Trisven13

I remember asking this same question about 8 or 9 years ago - I, like you, knew that I wanted to show before I knew what breed so I understand the direction you're coming from. I took a weekend and went to a dog show with my husband and just sat around and watched. I had a list of breeds I liked but there was nothing that made me say "thats it" about any breed in particular and I hoped that if I hung around some shows one would click. I was introduced by a friend (Rebanne from here) to a man who had Basset Fauve De Bretagne and the rest as the say is history. The very minute I saw them I was hooked, I researched and they fit everything I was after. When you find the right breed you truly will know. In the meantime why not see if you can find someone relatively local to you who is happy for you to tag along to some shows so you can watch and learn. I would try to aim to watch the whole of group judging for every group and write a shortlist of the breeds you're physically attracted to. Then go home and read up on pros and cons and then visit some more shows with an aim of meeting breeders of your shortlisted breed. If you're not in a hurry you've got the time to do this and hopefully, like me, you will suddenly see YOUR breed . Good luck!

If you're ever down this way let me know and you can meet my guys and see how they differ. There are loads of breeds that would be suitable but if he is like my son he really needs to have some input or else he won't be involved.... though in saying that the minute Cupcake arrived everyone in the house fell in love with her so some are just special lol.

Just saw Sandra777's suggestion of a Border Terrier - they're pretty awesome too!

As someone who lives with and loves Basset Fauve De Bretagne (very similar in temperament to a Basset Hound) and has a son who likes smaller dogs I can say that an Italian Greyhound has been a good fit into our lives and is my son's favourite dog. Downside is that they are a lot needier than the Fauves and MUCH harder to house train. Took us until 10 months before I felt we really had a handle on it and its still not perfect. Positive is that they are low grooming and very snuggly. More downsides - they can be shy in the ring particularly if not shown by a confident person and if not super, super socialised, they also are very easily breakable in the first 12 months of their lives. Tibetan Spaniels are also awesome. I have a friend with them and they bond very strongly to their family and seem to adore their children. Grooming seems to be relatively minimal. A Fauve is smaller and lighter than a Basset Hound and not QUITE as stubborn as a Basset Hound but can still be a bit of a trial for a child to show depending on the individual dog's temperament. The right Fauve, however, will do anything for their child and McKenzie has proven that. If winning in the show ring is as important as a pet of his own then a Fauve may NOT be the right breed but if having a great companion and a dog to have some show fun with is okay then a Fauve may be suitable. Grooming needs depends on the individual dogs, some are minimal, some are a LOT of work.

Exactly 100% Not that many years ago women were criticised for going back to work when they had children but now that is expected. Yep and my dogs are a great example of this as I work from home. They are not used to being home alone.

Being in such a numerically small breed I would always help any Fauve in need BUT there is a financial limit on my ability to help dogs that I didn't breed. If I bred it I care for its life. I feel the same about dogs I have rescued in my 6 years of rescue and recently had to look at fitting in a dog that we had rescued who had ended up in a pound. Thankfully he went home so it was a moot point but I will ALWAYS do what I can for a dog I have been responsible for.

I have a Grand Basset Griffin Vindeen who I had intended to call "Curly". After spending a few hours with her it was immediately obvious that her name was "Bubbles". I have names I like but I know agree with Showdog - I need to know them first but I do like if their call name fits in with their registered name.

If wanting a dog to make you feel safe then most Fauves probably wouldn't be very suitable. Some will alarm bark, certainly, but just as many will happily greet every visitor to the house. It is one of their attributes that makes them so great for families with kids as they never mind when random children rock up :laugh:

I've rehomed a number of Fauves into homes with children and actually prefer them as homes for this breed. Fauves adore children - in fact at shows such as a Royal when the Fauves are on display they nearly turn themselves inside out trying to get to children, even Fauves who haven't grown up with children are the same. I've yet to meet a Fauve who isn't great with kids.

Pretty much!

How am I best to contact you? :D Thanks Anne

Yep exactly.

Weird hippy shit can make these things worse too. Speaking from experience of someone that has food allergies. For instance 2 of the ingredients in this formula have caused major issues for me (chia & maca). Maybe that is why I am quite careful now. Vitamins, herbs, minerals can cause harm. ETA: have had nasty issues with flaxseed too! Yep so obviously trying this particular stuff would be stupid for you personally BUT that doesn't mean that for someone else it won't be very helpful. Same goes for dogs IMO. What helps some will hurt others but if you're at the point where you've tried loads of things without success then I, personally, would try this. My son has developmental motor dyspraxia - the thing that helped him the most was, when we first went, the most hippy dippy thing I couldn't imagine it could ever help YET within hours there was a marked improvement and within days a huge difference. Due to that personal experience I'm a big fan of trying anything that to the best of your knowledge poses no risk.

I'll let Underfoot confirm BUT I'm pretty sure each of her bitches had 9! 18 noisy mouths and stinky bums in 3 weeks time :laugh:

Anyone who has had children with food intolerances or has looked into food intolerances with their children wouldn't be remotely surprised that some weird hippy shi!t works with dogs too. Lets face it - if your dog isn't doing well and you've tried a few things how on earth could it hurt to try something else? Sure you might add it to the pile of "crap that didn't work" but better to try it and fail than to wonder if it may have made the difference.

I have a Fauve boy here who came to me when he was 4 1/2 years old and it took him a good 6 months to become comfortable enough to show us his silly self. He has now been here 15 months and he is the most delightful, silly dog and so different to the dog we lived with at first. I'm betting (as you know :) ) that Toby will be a totally different dog in a month, 2 months etc. Enjoy, he is a lucky boy.

It's never really practical here at feed time. Six dogs need to be totally separated here. One inside, one on verandah, one in back yard, one in paddock, one in front garden and one in driveway. If you have food aggressive dogs meals become about management rather than whats quicker, easier and more practical. Yep - no dogs get fed together here. Everyone is crated separately and fed and I NEVER have to worry about a fight over food.

Can I just say a very big thank you to those who have been helpful, honest but not horrendously judgmental in this situation - who knows but the OP could one day become a registered breeder through having enjoyed this experience. Rescuing and whelping pregnant bitches was THE thing that led me to becoming an exhibitor and registered breeder.

Great example TSD! Yep an awesome example. I recently rehomed a Fauve puppy - he went to a Fauve experienced home BUT his level of hunting instinct was way beyond what they'd experienced with their other two Fauves. A GPS Collar showed that at 9 months he was travelling up to 27km a night hunting across farmland (thankfully his family own a very large property). He now wears an electric collar that keeps him within a 5 acre boundary BUT IMO it shows that true working ability is just there.

I live rurally....... in my village the most common breed is a tan and white terrier - somewhere between a JRT and a Foxy and generally called a JRT. Next most common would be a border collie. When I ran the local dog rescue a staffy mix was the most common followed by a fluffy thing. When I visited my friend in Sydney I was AMAZED by the number of oodles & apparent purebreds by comparison to where I live.

I'll be there 15th with the Fauves.

So true - dealing with a pup with ONE of those issues is doable, albeit more difficult but all of them is just too much for the poor pup.

Have PMed you - completely your decision but someone I know who I can personally recommend very highly for dealing with dogs with issues would love to talk to you more about their possible suitability.

Thanks

Can you give the link to the other UK site Showdog?