Do you know your breed inside out?

Cherry Blossom

We often have loads of threads on here started by people who are looking for information on specific dog breeds, I'm sure by this time people are tired of repeating themselves over and over.

Starting in January I think it would be an idea to have a 'Breed of the week' - essentially a valuable information thread focusing on a specific recognised breed including information on the history/roots of the breed, common problems, health issues, and so on. It would basicly be a collection of general questions & answers, info, history, perceptions, opinions and experiences of people who own these breeds, have done a lot of research on them with the intention of owning one in the future or have some knowledge of them from some other personal perspective.

If you believe you have extensive knowledge of a particular breed it would help if you make me aware of this.

In terms of 'order', I think the best way to go about this would be to prioritise breeds by number of requests from people who would like to see a particular breed get a mention, this would mean priority could constantly change but that's ok, we go with whatever is currently top of the list that week. Even a thread with just one post can be extremely valuable once it can be easily found - the intention would be to have a list of the threads posted in a FAQ sticky.

You can post any thoughts you have on this or suggest breeds in this thread.

I am conscious of the fact that this is a general Animals and Pets forum and not a 'dog' forum. The vast majority of threads here are dog related though so I think it's keeping within the current traffic of the forum. I don't think we would have enough contributors to have individual cat/rabbit breed threads etc. but we can have 'catch all' threads in these cases if people want to suggest other species.

Disclaimer - This might work, and it might not, it will depend entirely on how it rolls once it gets started.

andreac

Id be happy to contribute towards Rotties. Im no expert but i do feel very experienced in the breed to help others

Themadhouse

I think it's a great idea to have individual breeds covered properly instead of bits in different threads. I can't offer anything with owning a cross breed but will enjoy the learning aspect.
If the enquiries for cats ever gets extensive I will volunteer for that!

magentas

Great idea AJ, I think it's really cool that you're actively encouraging threads and discussion and not just "modding" No offence to any other mod BTW!!
Seriously though, fair play:)

I'm not an expert by any means but I'm very passionate about my breed...border collies. Smart, loyal and affectionate companions.
So if I feel that I can add anything to the thread, I'd be more than happy to get involved and I'll look forward to learning from other collie enthusiasts and indeed the various other breeds. I really enjoyed reading a recent thread about GSDs and their origins...ended up reading about the breed online for about 3hours that night:o so this could be good reading!

Knine

I can do the Italian Spinoni & the Border Terrier.

falabo

great idea, Cocker5 and I can talk about cocker spaniels ...

Cherry Blossom

Might be best to let people volunteer for themselves

I'll count all of these as suggestions as well by the way.

Shanao

I can do the akita; have read up way too bloody much over the last two years

Zapperzy

Can't offer anything as I'v a x breed but would be interested in reading these.

cjf

I can give some info on the dobie! Great idea to do a thread not just on history etc. But also including what it's like to own and live with the breeds! Looking forward to learning more about the personalities and practicalities of other breeds I have no first hand experience with! Might finally decide on what mix my little Heinz 57 girly is! You can only get so much from breed profiles defo interested in the day to day of different breeds!

Cutie18Ireland

Pomeranians, Yorkshire Terriers, Greyhounds

Bannasidhe

jack russells.

mymo

I have a Tibetan terrier and a Lhasa Apso, guess they won't be near the top of the list, but I did do a lot of research and spoke to many breeders and show people before going for both breeds.
Happy to help if anyone asks.
I think peoples experiences of living with the breed would be great for people thinking of a particular breed.

mymo

Could you also add a bit at the start of the thread about cross breeds (we've had many), how if you know some of the heritage you can get a bit of an idea of the energy levels etc by looking at the breeds in its heritage.

westies4ever

i know a fair bit about westies

RitaW

I've 3 Irish Setters and 1 Red and White so I could a piece about them. I've a few articles prepared already on the breed.

falabo

I know a good bit about Whippets too, had one for 17 years !

SingItOut

I know a lot about Labradors

lorebringer

Cavaliers!

FoxyVixen

Akitas have already been mentioned. I'm no expert but have had one for two years so could add to that from what Shanoa has to say.

Cherry Blossom

mymo wrote: »

Could you also add a bit at the start of the thread about cross breeds (we've had many), how if you know some of the heritage you can get a bit of an idea of the energy levels etc by looking at the breeds in its heritage.

