Whippets, ACDs and Murray River Retrievers

[CaptainFur]

Hi All, after 10 years Eboni our mini Kelpie (actually a Chihuahua x) passed from lymphoma.

 

Looking at a medium size dog for a surburban block, would like a sweet dog that would sometimes like to curl up on the couch, don't mind fairly active but an off-switch would be good.  Will likely do obedience and may even try dog sports.  We have 2 cats and a ferret (ferret normally as free access to the yard during the day and used to play with Eboni but if need be can control access to only when the dog is inside).

 

Been looking at Rescue dogs:

 

My daughter likes Whippet/Whippet crosses and we have seen some crossed with kelpies but I am concern with the Whippets prey drive with the cats.  What are your thoughts?

 

I have seen various ACD crosses and some crossed with Jack Parson Terriers - again I'm concerned with prey drive, what about other ACD crosses in general?

 

I quite like the look and sound of Murray River Retrievers - any thoughts about these?

[Dogsfevr]

I’m a firm believer no dog is cat proof ,you are just lucky if you get one that doesn’t care .

As a side note of the various breeds we have owned the only ones we would have trusted and did around a friends cat was our Greyhounds .

The Murray Rivers from what I have heard are real gundogs needing to do a job 

[Maddy]

I have two whippets- one is perfectly behaved around small animals and can be recalled easily.

The other one has prey drive than borders on the obsessive (mostly with stalking insects) and I definitely wouldn't trust him around a cat.

The trouble with prey drive is that it's not always possible to predict it based on pedigree, and how the dog is raised won't necessarily make much difference. So it could be 50:50 or anywhere in between, considering that prey drive exists on a spectrum.

Personally, I wouldn't put a sighthound into a home with cats and other smalls, unless that dog was absolutely bombproof, as far as prey drive goes. This would limit options to adult rescues that have been properly tested by a reputable rescue group, which may not be easy to find.

[sandgrubber]

I've seen many Huntaways since moving to NZ.  I'm impressed with how laid-back they are compared to other herding breeds.  The ones I've seen in suburbia have been good with both cats and chooks.