what dog breed should I get?

[akane]

It may be a year or 2 but I'm thinking after moving in to the house about getting a puppy. I don't want Zami to get too old before I get a new puppy so she is not as annoyed by it. It will likely still get flattened regularly for bothering her but I consider it helping train the puppy. I know I want a male and do not plan to neuter it. I debated breeding and will get a breeding quality male but the costs and complications of dog breeding are deterring me. Being able to compete in something like agility would be nice but it may not happen so not a deal breaker.

I'm leaning most to an australian shepherd. With all my spitz breeds that are so freaking annoying about listening and sticking around I thought something a little easier to work with and eager to please might be a nice change. Then again I like challenging dogs. :lol: I would get a caucasian shepherd but they aren't good in town and Josh says I cannot get a dog that weighs more than me or every animal in the house combined. I also need something that isn't going to take Josh's hand off. Maybe if we ever get land I will get some type of livestock guardian. Something more in the 50lb range would be better for now. Malamutes are not off the table if I can find a breeder of the smaller, working size ones but then it's another spitz breed that is probably difficult to train around small animals and we may have chickens. They will be in a tractor but I'm worried about them getting stressed by curious dogs. We will get chicks and raise them around dogs for that reason.

There are probably some more obscure breeds to look at. My mom has a norweigian elk hound that is interesting. They spoil him rotten and don't make him listen to any command though so I'm not sure of their personality when properly trained. "He cries if you try to put him in the vehicle when he doesn't want to." Do it anyway and he'll stop crying when he doesn't win. If I treated my akita that way I'd have something noone could handle. She'd walk all over us and get aggressive. She does growl at Josh still when he tries to take stuff and he's too afraid to discipline her so I have to go scruff her and tell her to give it. Josh does all those things that according to trainers I've taken classes from is supposed to mean you are leader like taking them out, giving them food, filling their water... Zami instead seems to just consider him the manual labor slave. While I am still boss. :lol:

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

If you want a dog that sticks around, listens well, and is easily socialized I'd strongly discourage you from obtaining a livestock guardian dog of any sort. I have four Pyr crosses and all, even the previously beaten one (not by me), are stubborn as mules and smarter than anything I've ever encountered. They'll listen to me and only me, and only through positive reinforcement training (these guys don't tolerate dominance based training; think of it as energy in, energy out), they also have a tendency toward wanting to traverse the perimeter of 'their' territory which, in accordance to my eldest, includes many acres that do not belong to me. We have a decent agreement, she isn't allowed to barrel over the fence and chase anyone off of 'her' territory, but she can let them know with a few displeased barks that they aren't welcome. They are extremely loyal and protective of their pack and, in the case of my beasts, quite sassy; my dogs do talk back and argue, we've made a game out of it, though they tend to do as asked, just while complaining and acting as though it is terribly difficult. Just wanted you to be aware of the challenges that go along with your average LGD. They aren't for the faint of heart, though can be quite clownish.

Elkhounds can be awesome dogs... if not spoiled rotten. They have the potential to be superb athletes, I've only had the pleasure of meeting one and they are truly stunning dogs, very lean and muscular. From what I've heard they can be good guard dogs or couch potatoes depending upon the commitment of their owner.

Australian Shepherds can be really good dogs, they are whip smart, though they can be quite sensitive and prone to anxiety if not treated respectfully and given sufficient exercise. They are one of the easiest dogs to manage in every other regard, even though grooming can be bothersome if you aren't up for at least a once weekly brushing to remove burrs, tangles, and loose fluff. I'd recommend trimming off the feathering for ease of grooming and for the comfort of the dog, though some groomers may oppose I do this with my golden/ACD and she loves it.

Malamutes are, more often than not, more brawn than brain. I lived in Alaska around hundreds of these dogs for several years before moving to Texas and can attest from experience that these guys are usually big, fluffy dorks. They make good companions, but, as you've already guessed, can have a strong prey drive. The operative word being 'can' some can be trained to be quite gentle with bitty things. One major downfall is, again, the grooming of that plush, thick coat; just like Huskies, Malamutes blow their coats twice yearly with moderate shedding in between and if not properly brushed out their coats can easily turn into a matted mess.

What exactly are you looking for in a dog? A mellow companion, an active jogging partner, a whip smart dog that can be trained to aid in house work? It'd be easier to recommend a breed with more information. Though you may run into more problems than you bargain for with an unaltered male regardless of breed.

