Does Anyone Here Do Obedience With A Dobe?

[Dol_sam]

If you want a dog that will be a good deterent for people who might think of trespassing to pat the ponies , as well as a dog that is generally well liked by obedience clubs I'd head straight for a German Shepherd. While I don't have one right now, (we lost our girl 2 months ago after a short but very satisfying time training in obedience), but I'd absolutely love to get another down the track. I found our shepherd to be a very well balanced dog who would settle very quickly when given a task to do (such as when training), and as long as she had toys to occupy her (and her big brother to attempt to kneecap) she was relatively non-destructive (for a pup).

But then compared to the Dobes you've got a lot more coat maintenance to consider!

[Kelpie-i]

wyvernblade, who did you contact re the Kelpies?? Was it Paul McPhail?

If the Kelpie is WKC registered it doesn't mean you cannot trial them in obedience. You'll just need to join up with a VCA club in order to partake in trial events.

Most working Kelpie breeders will question what you want the dog for as these are working dogs and do not do well in a small backyard with nothing to do. If you have your heart set on one, make sure you ask for a softer natured Kelpie but be prepared to put in some work.

Having said that, we own 2 other breeds of dogs and our kelpie is the laziest of them all.

I can put you in contact with some Kelpie breeders who breed nice Kelpies if you want.

Whichever breed of dog you choose (even if it's a cross breed), you will still need to put in the hard yards, unfortunately dogs don't come with a pre-programmed microchip (even though that would be nice!)

[Lablover]

Of course naturally as a Lablover I would advise you of a labrador, but in reality if you like the look of Dobe, I think a GSP may be a perfect match.

[wyvernblade]

Kelpie-I I would love some contact details of breeders if it's not too much trouble! my email addy is [email protected]

I realise that any breed of dog requires hard work to get it to trialing level, but I'd like a breed that ENJOYS doing it! Which is why I thought most breeds of working dogs would probably do it quite well. The chap I contacted about the kelpies was Joe Fisher (?I think) and he's in Yarra Junction in Vic. I'm going to see his dogs tomorrow and ask a million and one questions!

[helen]

The top obedience dog of the year in Victoria this year was a Dobe. I saw a few dobes in the obedience ring while competing this year and there are some excellent ones around.