Sports people- Choosing your dog

How important was doing well in your chosen sport to choosing your dog? How would you rank sporting ability vs other desired traits in your dog (size, looks, other companion qualities)

With Kimma, it wasn't at all. I didn't even know this "world" existed when I bought her home. Bubbles and Pen were chosen for conformation showing, but apparently I picked the wrong part of the country for that I think they are both happy with the therapy thing though

Since I was already so enamored with Finkies and knew that they were the perfect breed for me in so many ways, it just made sense that the next one I got would be with sports in mind. Kimma is actually quite good at everything we attempt to do, so I figured that picking a more confident, even-tempered dog next would be even better since Kimma is so fearful and anxious and that can really mess with her performance at times. So, welcome to Jari

Any further dogs will be chosen with the intention of sports, but I would prefer to have a dog that meshes with my lifestyle and that of my current dogs versus a dog just for sports.

Did you choose a breed or line well known for competing in your sport?

HAHAHA no. In general, dog sports + Finkies = Wow, lady, why do you like to torture yourself like that?

Was it important for you to get 'the best' breed/line/whatnot for the sport or did you get a breed known to do well enough but maybe not the percieved 'best'? Or was that not a factor at all and you just chose a breed you liked regardless of sport ability?

There are no known Finkie breeders breeding specifically for sport. For me, it's breed first (health, temperament, structure included in this), individual personality second, ability to do sports third.

What level of sport was/is your goal with your dog? For fun? Casual competition? Specific titles? Nationals/worlds?

With Kimma, I want to get her MACH. My instructor thinks we can get to Nationals at some point, but I need a lot more money/time for trialing - doing it once a month will not help me to get the points/Qs I need. We are already going to Invitationals, though, so that's just amazing for me in and of itself. I have higher expectations for Jari, but not that much higher. He is already "ahead" of Kimma in that he does not have the fear issues that she does. I am VERY realistic in my goals for both of them. Heck, at this point for Jari I will just be happy if he can work consistently with other dogs around the ring

I would like to get Kimma's CD and RE one day, too, but not for a while. Agility is the main focus. Not sure about obedience/rally goals for Jari.

And their happiness comes first. If they don't like it, we will stop playing.

I picked Jackson from a classifieds ad in the newspaper and that was that. No thought really went into it at all. :rofl1:

But in the future, no dog will be picked for sports. I am just not serious enough about them to have that as a high priority. Now, I do like a dog that is capable and willing to try new things, and enjoy a dog who wants to play fetch, and frisbee, and swim, etc... but definitely don't need a champion or anything.

On tablet so hard to bold everything, but it is there.

I'd like to play! I'm not super into sports yet, but that's an availability of classes/timing/etc thing. Our focus is agility but I enjoy dabbling. I think Riff will be really into flyball.

My list of potential breeds for my next dog are all breeds that are at least moderately suited to agility (and other sports.) Part of that is by design, and part of that is the same old... I just like those traits in a companion. I want a breeder that does some performance work, but it's unlikely I'll be looking at any "big names" in any breed. My sport requirement is basically the same as it was with my other dogs. I want to play and be moderately successful, but I have no intention (thus far) of being a hardcore competitor and my dogs reflect that.

I've mostly dabbled in various things or chosen activities that fit a dog rather than the other way around. In the future I'll probably choose dogs with skijoring in mind, though, unless I lose a leg in a tragic scooter accident. Not too hard, if I can't find a puppy there are always tons of young adult wash-outs who don't cut it on a racing team but who would be just dandy for a recreational skijorer.

Just need a dog who wants to pull, can focus on the task, and prefer no DA/DR so I can do races. And that I can live with in the house, but after Squash... anything will be possible.

*Keep in mind that I'm not a harc core sports person and my main goal in any dog is a good, fun, capably active companion*

How important was doing well in your chosen sport to choosing your dog? How would you rank sporting ability vs other desired traits in your dog (size, looks, other companion qualities)

Not that import. I was looking for a medium sized, athletic, active dog built for versatility and doing things, but because I enjoy hiking and walking and playing fetch and teaching tricks. So naturally (IMO), a dog made for those such qualities is also going to have the qualities to make a good sport dog. Perhaps not like world level or anything, but good enough for me.

