Pjrt Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) What about a Bernese Mountain Dog? Would they be more suited to an active family than the Newfoundland? If they had their heart set on a very large dog then a Berner would definitely be a better choice than a Newfy IMHO. I really love both breeds but the Berner is a tad smaller, a little lighter etc. Not by much though. I'd still recommend a sportier dog for an active family. I groom an absolutely beautiful male wavy coated Portie who is a bit over a year old now. The family also has a female curly Portie as well. I do prefer the big wavy boy. So much so that i'd consider the breed myself. Pictures here They both get shortish pet clips for easy maintenance, Molly gets an especially short face trim because she gets quite messy there. Edited June 13, 2015 by GrufLife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackiemad Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I grew up with rough collies - as I child they were a breed with an extremely high eq, extremely gentle with us kids and other smaller pets. However I had horses and though we got them trained around the horses they were a little harder to train to a real proofed standard than perhaps labs and golden would be. They were always prone to a bit of a bark, but usually only at ppl entering the property or at sheer joy when arriving at the paddocks :) I'm not sure I could ever have another rough collie even though they're wonderful, partly because of the hair but mostly because I'm not sure any dog could live up to my wonderful memories of my childhood dogs. They all loved having their nails painted, doing 'agility' courses in the dining room with chairs etc, wearing tutus doing 'runway' shows with my sister and I and listening to my cello playing. Such beautiful sensitive dogs. But an Airedale would really suit here, as would a standard poodle I'd imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashling Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Your Rough Collies sound like they were beautiful. I would love to one day get a Rough Collie when I'm getting elderly. Is it true that they love small animals? My dream is to one day have a Rough Collie and a Havanese when I'm old :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swazzie Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I also think maybe an older dog (lab ☺️) that is already trained with kids. Thinking back Chloe was crazy when we got her at 1 as a rescue, she would have been fairly boisterous with a small child. Now she is the the most laid back dog ever and treats small boy like he's her kid- very motherly. Mine are 7 this year so their pastimes are sleeping , following small boy round , eating and lying about some more. On the other hand Bru was mostly always calm ,so I think he'd have been fine as a puppy with a kid. Depends on the family and if they know to put in the work from the beginning . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackiemad Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Ashling, the rough collies we had were great with the chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and cats. However they were raised around them. I remember when we buried my first burmese cat our male dog grieved for weeks, spending the day lying on top of or next to the grave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Berners have a bad habit of getting AWFUL cancers. Chessies are hard dogs, not for beginners. Whatever the breed, if you're going to get a pup, training the kids is important. I had one Lab pup I sold to a family with small kids. They allowed the kids to play run-chase games with their puppy and got into a mess with a puppy that nipped and kids that encouraged nipping by running away and screaming . . . which the puppy thought was a wonderful game. Those needle teeth aren't child friendly, and most gun dogs are mouthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashling Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Rough Collies sound like such a wonderful breed. Maybe I should think about getting one now with my Labrador instead of waiting till I'm old :) That is the worry with the retrievers and I know how sharp those teeth were with my boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I see quite a few very mouthy Labs but some of that may be due to selection, early socialisation (ie up to 8 weeks) and owner inexperience. I've been enjoying watching my litter of working ESS develop bite inhibition from each other, their Mum and the humans in their world. They do tend to have softer mouths as a rule though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Can I just quickly say the MOST important thing for us was no "mouth games" when Gus was a pup. Nothing that involves snatching, mouthing or any other nibbling or game stopped straight away. OH was harder to train than Gus here, as funny as he thought it was at the time, with a baby on the way now and a 2 year old neice I'm eternally grateful I put my foot down there. (Kids probably easier trained) Having said that he will lick you til your skin dissolves if allowed....ahem. Edited June 14, 2015 by Steph M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stressmagnet Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Yup. No bitey games ever. Ernie has the softest mouth - we also taught him 'gentle' by not letting him have a treat if he lunged and snatched. Good command to teach any gun dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Nix can still be a little mouthy, but he has very good bite inhibition and a soft mouth in general. He is also very responsive to 'gentle'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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