What breeds?

Laurelin

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#1
Ok, I already have plans for what Nextdog will be but I was just curious what breeds come to mind when I describe this:

- Size doesn't matter for this really. <50 lbs?
- coat doesn't matter
- Energy level- moderate to high with great off switch. Puts in a lot of effort when need be but also is totally cool to sleep part of the day.
- Extremely high biddability and desire to work with you.
- Some sort of high useable drive (for us it's food but could be anything. Doesn't need to be mal level or anything. But at any rate a dog that is easily motivated)
- Extremely people friendly. Very outgoing that way.
- very athletic/likes to jump.
- Very suited to agility training/fast. (essentially lightly built)
- dog friendliness- not necessarily a dog park dog but can live peacefully with other dogs easily
- relatively sensitive personality. But also very confident. I am not sure if I am wording that correctly. Not a very hard or sharp kind of dog?
- 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.
-Happy/up personality. Easily excited, lol. I guess some would say just a touch hyper.
- Extremely handler oriented/velcro

Bonus: toy drive and likes water (which is a trait I don't have at the moment lol)

I know a lot of that is training and socialization but I was just curious what breeds you'd think of... There's a lot I like about Summer and training her. I think I always need a more 'complicated' dog like Mia to live with but there's also definitely something to be said for a dog like Summer who is just... easy as can be. She's so confident in everything and never really over the top but always wanting to work and work hard. She's happy go lucky and totally straightforward. Much as I like my bratdogs, I would definitely sign up for another Summer-type personality too. I think I will always want one more complex dog to train and then one that's not so much socialization/work. I find that balances out pretty well.

I guess the obvious answer is another papillon since Summer is pretty classic pap in temperament but was wondering if anything else came to mind... particularly something a little bigger in size.
 

CaliTerp07

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#3
I mean, the obvious is the right border collie...but you knew that :)

I train with a lady who has two wirehaired pointing griffons. Bigger than you're looking for, but one of them fits your description quite nicely. The other is a bit dog snarky. They are biddable jumping machines though.

I also train with a whole bunch of vizlas who do extremely well at agility, so long as they have the right owner (who is willing to make the game reinforcing with treats/toys...). The ones whose handlers aren't good at rewarding get a "screw you" and the dog is on the other side of the field.

One of my good friends has a GSP. Again, a bit larger than you wanted, but WOW does he have drive and jumping skills! There are 2 others who train at our facility, and all three of them are quite talented.
 

Laurelin

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#4
I've thought golden maybe . We had a field lab growing up and he was cool but there's just something about labs that doesn't quite mesh with me. The goldens I know are a little bit softer in personality, I think. And that suits me a bit better. The labs I know that have the 'get up and go' I like also seem a bit scatterbrained and all over the place.

Summer manages to be very gregarious and also very focused, which I like. I should mention that Summer is also one of those exceedingly responsible dogs. I'm sure that's more of a personality trait though than a breed trait. Mia is about the opposite of responsible. :p

Then again I'm just not sure if a retriever is right for me at all.
 

Toller_08

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#5
Obviously I've only had Journey, so my own Aussie experience is limited, but aside from the "lightly built" she fits your list pretty perfectly. And while I think most Aussies are reserved with people (based on others I've met and what people have said), Journ is super people friendly. And she likes water, but just doesn't know how to swim yet. Most of her relatives are water dogs though, so I have hope for her yet!