It would be one breed per thread but this could be added in to the post in sticky.

The problem with crosses is they can be the result of anything, if anyone wanted to start a thread on crosses that was clean enough to add to the sticky that would be fine. The problem is there's a high chance it would go off in all sorts of directions, desirable crosses would likely get a big mention which would probably lead to the thread getting heated. Posts can't be deleted without very good reason and threads that are contentious may not be suitable for adding to a sticky. (Just in case anyone is wondering why this is a pure-breed thing).

Cherry Blossom

RitaW wrote: »

I've 3 Irish Setters and 1 Red and White so I could a piece about them. I've a few articles prepared already on the breed.

Thanks for your input, people who post regularly on the forum are well known to everyone as are their dogs, so it's great to see readers of the forum come forward who don't post often for whatever reasons, otherwise we would be limited to the fairly small collection of breeds owned by known contributors here.

Do you think the Red and R&W's are similar enough to be doubled up together, how about other setter breeds - Gordon/English setter, would it be more feasible to have one huge Setter week than to split them all up?

FoxyVixen wrote: »

Akitas have already been mentioned.

That makes the Akita the only breed with 2 votes so far

deisedave

ya I would know quite a bit about cavaliers but my other dog is a cross so I couldnt add much for her. I have had jack russels as well.

Cherry Blossom

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

That makes the Akita the only breed with 2 votes so far

Short-lived - Jack Russels & Cavs now have 2 as well.

planetX

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

It would be one breed per thread but this could be added in to the post in sticky.

The problem with crosses is they can be the result of anything, if anyone wanted to start a thread on crosses that was clean enough to add to the sticky that would be fine. The problem is there's a high chance it would go off in all sorts of directions, desirable crosses would likely get a big mention which would probably lead to the thread getting heated. Posts can't be deleted without very good reason and threads that are contentious may not be suitable for adding to a sticky. (Just in case anyone is wondering why this is a pure-breed thing).

can you let lurchers in though please???? I have questions...

Cherry Blossom

planetX wrote: »

can you let lurchers in though please???? I have questions...

Yes, we can have lurchers, though I'm wondering if Lurchers, greyhounds and whippets could be grouped together?

borderlinemeath

Irish setters getting a second vote.

lrushe

I've had a few breeds over the years, by no means an expert but would have some knowledge on:
Rotties
Japanese Spitz
Chihuahuas
German Shephards
Jack Russells
Greyhounds
Fox Terriers
Dobbies

axle108

L plate GSD owner, 18 months old, i'll share his early years. Jrt 14 years.

chris139ryan

excellent idea of a thread. I could contribute about bull terriers, not an expert by any means but I know a bit about them

axle108

L plate GSD owner, 18 months old. JRT 14 years, mixed breeds.

cocker5

falabo wrote: »

great idea, Cocker5 and I can talk about cocker spaniels ...

Great falabo... im game if you are!

are you serious

I suppose I could lend a hand with the Rotties!

aw

Not an expert by any means, but I can give some advice on having a Golden Retriever.

Have been a long time reader of this forum and would be glad to contribute, for a change!

Groom!

Golden retrievers
Springers
Pomeranians
English Setters

Lurcher Collie GSD God Knows What X

jinxycat

I'm not an expert but have done a bit of research on the akita as I own one and wouldn't mind giving my own experience of the dog. I have her almost 4 years now

marley123

Goldies - but see a couple of other people have experience with this breed aswell:)

RitaW

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Thanks for your input, people who post regularly on the forum are well known to everyone as are their dogs, so it's great to see readers of the forum come forward who don't post often for whatever reasons, otherwise we would be limited to the fairly small collection of breeds owned by known contributors here.

Do you think the Red and R&W's are similar enough to be doubled up together, how about other setter breeds - Gordon/English setter, would it be more feasible to have one huge Setter week than to split them all up?

Yes I could double the Red and IRWS into one post as they are connected. The IRWS breed came close to extinction towards the end of the 19th century when breeding the pure red variety became more fashionable and preferred to the red and white variety. The IRWS are still in small number today, they are more a working dog than the Red.

I wouldn't know alot about the Gordon/English so I couldn't go into detail on their personality characteristics or history. A Gordon will be added to our setter family in a few years though

gregers85

I have no probs doing write up on GSD!