Did you choose a breed or line well known for competing in your sport?

I chose a breed I liked based on: Size, athleticism, ability to learn, versatility, appearance, etc. I did keep in mind that I enjoy training, even if not yet competing, in different sports. But again, the qualities that I like in a dog are qualities that would generally make a good sport dog. So I did have "I want an Agility dog" in the back of my mind, because yes, I did want to finally get more involved in sports and be good at them and have a dog that stood a good chance of being successful as well.

Was it important for you to get 'the best' breed/line/whatnot for the sport or did you get a breed known to do well enough but maybe not the percieved 'best'? Or was that not a factor at all and you just chose a breed you liked regardless of sport ability?

I got a breed that perhaps is not always the very best at sports, but suited me way better than your typical sport bred Border Collie. Aussies are good at sports, but definitely not usually what people think of as the best of the best. But they are completely suited to me and in the grand scheme of things, they are what I want. So I basically chose a breed that I liked, that I thought would be very good/'good enough' (and when I say good enough I mean it in a good way - no dog will ever be perfect) to try any sport that I wanted to, and eventually compete in. Because that is the long term goal - to compete. But at the end of the day, I want a cuddle buddy on the couch and a go all day walk-through-the-woods with dog.

As an example, even in the future, I love my Flyball team. Much more than I love the actual sport itself, but regardless, for as long as my team is around, I'll play Flyball with them. However, I would not go out with the intention of any next dog being the perfect Flyball dog. I'm just not the type of person to get a dog with a specific sport being at the forefront. Everything else comes first, and while I wouldn't want to seek a dog out who was not good at sports, I definitely do not put a specific sport as my top priority.

What level of sport was/is your goal with your dog? For fun? Casual competition? Specific titles? Nationals/worlds?

Currently I train and play in sports for fun and chickened out of my first Agility trial (and I had to work) haha. But eventually I do want to casually compete. But still, just for fun. Titles are a goal as well, but I have no desire to be hugely competitive to the level of Nationals or Worlds. I am still jsut learning though and even the thought of entering Agility as a novice gives me a bit of a panic attack haha. We'll see how my views change as I grow and learn more and become more confident.

These are all for future dogs.

How important was doing well in your chosen sport to choosing your dog? How would you rank sporting ability vs other desired traits in your dog (size, looks, other companion qualities)

It's very important to me. I love dog sports. Em was adopted with the intention of being my first serious competition dog, but a bunch of things happened (My disabilities got worse before I knew what was going on and knew how to treat them, my dad lost his job for a few years, etc) and we are just now getting ready to trial. Sporting ability is really, really important to me. I can live with just about any dog, so that helps

Did you choose a breed or line well known for competing in your sport?

I will be, yes. Not all breeds I'm interested in have working/sport lines, for those breeds I'll be choosing breeders really carefully. Health testing is non-negotiable, structure is super important to me, but drive can be built.

Was it important for you to get 'the best' breed/line/whatnot for the sport or did you get a breed known to do well enough but maybe not the perceived 'best'? Or was that not a factor at all and you just chose a breed you liked regardless of sport ability?

I'm going to get a dog whose breeding/breeder I'm comfortable with. The parents don't need to be one of the top ten dogs in x sport in the country or anything like that.

One of the breeds I really love is the Bull Terrier. I did find a breeder who health tests and competes in agility and obedience (!!!), but if she wasn't around, I'd probably have to go through a conformation breeder. I supposed sporting ability of the parents wouldn't be such a huge factor.


What level of sport was/is your goal with your dog? For fun? Casual competition? Specific titles? Nationals/worlds?

Having fun, everything else is icing on the cake. I do lean towards serious competition vs casual.

