corvus

FWIW, the way I handle these kinds of things is to basically train the dog to be responsive around the object of obsession, which is simple in principle but a little tricky in practice. Basically, we set the dog up to succeed. Train disengagement from a non-ball toy, train impulse control around non-ball toy, move to a ball-like toy, incorporate games of getting the ball on cue and giving it up on cue so there is a lot of structure and control around the activity, start again with a ball but no the preferred type. Start again with a ball but not the favourite type. Start again with the favourite ball. Start again with other dogs and balls.

My dogs have raincoats because I'm not a huge fan of a house full of wet and smelly dogs. Some dogs can be easily unsettled by "clothes". I have two such dogs, and both of them tolerate the raincoats, but sometimes it's a matter of getting the right design. Some are more restrictive than others. I would opt for least restrictive, most quiet, and lightest. How you prioritise those features depends on your dog.

The couriers don't want to take chances with dogs they don't know, and they shouldn't have to. It's dangerous. Lots of dogs would bite a courier if they got the chance. We moved into a place with an enclosed balcony as an entrance, and I love it and the couriers love it. We put a bell on the outer door so they don't need to come in and the balcony acts as an airlock. Most of the time, packages are quietly left on the balcony and the dogs never even know. The dogs stay inside and if they happened to get out as I came out, the courier is safe behind a second door. We don't have any of the problems of missed packages we had at our old place where the dogs had access to the front door where the courier would knock. I always put my dogs behind a baby gate before I answered the door when we lived there, but the couriers don't know that. If they have had some bad experiences (and they most likely have), they can become very risk averse and who would blame them. Be kind to your couriers and provide a dog-free zone where they can leave packages or clang a gong to alert you or something. It's not on them to solve this problem for you. You solve the problem for them.

There are nuances to this, though. For my pod, a field with swallows to chase is not the same as a mountain bike on a single track in the bush all of a sudden, or finding herself on top of a startled possum, or bouncing around in the bush and flushing something. She's also influenced in her choices by potential payoff and a risk assessment. Chasing a cat is a tiny payoff for her next to chasing a rabbit, and the possibility of finding a sandwich on the ground near a clubhouse or in a school playground is extremely alluring. I know she will go check out playgrounds if she were given the opportunity. She will come right back, but she's gonna check it, even if she has to run 200m away to go and check it. That distance is certainly enough to introduce enough conflict with my spitz dogs that they won't go, and a lot of people say their whippets wouldn't venture that far from them. Some of this kind of thing is much easier to manage and train for than others. I can manage access to clubhouses and playgrounds pretty easily, and training for recall from swallows was challenging, but doable. Recalling off animals running away from her in the bush is a completely different scenario. I think if she were as keen to chase wallabies as she had been to chase swallows, I wouldn't be able to call her off wallabies, but I can call her off swallows. The difference is in training opportunities and environment and the behaviour of the chase objects.

My dog at least is least reliable when she's either startled or right on top of the object of the chase. If she's startled, she tends to just dive in there without thinking, but I can still recall her if by the time I pull my whistle out, she's still at least 5m from the object. If she's already on top of them by then, her recall reliability drops a fair bit and my fingers are crossed. At that point, it matters a lot what she is chasing. A wallaby she will leave, but if it were more her size, it would be a different story. I've always felt there's a lot to be said for having slow dogs to make recalling off fast-moving objects easier.

I have met some fun, sweet Lagotti and some Lagotti that are anxious/fearful and will bite readily. I understand grooming can be particularly challenging with this breed's temperament. Some groomers have asserted to me that they've never met a Lagotto that wasn't aggressive during grooming, even if it was sweet and easy going any other time. The nice ones I've met have been really fun dogs that are great to train and pleasantly sociable. I wouldn't get one myself just because I'm ultra risk averse these days when it comes to temperament and I think too many for my comfort are being reported as problematic, but I've been tempted.

