Future Addition Question - Breed Types/Crosses and Training Resources

ShaShaBear

So, just on day two without Shadow and our lives are absolutely miserable. I don't know if any of you will get this, but the misery and sadness is on two levels. One is where Shadow isn't here, and the other is the distinct lack of dog. Although myself and Mr.Bear have only been together 3 years, we both find ourself in the same situation - we have never, ever not had a dog. Not only is it difficult to get on with things knowing I'll never see my Shadow again, it's also very difficult being constantly reminded of it every time I can't do a doggie related thing I normally do every day (eg walking, grooming, going out to the garden etc).

It's too soon for us to rehome, so we offered our services as a foster family for a rescue I've worked with before. We both feel that it means we are helping a dog in need, but there is no pressure on us to "bond" with another dog, simply to care for it, love it, and help it find a new forever home. The decision alone has helped us immensely and we're hoping to start next weekend

But, when we are ready to add a doggie friend, we both agree that it must be a puppy (under 6 months). This will be an adopted dog (be it one we come across in fostering, or one we find in a rescue), but we have a few reasons for wanting to stay young:

• After losing a dog, we both want one that is starting its life with us, we're not ready to take on an older dog (YET) that could put us in the position of having to do this again soon.
• We are new parents, and still learning to care for Abigail, so we want a dog that has no preconceived notions about children so that they can learn from us and our baby.
• We have made a list of requirements for a new addition and agree that it would be next to impossible to find a dog to meet them all unless we train them ourselves, and find that it would be easier again with a younger dog.

We do plan, absolutely, to add more than one dog to our family (something that was never an option with Shadow), so that is when we plan to consider older dogs (just in case people who don't know us jump to that suggestion). But we do need this first one to be a pup.

I'd love if any of you could pass on suggestions of breeds or breed mixes that you have found eager learners (we would love a dog that could learn plenty of tricks and perhaps do agility with), very affectionate but not likely to be a one-person dog (Shadow bonded to my partner and tended to get a bit jealous of us and disobedient towards me as a result) and preferably of at least medium size (we prefer bigger doggies ). Energy levels and grooming/shedding are of no concern to us We don't want any high prey-drive doggies due to other pets in the home and in family homes!

Also with that, if any of you could point me in the direction of some links for puppy training, mainly crate/playpen, that would be great. I want preparation coming out of my ears by the time we decide to adopt!

peasant

I would suggest some kind of Collie - Labrador mix.

They are (usually) clever, mild mannered, energetic enough to actually want to learn, a handy size and there are plenty (too many!) of them about so that rescueing one won't be hard either.

ShaShaBear

peasant wrote: »

I would suggest some kind of Collie - Labrador mix.

They are (usually) clever, mild mannered, energetic enough to actually want to learn, a handy size and there are plenty (too many!) of them about so that rescueing one won't be hard either.

Shadow himself was a collie cross, so they definitely are eager learners, I suppose a collie crossed with something different would be nice, I wouldn't want him/her to look too much like Shadow!

VonVix

Shetland Sheepdog perhaps (not very common to find), on the smaller side of medium but such an absolutely wonderful breed. I have two. Super, super trainable, really affectionate and are not overly in the face of strangers, some shelties may be reserved and some others can be friendly, but generally they reserve their REAL affection for their family. Velcro dog! Mine are goofballs but will bend over backwards to do anything for you. They are great with our cats also.

German Shepherd would be another one. The only breed I have ever really fallen in love with besides my own shelties. Never met a GSD that caused any issues (I work in a dog daycare), utter softies and so intelligent. They seem to know if something is wrong with you and will try to cheer you up... at least that's what I've found!

Another would be a Bernese Mountain Dog. Now, I don't know how trainable they are as I have not worked with them in that capacity, that said they seem very interested in what you want from them. But omg cuddlemonsters.

ShaShaBear

VonVix wrote: »

Shetland Sheepdog perhaps (not very common to find), on the smaller side of medium but such an absolutely wonderful breed. I have two. Super, super trainable, really affectionate and are not overly in the face of strangers, some shelties may be reserved and some others can be friendly, but generally they reserve their REAL affection for their family. Velcro dog! Mine are goofballs but will bend over backwards to do anything for you. They are great with our cats also.

German Shepherd would be another one. The only breed I have ever really fallen in love with besides my own shelties. Never met a GSD that caused any issues (I work in a dog daycare), utter softies and so intelligent. They seem to know if something is wrong with you and will try to cheer you up... at least that's what I've found!

Another would be a Bernese Mountain Dog. Now, I don't know how trainable they are as I have not worked with them in that capacity, that said they seem very interested in what you want from them. But omg cuddlemonsters.

I have to say I've a soft spot for GSDs (especially the long-haired ones) and that's something I had forgotten about! I think BMDs have a short lifespan though, think that would kill me! Been eyeing up a very alert and naughty looking collie bitch at my local rescue that might be up for fostering!
(Watch me fail so hard at fostering and being on RTE2 in a month when people bust in to seize my 67 dogs :pac: )

VonVix

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I have to say I've a soft spot for GSDs (especially the long-haired ones) and that's something I had forgotten about! I think BMDs have a short lifespan though, think that would kill me! Been eyeing up a very alert and naughty looking collie bitch at my local rescue that might be up for fostering!
(Watch me fail so hard at fostering and being on RTE2 in a month when people bust in to seize my 67 dogs :pac: )

They are so lovely, if someone told me I couldn't get another sheltie I'd go straight to a GSD as my next dog! A long haired one especially, I do enjoy doing some grooming lol.

Yeah, generally only single digits for the BMDs, they are sooo sweet though! Something really teddy-bear like about them.

