VizslaMomma Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Because in many cases the breed as prepared for the show ring does not look like an ungroomed pet. I'm thinking in particular about my breed and other prepared terriers. An Airedale left untrimmed looks vastly different to a show trimmed Airedale Terrier. Yes, the basics are the same under all the hair but what is seen at a show is not what one gets unless they spend time or money making it that way. Airedales need to be stripped don't they? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Because in many cases the breed as prepared for the show ring does not look like an ungroomed pet. I'm thinking in particular about my breed and other prepared terriers. An Airedale left untrimmed looks vastly different to a show trimmed Airedale Terrier. Yes, the basics are the same under all the hair but what is seen at a show is not what one gets unless they spend time or money making it that way. Airedales need to be stripped don't they? :D Stripped for the show ring but most people get them clipped but a good coat is easily maintained by a pet person with the help of a groomer on occasions . The same would apply if looking at Mini Schnauzers we strip for the showring pets 99% clipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 :D Stripped for the show ring but most people get them clipped but a good coat is easily maintained by a pet person with the help of a groomer on occasions . The same would apply if looking at Mini Schnauzers we strip for the showring pets 99% clipped Great dogs, Airedales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The right Border Collie would suit much of your description but as they vary so much in activity level, destructiveness and if they will guard or not, an adult would be a better idea. Bitches usually cope better alone than males do, they shed less hair and are on the smaller size of medium breeds. Most BCs would cope well with a half hour walk and some training a day so long as they are with you except for school hours. They are a pretty quiet breed compared to most. Some will act as guard dogs, others will welcome the burglar and hold the torch and there is no way to predict that in a puppy. I have had closely related dogs destroy nothing at all while others destroy everything they come in contact with until carefully trained to only destroy their toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poo-Fong Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) What about a Brittany? They are lovely dogs, and very underrated! Also something a bit more out there - Basset Fauve, PBGV, Dandie Dinmont? Dandies are awesome dogs! Sorry, but I cannot picture a Brittany being content with half an hour of walking a day. After having Border Collies for most of my adult life (and having dabbled in a few other breeds along the way in conjunction), we got a Brittany boy last year as my husband fell head over heels in love with the mother of our boy when she boarded with us (we have kennels).... we had almost no prior experience with the breed apart from that. I have to be completely honest here and say that he is by FAR the the most challenging puppy to own that I've ever had - he is like a little cyclone fueled by Red Bull mixed with red cordial Don't get me wrong, we adore him and he is the sweetest boy really but ohmygoodness is he full on! We are lucky inasmuch as we have a larger property and he has 4 "siblings" (2 x Borders, 1 x French Bulldog & 1 x Whippet) to help entertain him both physically and mentally. We don't walk every day but if our living situation was different I'd say it would be an absolute must.... even now if he's bugging the others too much (he goes a lot longer & harder than the rest of our pack) I'll take him out for a hour or so and that does help a bit, albeit temporarily He loves toys, so we fill up the toy box in the house with various bits and pieces and we find he really enjoys hunting through, and picking out 'today's favourite'... He is a very busy dog, and is rarely still.... I couldn't imagine him in a single dog household where he was alone a great deal of the time! My Borders are MUCH more relaxed and easygoing. After the somewhat black picture I've painted of him here though, I must stress he really is super sweet, lots of fun to have around and makes us laugh every single day and it would be a much less colourful existence without him His breeder is amazing and has been a huge support, even though she did give us the "norty" one Edited July 30, 2014 by Poo-Fong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 @Poo-Fong You just described my new Vizsla terror, aka Horrible Herbert. I understand fully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) Interesting to read about different traits of working dogs. I would call my field-bred Springer high energy but she has the best off switch. It is certainly a desirable trait in the breed because of the nature and intensity of the work they do. Funnily enough I have spoken to a few people now who have them as family pets only (ie just basic obedience plus ample exercise and family interaction) and they rave about their suitability. I must say I was surprised as I thought they would be too much for the average family. Edited July 30, 2014 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdie Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 A vote here for Australian terriers ,very adaptable breed;.good with kids and seniors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybel Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 OK, so I don't think I am going to take up dog hair knitting anytime soon lol! It's great to hear real life experience with these breeds - I think that the conclusion that I have come to is that we could work with a breeder to pick the "right" puppy for the safer/lower energy breeds but would be better off looking at a mature dog for the higher energy ones if that is the direction that we wanted to go in. You have all reassured me so much - I was beginning to think that there would be nothing out there for us which would have been very sad as we have a huge hole in our family right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedaler Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 :D Stripped for the show ring but most people get them clipped but a good coat is easily maintained by a pet person with the help of a groomer on occasions . The same would apply if looking at Mini Schnauzers we strip for the showring pets 99% clipped Great dogs, Airedales. Vizslamomma, you will not get any argument about that from me. 41 years in the breed and still cannot imagine not having one. There is no doubt that it is better to strip an Airedale but as showdog says most pet people have them clipped. It does however, usually make the coat softer and lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justrace Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 When we were looking for a new dog, one of the breeds that I liked the look & sound of was the Schipperke. I chatted for some time with a breeder that showed them, was told the do shed a bit, but with a good brush it's not too bad & they seem like lovely hardy dogs. Might be worth a look at? Goodluck in your search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybel Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 When we were looking for a new dog, one of the breeds that I liked the look & sound of was the Schipperke. I chatted for some time with a breeder that showed them, was told the do shed a bit, but with a good brush it's not too bad & they seem like lovely hardy dogs. Might be worth a look at? Goodluck in your search Just googled them and they look lovely and seem to tick quite a few of our boxes. Will investigate further - thanks so much for passing this on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Schipps are my favourite little dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Schipps are my favourite little dogs They do like a bark though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Schipps are my favourite little dogs They do like a bark though! Kelpies do too at times :laugh: Maybe one day when I decide to get a little dog and am looking for a training challenge . