What breeds?

Laurelin

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#21
Yeah and honestly for some reason I'm not really sure you'd enjoy a FCR or retriever lol. But on paper a good working retriever does pretty much fit your reqs.
Me either. lol The goldens seem to fit on paper and I really really do like them as dogs but for some reason they just feel so foreign compared to what I've had. For some reason the idea of a retriever is intimidating.

I do like poodles but their coat type is one that I can't really stand to touch. I know I said coat type didn't matter because I am finding I am outgrowing my disdain for bearded coats so I think I could 'get over' most any coat. I also don't like having to do professional grooming/shaving. I think if I ever got a poodle, it'd be a mini though. For some reason I like them better temperament-wise.

I will take a Siri, please. :)

English shepherds are very intriguing. I do know the bigger ones would be way too big for me. If I could get a Quinn or a Hudson.... yes please. :p

Summer is such a great combo but it seems relatively hard to find. Most dogs that fly as fast as she does on an agility course seem to be a lot more to handle off of it. She is like the easiest agility dog in the world. Never any worry about having to coach up her drive, will do anything for a tiny piece of cookie, never any worry about situational things upsetting her, always wanting to play, totally handler oriented, fast but also keeps her head, etc... Maybe I should just chalk it up to her being awesome. I do need to remind myself that when she was younger she wasn't quite as easy and was a bit more wild but always has been a good, even keeled, and bombproof little dog with a great work ethic.
 

mrose_s

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#22
First breed that popped up in my head was Koolie.

I truely think they suit a lot more people out there that just don't know they exist. (Not anyone on Chaz, everyone here has Koolies coming out their ears)

They were the first suggestion I made to my mother when she started looking for a new dog.

They tick all the points you made.

Size can vary. But a good Koolie will never be so big it looses too much athletiscm and all the little ones are true pocket rockets.

Extremely people friendly. Very much dog friendly but its not their highest priority (ie: if there is stock in said Koolies vicinity)

Poppy has excellent food and toy drive, and she's a total waterbaby.

She has (and has always had) a great offswitch. Something Quinn didn't really start developing until about 18 months of age.
Poppy can spend all night asleep and then when my mums gets home from nightduty at 7am she can go to bed with her all day and sleep.
Thats not to say she can stay so cool after a few days in a row of missing out on a decent amount of mental/physical stimulation but your not exactly someone that is inactive with their dogs anyway.

They are tough little things. Its one of the things that I admire about Poppy, all 14kg of her lean little self won't take no crap from no sheep, even if it 4 times her size.

For this reason it is important to develop impulse control.
Poppy is still learning that horses don't really equate to sheep, she's smart around them but sometimes her instincts get the better of her. I won't say a great deal of specific work has been done with her to work on this though.

Whether it is a breed trait or just a trait from this particular line/breeding but Poppy loves to be high up and on things. She was very young when she learned she could jump onto the kitchen bench, she moves through the loungeroom on the back of the furniture and several times she has jump onto a bench 2 or 3 times her height, often from a funny angle and onto an area holding multiple things she could knock/break and to echo Linds, she's almost catlike in how she lands and avoids everything.

Poppy I would probably describe as being a pretty "hard" dog when in drive but she can sometimes be ridiculously soft and sensitive when just hanging around the house.

The biggest downside I find, personally, is the barking but... well you've had shelties.
 

Laurelin

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#23
Koolies are a breed I really love on paper. I have seen one in real life But from afar and yeah... Not a great way to really get a feel for them. Wish one of the Chaz koolies lived nearby.

Honestly my only hang ups are the darn Merle x Merle and the Importing (where to even start?). I've loved the level of performance I've seen in videos. Wonder how hard to would be to find a puppy from a Merle x solid breeding? Maybe there will be some breeding programs in the US in four years? Nudge nudge. ;)

I like their build/size better than Aussies.

Barking is a non issue. Shelties plus my two yapillons... Summer barked all class yesterday lol. Mia is probably more barky than my Shelties were.
 

SaraB

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#24
I thought koolie right away too. mrose's description is dead on.

There are solid/merle breedings, and several breeders that will not breed merle/merle. Importing really isn't that difficult, I recommend going with a breeder who has done it before though as it can get a bit scrambly if they don't know what they are doing.
 