I wanted my next dog to be a sports dog butmy boyfriend wanted a mastiff so we now have arya. My next dog will be a BC with sports in mind. I love BCs and I live with one already though he's pretty mellow. I can't wait to have a more intense one.

I should mention that I wouldn't get rid of a dog I got for sports simply because it didn't work out as a sport dog.

Dog sports are very important to me and when I was looking for a dog--the first dog I would have on my own and after picking out 5 failed family sport dogs haha---I was specifically looking for a dog who had the potential to do well at agility and dabble in others. I wasn't set on a certain breed - so I let DH pick the look of the dog, as long as that dog had the temperament & personality I wanted. Enter Crossbone.

I chose a rescue with an unknown background who had been through multiple homes

No, I chose Crossbone for Crossbone, and I love him regardless of his sport ability. Even though my trainer tells us he's Worlds potential...(I pay her to say that.)

My goal with Crossy was to get back into the agility world, gain experience and have fun with my dog--and try out some other sports as well. He's been good for that and is getting better every day!

I do have to live with the dog first and foremost, so it has to be suited to our (crazy) lifestyle. I would never choose a dog/breed because it was the "best suited for agility" or flyball, or disc, etc but I do want a dog who has the structure/drive/ability to excel and enjoy training and agility. I have a ridiculously picky husband who only likes certain types of dogs, based solely on appearance, which makes it difficult. If we can compromise on a dog who he likes the looks of and is suited for sports, I'm all for it.

I would never rehome a dog because he/she couldn't play--I'll just keep adding dogs opcorn: (read: how my parent's ended up with 5 dogs and I had zero to play agility with). I am more picky now though...

Ok round 2.

How important was meeting relatives of your dog in person to you? (Well for those that went with a breeder?) Or did you go based on video and reputation?

We chose Crossbone sight unseen. He was 10 hours away and Erin helped to show us videos and shared plenty with us about him. That said, we were adamant about driving down to pick him up, because "what if".

We are planning a trip to visit Rat Terrier breeder before puppies are born, or shortly after. Another 10 hour trip if we drive But I would like to meet parents and relatives in person before making a lifelong commitment. I've seen lots of videos, pictures, stories and talked with a lot of puppy buyers...but it's still scary. Then if there is a pup for us, we will be making the trip again.

I'm not sure I could buy and fly a pup to me based solely on reputation and videos.

Well obviously not super important, because I didn't meet them due to distance. The only relative I met was Punky, when I picked up Siri. I was FB friends with some people who own relatives though.

I feel like my breeder experience with Lynn is much different than it would have been with a breeder that I tracked down and didn't have a history with. I felt much more comfortable due to knowing her for years on here.

I still want to meet Who. And take her home. And keep her forever. But...yanno.

So... I'm a little late to the party. I did not choose my first dog based on sports but I did choose with sports in mind (if that makes any sense). I knew I wanted to do sports when I got the dog but I had no idea what to look for in a breeder. However, I've been really pleasently suprised with my dog. My next dog which is hopefully happening sometime next year is coming out of sports lines.

I want to be as competitive as I can be with factors such as money playing into that.

I choose dogs based on what I like and want to live with first. However I like dogs that would be good for the sports I'm into. I also like a little bit of chaos in my life so, I choose dogs based on that as well. :rofl1:

This time I will have the oppertunity to meet family members of futurepuppy. So I'm pretty excited for this.

It was honestly not as important as it should have been and I will probably insist on it more with my NextDog. At the least I want to talk to people who know relatives of the dog, if I can't meet them in person.

Watson's breeder has been in the breed for over 30 years and she was quick to admit that timidity is a problem and her first goal is to breed friendly dogs with stable temperaments. I ended up with a fabulous dog with a great temperament, so it worked out. I really should have insisted on meeting more relatives in person (I only met his mom and aunt), but at the time I figured enough people recommended his breeder that I would be fine. Now I know enough breeders and dogs that I could be fairly confident when choosing another Welshie. If I get a different breed in the future, I will be more careful about meeting relatives and looking for exactly the temperament I want (especially now that I'm more sure of what I want). I'm interested in Aussies and English shepherds which are both pretty variable, so I want to know what I'm getting.