As for the trainers who claim that caterers are high on a dogs list of respectable beings.... that is laughable. Most dogs think little of they guy that puts down the food bowl and tend to most respect the person that most often exercises their authority over the dog and offers more mental stimulation through training/exercise.

 

[Zass]

Shar pei. And takes lots of pics and post them frequently.

But get your man to be a dog boss. Not just feeding and watering, he as to give commands and get obedience.

 

[akane]

Yea I always get the "You should feed meals to your dog to assert your place in the pack" and I never thought it made much sense. Normally I don't use heavy handed dominance training. All our obedience and agility was done with treats, toys, and a positive voice. There are just some things I have to get in the akita's face for. Most of the time a warning sound is all it takes to make her behave but if she threatens someone or similar serious offences I will scruff her and I have taken her to the ground. I didn't force her to the ground. I just used strong body language to get in her space and cause her to go down on her side. I don't really believe in the forced alpha roll dominance stuff.

Grooming is not really an issue. I have 2 japanese spitz breeds that many people refer to their shedding as their own version of hiroshima. They just explode twice a year. Much use of the furminator combs. One more is not going to make much difference.

We had an australian shepherd when I was growing up that was absolutely wonderful. I taught him all sorts of tricks and how to help me bring in the herd of horses from the back pasture. He even hauled some mail bags for my grandma's work. I've always debated getting one. I love the blue merles and Josh likes the tris. We also had a pyr and while most of the time he was a fluffy, giant teddy bear he did go after people occasionally for getting in his space. Ripped my friend's jacket over walking near him while he had a bone. He was also spoiled and not worked with though. My grandma penned him up in the yard and everyone mostly just petted him through the fence instead of training him to a job around the property. That may be where my mom learned to cater to the dog instead of reinforce listening. The bernese mountain dog my mom had before the elkhound I took for a hike around the property line every day from the time he was a puppy until he could no longer walk that far. He was very good at staying on his property and when strange dogs came he would follow them around making sure they didn't harm anything. I would say he was very low energy but he could hike all day at a steady pace.

I'm not entirely certain how much energy I will be able to handle. I would like to go back to agility competitions, tons of hiking, and I have one of the scooters and setups for dogs to pull but right now I'm dealing with the back surgery and my knees are messed up. That's one reason I'm looking at aussies instead of border collies. I know some aussies are bred to be higher energy and some collies are bred to be lower energy but it seems easier to find the opposite and again I like the blue merle coloring. Those are probably my top picks because they will be easy to find, easier to train, more eager to please, and probably easier to adjust to the prey animals if started as a puppy. But less common things like the elkhound has crossed my mind. There's also a breed of dogs that were used by Native Americans being preserved on the west coast. They seem very interesting but hard to get and personalities vary widely based on what each of the handful of breeders is working on. They are actually resisting having the breed added to the akc because they don't want to conform to one akc standard. We also did some investigating at one point in to another Japanese breed that is between the size of our akita and shiba with a less independent personality. Some of them are closer to how many of the herding breeds act. It's another breed that's really hard to get though. There are 4 breeders in north america and they guard their breed carefully.

 

[ozemba]

Personally, I have an affinity for golden retrievers. Our current golden, Luna, loves everyone she meets, but is not afraid to tell them what for. You could find a smaller one than her, at 80 lbs she is actually over the standard, our neighbors have a much smaller golden, around 55lbs. Goldens are instinctively loyal and eager to please, which makes them very easy to train. With their heritage of retrieving, they are very soft mouthed and gentle, we had to rescue our cats a few times from being slobbered to death when Luna was younger. I have never had any problems with her and our smaller animals, or any of our goldens in the past. In fact, she lets the cats snuggle with her on her bed. The only thing that might be a turn off, but with land I don't see a problem with, is that golden retrievers are very energetic and will need some exercise time. Luna loves playing fetch and going to the dog park to play with other dogs we know. Also, in the heat, a golden will need some shade and would love some water for them to jump in to cool off. We have trouble keeping Luna out of the ornamental fish pond, even though she's got her own kiddie swimming pool.

 

[JessicaR]

Picking a new breed can be a pain :lol: I am also planning on getting a new puppy in a couple of years, I have had shelties for 13 years now so making the plunge to a "new" breed is really making me think hard in what I want. My top picks (in order) are 1, german shepherd 2, Doberman 3, aussie 4, standard poodle 5, briard.

