Yet another pick-a-breed thread!

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#1
So I'm musing over Nextdog who is still likely a couple years in the future but this will be the first time I actually purposefully choose a dog. (The last two have been failed foster dogs).

First and foremost, I need a dog that's good with kids, since we now have one. And after having two dog-selective dogs, I need one that is social and dog friendly. These two things are the most important.

I prefer something that is medium to large sized. (40-100lbs)

I have no preference for coat type, coloring, etc.

I'm really interested in doing dock dogs, possibly agility and therapy work with kids and seniors. So I want a dog who likes to work but that can also be calm and soft.

I've had a pitbull and a boxer mix.
I would have another pitbull in a heartbeat but I live in Ontario.

Breeds I've considered are standard poodles, golden retrievers (though they seem a little too easy/common/boring to me), springer or Brittany spaniels, Australian shepherds.

Any other suggestions? Any insight into the above breeds?
 

yv0nne

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#3
Vizsla? Penn could easily do all those things you listed. She was going to a dock diving competition until she came down with kennel cough, she trains in agility& will compete once she's 18months, 44lbs so on the smaller end of your weight wants but she's super good with our nephews. She jumped on Finn (3) once (she was 7 months old), he toppled, she got the mean voice& never again. Now she plays with both the boys (3& 5) with absolutely no issues& they adore her. She'll tolerate anything from anyone.. she has endless patience.Penn has zero issues being social or dog friendly. I can take her to a dog park, the pet store, huge outdoor concerts or anywhere without a fear of her behavior. She's a dream that way for sure.

Penny's mom& aunt are both therapy dogs in Halifax. I know a group of Vizslas from my breeder do therapy work so it definitely isn't out of the question.. I suppose Penn could do it as well because she's very cuddly& gentle when it comes to snuggling. If I had the desire to train her for it, I'm sure she could do it in a heartbeat!

Golden retrievers are some of the slowesttttttt dogs to run agility ever. I've seen about 20 compete& not one has had speed. They've all done what they were asked but they are almost always getting time faults! I know they most likely can be motivated to have speed (I've seen in on youtube LOL), I just think it would probably be a lot of work.
 

SpringerLover

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#4
I really, really adore my Springers. A well bred one is going to be dog social and love, love, love interacting with humans. They should be able to go-go-go when asked but also settle nicely when asked. Many require more grooming than is obvious, but if you can learn how to trim feet/ears/tail, that's all I really do between "major" groomings.

I've been waffling about future dogs but I keep coming back to spaniels in general, and I've loved my Springers.
 
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#5
Ahhh I'm not sure why but I forgot about/ never considered vizslas! Great suggestion! They are some of the cutest pups ever and I like that long lean body type.

The things you mentioned about goldens are things I've thought of too! Not enough **** and vinegar for me. Not driven enough.

We have a show line springer that comes to the clinic. He's one of my favorite dogs. He's gorgeous and would be perfect for therapy work. He seems to have a lot of health issues though (I know many if not most breeds do!) so that concerns me a tiny but.
 

Laurelin

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#6
Golden retrievers are some of the slowesttttttt dogs to run agility ever. I've seen about 20 compete& not one has had speed. They've all done what they were asked but they are almost always getting time faults! I know they most likely can be motivated to have speed (I've seen in on youtube LOL), I just think it would probably be a lot of work.
And I have never seen a slow golden. Some middle of the road but most are SUPER fast. Awesome dogs.

The sport goldens I know are far from easy or boring dogs. They are as high as most border collies, just in a different way. There is one lady in Texas that is very well known and runs some akc up here occasionally and runs goldens. Her dogs generally keep in pace or out-compete the border collies. Most of her students (or at least many) run goldens and run them well. However this person breeds their own dogs generally.

There's also a girl running masters up in the local usdaa trials with a golden boy and he is very impressive too. I don't know his lines but he is one of my favorite dogs in the region competing. He's electric to watch. Very high drive and fast.

My friend runs a pet golden and she's a nice little dog for 'hobby level'. She's not quite as drivey but is very far from slow. Nice dog with a sweet temperament. A little boisterous but she is young. I do notice goldens can take a bit to mature.

