What dog breed?

[Umbroso]

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First off Hello everyone. I just signed up to this forum in a hope for some friendly guidance & advice.

Me and my Partner are just looking at getting our first joint dog, well puppy. This isn't our first dog but we cannot agree on a breed so I just wondered what suggestions people had. I'll tell you a bit about our set up and also our backgrounds in a hope this will be helpful.

My Partner is in the Forces so only around at weekends & when he has time off. He is moving closer to home soon so will be around much more and hopefully will get posted closer still so he can just commute. He has grown up with German Shepherds and loves the breed. His Dad still has a GSD. (His parents live 2 1/2 hours from us - Their shepherd is very friendly/well socialised so we wont have any problems taking the puppy with us when we go visiting)

I also grew up with dogs but not a specific breed. We had a staffy x lab & a collie cross for around 16 years. Both rescue dogs and both lovely, the collie cross I trained to do all sorts. The lab x staffy was a bit more aloof and stubborn but we still loved him.

We currently live on a farm with my parents and there are 4 dogs here. My mums Pomeranian (Willow, who doesn't leave mums side!), The family Bedlington/Whippet (Pudding) & my mums rescue parsons Russell Terrier (Millie) and then my Aunties JRT (P) is here everyday. All are very well socialised and use to other dogs. Millie was attacked badly by a Labrador so we only ever have issues with Labs & Lab crosses.

Being on a farm means we have a big farm house. My partner and I have our own annex (which Pudding spends most of his nights in with me) and we have approx 3+ acres of grazing land which doesn't include garden and out buildings. I also have 85,000 acres to hack/walk the dogs on.

We have 4 horses on the farm (my job - so i'm around 24/7 with a few hours a day I can dedicate solely to the dog) and are looking at getting some ducks and Chickens.

We've decided we are ready to make the commitment that a dog needs and it would be quite good for me to have the constant company (especially when out hacking, away teaching and for when my partner is working abroad as I get quite lonely. I tried stealing Pudding but he loves my Dad and hates leaving Millie)

I did own a Border Collie before we moved to the farm, sadly we didn't have acreage and when the yard the horses were at banned dogs I had to rehome her. I was devastated but I had to do the right thing for her. This was over a year ago now. I spent hours with her, trained her to do all sorts and she was constantly attached to my side.

My partner really wants a GSD and I really want a BC - He's agreed I can have one but I feel I should look at every option before I go and get a BC. We've looked at tons of other breeds but we just cannot decide what would work best for us and I'm sure we've missed out quite a few breeds that would be suitable.

He worries about me and wants more a protection dog hence looking at GSD.

Time & Space are not an issue as you can see - I feel like this is a bigger decision than deciding whether to have kids or not. Hehe.

My name is Stephanie btw, Umbroso is the name of my horse but made more sense as a username. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[eingana]

Hi Stephanie, and welcome to DogForum

As you may be able to see from my avatar, I'm a weeny bit biased when it comes to dogs I am involved both in GSD rescue and in general rescue of both dogs and cats and I'm a great proponent of planning everything and being sure you're getting the right dog for you.

Although you are both set on different breeds you know there are a lot more similarities between the breeds than you know. They usually have the same very intimate one to one connection with their human(s) and are really intelligent, trainable and dependable dogs. BCs have more tendency to get a bit neurotic with focusing on things or chasing them and they usually need more exercise than GSDs. They're both breeds that need lots of interaction, that are unlikely to laze about most of the day and that are likely to have their noses in the middle of everything that you're doing just because you're doing it therefore they're doing it too.

The big difference is the GSD hypervigilance and enormous bark really. Is that something that you don't want, or is it just that you're not used to GSDs and their ways?

I'd also recommend looking at breeds like Anatolian Shepherds, Maremma Sheepdogs, Akbash dogs, Kuvasz dogs and Pyrenean Mountain dogs, which are all bigger than either BC or GSD, but have both herding and guarding characteristics and are suited to large spaces like the farm you have available to you.

Good luck on making the right decision for you

 

[Umbroso]

Thank you Eingana.

