog trainer who does agility and Rally-O with her and she thinks she's a Labrador. The most food motivated dog I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong, Border Collies are gorgeous dogs and I can see the appeal for someone who wants to do dog sports or trials but they're not the first I'd think of if the list of traits you used to decide against a Husky was a deal breaker. Then again, my first dog was a loving Shikoku so don't listen to me.
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Dec 28, 2014 14:45
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 15:03 |
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Well, if we're living vicariously through you with breed suggestions! If I was after a high energy, relatively biddable dog that was good with kids I would probably look into Vizslas, Pointers (English or German Short Haired), Retrievers (Labrador, Golden, probably the rest of them too, idk) and Spaniels (Field-bred, English Cockers and Springers). Maybe a Samoyed if you wanted to compromise on the Husky suggestion. I think Rough Collies are way more mellow than BCs too. Can't remember meeting many Rough Collies though so would take that last one with a grain of salt and not sure on the energy levels. All the Aussie's I've met were owned by dog sport competitors. Have you been to any dog sport events or classes to see if you'd be into that sort of thing if you did get a BC or Aussie? You'd probably be able to get some recommendations for some good breeders from the competitors and spectators too. Re; breeders, I'd want to see hips and elbow scores, I think several of them have eye problems that the parents can be tested for, genetic testing may be appropriate too. I'd probably look for a breeder that was doing stuff with their dogs too, whether it was field trials, a dog sport, obedience etc. I'm not a big fan of how some of the show versions of those dogs look compared to the field-bred ones but some people consider showing 'em to be a positive thing or at least better than nothing. You may want the breeder to be able to answer questions such as "why did you breed Xdog to Ydog/what were you hoping to achieve/improve with that match?", "do you offer health guarantees", "will you take the dog back at any point in its life if I can no longer care for it?", "do you socialise and train the pups before they go to their new homes, and if so, how?", number of litters per year and if you weren't recommended by one of your new buddies from the dog sport world maybe see if they can hook you up with a past puppy buyer to meet one of their previous puppies. Edit: Actually, check out the Puppy and New Dog thread, that has a load of pre-dog advice. Edit 2: Also, having too much time between deciding to get a dog and getting dog is why I now have a loving ridiculous breed. You can do too much research. Ponyfields fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Dec 29, 2014 |
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Dec 29, 2014 22:25
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