Ozone

Just checking in again on the forum, I had no idea it would have this many replies Greyhounds, Aussies are definately what I will be looking for at the SACA dogs show. I will look at other breeds too. Thanks again for all the advice. I want to make clear that animals are always a family matter and of upmost importance in any situation we find ourselves in. We have turned down rentals because they wouldn't allow our cat, if we have to go away suddenly we have very good neighbours who take them on short notice, not permanently obviously. We know what we are getting into, and the hard work is pretty much WHY we want a dog. I'm not saying we are perfect owners by any means, but we are not the sort of people who would send it to a shelter if it destroyed the garden or if some kind of tragic accident happened and circumstances changed. Thank you again everyone

Thank you so much everyone for all your good suggestions. You have given me much more to go on. Lyndsy we are going on saturday most likely but depending on how that goes we might go on the second day. Thanks again. I will certainly come back to this site for information in the future, you are all friendly and not prejudice like many other dog sites. I will keep you posted Thanks again everyone

The main rule of thumb is if people look busy grooming a dog, getting ready to go into the ring, then WAIT. Almost everyone will be happy to talk to you once we're done (because lets face it, we all adore our breeds and want to rave about them ), but it's best to wait until we're all relaxed and done. As Amanda said, group 5 is up the back as far as you can get from the buildings, and group 4 isn't far away either which are the two groups where most of the suggestions have come from. Thank you so much

And that is one of the reasons you need to talk to the breeders - get correct information. Any animal can get bored and become destructive. The breeders know the temperament of their lines and will tell you what is needed for them. If you go on the weekend - whiskedaway will be there - but in the same group you have beardies, borders, corgis, OES, etc.... I can easily give you some names of trustworthy people around that group and in a few others who can guide you around. Could you or whiskedaway give me a brief overview? Like where to go? My Dad would know about the show but would people be OK with 'just another family wanting a puppy' coming up and asking questions? Dad would probably stay at the corgi section all day given the chance xD

It's not expensive to fly a pup from interstate - Halo cost me $80 from Melbourne. We were fortunate enough to go over to meet her, but if we hadn't been able to I would have been fine with letting our breeder pick for us because they match the pup's personality up with the family. Not sure about flying...driving interstate would be on the cards usually but petrol price no way

Lapphund's aren't easily avaliable, though I have looked and considered them. Interstate breeders are probably off the cards. I have confliction information about Aussies, some say they get bored very easy because they are so intelligent, and someone else has indicated they are mellow...? **conflicting

Good luck in your search and its great to see a young guy that is doing his ground work before getting a dog as (I think)others have suggested get out and see, greet and meet some breeds and breeders/owners as there are some beautiful examples of breeds that would suit your needs and lifestyle, I have a Bull Terrier that would fit every thing you were looking for but I could show you others that would not suit a single thing on your list of needs in a dog. I am not suggesting that you get a BT but pointing out an example just in case there is a dog that you like and have discounted because of a breed description, there still may be individual dogs within the breed that would suit you, anyway I hope you do find a lovely and suitable addition for you and your family to share some great memories and make some with. Edit for text stuff up ooops I am a girl? Sorry if I didn't make that apparent

My mother would most likely keep the dog, or I will take it depending on housing etc...I am generation Y, looks like we are out of the housing market for a good 10 years xD It isn't going to be 'my' dog, its 'our' dog. A long haired breed would probably be better, our house doesn't have the greatest heating.

Thanks everyone for all the greyhound information, I wouldn't have thought any of this xD

I have never heard of either breed doing this. Are you sure you're not talking about Italian Greyhounds? Don't let that slender frame mislead you, dogs bred to course hares at speeds in excess of 50kph are not fragile.. they do get skin tears but in pets, bone issues are not common. Hmm, well i'm not sure what it was exactly, but thats a good point.

The dog would predominatly be an inside dog.

I have heard from owners that whippets and greyhounds are fragile and break their bones if they jump off something as simple as a bed? Is this a individual thing or a breed thing?

Thank you, could you please give some more information about SACA park this weekend? Day/time/what the event is? My father is home at the moment and he knows about shows so he would be able to 'guide' us a bit better, but that was mostly in vic. Adelaide Districts Working Dog Club Inc All Breeds Champ Show 17th Sept 2011 Adelaide Districts Working Dog Club Inc All Breeds Champ Show 18th Sept 2011 SACA Park - Cromwell Road, Kilburn I'm not entered so I can't tell you the start time - but if you are there at 9am you will get a good look at all the breeds. Thank you very much, it is a good idea to go, and my Dad would enjoy it.

Thank you, could you please give some more information about SACA park this weekend? Day/time/what the event is? My father is home at the moment and he knows about shows so he would be able to 'guide' us a bit better, but that was mostly in vic.

Thank you for all these responses, I thought it was going to be 1 reply a week pace xD Bearded collies have come up a few times, however they seem quite 'boisterous'? I guess the one thing I am really missing is all the information I have has been on paper, I have little 'contact' experience. I just don't know where to go for information on events like dog shows? Maybe agility trials or something? Would it be advertised in the paper or online usually? Thank you again.

Thank you for the links, will follow them up.

Have considerd rotties, my cousin owned one for many years. However all these 'dangerous dog' laws make matters complicated, and they are a bit too heavy and muscular for my liking. But thanks for the suggestion and the quick response

Hello all, and bear with me I will try to make this short. I have been researching dogs and dog breeds for well over a year now and still can’t find one that would be suitable. I would consider ‘cross breeds’ however the only information pages/sites I can find look very dodgy... I am in my last year of high school (18) and will go to university next year, but I will most likely still be living at home for a good 4-5 years to come. My mother is also home most of the time, she is in her fifties, very very fit, and has trained 3 very well behaved German shepherds in the past. She has owned other dogs but GS are always her favourite. We walk everyday. It is very quiet in the house usually. Another thing to mention is my father, who works in Africa, comes home every 6 weeks. He is a very tall solid man and I think it would upset the peace for a new dog? Mum wants a dog that will give off a warning bark for my sake if I am home alone. We both want a medium to large sized dog, who can survive on our daily 30 minute walk and be quiet with the constant family contact at home. The most important thing is our cat. He is very sooky and vocal, but scares easily. He has reacted well to dogs in the past, but we obviously don’t want strong chase drives from breeds. I am stuck. Ideally I would go for a basset hound (ticks all the boxes), and my father would go for a corgi (he used to show them) but they are too small, and the basset has too many health problems from what I can see. Mum would get a GS obviously, but our yard isn’t exactly a farm and I am a twig who falls over in a strong gust of wind let alone a massive dog on a leash. I have no previous 'dog' experience, and while Mum will assist I wouldn't be able to handle a strong willed dog. I have search the local pounds and all I can find are staffy mixes, while I have nothing against staffies it’s not what we want. And yes, I was kind of put off by that BBC documentary about purebreds. I know it was very biased, but it still sticks in your mind. I am still open to them however I feel none of them are suitable. I need to explore mixes/cross breeds, but there is so much misinformation out there and none of it seems remotely reputable. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thank you for taking the time to read this. Ok...yes I have written a lot. Sorry, was trying to avoid that : (