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Which Breed?


jesse_083
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TBH I have not even looked into kennels for when we go away, we have enough family nearby (who already look after my bird when needed) who will also look after a dog for us too.

Not a bad plan ,BUT a dog out of its environment may be more inclined to try & escape .. or be not as well behaved, or be noisier ... and fences etc need to be ABSOLUTELY secure .better a dog in a facility, than one running around an unknown area , lost and upset ;)

I will never look after anyone's dog anymore - it is so stressful :(

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You don't know how much I cheer for you doing this amount of research before you decide on your breed. I would be the happiest person alive if only everyone put in as much thought as you! :thumbsup: I think the important thing after you've researched the breed and met a few is to go by your own instincts - are they telling you this is the dog for you?

Knew two very well-balanced Weis when Zeke was a youngster - they were ran every day in the park I exercised him at. It astounded me how well they minded their owners - they were allowed offlead and ran together around the entire park perimeter several times (another reason I remember them so fondly aside from their awesome training was how incredible they looked racing along, full-pelt!) but not once did I see them attempt to leave the park, so much as glance at anybody else's dogs, never be fazed by bikers, fisherman, or any human in the park, and they always returned at a call or whistle from the owners. I never got a chance to chat in depth with them and find out how much time they devoted to training them, but it never failed to impress me.

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I was going to suggest a vizla but for the at work thing - the ones I've met are the biggest people sooks ever. Tho they cope better if there are two of them. But that may mean they are double trouble too. Best not to get litter mates of any breed if you do decide to get two.

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I'm not trying to deter you - just prepare you.

Weims are a wonderful addition to the family and I miss my gorgeous girl more that I can say. Unfortunately with my current work situation a young puppy (and a naughty, boisterous Weim puppy at that) is out of the question for me.

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Thanks everyone!

Ian read the review on the yourpurebredpuppy.com site. Between that and the advice here we're going to go back to the drawing board. He's currently looking through that site for a different possible breed to join our family!

Lots of the advice you have all provided will also be taken into consideration as we research too. We've waited for over 8yrs to decide we're 'ready' for a dog, so more time researching will definitely be worth it!

Monelite - thanks for the offer! I am very keen to go on sat, just need to see how my day goes.....

Thanks again everyone, we appreciate you taking the time to answer!!

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Monelite - thanks for the offer! I am very keen to go on sat, just need to see how my day goes.....

Thanks again everyone, we appreciate you taking the time to answer!!

Be sure to drop by the Whippet stand too. Personally though I do think you should look at Pointers.

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I was just popping in to say good luck with your search. And to keep in mind that whatever dog you get, it will be the dog you fall in love with anyhow. It's just that its much better to fall in love with the right dog for your family than the wrong one (as I learnt to my cost with horses. Better to get the right one!).

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I think your going to be happy with any dog , sounds like you will be a good owner , In a previous post i recomended a stumpy tail cattle dog , but unless your going to be home with it , i'm not too sure i'm finding mine likes to be with people all the time and is getting a bit destructive if left alone for too long .

So going back to the draweing board , i would reccomend a Rottie , that is based on the fact after owning 2 for a total of 16 years they are a good dog and do not mind being on there own during the day ,, at least mine did'nt ,

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I think your going to be happy with any dog , sounds like you will be a good owner , In a previous post i recomended a stumpy tail cattle dog , but unless your going to be home with it , i'm not too sure i'm finding mine likes to be with people all the time and is getting a bit destructive if left alone for too long .

So going back to the draweing board , i would reccomend a Rottie , that is based on the fact after owning 2 for a total of 16 years they are a good dog and do not mind being on there own during the day ,, at least mine did'nt ,

I didn't suggest a Rotti initially because I didn't think they would be even close to the style of dog you wanted. That said, now you are going back to the drawing board I will say that the right Rottweiler could be an excellent match. However, I could not stress more strongly that although you show all the signs of being a really switched on owner that is willing to do what it takes to offer your new family member everything they need, if you do decide to look at Rotti, a bitch from lines that are not high drive or typically used for Dog Sport would be far your best fit.

Similarly to the above post all my Rottis have been dogs I could easily have left alone from a young age, though I didn't need to, I ensure that they have company only when they don't need it.

Rottis are super adaptable if raised properly. Once of age, they can run as far as you like and will compete competitively in agility, obedience, herding or pretty much any other sport you would wish to enter into. They are loyal, devoted family members and typically absolutely adore kids. And once again, if they come from quiet, sensible lines they are very gentle with their body size towards children and other animals.

I say a bitch because although the males are just gorgeous also, the odds are higher (particularly with an inexperienced owner) that a male may become a more arrogant, challenging, strong and belligerent towards other male dogs, which can be frustrating if you are wishing to do a lot of outings where there will be other dogs. Of course not all male Rotts are like this, but I would be lying if I said that none are.

