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Site To Help With Breed Selection


RuralPug
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I quite like this US site giving descriptions of breeds, including an honest assessment of their good and bad points and who is suited to own them. Apologies if this has been discussed before.

You can elect to look for breeds by name, or grouped by size. Admittedly it is a sales sites for the author's books etc., (this post is not a recommendation for her methods or books necessarily, but I quite like the assessment of the breeds I am familiar with).

Want to look at her assessment of your breed and see if you agree that it is helpful for someone trying to pick the right breed? Does it fit with your breed type here in Australia? Let us know what you think...

Dog Breed Reviews

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I quite like this US site giving descriptions of breeds, including an honest assessment of their good and bad points and who is suited to own them. Apologies if this has been discussed before.

You can elect to look for breeds by name, or grouped by size. Admittedly it is a sales sites for the author's books etc., (this post is not a recommendation for her methods or books necessarily, but I quite like the assessment of the breeds I am familiar with).

Want to look at her assessment of your breed and see if you agree that it is helpful for someone trying to pick the right breed? Does it fit with your breed type here in Australia? Let us know what you think...

Dog Breed Reviews

Doesn't have my breed so I can't say. Obviously she hasn't written a book on Lappies. ;)

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Doesn't have my breed so I can't say. Obviously she hasn't written a book on Lappies. :(

Good grief, you're right. ;) And yet she has breeds such as Norwegian Lundehund, Norwegian Buhund and the Xoloitzcuintle (no offence anyone, Wazzat etc)

Are they in the "too hard" tray then, lappiemum? :D

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The Borzoi is pretty generic...

Plus one of their listed downsides is "Slowness to housebreak"???? Where did that one come from??? Has this author met Borzoi from another planet??

I've never lived with such clean dogs as Borzoi, I've also never "housebroken" any of mine. They just don't toilet indoors. They don't even toilet in kennels unless absolutely desperate. They don't even like being near other dogs who have made a mess in nearby crates or kennels.

My new boy arrived at 9 weeks old, had one accident in his crate the first night and got so upset about it he has never had another.

Plus I find this line "They are independent thinkers who don't particularly care about pleasing you" is pretty ordinary, almost offensive. Independent thinkers yes, as people are. But does that make them uncaring about their people?? No. Not remotely. Anyone who has lived with them would never think that of them. They are more devoted than people can imagine. Their humans are their world and they hate if they are unhappy.

I do notice that most of it is copy and pasted for Afghans, I would think they have a generic sighthound description they apply to most of them which is pretty lame. They also list Affies as slow to housebreak which is not in my experience with them. Salukis maybe...

Yep... The other sighthound breeds come up with pretty much word for word descriptions for whole sections. The author is looking ignorant doing this. Sighthound breeds are vastly different to each other in many ways, they're not all Greyhounds in differnt coats and colours. ;)

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Hmmm... my Ridgeback must have skipped some pages when reading the breed book.. ;)

This is not a breed to sit quietly in your yard all day

Nope, the backyard is not the place to sit at all. It is used exclusively for rolling stupidly around on your back in the dirt, sunbaking and toileting. The couch is a much more preferable place to spend your time.

Thrives on vigorous exercise and athletic activities

Yes. In 3 minute intervals in between more important thing like sunbaking, eating and couch time.

Some individuals are fine with the family cat, while others are predatory chasers of anything that runs.

Yes, chase the cat, get bopped over the head and then slink back to the couch again.

Like all hunting hounds, Rhodesian Ridgebacks have an independent mind of their own and are not pushovers to raise and train. Some Rhodesian Ridgebacks are willful, obstinate, and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things.

^^Okay, he read this bit :D

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"Providing enough socialization. Most Staffordshire Bull Terriers are friendly with everyone,but some individuals have protective instincts toward strangers. In such a powerful and determined dog as a Stafford, this could be a problem unless you carefully socialize your dog, providing extensive exposure to a variety of people so your dog learns to recognize the normal behaviors of "good guys." Then they can recognize the difference when someone really does act abnormally."