But she is:

Under 50lbs (she's 40lbs)
Has a super easy to care for, wash n wear coat.
Is high energy but has an excellent natural off switch that I've just encouraged.
Is incredibly biddable and just wants to do what I've asked of her and is super keen.
Is food, play and praise motivated (in that order, but all work for her).
Is incredibly athletic, bouncy and doesn't believe all four feet are necessary for staying on the ground.
Seems well suited to Agility. I wish she had a tail to help with tighter turns, but her Agility instructor is very excited about her future.
Is very easy-going with other dogs so far.
She is sensitive in that she takes things to heart (as much as a dog can) and hates to do wrong and would much rather try to do right, but is also very confident, willing and sure of herself in all situations. It's hard to explain. She's not soft in that she shuts down, and she's not hard either. She's a very nice balance and that makes her incredibly easy to work with.
She is very focused and not scatter brained at all.
She's pretty quiet unless she feels something is out of her control and then voices her opinion but stops when told.
She is very, very handler oriented and is my constant shadow and loves to just do stuff with me, be it being lazy, training, hiking, whatever.

She's had a lot of socialization and exposure, which I'm sure helped to mold her into the dog that she is, but even if I'd done less with her, her inherent personality and temperament still would have made her into a very solid, stable dog I think.

She is always up and happy. She's so full of joy. But not in an annoying, over the top, in your face way.

My Flyball team is always commenting on how sweet and snuggly and laid back she comes across as and how unassuming she seems until it's time to actually do something and then she's all about the job.

With that said, I won't say that all Aussies would fit your requirements as there does seem to be a lot of variation and I don't feel I've had enough breed experience yet to give a really qualified answer. IME working Aussies (the ones I've been around anyway) are far more serious, way more reserved with strangers and seem to have a lot less dog tolerance and are sharper. Some other show Aussies I've met have seemed to be lacking to me in drive and brains and often appear to shut down easily, with super heavy not-easy-to-care-for coats and the pet bred/BYB Aussies are just a huge mixed bag of temperaments. That's just what I've noticed anyway, and the variety is part of what kept me away from them for a long time, as I didn't know where to even begin. But yeah, if I could clone Journey, there's a good chance you'd have a dog that fits your list to a T.

[And I know I've said a Toller would suit you in the past, but I know how much you seem to click with herding breeds, and now that I've had a herding breed and a half myself, I think you likely wouldn't be nearly as happy with a Toller. Maybe if it was just the right one, but they're definitely a totally different type of dog.]
 
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Laurelin

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#6
I mean, the obvious is the right border collie...but you knew that :)

I train with a lady who has two wirehaired pointing griffons. Bigger than you're looking for, but one of them fits your description quite nicely. The other is a bit dog snarky. They are biddable jumping machines though.

I also train with a whole bunch of vizlas who do extremely well at agility, so long as they have the right owner (who is willing to make the game reinforcing with treats/toys...). The ones whose handlers aren't good at rewarding get a "screw you" and the dog is on the other side of the field.

One of my good friends has a GSP. Again, a bit larger than you wanted, but WOW does he have drive and jumping skills! There are 2 others who train at our facility, and all three of them are quite talented.
I've never met a griff, but have had people suggest them before. I will admit I am a little bit nervous with sporting breeds because I think of them as being a lot more frantic and needing physical energy outlets vs breeds needing mental energy outlets. I am much more used to (and I think suited for) the latter. No real experience with vizsla either but one of the other trainers has a young one. I'll have to watch it as she trains it.

My trainer always is saying Summer reminds her of a border collie. In some ways she does but I find she's a lot more even keeled than most BCs and a lot more up and happy go lucky. And definitely not as driven as most BCs. It's of course an idea I've had on my mind for a while and probably a very likely choice for one of my next couple dogs.
 

JacksonsMom

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#7
Spaniels come to my mind when reading this list. But I'm not really a 'spaniel' person so I could be totally off base here.

But Brittany Spaniel, Springer, Boykin, or a Field Spaniel, kind of popped into my head. Also, maybe a Toller?

Also, yep, that list definitely shouts Golden to me too.
 

Laurelin

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#8
Aussies are another breed that has been on the list for a while. The plan has been for my next two dogs to be some combination of pyrshep (fill my complicated and wild quota) and then aussie or bc.