ETA: I've met a young Welshie bitch at a few shows now (once when she was ~10 weeks, and once around 10 months) and she is so timid that it took her a couple hours to approach and take treats from people in our group. Her owner said he's going to start showing her this summer and if she finishes he would like to breed her This is why I will insist on meeting relatives in the future and be less trusting in general - "good temperament" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

Kili was my first puppy and first breeder dog. If her breeder had been far away I probably would have gone based on reputation since there's not a lot of choice in the world of greyhounds. Fortunately her breeder was only 3 hours away so I was able to drive and pick her up... and I wasn't 100% committed until I got there (I mean, it was pretty much a sure thing, but if the adults had been nervous, timid, or guardy I would have pulled the plug). It was reassuring getting to meet the adults. I got to meet Kili's dam and granddam/grandsire on her dam's side. Never met her sire as he's an American dog belonging to a different breeder. Also got to meet half-siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles. lol. I lost track.

In future if I choose to get another puppy from the same breeder I will not need to see the adults (and won't be able to as I'm moving across the country!). If I got a puppy from a different breeder (not sure why I would though with how well Kili is turning out... knock on wood!) I would have a strong preference for meeting the adults if possible (i.e. if they aren't in Texas).

I not only bought a puppy without meeting the parents, relatives, or puppies first, but also never having met a single member of the breed outside of an insane psycho dog.

I'm happy. Lol

No WAY would I have done that had I not have had access to tons of good reviews from prior puppy owners (and I don't mean "oh, my dog is amazing", but concrete examples of temperament and health), but I also picked the breeder's mind clean about what she deemed acceptable and unacceptable in breeding criteria (like temperament and health).

I'd probably be happy to go by word of mouth from sources I trust if I wasn't able to meet relatives of a potential puppy.

I was lucky enough to meet a lot of Auggie's family... his dad, his mom, his grandma, his brother, uncles and aunts. I really loved his dad but his brother (Georgie's dad) was the final selling point.

With Payton, well, a lot of the genes were the same. Auggie's grandma is Payton's great-grandma, Auggie's half-aunt is Payton's grandma, Pepper (and her sister, Georgie's mom) is Payton's half-sister... I had met Payton's/Pepper's mom I think only once, it might have been twice. The close relationship to Auggie is why I picked Payton. Auggie's grandma's genes were the ones I wanted in my next puppy. So that was really the point with Payton.

I did not meet (and have not met) Payton's dad or any of his lines. I did do a lot of research into the breeder's lines and P's dad for like two weeks before I even mentioned to Auggie's breeder I was interested. I asked her if she remembered if there were any puppies in that litter who had the right attitude, and she said two of them, and I asked her if one of them was a boy. She e-mailed the breeder for me and we talked about it for another couple weeks, and then we went to go get him... and that was that. Ta-da... Payton! So I guess that was partially knowing the lines on one side and trusting Auggie's breeder's evaluation of the puppy. (Spoiler alert: I made a good decision.)


I haven't met Pepper's dad either. I didn't do any research into his lines until after the fact, since I didn't really pick Pepper so much as she was offered to me when she was almost two.

Not important at all.

Eden came from Arkansas. I had met only 2 of her breed and they were not impressive at all. I talked on the phone to the breeder beforehand since he had Eden and her brother, and he chose Eden for me based on my needs/wants. I found him on the Cardigan Corgi website.

Kastle came from Belgium. I knew a few dogs out of his breeder and one out of his mother. I only communicated via email and the breeder chose him. The breeder was picked for me by a very trusted friend in the IPO community and he paved the way for me.

Limit came from Oregon. I had never met the breed in person and didn't know many that had. I talked to the breeder via email and she chose him for me.

Jentry came from California. The breeder was picked by my husband, who does know the sire. The pedigree is what drew him the most. The breeder picked my puppy with the input from my husband.