What about a Boxer? Some are super bulldog-ish, some very mastiffy, but some are pretty light and not very slobbery. The lighter ones seem to tick quite a few of your boxes, aside from weight...
That's funny cuz when I first read it I went "hey! This describes Juno!"
She ticks all the boxes other than weight.
But yeah I know boxers aren't what you have in mind.
I was also gonna say boxer til I got to the last one
That's funny! I would have never thought of that! But I don't think they are what I am looking for as they would be too big, more slobbery than I'd like (or at least the few that I have spent any decent amount of time with were and would leave giant chunks of slobber on my pants after running past me)
I also can't imagine them to be graceful doing flips.. or to do them safely (for disc).
She looks fantastic! It is dogs like that- that are getting my interest in weight pull. I think I am going to create a thread now.. I've been wanting to start a thread about it for awhile now!
GSP maybe? They work hard/play hard, are drivey, lots of energy, extremely athletic, short coat, and fairly serious (especially for a sporting dog)
Males would be above your ideal weight, but I think it's going to be hard to find a 35lb dog in a 24" frame. Do you want tall? Or do you want light weight?
I have liked the GSP's I have met. Interesting thought! A quick google search says females are supposed to be 45-60 pounds?? I don't remember them being that big!
My height range was ideally 18-24 inches
so like Border Collie size.
I have an Australian Koolie, and I think that she fits most of the things in your list. My Koolie definitely has reactive tendencies though, especially towards other dogs. She was socialized extensively as a pup (many trips through shopping malls, beaches, parks, play dates with other pups) and really seemed to love interacting with all dogs, up until she hit maturity. She never had a single bad experience till I moved in with my SO and his Lab. His Lab was very boisterous and had a rude playing style and Circus effing HATED him for a few months. He clipped her shoulder while they were running at a tree to chase after a squirrel and now she absolutely lays into him if he's ever running towards her.
Circus can't stand poor social skills from other dogs which is weird, because she herself has poor social skills (I would say that she greets every new dog with a posture that's "confidently challenging"). She'll re-focus on me if I'm totally on top of things. If she's greeting a dog outside of my pack I always call her back to me within 2 seconds, otherwise she tends to fixate on them too much and gets too aroused.
I didn't acknowledge (I was in denial for the longest time) that she had a problem with interacting with dogs outside of our pack till I got asked to stop bringing her to the pet store I frequent. She'd get really snarky whenever a store dog came up to her (and usually the clerks aren't too great about managing their dog's behaviors, either). She has never growled or displayed any calming behaviors (and I've NEVER corrected her for growling as a pup), she just... reacts. She has never caused much damage to another dog, but it's still worrisome when a 25lb Koolie is ready to start a fight with a 95lb GSD just for making sustained eye contact with her. I've been working on click and treating for looking at other dogs in the distance or near her and just focusing back on me and she's making a lot of progress. My goal is to have it so that she learns to walk away from a dog whenever she's feeling stressed/aroused about the situation.
But yeah, around the time when Circus turned 1.5-2ish, I've really been having to micromanage her behavior around other dogs. It's a huge PITA BUT she has tons of other things going for her. She's extremely fast and athletic and a very bright and eager student. She truly enjoys learning and it is just such a delight to work with her. She is extremely animated and fun. She launches herself at my face and vigorously attempts to make out with me every time I come home from work. She LOVES to train and play. She is very talented at disc and it makes the sport much more fun for me, because of how good she is at it. She loves everybody and kisses everyone on their face if they get down on her level and call her over. She's a super snuggler at night, sleeps on my legs and keeps me warm.
I love Circus and I'd get another one like her in an instant. She's taught me so much more about dog behavior and psychology than any other dog that's been a part of my life. So far it's been an amazing learning experience working with her and bonding with her.
Circus is the only Australian Koolie I have experience with, though. So I'm not sure if my experiences with her are typical of the breed.
Thank you so much for your response! I really want a koolie because it seems like (unlike most breeds) they seem to really check most, if not all of my boxes!
I have heard of several lines that have reactive dogs in them. I am sure it depends on the environment as well. It sounds like you did everything correctly, so was probably more genetically predisposed in your case =/
I can handle reactive dogs, I would say both of my girls are reactive, Chloe much more so than Angel, but when Angel reacts... she REACTS with this god awful sound. lol. But because I have had to deal with reactivity from them I am hoping to find a dog that isn't. Both of my girls don't have great social skills, but get really angry at other dogs with poor social skills.
I definitely understand your worry with a 25pound koolie with a 95pound dog. Angel (15pounds) will definitely take on any dog no matter the size. Chloe would be snarky at other dogs, although she is getting a lot better with me socializing her!
Other than possible reactivity, koolies sound perfect.