I have noticed a lot of variety in aussies though like you have. Some hit the nail almost right on the head and then others go too far one way or another. I know a few that are really really boisterous and quite a few with dog issues and then others that are overly sensitive and afraid. I love those middle dogs though. I've also wondered if an English shepherd would be a better fit although I think drive would be an issue with them probably. Drive is an issue in a lot of the aussies too. But the right ones are SO good....

Britts are another I've thought about but they seem very very high energy in that sporting dog way and I'm not sure... But they're an idea I've had for sure.

I know nothing about spaniels other than papillons at all. I like welsh springers from what I've seen but the ones I've met are a LOT calmer than what I'd like. I'll admit my limited experience with English springers has not been great so even though I've had them suggested before I haven't really considered them. A lot of the spaniels I see running agility don't seem near as handler focused as I'm used to either. I know that's probably training but I see a lot of nose on the ground in the middle of the ring. A lot of motivation issues too and not as much drive as I want.
 

Shai

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#9
Add three pounds to your weight req and you just described Mira.

Although your "bonus" features are central to her personality, not

Also on the high end of your energy req, but mental games take the edge off if you can't get out. Self-entertains well (and appropriately).

And she's not really a dog to bounce around greeting people, though she's quite happy to get attention if offered. Unless she is working or might soon get to work...then non-essential people cease to exist.
 

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#10
You need a Logan. He's all those, except he's a bit clumsy so isn't an agility dog. There are definitely collies that can do agility, and do it well, though. Just not Logan :rofl1: You could possibly find a female under 50 pounds, but Logan is 75ish pounds. Most females are much smaller than Logan, though.

Aside from that, Logan is ALL of those. He's very food motivated (I had to squash that some with his service dog training, though), and also responds well to coon tails and fox tails. I could probably build up a good tug drive if I wanted to put in the effort - he'll tug on the fox and coon tails, but those things can't hold up to him. I could also probably make him do almost anything for a roll of tape lol. He's pretty active, but does have an excellent off switch. He can go from lure coursing to chilling in a restaurant fast asleep (or at least pretending very well to be asleep). My mom describes him as "high on life" - VERY upbeat...but also dead serious when he's working. Collies as a whole are sensitive dogs, but Logan is EXTREMELY confident, nothing phases him. Totally bombproof. We spent 4 days at Riverfest this past week, and he was around horses, fireworks, cannons, dogs and people barking at him, skateboards, bikes, scooters, trucks, helicopters flying in close range, gunshots, screaming people, huge crowds, two loud concerts, kids climbing all over him, and he was even on a boat and took it all in stride. But he's also not shut down during all this stuff, he's very alert and focused, just totally relaxed about everything. He's also super easy to clicker train, but responds well to several different training approaches.

Logan doesn't like to swim, at least not in pools, but he has no problem running into the river/lake/ocean to the point just before he has to swim, and LOVES to chase the hose. I think with practice he's be a swimmer, too, but it's not something I do often, so I haven't pursued it yet.
 

Laurelin

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#12
So basically I need you all to clone your dogs. :p

I've seen a few flat coats compete and they were definitely impressive. Never met one though, really. Just in passing. That pesky cancer thing though and same with goldens really. Both breeds are on the big side too.

Collies are one that I just am unsure about. There's been one I've known that rocked and the rest were not nearly drivey enough for me. A good collie though is a very nice dog. They're also big too though, haha. It seems like most breeds that fit that description though are on the larger end of the weight limit I've set for myself.

It's interesting to get ideas though! I'll have to file them away since I'll have a while until NextNextDog. :p Summer's going to live forever. Yup.
 

Saeleofu

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#13
Collies are one that I just am unsure about. There's been one I've known that rocked and the rest were not nearly drivey enough for me. A good collie though is a very nice dog. They're also big too though, haha. It seems like most breeds that fit that description though are on the larger end of the weight limit I've set for myself.
You would have to do some research on breeders. The two collies I used to train were very, very low drive. One of them could train for 10 minutes at a time, then lost interest and went to take a nap. Smooths as a whole typically have more drive than roughs, but it does still of course depend on breeding.
 