PWCorgi

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#26
Koolies are a breed I really love on paper. I have seen one in real life But from afar and yeah... Not a great way to really get a feel for them. Wish one of the Chaz koolies lived nearby.

Honestly my only hang ups are the darn Merle x Merle and the Importing (where to even start?). I've loved the level of performance I've seen in videos. Wonder how hard to would be to find a puppy from a Merle x solid breeding? Maybe there will be some breeding programs in the US in four years? Nudge nudge. ;)

I like their build/size better than Aussies.

Barking is a non issue. Shelties plus my two yapillons... Summer barked all class yesterday lol. Mia is probably more barky than my Shelties were.
I think there is a lot of Koolie hype around here right now, and coming from someone who has no interest in owning one ever, I could totally see you with a Koolie. Or rather, I could totally see you owning a Koolie, and LIKING it! :lol-sign:
 

Shai

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#27
Honestly my only hang ups are the darn Merle x Merle and the Importing (where to even start?).
These and the overall lack of health testing are my hangups as well. Which is why I am just going to clone Traveler and have done.
 

SaraB

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#28
These and the overall lack of health testing are my hangups as well. Which is why I am just going to clone Traveler and have done.
Ugh. The lack of health testing is awful. Can't even offer a helpful suggestion on that one other than just wait until our dogs pass their health clearances?
 

Laurelin

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#29
Haha that time frame might work depending. I think Nextdog will be a shep from a certain breeder. May look for another dog once Summer retires and I am hoping she has another 3+ years of running.

It is good to hear that there are Merle x solid options out there. Health testing would be preferred but I would be open to not having it I think if I thought it was truly the right match and that was the only option.

There's finally getting to be some non akc options for running dogs in this area too.

I may have to poke you guys for some information. Any good reading links?
 

Laurelin

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#30
I think there is a lot of Koolie hype around here right now, and coming from someone who has no interest in owning one ever, I could totally see you with a Koolie. Or rather, I could totally see you owning a Koolie, and LIKING it! :lol-sign:
Thanks! They definitely sound like a breed with a fabulous temperament that I think I'd enjoy a lot. Wish they were more common to get to meet some.

English shepherds are the same way but I worry a bit more that they may not be drivey enough.

Y'all all need to make road trips to Oklahoma. ;)
 

PWCorgi

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#31
Thanks! They definitely sound like a breed with a fabulous temperament that I think I'd enjoy a lot. Wish they were more common to get to meet some.

English shepherds are the same way but I worry a bit more that they may not be drivey enough.

Y'all all need to make road trips to Oklahoma. ;)
I would totally go to OK if Sara wanted to road trip (obviously I don't have the integral part of this meetup), besides, I'm sure Siri would love to come and pull on Mia's face and see how mad she can make her :rolleyes:
 

Beanie

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#32
A Payton fits every one of your requirements but this one:

- Very confident with surroundings and new things. Takes everything in stride. Maybe not as prone to needing such extensive socialization like Mia does and a lot of breeds I like do.
And even this one he mostly fits. I think he would fit it 100% if his breeder had done a lot of early puppy socialization, but I think he just missed out on some stuff. Also, as he's getting older, he is mellowing out on the THAT'S A WEIRD THING. It's further and further between incidents these days. He had a nice brief wig out when my parents brought home the new patio furniture but previous to that it was the clipboard at his CGC, and that was... October? About six months ago anyway. I think he's getting more confident since clearly nothing has killed him yet. Also as long as he can investigate something he's pretty quick to go "Oh, that's no big deal. Moving on." I expect as he matures more it will become a total non-issue.


I really liked Zinga when I met her, and even though I haven't met him I adore Traveler (like we all do LOL.) Honestly if I didn't know shelties were perfect for me, I'd seriously look into koolies as a future dog. I think you could definitely consider them and put them on your list.
 

JennSLK

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#33
Do Koolies have a off switch? They don't seem like it lol

Importing is actually very easy esp into Canada or the US. You could always use a transport company. It takes the stress off and they take care of everything for you and doesn't really add that much extra. I think they charged $200 (ish) over the price of the import to handle all customs in Vancouver, keep Solo over night and put her on the plane the next day. All I had to do was walk in, sign a paper and walk out with her. Totally worth it.
 