Cherry Blossom

I've grouped some breeds together in an effort to rank some of these as contenders for the first thread (1st January!)

I'm comming up with:

JRT - 4 requests
Sighthounds (Greyhound, Lurcher, Whippet) - 4 requests
Rottweiler - 3 requests
Akita (American & Akita Inu) - 3 requests
Setters (all breeds) - 3 requests
Spaniels (Cocker, Springer,)* - 3 requests
Golden Retrievers - 3 Requests

* I think Cavs should have their own thread.

If any others get bumped up to 3 requests I'll add them to this list - this is just for handiness so we can see what's topping the polls here.

xxkarenxx

I don't post here much but if anyone was interested in Bassets. Bloodhounds or Dachshunds (wirehaired) I could try and be of assistance

ConTheCat

I can help with Cavillier King Charles Spaniels, just had one put down after 10 years. Need help withe Cavillier/Sheepdogs though!! Could help in a while though about them

Cherry Blossom

ConTheCat wrote: »

I can help with Cavillier King Charles Spaniels, just had one put down after 4 years. Need help withe Cavillier/Sheepdogs though!! Could help in a while though about them

Can I just commend you on your post, there have been a few threads on Cavs in the past and lots of people post that they got a pup from 'where ever' and it has no health problems, or course these are all still pups, no one ever comes back when their dog is old enough for issues to have started to become apparent.

<ETA> It is estimated that 60% of cavs never reach their 5th birthday and 90% never reach their 10th birthday.

chiefwiggum

xxkarenxx wrote: »

I don't post here much but if anyone was interested in Bassets. Bloodhounds or Dachshunds (wirehaired) I could try and be of assistance

i could help with bassets too:)

WIZE

I have 2 Westies

ConTheCat

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Can I just commend you on your post, there have been a few threads on Cavs in the past and lots of people post that they got a pup from 'where ever' and it has no health problems, or course these are all still pups, no one ever comes back when their dog is old enough for issues to have started to become apparent.

<ETA> It is estimated that 60% of cavs never reach their 5th birthday and 90% never reach their 10th birthday.

Whoops sorry, meant to say 4 months ago after 10 years!
There was no past problems where we got ours from, but another pup out of the litter was put down after 6 years for same reason-cardiac. Meant to be very common amongst them. Spine problems is on the up with them nowadays, or so I hear.

Chris_Heilong

I have extensive knowledge on Alaskan Malamutes as well as German Spitz Klein.

Wedgie

I don't know the breed inside and out, but I have some knowledge of the Whipprador (patent pending).

Vince32

AJ Would it work better if people who make a "owning a "breed" " post, pm'd you with the info? then as a moderator you can either sticky them or create a sub forum.

If that's the case, then I would like to make a request if possible, Siberian Husky. I've done alot of reading in the last few weeks, from breed info, breed history, body language, diet and exercise, and general health.

But it can never hurt to learn something new, So IF AJ agree's to this would someone be willing to make a sibe post?

Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah & Happy Winter veil to everyone on the boards

Cherry Blossom

Vince32 wrote: »

AJ Would it work better if people who make a "owning a "breed" " post, pm'd you with the info? then as a moderator you can either sticky them or create a sub forum.

Why would people PM me with info They can post it themself in the thread. I know there are already threads here on some breeds but they have all been started by someone with specific questions - these would be general threads. PMs are confidential - you cannot share the contents of a PM.

lorebringer

ConTheCat wrote: »

There was no past problems where we got ours from, but another pup out of the litter was put down after 6 years for same reason-cardiac. Meant to be very common amongst them. Spine problems is on the up with them nowadays, or so I hear.

I'm assuming you referring to Syringomyelia when you mention "spine problems" - all too common problem in the breed and often left undiagnosed. Cardiac problems are not just common in Cavaliers, the majority will develop one (usually a murmur due to MVD, leading into CHF) and quite a lot die from them. I have 2 at the moment with heart problems, ages 6 and 12. The 12 year old will die from it (he is so severe he has entered CHD, rattles when he walks from all the medication he is on) while the 6 year old has had no depletion in recent years and has a low grade murmur. I also have a 3 year old who is murmur negative (wohoo) but in reality, it is a waiting game. 6 years old with such a severe cardiac problem is quite shocking.

Great breed but they are on their knees with health issues.