What I did was make a list of what I wanted and didnt want in a dog and compared that to the breeds of dogs I was interested in to narrow down my choices. Then I started talking to different breeders to clarify any questions I had, you can only get so much info from websites and I wanted real everyday experiences! My next step will to be to actually choose a breed, with the whole families input, then of course the long process of finding a breeder I like, and one that will agree with my style of raising (minimum vaccines and either late neutering or no neutering, none of this have them fixed by 6 months old crap!)

 

[akane]

There are dog parks in the city we are moving to but they usually have a 2 dog limit and mine aren't the greatest for dog parks. Zami is protective and Haru tends to annoy dogs that don't want to play. I could occasionally just take one dog to the park but it wouldn't be frequent. We do more on leash stuff like hiking unless in a training building. There is a flyball group and we started Haru with a different flyball group. The problem with the one in this city is that they don't have a building. They train in a field with some removable fencing that Haru might decide to hop over and go visiting for awhile before returning. Zami is energetic about hiking, chasing things, pulling things, but doing obstacles like agility is boring to her and she will not put a ball in her mouth much less bring one to me. She does sometimes chase a ball or frisbee, smash it to the ground, and then leaves it because it has stopped moving so it's considered dead. :lol:

The thing is I don't really have a list of what I want and don't want. I will adjust to pretty much any dog that can also adjust to living in town. Which does rule out things like LGD. I love my akita but I don't think I want another akita because it's so hard to find good imported lines instead of American bred lines that have quite a different personality and shape. Maybe Zami's breeder could direct me to someone but I don't know if I want to risk the some times random personality of akitas in the US. Definitely don't want another shiba. Little psychotic killers. That's what happens when you breed something to attack something 2-3 times it's size and not back down. They have no regard for their own safety and are in kill mode all the time. I throw her out of the room when I have any small animals out of the cage. I'm wondering how chickens are gonna go but at 30lbs I should be able to build a shiba proof tractor. Zami can take apart pretty much anything she wants but if I tell her chickens belong in the tractor in the yard she will leave them.

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

An Australian Cattle Dog, Shepherd, or Retriever may work for you and after doing a quick search it would seem like you have a surplus of options when it comes to where to obtain your dog. There are a ton of dog rescues in Iowa and most kill shelters are usually full to the brim with dogs and puppies, some mixed and some purebred, if you want to go that route, they're often very cheap too.

I'd look for a pup that is comfortable moving away from it's siblings, active, and at least moderately comfortable being handled. I'd even go so far as to recommend the most relaxed pup you can find as they tend to be very mild mannered once grown.

 

[akane]

Anyone know anything about Canaan dogs? They seem appealing and there's a breeder about 4hrs away.

 

[Honorine]

My heart breed is shelties, love the darn things, their the perfect dog as far as I'm concerned. Some shelties do not have an outgoing temperament, but most of mine, particularly the girls, think their 10 feet tall and bulletproof. I have an oversized high white blue merle girl who is just the most wonderful dog, incredible temperament. She's about 40 lbs, all legs, and from good lines, she's a Harry Potter grandaughter. My point is that a larger sheltie with a good temperament would fill your bill, and their lower drive than most aussies, and can really excel in agility. If I had to pick a different breed, I'd get a Vizla, or a Decker Rat Terrier- both smart, quick, adaptable, versatile breeds. Both are smaller, in your weight range, easy care and easy going, Vizla may be softer than the Decker.

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

You just can't resist those curly tails can you? :lol:

These dogs101 clips are usually pretty accurate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f3T7T8I5k0
But I'd definitely call up the breeder for a general description, most love to chat to potential adopters about the advantages and disadvantages of their breed.

 

[akane]

Primitive breeds are interesting and it so happens the farther you breed to wild the more you get the tail curl, especially fluffy versions, and erect ears. I mentioned breeds that are docked. We're going to try to meet some canaan. They seem really versatile. They've been used for livestock herding including some that would round up escaped chickens and return them to the pen so getting them to accept our prey animals might be possible. Most likely any dog we get we will have to start with a puppy and raise them around our animals and schedule. I would adopt a young adult dog but all the times I fostered there were just too many bad habits and things that didn't mesh with our lifestyle. I quit doing it.

 

[Dood]

Canaan are not a pet or companion type of dog - they are not people oriented and are very independent which should not be a problem since you have experience with Akitas and Shiba Inu but if you want an easier dog to train for your significant others sake I would stick with an Aussie Shepherd

I've know a few Elkhounds and am very impressed with the breed as a companion and obedience prospect (however they are from the same owners and bloodline so it might not be typical of the breed) I also really like Keeshond but they are around 30 to 40 pounds.