PWCorgi

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#34
Do Koolies have a off switch? They don't seem like it lol

Importing is actually very easy esp into Canada or the US. You could always use a transport company. It takes the stress off and they take care of everything for you and doesn't really add that much extra. I think they charged $200 (ish) over the price of the import to handle all customs in Vancouver, keep Solo over night and put her on the plane the next day. All I had to do was walk in, sign a paper and walk out with her. Totally worth it.
Zinga does, otherwise I don't think I'd ever step foot in Sara's house again. Which is very fortunate, because I quite enjoy hanging out with Sara and her dogs :p
 

Saeleofu

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#35
Do Koolies have a off switch? They don't seem like it lol
Everything I've heard says they have an excellent off switch. Which is good, because I don't want a dog without an off switch, and Koolies are definitely on my future dog list.
 

Laurelin

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#36
Mia's to the point where she startles then recovers fast. Summer on the other hand seems oblivious to potentially dangerous things. Both have good and bad points to them. Mia is much more concerned with things in general. Summer is all about the people.

Going by the other thread it sounds like koolies would have more 'edge'. There's that word again. That wouldn't be a bad thing at all. I like some edge and a lot of drive. Summer is not edgy at all. She's just kind of a mush. Lol. And yet she's very fast and driven in agility. Mia is much more edgy in real everyday life. But she also is definitely on the overly cautious side of things. And also just a touch sharp.

I love their balance and how both adore agility. I love summer's yay lets to have fun training attitude. She's a ridiculously good dog.
 

SaraB

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#37
Both of my koolies have great off-switches (well Zip Tie is struggling a bit right now with Zinga in heat, but he will lay down and settle if I tell him too). I was sure to reinforce it right away though, as with any other high energy breed.
 

Laurelin

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#38
How muh exercise/work do your dogs need and get? Mine do gt quite a bit but every day is not packed full and my guys will relax a day or two if I need to with just yard time/nosework. I try to be fair though and we do a lot of off leash hiking and are training at the facility a few times a week. Off switches are definitely appreciated.

Summer is kind of lazy though these days. She loves her sleep. When she was four though she was a lot more needy exercise wise. Nowadays she's great to go whenever but totally not demanding.
 

JacksonsMom

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#39
Another suggestion, which is totally different, and may not EXACTLY fit *every* single thing you asked for, and I know you're not a terrier fan, but really a Border Terrier fits most of your wants. And I feel like I say that a lot lately, but they really do fit a LOT of people's 'wants' lists it seems after I read them. And I am totally biased because I really want one, but yeah. Just thought I'd mention it.
 

SaraB

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#40
How muh exercise/work do your dogs need and get? Mine do gt quite a bit but every day is not packed full and my guys will relax a day or two if I need to with just yard time/nosework. I try to be fair though and we do a lot of off leash hiking and are training at the facility a few times a week. Off switches are definitely appreciated.

Summer is kind of lazy though these days. She loves her sleep. When she was four though she was a lot more needy exercise wise. Nowadays she's great to go whenever but totally not demanding.
I try to do something with my dogs everyday, with one day completely off during the week.

Right now Zinga's schedule looks like this:
Monday - go to work where she sleeps the entire time under my desk (8am-6pm), short disc or trick session when we get home
Tuesday - work agility for about a half hour total, maybe a hike or a swim if I can fit it in.
Wednesday - work disc, maybe two/three sessions (5 minutes each). Hike or a swim if she didn't go on Tuesday.
Thursday - goes to work, we are there from 8am-8pm, sleeps the whole time. We do a short lunch-time hike, generally about a half hour if the weather is nice.
Friday - stays home. Disc or trick session when I get home.
Saturday/Sunday - We generally do some sort of dog thing, disc comp/meetup or she goes and hangs out at an agility trial.

I can hardly drag this girl out of bed in the morning and she is game to go to sleep anytime I want. She is pretty chill around the house even if she skips a day of activity.

Zip Tie gets less as his main job is to hang out with the husband. Tim has been pretty good about doing one or two short disc sessions most days with him, but he doesn't take him on a lot of hikes or anything.
 

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