A What Dog thread.....

[moorx]

oddman said:

bearman68 said:

So, list of requirements are:

• Short hared, and not likely to smell when wet.

not spaniel

bearman68 said:

• Able to go on long walks / distance runs.
• Will respond to voice commands, inc returning when called.
• Good with kids.
• Sociable without always requiring human contact (want to be able to leave it for an afternoon without worry) (Rules terriers out I think)
• Not manically programmed to chase things.
• Reasonably small.

Working cocker spaniel - as long as you train it properly. My dog is a shooting companion hunter/retriever in winter and an inexhaustible walking running pal in summer

bearman68 said:

• Would need to be a rescue dog

Why? I admire people who take on rescue dog but the world is full of st dogs. Sounds like you have quite a sensible attitude why take a chance with a dog that has been bred badly and brought up wrong

bearman68 said:

I was wondering about a collie (Welsh Border would be OK)

Collies are serious hard work and that't coming from a spaniel man

bearman68 said:

Oh, and my parents have a Lab, so not one of those.

Agree - Labs are boring

What's not to like?

So rescue dogs are all poorly bred and badly brought up? Okay

[Brads67]

To meet all your criteria I would say a Staff bull terrier.

Failing that , a lurcher. Plus side of that is it might even catch your dinner for you.

[bexVN]

R E S T E C P said:

oddman said:

bearman68 said:

• Would need to be a rescue dog

Why? I admire people who take on rescue dog but the world is full of st dogs. Sounds like you have quite a sensible attitude why take a chance with a dog that has been bred badly and brought up wrong

It's true that many dogs are given up because of being badly socialised or personality problems.
But on the other hand, you can't really gauge the personality that an 8 week old puppy will have when it's mature.
At least with an adult rescue dog you can get an idea of their behaviours (and if anything nasty appears after taking them home, you can hand them back).

Also puppies can't do vigorous exercise for a year, and they are hard work. Months of finding "presents" left for you around the house and stopping them trying to kill themselves or destroy everything you own. It's not even rewarding.
Adult dogs are part of your family. They want you to be happy as much as you want them to be happy. Puppies are just selfish.

I disagree Oddman, we just took on on a rehome 8 months old. Her previous owner was caring, loving etc, Mabel was never mistreated, however I suspect boundaries weren't as well enforced as the should have. As such she is the most loving and affectionate dog, great with oyy, we have had to work on commands a bit

[227bhp]

If you can get past the way they look a Bedlington terrier is a fantastic dog. I'd never given them a second thought until I had to look after one a few months back and was really surprised, I could not fault it in any way, well ok, apart from it looked like a lamb and I got tired of everyone calling it one within 24hrs of taking it on, but the actual dog was great. Obedient, good natured, fine with people/kids, quiet, intelligent, energy when needed, settled down when at home, didn't drop any hair at all. In many ways the perfect dog and she seemed to fit in pretty much with what was written about her when I researched afterwards and I would have lived with her a lot easier than most people I know! Even the OH (cat lady) who isn't too keen on dogs took to her.

[oddman]

moorx said:

So rescue dogs are all poorly bred and badly brought up? Okay

I said I admire people who give rescue dogs a home and a good life but the greater your requirements for a dog the more you need to pay attention to breeding and training.

There are loads of nice pets that are rescue dogs

If you want a dog to go running with that isn't a PIA it needs to have stamina and focus on it's master

There a very few rescue dogs that are proper working dogs or serious trialling dogs

We can only have a limited number of dogs in our lives if your demands on your dog are significant, why take a chance on something that's been fked up by somebody else

[227bhp]

Jasandjules said:

Spaniel?

Bonkers, too much energy.

[bearman68]

I'd worry about the 'terrier' bit of Bedlington to be honest. As a breed, I guess they will be preprogrammed to chase small furry things.
I like the idea of a labradoodle - the lab bit sounds homely and trainable.

Rescue dog because there's a whole pile of pain in the world, and this is possible a way of making it a little less. (And I agree there's risk there).

Local pet rescue has 2 labradoodles looking for homes, as well as a spaniel cross. Going to pop down and have a look in the next few days.

[Brads67]

every dog will chase small furry things.

I wouldn`t have a labradoodle out of principle, but really I suppose thats no reason for you to rescue one.

[bexVN]

Labradoodles can be mad as a box of frogs lol, just be aware, I've seen enough of them through work (I have also met some absolutely adorable ones aswell)

[227bhp]

bearman68 said:

I'd worry about the 'terrier' bit of Bedlington to be honest. As a breed, I guess they will be preprogrammed to chase small furry things.

The one I looked after wasn't interested at all, on reading afterwards they don't seem to bother when at home and can live with cats and pets no problem. When out can chase, but she didn't seem to want to, she wasn't really interested in a ball (like a Collie) it seemed beneath her.

[Just an old porsche fan]

moorx said:

oddman said:

bearman68 said:

So, list of requirements are:

• Short hared, and not likely to smell when wet.

not spaniel

bearman68 said:

• Able to go on long walks / distance runs.
• Will respond to voice commands, inc returning when called.
• Good with kids.
• Sociable without always requiring human contact (want to be able to leave it for an afternoon without worry) (Rules terriers out I think)
• Not manically programmed to chase things.
• Reasonably small.

