Another What Breed Thread

[mirawee]

Double post

Edited July 22, 2010 by mirawee

[TerraNik]

Tell them to check out Finnish Lapphunds. Easy care, working dog but not as hyped as other working breeds can be. Will take whatever exercise you will want to do, but happy to be a couch potato in the down times. They will moult, twice a year, but outside of that you won't see much hair. Coat is wash n weat - minimal amount of grooming - and they are social butterflys. Will do flyball etc, but not obsessive about balls like other working breeds can be. If they want more info they can pop into the spitz thread or contact one of us Lappie people on here.

Oh, and they come in LOTS of colours

Sorry but Lappies would not be suitable for someone who wants a BC type dog! Or one who will happily chase balls. All Lappies I know will only return a ball a couple of times before looking at you as if to say "if you want it stop throwing it away or get it yourself" While there are exceptions that is their nature generally. They also have typical spitz moments of "don't feel like it today".

I'd tend to agree... I have met a few of lappies (including my two) who enjoy retrieving naturally (my older girl has a mild ball obsession) but they are both no where near as ball-orientated as border collies or kelpies that I've met. It's a bit of a luck of the draw so based on that I wouldn't recommend the breed as a whole if they are specifically looking for a ball-retriever. They could potentially end up with a complete couch potato who doesn't care about toys at all!

I think there are much more suitable breeds out there.

How easy are lappies to train?

They are a working breed, so they are quite trainable if you are using suitable methods, but like any breed they have their challenges!

[wuffles]

I have a working breed in a small suburban yard and we do fine. It is a lot of work though and she definitely needs more than 30 minutes exercise a day (she won't chase a ball though!) So the right individual dog would be very important

[toshman]

Perhaps suggest to them they should go to a few dog shows and see what takes their fancy, looks-wise, then investigate more on those particular breeds?

[corvus]

Swedish Vallhund.

They are short, but the strongest, toughest little canines around. They are a man's small dog. Erik is fast, drivey, smarter than a BC (which can have its advantages and disadvantages!) and very owner focused. But he gets by on half an hour of exercise. He'd like an hour a day plus a bit of play at home, ideally. It is sometimes demanding keeping his brain occupied, but I do not think that is particularly typical for the breed. I think he's at the more active end of the spectrum. They are bold and outgoing, but have a few unconventional quirks, like telling you off if they don't like something. I find to varying degrees they may be a bit reserved with strangers, but it takes Erik about 5 minutes to decide he likes someone and wants to climb into their lap for a cuddle. He has been socialised a lot, though. He loves tug and will chase a ball, but only brings it back sometimes. I think this is more about the fact that when he was a puppy Kivi used to mug him as soon as he got the ball and Erik would drop it. I think he would fetch just fine if he was an only dog or if I'd actually played fetch with him more. Short, double coat, so some shedding but not heaps. They can be noisy, though, which might be a problem.

[Sayly]

I have a working breed in a small suburban yard and we do fine. It is a lot of work though and she definitely needs more than 30 minutes exercise a day (she won't chase a ball though!) So the right individual dog would be very important :p

Holly would be fine in the situation above as long as she got lots of balls thrown for her, but she is really a chilled out, easy (and somewhat 'simpler' ;) ) Aussie. I don't know any other Aussies who would cope well. And I think Holly would only cope with the family's situation if she wasn't an only dog. The RIGHT Aussie or BC might be suitable but it would be difficult to find the one in a puppy.

[MrsD]

Collie Smooth or Rough.

If they did their research they could probably handle a BC or an Aussie or a kelpie, from the right breeders, and pick the most easygoing of the litter.

I doubt a kelpie would suit, my kelpie boy makes my BC girl look like a couch potato!

And since they said they like BCs, if they thought they would be able to have one, they wouldn't be asking the question.

Sure, most working breeds will be high energy and a lot of work. But there are also a lot of individual dogs that aren't like that. I have met quite a few young working breeds who are calm and laidback. I've met BCs that are happier lying around the house than being out and about. I've also met BCs who spin and bark and carry on if they're not given hours of stimulation every day. A lot of people think that every working breed dog is GO GO GO which isn't the case.

Every working breed is not like that, but BC's & kelpies would be at the top of the list for breeds that are! Yep, you may get a couch potato BC or kelpie, but being realistic the chances of getting what these people want in a BC or Kelpie puppy are slim. If they were prepared to look at adult dogs then there would be a better chance of success. I can't speak for Aussies cos I haven't ever owned one.

They were very honest in saying really they would like 'a Border Collie without the exercise requirements and the need to continual mental stimulation.' They are quite dog savvy people and realise they cannot provide everything a BC would need but its the kind of dog they like.

Based on those 2 comments given by the people themselves there is no way I would recommend a kelpie to them. Or a BC for that matter. There are heaps of other great breeds out there that they could go with. Why try to put a dog in a home where the people themselves have said they don't think they are the right owners for that breed? ;)

I know a few Greyhounds, Poodles and Shetland Sheepdogs that would fit the bill.

I wouldn't want to put a high energy medium to large working breed into a small home with both adults working fulltime.

I don't think Aussies or Border Collies would be approproate, unless the actual dog was a standout.

I would have suggested a sheltie, but they may be a bit small for them & they definitely leave a lot of hair everywhere when they shed :p .

[MrsD]

I have a working breed in a small suburban yard and we do fine. It is a lot of work though and she definitely needs more than 30 minutes exercise a day (she won't chase a ball though!) So the right individual dog would be very important

Holly would be fine in the situation above as long as she got lots of balls thrown for her, but she is really a chilled out, easy (and somewhat 'simpler' ;) ) Aussie. I don't know any other Aussies who would cope well. And I think Holly would only cope with the family's situation if she wasn't an only dog. The RIGHT Aussie or BC might be suitable but it would be difficult to find the one in a puppy.

What she said - so much more eloquently than I did :p .

[ChristineX]

I've been going thru the Breeds section (for other reasons), how about looking at springer spaniels - english and the smaller welsh? Possibley tollers or brittany's? Although the last two could be a bit too energetic? How about some of the other spaniels? The Clumber keeps sounding like a nice dog to me.

Not recommending my own breed (irish terriers) - they don't retrieve!

ChristineX

[Sayly]

Not recommending my own breed (irish terriers) - they don't retrieve!

Ruby does! She LOVES the ball! Would play all day if she could, even if it's 40 degrees it's still ok to play ball, according to her. She has a special 'scream' that she keeps for when she's chasing the ball.

But Irish don't suit as far as personalities go. They are very different to working dogs.

EFS

Edited July 22, 2010 by Lyndsay

[colliepaws]

Apart from the 'doesn't excessively moult' bit the rest pretty much exactly describes my collies! I guess it depends on what they class 'excessive' moulting. To me they don't shed a lot but I suspect I may just be immune from having two collies and two ragdoll cats...there's definitely a lot of fluffiness in this house! There's always smooth collies though...although I get the impression they have a bit more energy in general than the rough collies, well certainly more than my rough collies anyway! I take my two for a brisk half hour to an hour walk every day after work and with an little training session and tug playing during the evening they are both very happy with that....oh and they both looooove playing fetch and are very eager to please and people oriented. If they are in SA and are interested in collies (depending on where they are) they could meet my two fluffballs if they wanted to?