I haven't ever had anything to do with GSD which is why I'm not so keen on getting one, so yes I guess your right I know BCs but I know next to notuhing about GSDs which is a scary thought for me. It's not a breed ive ever had much of an interest in till I met my partner. I do love his Dad's GSD but I also worry about all the health implications they can have - but then I guess that's the same with any dog. I'm going to go do some research now you've said that

The barking isn't an issue. My partner feels it would be better for me when I'm completely on my own to have something a bit bigger that can make lots of noise & scare people if they choose to randomly turn up (but be all bark & no bite - like his Dad's GSD)

I will have a look at them other breeds. Thank you for your reply

 

[Umbroso]

We've found a breed we both like - finally!

Australian Shepherd dog. I'm now doing tons of research but they sound like they are just what we need/want in a dog.

If anyone can offer any help or advice than please do.

I'm now trying to source a breeder/society or any where that may be able to point me in the direction of finding the perfect puppy for us.

 

[eingana]

I understand fully that GSDs may well seem to be a very unapproachable breed with their formidable looks and the 'I'm a big roughty toughty police dog' appearance, but really, they're just dogs that you train like any other, and if you'd met my Molly you'd understand that she's just as soft as most of the dogs that are around us, as are most shepherds. The media doesn't help with this because they subliminally train humans to believe that the dog that is chasing the film star is being aggressive and that's what an aggressive shepherd looks like, but in actual fact the dog has been trained to run in such a way so they are actually displaying really positive body language because they're thinking 'if I do this I'll get a treat!'. Sheps positive body language may be more subtle than many other breeds, but it's still there and if you know your doggy body language it's still as applicable.

As far as health problems go, yes, sheps have some horrible ones. CDRM is a dreadful disease and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, and anal furunculosis is not much better. You can reduce the risk of hip problems by buying from a straight back line which is well bred from hip scored parents (the hip scoring matters in all big breeds BTW) rather than a show line with very sloping back. The straight back lines tend to have much better health figures because they are more likely to be bred for health rather than looks. Most of the rescue dogs which fly all over the world sniffing out people to rescue from earthquake zones and the like are bred from straight back lines and they are just as much balls of energy as your average BC.

 

[goldenbear2013]

Hi Stephanie,

Welcome to Dog Forum

Australian Shepherds are awesome dogs! I have a couple in my agility class and they are wonderful when trained properly. Their temperaments are so beautiful

I have a Labrador at present but have previously owner a Rotti and a Staffy.

If you are after a fairly large breed, protection and good on a farm then I recommend a Rotti. They were originally bred to herd sheep and pull carts (hence the reason why they had a docked tail for so long). They make excellent companions, have excellent endurance and also very lazy when needs be! They will quite happily get mixed up in what your doing and at the same time happy to sleep for hours on end if they get the opportunity.

They are ridiculously clever dogs, and learn fast so training them will be no issue. And their temperaments are truly wonderful (I don't care what anyone says about them, but you raise the dog right there is no issue).

You raise a Rotti right and you have (in my opinion but I am bias ) one of the best breeds of dog you could ever wish for to have as your companion.

I lost my boy (aptly name Tank) 7 years a go and I still miss him terribly ever day. I have never gotten over losing him. He was my big love bug, who protected me and watched over me 24/7. He was softest, kindest dog I could of wished for and got me through some tough times!

I wanted another Rotti before we had Bear but my other half felt that I would bring up past feelings from losing my boy, and he was probably right. I'm now crying just writing this!!! I need to get a grip!!! lol!

Anyway;

Best of luck with your research in whatever breed you pick. if you get in touch with a couple of breeders, and they are good breeders, they should meet with you (whether they have a litter or not) to talk about the breed and what best suits you. if you cant meet with them in person you can always speak to them on the phone or open up a line of communication with them via email. if they just want to know if you want a pup and that's it, you need to look for another breeder.

My boy is 2 now and we still talk to our breeder and keep her updated.

I wish you the best of luck, and if you do get a puppy then please post a pic on here so we can all see!

Sophie x