Working cocker spaniel - as long as you train it properly. My dog is a shooting companion hunter/retriever in winter and an inexhaustible walking running pal in summer

bearman68 said:

• Would need to be a rescue dog

Why? I admire people who take on rescue dog but the world is full of st dogs. Sounds like you have quite a sensible attitude why take a chance with a dog that has been bred badly and brought up wrong

bearman68 said:

I was wondering about a collie (Welsh Border would be OK)

Collies are serious hard work and that't coming from a spaniel man

bearman68 said:

Oh, and my parents have a Lab, so not one of those.

Agree - Labs are boring

What's not to like?

Lovely looking dog. Looks like a whaupley spaniel.

Anyway .... Spaniels can be great fun. They can be easily trained and can easily forget everything it's just been trained to do. If your going to get one try to get one that has as several FTCH in iit's pedigree but stay away from a FTCH X FTCH mating. It will make a lovely shooting companion but may be a bit hot for a pet.

[PositronicRay]

Rather than get hung up on a breed, go to your local rescue center, discus, and come home with a suitable mutt.


It may not be what you 1st considered, or have every quality and attribute which you desire, but you'll love it anyway

[Digga]

PositronicRay said:

Rather than get hung up on a breed, go to your local rescue center, discus, and come home with a suitable mutt.


It may not be what you 1st considered, or have every quality and attribute which you desire, but you'll love it anyway

^This, although I actually got my last dog off here, Pistonheads. True story.

He was a rescue, being fostered by Mrs Grumpy who used to lurk around this bit of the forum.

[oddman]

Just an old porsche fan said:

Lovely looking dog. Looks like a whaupley spaniel.

Anyway .... Spaniels can be great fun. They can be easily trained and can easily forget everything it's just been trained to do. If your going to get one try to get one that has as several FTCH in iit's pedigree but stay away from a FTCH X FTCH mating. It will make a lovely shooting companion but may be a bit hot for a pet.

His Maternal Grandsire is Whaupley Reiver and Sire is Kiltonbeck Warlord so 3/4 Whaupley - well spotted. His mum is lovely non trialling dog - steady hard working and biddable.

36FTCh in 5 gen pedigree. He has been fantastic to train. Loves to please. In the right hands I think he would have done well in trialling.

He has great drive and gets very excited in the field but he is a great pet. Not sure he forgets things - just decides he knows best now and again.

[m3jappa]

You have just described a staff. However they are council and may kill the kids etc.

[rxe]

bearman68 said:

Hi all.


So, list of requirements are:

• Short hared, and not likely to smell when wet.
• Able to go on long walks / distance runs.
• Will respond to voice commands, inc returning when called.
• Good with kids.
• Sociable without always requiring human contact (want to be able to leave it for an afternoon without worry) (Rules terriers out I think)
• Not manically programmed to chase things.
• Reasonably small.
• Would need to be a rescue dog

I was wondering about a collie (Welsh Border would be OK), but are there any other obvious choices?
Oh, and my parents have a Lab, so not one of those.

I'd go for a German Shepherd, but you'll need to be careful selecting a rescue.

Short haired/non smelly - absolutely, I've been put off dogs for years by the smell, but she smells nice. OK, not great when wet, but dries fast. Does shed though.

Long walks/ runs - how fit are you? :-)

Responds to commands - yes if trained.

Good with kids - really excellent here, again depends on history if a rescue - same with any dog. If a kid has tormented them in the past, then they will respond accordingly.

Sociable - yes, and smart enough not to go demented when left. Makes friends with new people (e.g. house sitter) really easily.

Chasing stuff - needs to be trained out early. Ours is bad for this, others are perfect.

Small. OK, fail. Smaller than a Great Dane! Actually I don't get the appeal of small dogs, they're just as much work as big dogs, you might as well have a big 'un.

Rescue - there are plenty about but you'd need to put the time in to get the right dog for you.

[Boosted LS1]

227bhp said:

Bonkers, too much energy.

Agreed, they're manic nut jobs and not interested in their owners once they're off the lead.

I've had a couple of border collies and they need a fair amount of exercise. I may take a look at a belgium shepherd next. I think a gsd is to big and a belgium could be mid place between a gsd and a border collie.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Wednesday 24th August 20:26

[Rosedene]

Bedlington terrier. Body of a lamb, heart of a lion. Yes they are a terrier, but in my experience they are not yappy, and mine are great with kids, cats, kittens, livestock. Non casting, will walk all day if you want them to, but dont mind a snooze. Great characters, not too big and there is a wonderful bedlington terrier rescue website, with knowledgeable people who will guide you. But you will get people saying "is that a lamb" which
I dont see at all!

[HappyMidget]

Staffie, not too big, great with kids (one of only two dogs with it as their breed standard), very easy to train as are very food motivated, live well with other pets, very social dogs and just want to spend time with you and can walk all day if needs be though an hour or two walking per day is enough to keep them happy.

[dave_s13]

We're off to go see this little fluffy thing on monday.

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds/1359510-3-...


It's a 3/4 bedlington 1/4 border terrier pup.

We had a bedlington before, rescued her off the street and she was a gorgeous little thing.

If this one drives OK and we can come do a deal, throw in some mats/flaps or something, then we may be in business. I'm just not sure about the price though. It's not a "proper" bedlington so should it be priced pretty much the same as one? What the etiquette when it comes to haggling for daags? I'm just going to re-watch snatch for a refresh.