Another thing I will say with owning a Rotti is that if you do not believe you are an assertive handler, don't get one. Even the softest natured Rotti wants/needs a confident owner to give them firm boundaries and guidelines as to what is expected. They need to trust their owner will make the best decisions for them. They prefer not to have to lead the household and are happier not having to, but if there is an obvious lack of leadership, they will fill it.

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Thanks guys. Funnily enough we were wandering the dogs on show isles and saw and chatted to a guy with a beautiful rottie. I think they are an awesome sounding dog, ian is after a dog that is a bit leaner. They are a lot bigger in real life than i thought!! The one we saw was only 6 months old and apparently still had lots of growing/filling out to do. He was beautiful though!

We also spent a fair bit of time talking to the people at the vizsla tent and the retrieving display (plus many others). Chatting to owners and gun dog enthusiasts. Ian is definitly sold on a vizsla or GSP. Espicially after talking to the vizsla people. He loved the size/coat type/exercise levels ect. We def know we can make it work so now just researching breeders.....

Big thanks to monELite and haredown whippets. It was great to meet you (and your beautiful dogs) at dogs on show!!!

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Have you thought about prey drive and having an inside bird. One of the primary reasons for getting a bulldog for us was our free ranging cockatiels.

If you're in sydney I know an excellent breeder. I'm absolutely smitten with this breed. If I didn't have a norty dog I would have dog napped one of her beautiful dogs.

Edited by hankdog
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It has been one of the first questions we have asked all the gun dog people. They have all said that its about good training and socialisation and is easy enough to make work. The groups of people we spoke to at the vizsla and retrieval displays assured me they have a 'soft' mouth, so catch but not harm or kill. Buffy will be in a large cage on a stand, so the base of her cage would be at a grown dogs eye level. Adult dog will be outside while we are not home, so they will be fully supervised when inside together. We definitely do not want vet bills for an injured bird or dog!!! Buffy is like a 2yr old - into everything and must be constantly supervised. She is not free range unless we are home and able to supervise fully. She even had a go at the gyprock once!

My brother has perviously had puppies through the guide dog association so she has had exposure and been fine - no flapping about or panicking. They were also easy enough to train, she was over there a number of times too. ( we lived in country nsw for a while, she had a travel cage to come with us to syd. She was fantastic in the car too).

Sorry for the chunkiness/poorly written reply, buffy is 'helping' me type :)

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I have a dog who belongs in that family and the soft mouth thing is thrown around a bit.

Let me tell you, if Gus got a bird he would probably kill it with love, or clumsiness, or shock.

When he was younger everything went in his mouth, a bird would be no exception.

There's noooooooo way I'd rely on that.

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jesse, my field bred ESS has got the most monstrous prey drive for birds, rabbits and cats and one of her close relatives is used to locate feral cats in the top end. At home, however, it's a different story...

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She's hopeless with the chooks but I have made zero effort to socialise my dogs with them. I'm not sure how she'd go with a bird in the house but I suspect it depends on how you introduce them and socialise the pup.

Edited by The Spotted Devil
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I think a lot depends on the dog , I owned a long haired german shepard , which was the BIGEST and i mean BIGGEST shepards you have ever seen , it was like a small lion , But yet i seen that dog run grab a bird , when i seen it and told it to drop , the bird flew off , only for Sam to lunge and grab it again in mid air , i said drop and he did the bird , (sparrow ) flew off .

Supose we have been lucky , my 2 year old used to ride him , he grew up with my youngest , and lived till he was 16 , the dog used to lie down while he sat on his back and then get up and walk , Next 2 dogs were rottys which were just has gentle , non of them were good watch dogs , they would'nt bat a eyelid when people came to the door .

Next dog was a stumpy , we got has a give away 6 months ago , i only took him to save him from the pound or being put down , I found its an absolutly great dog , but unfortunatly needs more excersise than i'm willing to give , the dog made me relize , i'm not has young has i was , it does'nt need to be took for a walk it needs to jog , So lucky enough my youngest lad has took him , and he now has a bigger back yard , and 2 youg girls to play with , he loves it , when my lad used to mind him , for a weekend he would go off his food when brought back ,

Its important you get the right dog , i loved that little stumpy , and if he was older and less active he would be perfect , or even if i was still working where i could take him on building sites , in the ute it would be perfect , but i'm retired so its not happenning ,

It all depends on what dogs you like big or small or medium , . For me its back to the drawing board , but i still tend to think the rottys are a good choice if your not over active , they do tend to be a couch potato and prefer to walk than run , they will chase the ball , but are quite willing to watch tv .

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When i had my GSP i also had a bird aviary and cages in the laundry where my dog slept.She had been around them from 12 weeks of age and had little interest in them and also loved our cat.She would chase other cats out of our yard .

A neighbours Vizsla escaped when the latch broke on his gate and i had him for the day until his owner was able to come and take him home.

When i took him out to toilet he made a dash strait for the bird room and was determined to get to them.

I had to put him on a leash outside with me but he still just wanted to get to the birds.Not sure if all Visla would be like this ,there may be some who live with birds and i am sure many would be fine if brought up with cats .

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