Personally don't think I could handle a straight up border collie type, I've yet to meet one with an off switch lol!

mymo

Have you thought about a springer x, I know a few and they are great, smart, energetic enough for a bit of agility, very trainable and vary in size hugely depending on the cross. Also Springers are good with kids.

But I think to be honest you will just come across "that" dog, the one you fall for, you can't let go, while fostering. I know lots who have.

peasant

Personally, I'd be a bit weary of a rescued GSD from an unknown background though.

Too many nutcases about who see themselves as weekend K9 special forces and have done untold damage to these lovely dogs ..both to individual dogs as well as whole breeding strains.

VonVix

peasant wrote: »

Personally, I'd be a bit weary of a rescued GSD from an unknown background though.

Too many nutcases about who see themselves as weekend K9 special forces and have done untold damage to these lovely dogs ..both to individual dogs as well as whole breeding strains.

Totally agree. They are so soft/sensitive their spirit can be easily broken and they can easily become wary of particular things. Does come to mind that ever GSD I've worked with has been brought up as a puppy in the same household and they are all wonderful.

SingItOut

My rescue puppy ( she was 1 years old last month) Alli is a a collie X springer, she has a more collie appearance. She is like a shadow! She follows me everywhere, has to lie on or touching my feet if she's on the floor, she's rubbish at playing fetch/football (she barks at the toy/stick without actually going for it) and scared of cats, barks at birds but runs away if they land in the garden but she's also the cuddliest dog I've ever owned she's a bit smaller than a springer, she just looks big in pictures and is great at selfies
She is so intelligent! Her foster mum had to buy a lock for the garden gate as Alli was able to pull over the latch and get out at 4 months old! Sooo my point is collies or crosses are great pets, Alli gets on great with my neighbours 3 year old daughter. It's always hard to bring another dog into your life after one has passed away, we waited 6 months after my labrador Frankie passed away to get Alli.

minipink

I have a lab collie cross and my dad has her sister and I have to say they are very clever and wonderful with children. Lola has accompanied me to work for bring your dog to school day. She is a total drama queen and has separation anxiety but her sister is fine. They look like miniature labs - one is blonde the other black. It took me 15 years to get another dog after watching my childhood dog lose her battle with cancer but I did puppy sit along the way and become a cat mum.

DBB

VonVix wrote: »

Totally agree. They are so soft/sensitive their spirit can be easily broken and they can easily become wary of particular things. Does come to mind that ever GSD I've worked with has been brought up as a puppy in the same household and they are all wonderful.

I have two rescued GSDs, both rescued as adults. They're not only working dogs (trained since I got them, as opposed to trained already when adopted), they are super-gentle, absolutely reliable with children, and would be bombproof in any home. The newest one has some bad habits due to lack of early training, but being a GSD, she picks up the training by using osmosis to draw my training ideas out of my head, without me having to do any actual training at all!:D
You've just gotta know what to look for when you go down the rescue route, because there are some absolute peaches of GSDs out there for adopting

ShaShaBear

DBB wrote: »

I have two rescued GSDs, both rescued as adults. They're not only working dogs (trained since I got them, as opposed to trained already when adopted), they are super-gentle, absolutely reliable with children, and would be bombproof in any home. The newest one has some bad habits due to lack of early training, but being a GSD, she picks up the training by using osmosis to draw my training ideas out of my head, without me having to do any actual training at all!:D
You've just gotta know what to look for when you go down the rescue route, because there are some absolute peaches of GSDs out there for adopting

I actually spotted some GSD Malamute cross pups in a Louth rescue DBB but I imagine they'd be big enough to ride to work on!
In the in-laws house and we popped over to the grave to have a chat with Shadow, and having Kojack here to cuddle really lifted my spirits

Ashbx

Firstly, im very sorry to hear about Shadow! We all know its very hard to move on. I do think fostering is a great idea but be warned, you do fall in love with the foster dogs very quickly! I was minding my friends dog for only 2.5 weeks until they found a replacement home....and we ended up keeping her ourselves because she completely grew on us. So a heads up, you WILL develop feelings for the foster dog and it may be hard to let it go so just be prepared for that! But its a fantastic thing to do for a dog to start off its new life and I would say well done to anyone who fosters!

In terms of breeds, we had Tibetan terriers growing up (along with kids, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits etc) and they were fantastic dogs!

ShaShaBear

Ashbx wrote: »

Firstly, im very sorry to hear about Shadow! We all know its very hard to move on. I do think fostering is a great idea but be warned, you do fall in love with the foster dogs very quickly! I was minding my friends dog for only 2.5 weeks until they found a replacement home....and we ended up keeping her ourselves because she completely grew on us. So a heads up, you WILL develop feelings for the foster dog and it may be hard to let it go so just be prepared for that! But its a fantastic thing to do for a dog to start off its new life and I would say well done to anyone who fosters!

In terms of breeds, we had Tibetan terriers growing up (along with kids, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits etc) and they were fantastic dogs!

I fostered for this rescue before, so I'm well prepared for the heart-wrenching goodbyes

mymo

Ashbx wrote: »

In terms of breeds, we had Tibetan terriers growing up (along with kids, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits etc) and they were fantastic dogs!

I have a Tibetan, and I love him, I've met lots and they are a great breed, I'd love 5 or 6 of them, completely nuts, and trainable when they feel like it, mine loves kittens, is scared of ducks, doesn't mind my friends hens, has met rabbits, and generally has a nosey and walks away. He's ok around sheep, but unsure of cows and horses so can bark, but it think it's just he didn't meet many or maybe the size?
They do require a lot of grooming, and training (mine jumps through a hula hoop, dances, bows, gives high fives etc, but only when he wants to) and don't like being alone.

Anyway, I hope you find that one that's just fits, good luck with the fostering. X