What breed for me?

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
7,065
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
33
Location
WI
#21
I don't think I've ever even looked at Curly-Coats. What are they like?

And your Dutch is gorgeous. :) And yes, if I were to look in to any working breed, I would definitely be looking for one that is not bred for hard core sport/work/competition. I need a good family dog, and while I hope to get involved non competitively in sports, this will be a dog that will be around when I'm hopefully married and have children and working the dog isn't going to be high on my priority list when that happens. On the flip side, in the next few years the dog will be my main priority. Which is really why I want one next summer - by the time I'm ready for a family, I'll have a well trained, socialized adult dog that doesn't need all my attention. Lol
 

Aleron

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
2,269
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
NE Ohio
#23
I don't think I've ever even looked at Curly-Coats. What are they like?
The ones at the training club are just really nice all around dogs. Willing and able to do everything their owner wants to do with them. This seems to fit the ones I have known, although they are all related:

"The Curly Coat is possessed of an imperturbable temperament. Even tempered, this dog is intensely loyal and will be protective of the family while maintaining unfailingly good manners to humans likewise mannered. Curlies tend to be reserved rather than extroverted with strangers. However, this reserve can be shed rather dramatically when someone the dog knows and loves approaches!

Curly Coats are very slow to mature and this should be taken into account when training them. They are always quick and intelligent, however, so tailoring your training into multiple, short, and interesting sessions will yield the best results over time."

and...

"Are they just like Labradors or other Retrievers?

No. Each of the Retriever breeds, even though closely related, has distinct habits and temperaments, and the Curly is no exception. Curlies are very much loyal family dogs and are reserved with strangers. They make excellent watch dogs because of this characteristic. They are generally a dignified and somewhat independent dog, especially as compared to the Golden Retriever and the Labrador Retriever. Like the Flat Coated Retriever, Curlies come in both black and (recessive) liver colors. There have been occasional reports of yellow Curlies, but this has never been an accepted color in the breed and very few if any yellows occur today.

The Curly Coat does share the general Retriever characteristics such as intelligence, keen instinct for hunting and retrieving, an extended puppyhood, and an even and stable temperament."

http://www.angelfire.com/ny/curlycoat/FAQ.html

And your Dutch is gorgeous. :) And yes, if I were to look in to any working breed, I would definitely be looking for one that is not bred for hard core sport/work/competition. I need a good family dog, and while I hope to get involved non competitively in sports, this will be a dog that will be around when I'm hopefully married and have children and working the dog isn't going to be high on my priority list when that happens. On the flip side, in the next few years the dog will be my main priority. Which is really why I want one next summer - by the time I'm ready for a family, I'll have a well trained, socialized adult dog that doesn't need all my attention. Lol
It isn't always that simple with these breeds (GSDs, Belgians, Dutchies, most of the herding breeds really especially those which were also used for guarding/protection). Buying from someone who isn't breeding for working temperament doesn't mean you will get an easier version of the breed. I don't think you can get a better family dog than a good GSD - they adore their people and tend to be extremely tolerant of their kids, almost to a fault. Of course, there are exceptions to that and I'd generally suggest going to a breeder selecting for a traditional (working) temperament to stack the odds in favor of getting one with a proper temperament. My GSD Jora was very driven, very protective and intense...but a really great family dog too. Belgians can also be great family dogs as well, although I have known quite a few who've lost their homes with kids due to resource guarding :( Both of those breeds can be difficult in their territorial/guardy tendencies, need for proper early and ongoing socialization/training and tendencies towards dog aggression or reactivity. And those traits can be found in working as well as show bred dogs. Dutch Shepherds I don't have as much personal experience with but I suspect it is similar. Some are easy, some aren't...and some of it depends on what you consider easy.
 

FG167

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
2,709
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Jefferson, GA
#25
Having owned a Dutchie, been around a large number of Malinois and GSDs and now owned several GSDs - GSDs are easier to get a stable, balanced one. You have to be very cautious of what lines your Dutchie is coming from. Malinois/DS are more sensitive and the drive is different but all three are what I would term "velcro" dogs. My DS was a nerve bag that would bite anyone given the opportunity. He was KNPV bred and not suited to be a family pet/SAR/agility/flyball dog (which is what I was hoping for). My GSD is pretty awesome and everything I could possibly hope for in terms of stability and balance. I've met some really, really awesome Mal's but again, definitely depends on what you consider "easy". If you import from a nice kennel you can definitely get a nice, more family-oriented/safe DS but I would be surprised to see that very often in the US...
 