Anyways, my thought was retriever. Lab was what I thought of first but a golden could work too. I adore Aussies but honestly many I've met are either dog selective or somewhat dog aggressive. Not all of course but they are far from one of the most dog friendly breeds I can think of. They're generally great working around other dogs but some can be a little jerky. And I've seen tht in both show and working lines. I think that kind of behavior/intolerance is pretty typical in most herders.
 

yv0nne

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#8
Maybe because I'm in the maritimes (and we always behind the times), the breed of Golden hasn't made it here. Mostly the Goldens running come from show homes. I do know a guy who plans on getting his new Golden from somewhere in the States& he runs agility ..so perhaps I'll get to see a Golden with drive. I didn't mean to insult you.. I did say I've seen them do exceptionally well on youtube. Just that the 20 or so I've seen competing, haven't been up to the youtube standards!
 

BostonBanker

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#11
And I have never seen a slow golden. Some middle of the road but most are SUPER fast. Awesome dogs.
Same here! We have some insanely cool goldens in our area. One club member just got MACH12 on her older golden, who routinely beats the BC. Gusto's bestest friend Kippie, who has been pictured in many of Gusto's picture threads, just became the youngest golden in history to get his MACH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ki7y7otmL0&list=TLTkGyMK6MKc8

This was the first clip I could find; I swear the dog has just gotten faster.
 

Laurelin

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#12
I'm definitely not offended. :) I dot have a golden and probably won't ever just because I am not sure the retriever temperament is right for me. But I do think they get overlooked a lot for agility dogs or people think of them all as very low drive and boring, which hasn't been my experience. There are certainly extremely drivey goldens out there if you want that. However a lot of them are a lot of dog.

I am not sure the breeding on all the dogs I see around here. There was a pretty good golden showing at AKC nationals as well. Again not sure about the lines of the dogs.
 
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#13
I just want to compete at a hobby level so maybe a golden would be good. They're just so...common? Easy? I don't know, they're fantastic dogs but I find them a little boring.

I'm not really a lab fan either. Also great dogs, but not for me.

Interesting point about some Aussies being DA/selective. I know many but most of them are from farm breeders/BYBers/Mennonite mills. So not exactly representative. I know a great breeder and his dogs are wonderful but his foundation bitch and all her offspring are the barkiest dogs I've ever met.

Any thoughts on the standard poodle for suitability? I've never seen one dock dive but I'm hardly well versed in the sport.

What about BCs?
 

Laurelin

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#14
A lot of BCs are similar to Aussies in my experience (well most herders really) in that they tend to be less overly dog friendly than sporting breeds. Not all of course but many are 'fun police' type personalities. I've known quite a few DA or selective border collies. In general sporting dogs seem much less prone to dog-dog issues in my experience.

Aussies are definitely loudmouths.

I would not call the goldens I know easy, just different than a herder. They are very intense dogs in their own way. And these dogs are competing at a far higher level than what I'd call 'hobby'. I definitely understand not being a retriever person though. I'm not but I think a lot of 'dog people' overlook the group.
 
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#15
It's just so cliché in my work environment to have a golden. Its a terribly Silly reason to not have one, I know, but every vet, tech and receptionist I work with that has a dog, has a golden! LOL

I think they're really the ideal dog for my husband though, who is so not a dog person.
 

Flyinsbt

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#16
A setter. English or Gordon. Probably not Irish, unfortunately, though if you can find a good one, they're still a good working dog.
 

JennSLK

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#18
What about a Weim? A friend of mine breeds them and I really like them. Versatile friendly yet protective. Tons of energy and hers do agility
 

SpringerLover

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#19
Ahh never considered these guys either! Why not Irish? What about a red and white?
Irish Setters are considered the "dumb blondes" of the dog world. Not to be offensive but... they seem to be very derpy as a whole.

I LOVE the Irish Red & Whites I've met!

I also ADORE French Brittanys! They seem to be very different from the "regular/American" Brittanys I used to be around.
 

yv0nne

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#20
I'm definitely not offended. :) I dot have a golden and probably won't ever just because I am not sure the retriever temperament is right for me. But I do think they get overlooked a lot for agility dogs or people think of them all as very low drive and boring, which hasn't been my experience. There are certainly extremely drivey goldens out there if you want that. However a lot of them are a lot of dog.

I am not sure the breeding on all the dogs I see around here. There was a pretty good golden showing at AKC nationals as well. Again not sure about the lines of the dogs.
Okay! As long as I didn't p--- anyone off! Like I said, the maritimes tend to be very behind when it comes to anything& especially dogs! I love labs& goldens ..as long as someone else owns them! I'm forever a Vizsla and whateverherderismynextbreed person ;)
 

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