I have become intensely curious about hound recalls. Especially sighthound recalls. I have been asking on breed-specific groups, so maybe I should ask here as well. To provide context for my intense curiosity all of a sudden, my 5yo Portuguese podengo pequeno trail runs with me off leash. This was not an easy achievement training-wise, and I can easily see why it's not recommended that this breed be let off leash in unfenced areas. However, on the weekend my very excited, chase-prone dog was belting up the side of a rock outcrop, barking for medio backup (as if it ever comes), which she does when she can smell or see a wallaby nearby. I called her casually, she broke off the chase straight away, and ran back down the outcrop to join me. This is not unusual for her on a trail run where she knows I may not wait for her. It has been my belief for years that this kind of recall has been possible with her because 1) She's a multi-sensory hound bred for rough terrain, so she always knows where she is and she always knows where I am and she hears my recalls. 2) She is not a super persistent hound. 3) She is small and mighty, but ultimately the terrain takes a lot of energy for her and she's not that fast, so she will get tired/lose the object of pursuit fairly quickly. Nonetheless, it occurs to me that she is committed to running WITH me to the exclusion of all else, and really, wouldn't we want a hunting dog to not be prone to getting lost? Thus began my efforts to understand what makes recalls on a chase-prone dog possible. If my podengo were bigger and faster - like a whippet or Pharaoh hound - would she be more of a liability off leash? How does her persistence really compare to that of other hunting dogs that haven't been bred for hunting for generations? At the end of the day, we really did work HARD on that recall, and I don't think I would have been so successful 10 years ago when I wasn't as experienced a trainer. Might it be that what we have achieved with her really is replicable with other breeds that are faster or more persistent? What are your thoughts on hound recalls and what is realistic in naturalistic environments where there will be prey animals?

Check out Bergamasco if you don't mind a sensory wonderland for a coat. Otherwise, don't forget Basset Fauve de Bretagne as well. The dwarf scent hounds are usually sociable and easy going, but can be a little like "Shh, I'm busy right now." if something else has their attention. I think comparable to a Beagle but more neutral evil than chaotic evil. I second Lowchen. Not sure about TTs, I've only met one that was a bit on the bouncy side. We have American Hairless Terriers now, which might be worth looking at.

Here's my current trail running pal. She is very well suited to it. Lives for it and starts screaming when she sees me putting on running clothes, can run in any temperature I can run in, can have a little off leash time and will keep pace, and small enough to lift over fences or carry down a big drop, although she is so light on her feet she rarely needs help. She is not a suburban-friendly dog, though. She is too alert and she doesn't like people or dogs coming at her. She likes people and dogs, but needs to be the one to initiate contact. Fair enough, but unfortunately that is not the world we live in.

I have considered a Brittany, but a little worried they might be too active. Same with spaniels I guess. Some people say spaniels have an off switch and some people say they don't. I think that it probably depends on what you are used to living with. All of my dogs are settled in the house, but one of them is a breathing rug, one wanders around at times, and one is usually snoozing unless there are flies to chase and then there are wall jumps and perching on windowsills and leaping off furniture and so on. We have a big house so I'm not bothered as long as I don't have to actively entertain them or constantly redirect them to appropriate activities. I had a few years of that at one stage and I'm not sure how we survived it.

Ugh. I just want a good bet. I don't want to do hours and hours and hours of investigatory work trying to find a breeder that has unusually stable and friendly dogs.

A lapphund coat is several orders of magnitude more outrageous than a Golden coat, but aside from that, my Lappie has always been pretty low energy. He's not really breed typical.

That's good to know, thanks.

It seems a bit of a crapshoot for dog-friendly/non-reactive, though. I've met a few and they have all been fairly typical herding dogs with other dogs. They don't want them in their face or getting in their way, but will otherwise tolerate them. I worked with an incredible koolie mix I adored who was very resilient and easy to work with, but if a dog seriously encroached on him, he would go to town on it. Nothing wrong with him at all, but hard to manage in inner city where random dogs will run up and say hi.

Well, potentially. All my trail runs cross creeks or hit the river at some point, and it's not likely to be a pain for me to plan routes that will offer chances to cool off. It bums me, though. I want a suburban friendly sociable dog that likes other dogs and is good and resilient. I just also want it to be capable of going for a long run with me. It doesn't seem like a lot to ask. I have almost accepted it might have to be a GSP or Vizsla, but I actually don't think I am THAT active. I'm not out running everyday or anything! I am also leery of getting a breed that will race off ahead and cover a lot of ground. I like to have them close where I know what they are doing and can call them off easily. My podengo covers more ground than I am comfortable with at times, which means she gets less off leash time. I have managed to convince her to come check-in regularly, but I don't want anything that will habitually range far and wide. What about spaniels?