Dekka

Just try me..
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
19,779
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
48
Location
Ontario
#27
I haven't really considered sighthounds much due to always viewing them as somewhat...sensitive? Shy? That and the fact that hound + off lead doesn't normally belong in the same sentence. Most of the retired racers I've met are lovely dogs, just not my cup of tea. The only Whippet I ever met I...strongly disliked. But she was dumber than a box of rocks and paid no attention to any cues you gave, ever. I'd love to meet a more proper Whippet.

I haven't ever met a Viszla, so I can't say I know much about them. Just from doing some reading, it seems as if they are rather soft, clingy dogs as well? Or that could have just been the one opinion. I already have one soft, clingy dog, don't really care for another. Lol
The breeder bred vs racing bred greys I have met are out going, bouncy happy dogs. More sensitive than a typical retriever, but not shy or reserved. I can tell you on my trip around the US I met far more bouncy in your face whippets than shy ones! Yes there are the timid shy sight hounds.. but that isn't indicative of what a good one is like.

Most whippet dog people I know (vs whippet pet people... you know people who know dogs and do things with them vs people who simply love them an walk them around the block) all have off leash whippets. They are relatively clingy and handler focused.

Vislas are not my cup of tea. Most I put up there with Mals with dogs I admire but do not want to own. Then again most that I have met have been more working lines.. but they seem pretty insane lol.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
6,405
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Minnesota
#28
Seems like a LOT of the vizslas I see coming through `these days are quite timid and anxious. It didn't used to be that way, so I don't know if it's just a regional breeder thing or what. It's unfortunate, I used to really like them a lot of wouldn't even have them on a "maybe someday" list right now.
 

FG167

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
2,709
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Jefferson, GA
#29
The breeder bred vs racing bred greys I have met are out going, bouncy happy dogs. More sensitive than a typical retriever, but not shy or reserved. I can tell you on my trip around the US I met far more bouncy in your face whippets than shy ones! Yes there are the timid shy sight hounds.. but that isn't indicative of what a good one is like.

Most whippet dog people I know (vs whippet pet people... you know people who know dogs and do things with them vs people who simply love them an walk them around the block) all have off leash whippets. They are relatively clingy and handler focused.

Vislas are not my cup of tea. Most I put up there with Mals with dogs I admire but do not want to own. Then again most that I have met have been more working lines.. but they seem pretty insane lol.
I would love a list of breeders that produce these clingier whippets...with long hair. I am definitely interested.

My parents have a Vizsla, she's 12 and still crazy hyper. She's very, very, very sweet and an extreme velcro dog. She's sensitive but not soft, very bright, excellent drive, settles very well in the house, great with other dogs. I am thinking probably too "needy" for what you said you wanted but they can be good dogs. She is from hunting dog stock. BUT, the first 2-4 years, her energy was extremely difficult to deal with.
 

sillysally

Obey the Toad.
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
5,074
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
A hole in the bottom of the sea.
#30
Blackrose, your list looks like pretty much like mine as far as what I'm looking for in a dog so I'm definitely reading this thread with interest!

Not trying to threadjack, but how does one even find a breeder of stable, sound, family GSDs? Its seems like everyone has different opinions about what lines have the better dogs, and in our geographic area the most sound dogs I've seen are white GSDs, which are supposed to be a no no....
 

FG167

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
2,709
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Jefferson, GA
#31
Not trying to threadjack, but how does one even find a breeder of stable, sound, family GSDs? Its seems like everyone has different opinions about what lines have the better dogs, and in our geographic area the most sound dogs I've seen are white GSDs, which are supposed to be a no no....
Meet the dogs, find what you like, ask about the breeder, meet the breeder if you can...This will be easier if you start at least with if you want showline or workingline - pet dogs can be found in both. Then go from there. I can give you a few breeders of both if you are interested, that I have personal experience with. My dog is not 1.5 years yet and is wonderful in the house, he is working line.

The white GSDs I've met/seen, I could not be paid to take - the nerve is bad. But, that's not to say that there are not good breeders out there.