Total rubbish, no idea what breed they think they're talking about.

Seen the website before and it was even more useless then, so I suppose they're slowly getting some knowledge of the breeds they're so keen to advise on.

Edited by Sandra777
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dont like it at all. the review for a boston is woeful.

slowness to house train 4 to 6 months of consistant crate training?

they are no harder than other dogs.

oh hang on, they can be housetrained quicker if i buy the book ;)

Jaxx was fully housetrained by 4 months old and just as easy as other dogs

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bloodhounds

Bloodhounds should never be left outside in your yard, unsupervised. Their deep voice is extremely LOUD and carries a long way. Their baying will have your neighbors calling the cops to report the nuisance -- or quietly letting your Bloodhound out of his yard so he'll wander away.

I swear the kelpie makes more noise than the bloodhound - and the only time he makes noise is when he is barking at her!! :)

ETA - and he was one of the easiest dogs to house train contrary to the expected 4 - 6 months on consistent crate training

Edited by KelpieHoundMum
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Timidity. Standoffish by nature

Ummm nope, come to my house and you will get mugged by two fighting for the best pats and cuddles! Sit on the lounge they sit on you!

Whippets are mildly stubborn

And I wouldn't call mine stubborn.

I do however go on a Whippet forum with lots of people from America (and other countries) and I have to say that the temperment of their Whippets does seem to be more standofish and more likely to be timid than what I would consider mine and others I have met to be.

Edited by Rommi n Lewis
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She gets only a few things right for tibetan spaniels. Like, how cat-like they can be. Also how they like sitting on high places (well, they come from the land of the Himalayas!).

But she goes on about how stand-offish they are. Well, I've never owned a tibbie that was aloof.

Like, my present 2 girls are the opposite, they just love going out & socialising with people (so were the tibbie I owned before).

The vet walks into the waiting room & my 2 tibbie girls throw themselves into his arms. He finishes up on the floor, having a group cuddle. And this is typical of them. I've found tibbies to be social charmers.

She also says they have a high chance of having separation anxiety, when left alone. Well, tibbies certainly love company (& the company of fellow tibbies), but I haven't seen the breed have any greater chances of having separation anxiety.

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/t...anspaniels.html

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The person who wrote the pembroke and vallhund breed reviews obviously knows nothing about them. Just took the stereotype of herding dogs = nip and chase everything.
Yeah I dismissed the Vallhund review as well. "Heavy shedders"? All the breeders I know classed them as light to moderate shedders, with only one major coat blow a year.
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One of the most intelligent of all breeds, the Border Collie is also one of the most challenging to live with.

Challenging? I find it challenging to live without her!

They are master escape artists who can virtually pick the lock on your gate.

Mine has never, ever tried to escape.

Trying to train a Border Collie, in fact, can be frustrating, because they are constantly thinking, analyzing, and reacting to every tiny movement you make.

Ok, yep she is constantly analyzing/reacting to every tiny movement, but I wouldn't describe training her to be a frustrating experience (most of the time :()

ETA: Oh and there was something about chasing cars all the time... uhhh what? My BC much perfers tennis balls rather than automobiles :)

Edited by DogSportObsessed
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The Aussie one has lots of "some are this while others are the opposite", how confusing! I also don't agree with their statements on the Mini Aussies but each to their own...

The Irish I don't agree with a whole lot...

His reaction to strangers varies from polite to aloof, and even the polite ones are vigilant watchdogs.

I have met one Irish like this, perhaps it runs in lines but the lines I know are more than happy to get cuddles with complete strangers. Yes they are great watch dogs but happy to have cuddles and smooches with strangers on the street and in their own homes.

It also says:

... with strong chasing, digging, and jumping instincts.

I've never met one that digs at all. Jumpers and chasers, yes! Perhaps other lines do.

And another:

The Irish Terrier does best with active families, for without exercise and lots of companionship and personal interaction, he will become bored and seek to entertain himself -- and his choices usually involve mischief and destructiveness.

They don't need nearly as much one on one time as the Aussie Sheps do, they are alot more independant and happy to do their own thing.

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