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spencinator Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 What about a havanese? Seems to fit most of your requirements (although would require trips to the groomers). Otherwise your suggestions of a cocker or a cavalier sound perfectly reasonable as well. I'm sure there are people on here who could recommend you a good breeder of cavaliers if health problems are what you're concerned about. I used to have a cavalier and she was the sweetest dog I've ever met. I miss her terribly! At the end of the day you sound like someone who is putting in the time to research your decision and this is likely to carry over to the care of your new dog, so you would likely do well with a range of breeds, you just need to pick the right one from the litter. Just something I've learned about getting a mature dog from a breeder, you really need to be able to assess the temperament away from the breeder's property and with different people/dogs/environments. We got my boy as a 2 year old from a breeder and he is almost perfect, however he does have issues with other dogs and this wasn't something I was able to see because he was so familiar with the other dogs the breeder owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy&Zoe Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I have a 6 month old ruby cavalier and so far no shedding although I have been warned that may happen as she gets older :laugh: Cavs are very much family dogs, loving to be with their people but many people who owns cavs do work and their cavs cope well. My girl split her time from being inside with me to sitting outside during the day. 30 min walk would satisfy a cav :) Cavs are extremely cuddly My second choice would be a cocker spaniel. I think they would be happy with a 30 min walk but I think you would need to walk them every day (unlike cavs who can miss a day if needed). I think a cocker spaniel would require more grooming than a cav though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybel Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 I have a 6 month old ruby cavalier and so far no shedding although I have been warned that may happen as she gets older :laugh: Cavs are very much family dogs, loving to be with their people but many people who owns cavs do work and their cavs cope well. My girl split her time from being inside with me to sitting outside during the day. 30 min walk would satisfy a cav :) Cavs are extremely cuddly My second choice would be a cocker spaniel. I think they would be happy with a 30 min walk but I think you would need to walk them every day (unlike cavs who can miss a day if needed). I think a cocker spaniel would require more grooming than a cav though. Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy&Zoe Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I have a 6 month old ruby cavalier and so far no shedding although I have been warned that may happen as she gets older :laugh: Cavs are very much family dogs, loving to be with their people but many people who owns cavs do work and their cavs cope well. My girl split her time from being inside with me to sitting outside during the day. 30 min walk would satisfy a cav :) Cavs are extremely cuddly My second choice would be a cocker spaniel. I think they would be happy with a 30 min walk but I think you would need to walk them every day (unlike cavs who can miss a day if needed). I think a cocker spaniel would require more grooming than a cav though. Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!! When I first started researching breeds I was also very concerned. But I have to say that since joining numerous cavalier online groups I am very pleasantly surprised to find out how many cavs live to a ripe an old. I also think that the cav personality far outweighs any potential health concerns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 What about a Brittany? They are lovely dogs, and very underrated! Also something a bit more out there - Basset Fauve, PBGV, Dandie Dinmont? Dandies are awesome dogs! Sorry, but I cannot picture a Brittany being content with half an hour of walking a day. After having Border Collies for most of my adult life (and having dabbled in a few other breeds along the way in conjunction), we got a Brittany boy last year as my husband fell head over heels in love with the mother of our boy when she boarded with us (we have kennels).... we had almost no prior experience with the breed apart from that. I have to be completely honest here and say that he is by FAR the the most challenging puppy to own that I've ever had - he is like a little cyclone fueled by Red Bull mixed with red cordial Don't get me wrong, we adore him and he is the sweetest boy really but ohmygoodness is he full on! We are lucky inasmuch as we have a larger property and he has 4 "siblings" (2 x Borders, 1 x French Bulldog & 1 x Whippet) to help entertain him both physically and mentally. We don't walk every day but if our living situation was different I'd say it would be an absolute must.... even now if he's bugging the others too much (he goes a lot longer & harder than the rest of our pack) I'll take him out for a hour or so and that does help a bit, albeit temporarily He loves toys, so we fill up the toy box in the house with various bits and pieces and we find he really enjoys hunting through, and picking out 'today's favourite'... He is a very busy dog, and is rarely still.... I couldn't imagine him in a single dog household where he was alone a great deal of the time! My Borders are MUCH more relaxed and easygoing. After the somewhat black picture I've painted of him here though, I must stress he really is super sweet, lots of fun to have around and makes us laugh every single day and it would be a much less colourful existence without him His breeder is amazing and has been a huge support, even though she did give us the "norty" one Great description of Butch Poo Fong! My first Brittany Zora is a very laid back girl and was quite misleading about the breed requirements for me. In my first litter three of the six pups were very intense whereas the other three were more like mum and better suited for a pet lifestyle. The three intense pups all went to experienced dog and working/showing homes with other dogs as companions. My pup Kite is very much a pup at 12 months, whereas her dam was sensible by 9 months (i.e smart enough to do naughty things like raid bins once I had left the room ). I would definitely say Kite has an off switch but she's very quick to flick that back to 'on' at the slightest sign of action (i.e me standing up or closing my laptop :laugh: ) I was told that the sire of the litter matured at 5 so there is still hope :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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