Unfortunately, the GSD is a breed that is very, very split (German Show, American Show, Working - which is then split into several more groups: Czech, Belgian, West German etc etc) so you need to decide what "look" you like, or background you like, what kind of thing you want the dog to be able to do and then start to research that area. If you try to find just a handful of breeders in all of the different "types" of GSDs, you will be overwhelmed. Or at least, I was, when I first started looking :)
 

Dekka

Just try me..
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
19,779
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
48
Location
Ontario
#32
I would love a list of breeders that produce these clingier whippets...with long hair. I am definitely interested.

My parents have a Vizsla, she's 12 and still crazy hyper. She's very, very, very sweet and an extreme velcro dog. She's sensitive but not soft, very bright, excellent drive, settles very well in the house, great with other dogs. I am thinking probably too "needy" for what you said you wanted but they can be good dogs. She is from hunting dog stock. BUT, the first 2-4 years, her energy was extremely difficult to deal with.

The ones I met were all regular short coated whippets. But I do have a bunch of cards from breeders. I met one boy I wanted to take home. We walk through the door and are met by 5 boucning whippets, but one with a toy. He was so excited to see new humans and wanted to play instantly. He kept play bowing with his toy and doing the whole body wiggle.

There is one breeder I know very well that produces beautiful dogs, good confo but also fantastic out going temperaments. All hers go off leash around their farm. When they race they run back to her after the race is over (and they are GOOD racers!)
 

YodelDogs

New Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
479
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Georgia
#33
What about a Smooth Collie? Perhaps a lovely black tri? With the exception of barking being protective, they seem to fit everything else you mentioned.
 

FG167

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
2,709
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Jefferson, GA
#34
The ones I met were all regular short coated whippets. But I do have a bunch of cards from breeders. I met one boy I wanted to take home. We walk through the door and are met by 5 boucning whippets, but one with a toy. He was so excited to see new humans and wanted to play instantly. He kept play bowing with his toy and doing the whole body wiggle.

There is one breeder I know very well that produces beautiful dogs, good confo but also fantastic out going temperaments. All hers go off leash around their farm. When they race they run back to her after the race is over (and they are GOOD racers!)
PM please? :)
 

Aleron

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
2,269
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
NE Ohio
#35
Not trying to threadjack, but how does one even find a breeder of stable, sound, family GSDs? Its seems like everyone has different opinions about what lines have the better dogs, and in our geographic area the most sound dogs I've seen are white GSDs, which are supposed to be a no no....
I guess it depends on what you mean by "sound". I find a lot of non-GSD people think that low/no drive, non-guardy, super laid back GSDs are "good GSDs". A GSD with a proper temperament is supposed to be driven, intense and have some degree of aggression. That is what makes them such great protection dogs and does not, in any way mean that they won't be great family dogs too. However, if one wants a dog who's laid back, low drive, low energy, mild temperament with no aggressive thoughts at all...well sure you can find such GSDs but overall, I'd say the breed probably is not for you.

A good example of proper GSDs to me would be the dogs a friend of mine breeds. She uses SchH as a temperament test and breedings are done with that in mind. The litters she has had have gone to SchH, police, SAR, Service Dogs for children, obedience/performance and "just" family pets. These dogs can go anywhere, are very sound but are also serious about protection work and have great work ethic. There is nothing about a GSD with a proper working temperament that should make them unsuited to being great family dogs, providing a GSD really is what the family wants and is prepared for.

As to whites being a no-no, I don't think there are any breeders of wGSD that are making breeding for a proper working temperament their priority. IME the wGSDs I have been around generally lacking what I would consider proper temperament for the breed. They were developed from pet lines (the well bred ones are pet crossed with American show lines) and IME are fairly typical of what you would find in pet bred GSD. That isn't to say that all wGSD have poor temperaments, dogs can have perfectly lovely temperaments but not be correct for the breed. And I'm sure that there are some wGSD out there who are closer to correct, I just haven't been around them. Also a lot of the wGSD IME are also oversized, including the ones people show. Someone brought a few to the training club for conformation this year and they were HUGE. Of course, a lot of the AKC show dogs are oversized too.

There is every sort of GSD breeder out there, most people can find one that suits them if they want a GSD. I don't really care if people decide a wGSD is absolutely the perfect dog for them. There are plenty of people who find them to be great as pets, performance, service dogs, etc but in general, they don't tend to be correct for the breed and it isn't just a matter of color.
 