Paviche

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#14
I don't have any suggestions that haven't already been mentioned, but I wanted to pop in and say that I think Brittanys have too much of a frantic energy for Laurelin. My experience is fairly limited, but a lot of the Brittanys I've met have a very restless, uncontainable sort of energy to them... it's hard to explain, but it's often too much for me to want to handle, and I'm more of a sporting dog person than Laurelin is! Rowan is not that way but he's a weird Brit. I've known a few who weren't so tightly wound up, but also a few who are. IME GSPs and Vizslas are the same way, depending on the breeding. Again I can think of a couple of each that are more "laid back" (for their breed of course) but then a bunch that are pretty balls to the wall all the time.

I just wanted to bring it up since I know in the past she's talked about the difference in herder vs sporter energy and how she generally prefers the herder type.
 

PWCorgi

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#15
With the exception of this one:
- Extremely high biddability and desire to work with you.
I would say you need a Siri :D

And it's not like she's not biddable (she is!) but she has independent moments and so I wouldn't call her "extreme" in her biddability. Overall though, she loves to work and interact with me. She is also the most independent of her litter :p

ETA: Derp, I need to go back to school and learn how to math. I think you're looking for something a little larger than 10 pound Siri...
 

Laurelin

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#16
Herders definitely fit better in my experience but I have no idea how papillons fit into that. I quite enjoy them but they're definitely not a herding breed.
 

crazedACD

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#17
I don't know why I keep recommending them to everyone, I've never had one, but Standard Poodle!

I think they hit everything on your list...some can be a bit reserved but I've met plenty that were happy and friendly out and about.

It seems your list fits the Sporting group. Or, like everyone said, BC or Aussie if you are leaning towards herders.
 
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#19
You need a Hudson, or a small female version of Hudson. Hudson is small for the type of dog his breeder breeds for, some reason all of the dogs from his litter are small. The biggest is around 40 lbs at 9 months. The rest (including Hudson) are around, or a little less than, 35 lbs. I would not call Hudson high energy level, but I think a lot of that is my doing. He is game for anything I might decide to do with him. We can do long-ish hikes, take a nap, and he is ready for more

He wants to please and work with me, but he is also a bad boy dog who has to pee on all the things. He is also hard to get to focus in environments where there are lots of other people and other dogs. But, we are developing a tug drive, so I hope that, that will help. He is NOT food motivated, like at all, but he has a sister that really, REALLY likes food. Her owner was complaining that it is hard to keep her focused on training because the silly girl wants to eat the cicadas. lol.

Hudson has never met a stranger. He is kind of wary of strange men, like the plumber we just had. He really wanted to be friends, but was kind of tail down, ears down, not too sure of him. Hudson LOVES kids. Like, loves LOVES kids.

I don't know if any of Hudson's littermates are going to do agility, but one sister is going to do flyball. I'm excited to hear how she does when she is old enough to play. Hudson is a little short and stocky, like his mom, but I know that there are people who compete with their ES in agility. I watched Hudson attempt (but not really succeed) at jumping up on our rock wall that is about 4.5 feet tall. The lower sections of the wall he just flies onto.


Hudson has been exposed to as much as I possibly can expose him too (which isn't a lot) and he has never met a stranger, dog or person. He is a little rude when playing and got into a few scuffles at the dog park, but he would back down from Julee's Em when she snarked at Hudson.

So, yeah, you need an ES
 

Shai

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#20
So basically I need you all to clone your dogs. :p

I've seen a few flat coats compete and they were definitely impressive. Never met one though, really. Just in passing. That pesky cancer thing though and same with goldens really. Both breeds are on the big side too.

...

It's interesting to get ideas though! I'll have to file them away since I'll have a while until NextNextDog. :p Summer's going to live forever. Yup.
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.
 

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