 

[akane]

The keeshond came up and we decided we don't want something that fuzzy. Even if it actually sheds less than our currently exploding dogs. I have to throw my clothes in the dryer every morning to defur just from sitting around. I should brush another bag of fur off them.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Aussies are incredible dogs and mine at least are really mellow and love to just hang out with us, but can get fired up playing hide and seek or chase with the kids. We have two purebred males and 4 Aussie cross females- which says a lot considering that the most dogs of one breed I have ever owned is four Great Danes, and those only two at the most at one time.

My very first dog was a spitz breed- a miniature American Eskimo, specifically. She was the most highly trained dog I have ever had, knowing over 100 different commands.

I don't know if it is typical of the breed, but she was intensely loyal and eager to please. She went everywhere with me and was very rarely ever on leash.

If I needed to go into a store where dogs were not allowed, I would simply tell her to "wait outside" and she knew she wasn't allowed to enter the premises. Since she was aloof with strangers, I knew that she was safe from being abducted- and since she was trained not to step into the street without permission I knew she wouldn't be hit by a car.

The other really neat thing about her was that she never had a doggy odor, and her coat quality was such that we nicknamed her "the self cleaning dog". If she ran through the mud, once dried it would just slip right off of her coat in its own.

She was such a spectacular dog that I have never gotten another one. I am too afraid that it would never be able to live up to her example, and I feel like that would be unfair to expect.

 

[akane]

Spitz breeds are very clean. They are often described as cat-like and we never give ours a bath. Well when we were going to my mom's farm there was the occasional manure rolling that required the hose and a little horse shampoo but that's it. Most are very loyal but some do like to wander. My akita sticks by me if there are other people or dogs around but when out in open fields she likes to maintain a 1 mile territory and just check in with me every few hours. While she wouldn't harm anything she comes across without my permission there was the risk that the sheep ranchers or someone would decide she was a threat and shoot her. Even though she was trained not to go on the road and wouldn't bother anything I still couldn't let her run loose on the property. The shiba is not so loyal. She will pay great attention to you if you have a tasty treat and there aren't tons of other things around but that's it. Her desire to interact stops at food and the occasional ball. She is much less threatening to people though and very friendly with everyone. Shiba's don't entirely match the usual spitz breed personality. Most are reserved with strangers.

Even with something like an aussie there is a chance my husband would have issues with it. The one we had was really a one person dog. He considered my grandma and me to be his and everyone else was not in the equation. He nipped my sister many times and bit 2 people. 1 for standing up too fast at me and another for walking in the door without my grandma there to open it. They aren't entirely without difficulties. Some more socialization might have helped. Sure it's much much less likely we will have problems with an aussie than a spitz or primitive breed but it's still not a guarantee. It's worth investigating some breeds before deciding on an aussie.

 

[Wheels]

I will admit I have bias but the best dog I EVER had was an English Shepherd. While I was certainly his dog My people (family) was his family and he doted on my kids even though before I had the girls I never thought of him as a Kid's dog. He was aloof with visitors, although if you came around enough he'd eventually warm up. He was a shadow - had to be where he could see me although I may not realize he was around. For a hairy dog he was very clean - just like teflon nothing ever stuck.

 

[Zass]

I feel that energy levels and grooming requirements are the most important things when choosing a dog.
The rest of a dogs traits can be compensated for with training or fencing, or just having a strong pack leader.

 

[skysthelimit]

I am particularly partial to any herding breed.

For the most part, with the proper drives, they protect the home and herd the animals. Rarely do they thrill kill.
The shepherds used to herd chickens back into the coop at night, and the catch and hold escaped bunnies.

They do tend to be one person dogs though. I had to get my family actively involved with each new dog I brought home, so they dogs would learn to be handled by them. It does help that all my dogs get show training, so they are approachable in public, but they are still a bit standoffish, that is their nature.

They are high energy when I want them to be, but they spend most of the day lying down or at my feet. Rarely destructive, even in the puppy stage.

However, these guys are double coated and instead of shedding, blow monstrous amounts of coat. At least mine only do it once a year.
Supposedly Corgis are like Mini german shepherds in personality type.

 

[Lizardslaps]

my opinion for a dog to get mostly on dogs I have had is
Australian shepherd,
corgy and or cogy mix with lab or terrier
or just some small terrier mix like a fox tarrier there feisty and funny little ones