FG167

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
2,709
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Jefferson, GA
#36
A good example of proper GSDs to me would be the dogs a friend of mine breeds. She uses SchH as a temperament test and breedings are done with that in mind. The litters she has had have gone to SchH, police, SAR, Service Dogs for children, obedience/performance and "just" family pets. These dogs can go anywhere, are very sound but are also serious about protection work and have great work ethic. There is nothing about a GSD with a proper working temperament that should make them unsuited to being great family dogs, providing a GSD really is what the family wants and is prepared for.

There is every sort of GSD breeder out there, most people can find one that suits them if they want a GSD. I don't really care if people decide a wGSD is absolutely the perfect dog for them. There are plenty of people who find them to be great as pets, performance, service dogs, etc but in general, they don't tend to be correct for the breed and it isn't just a matter of color.
:thumbsupsmileyanim: Excellent post.

ETA: wanted to say, while I have a wonderful "house pet" - my dog also does flyball, agility, lure coursing, dock jumping and IPO. He has drive coming out his ears and I love that about him.
 

sillysally

Obey the Toad.
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
5,074
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
A hole in the bottom of the sea.
#38
I guess it depends on what you mean by "sound". I find a lot of non-GSD people think that low/no drive, non-guardy, super laid back GSDs are "good GSDs". A GSD with a proper temperament is supposed to be driven, intense and have some degree of aggression. That is what makes them such great protection dogs and does not, in any way mean that they won't be great family dogs too. However, if one wants a dog who's laid back, low drive, low energy, mild temperament with no aggressive thoughts at all...well sure you can find such GSDs but overall, I'd say the breed probably is not for you.

A good example of proper GSDs to me would be the dogs a friend of mine breeds. She uses SchH as a temperament test and breedings are done with that in mind. The litters she has had have gone to SchH, police, SAR, Service Dogs for children, obedience/performance and "just" family pets. These dogs can go anywhere, are very sound but are also serious about protection work and have great work ethic. There is nothing about a GSD with a proper working temperament that should make them unsuited to being great family dogs, providing a GSD really is what the family wants and is prepared for.

As to whites being a no-no, I don't think there are any breeders of wGSD that are making breeding for a proper working temperament their priority. IME the wGSDs I have been around generally lacking what I would consider proper temperament for the breed. They were developed from pet lines (the well bred ones are pet crossed with American show lines) and IME are fairly typical of what you would find in pet bred GSD. That isn't to say that all wGSD have poor temperaments, dogs can have perfectly lovely temperaments but not be correct for the breed. And I'm sure that there are some wGSD out there who are closer to correct, I just haven't been around them. Also a lot of the wGSD IME are also oversized, including the ones people show. Someone brought a few to the training club for conformation this year and they were HUGE. Of course, a lot of the AKC show dogs are oversized too.

There is every sort of GSD breeder out there, most people can find one that suits them if they want a GSD. I don't really care if people decide a wGSD is absolutely the perfect dog for them. There are plenty of people who find them to be great as pets, performance, service dogs, etc but in general, they don't tend to be correct for the breed and it isn't just a matter of color.
What I would Want:

-driven to DO something, but won't go insane if we skip a couple days without training

-up for anything and can go all day, but can chill too-has an off switch

-is good with children

-can do agility

-can go anywhere in public safely, is very tolerant of strangers. Doesn't have to love everyone, but does have to be able to deal with what strangers can dish out in public (unsolicited touching, etc)

-can tolerate other dogs. Doesn't have to be a dog park dog, but does have to be able to dog tolerant enough to go on hikes, walks, and events where other dogs will be

-don't want a reactive dog

-don't want a dog that will eat my birds

-will tolerate kids friends coming in to the house

-is not so guardy that the dog would go crazy living in down town area
 

Jynx

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
1,071
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
CT
#39
I have always had GSD's and aussies. I will always have both for different reasons.

A friend of mine (dog trainer) has a toller and I LIKE that dog..She is just a nice all around pooch who is smart as a whip, will go all day long but hang out as well.
 

Dekka

Just try me..
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
19,779
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
48
Location
Ontario
#40
For those who want PMs.. I have to go through all my thesis stuff. The cards are in there.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top