[Kendralaurent]

Hi! Match me a breed please. I posted a couple times but have added needs and wants.

Medium to large breed 20-100 lbs
Medium to high energy, with an off switch
Easy to train, can have some stubbornness
Biddable
Good with other dogs, cats, and kids
I do like dogs that look intimidating but not a must. I however want a dog that is aloof or can be trained to ignore people. I do understand that training needs to be done for protection but I would want a dog that would have my back.
Sport dog for agility, dock diving, and flyball
I love training fun tricks and obedience
Shedding is fine. I do prefer long or short coat. Cost that I can upkeep at home that doesn’t require a groomer.
Velcro dog is preferred, and one that wouldn’t wonder or stray away (my current dog would bolt away and not come back when called)

I do have some allergies to certain breeds/coats not sure why exactly. But I react to mostly labs and pitbulls. (Funny tho my dog has pit and lab in her but I don’t react to her unless she hasn’t had a bath in a while)

My list:
Border collie
Australian shepherd
German shepherd

I usually get the same breeds so I’m open to all unique and common breeds.

 

[LMMB]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

Medium to high energy, with an off switch

All dogs need to be taught how to settle, so an "off switch" has to be "installed". It's not something that comes naturally.

Good with other dogs, cats, and kids

Two things:

1) What exactly does this mean to you? What one person thinks of as "good" another might be horrified.
2) It's more of a training issue than a breed issue.

I do like dogs that look intimidating but not a must. I however want a dog that is aloof or can be trained to ignore people. I do understand that training needs to be done for protection but I would want a dog that would have my back.

Be careful what you wish for here. A dog that might "have your back" against an attacker or an intruder, may also "have your back" against the paramedic or fire fighter or police officer coming to save your life - or a lover.

Don't get me wrong - I do understand. It's a very attractive thought for a woman to have a dog that would defend her against people who would do her harm. There have been times when I've been seduced by the idea of a Doberman or Rottie because they that that "don't mess with me" look, but it could backfire. Better to carry a personal alarm and have your phone on you, maybe a spy camera, too (all of which I have).

OK, we know what you're looking for, now tell us what's in it for the dog. Describe a typical day.

 

[Shadowfox]

I'd probably cross border collie off that list; but maybe. Pending your answer to the above, we can go from there. FWIW, I've been raised with and/or had those 3 breeds.

 

[Kendralaurent]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.



All dogs need to be taught how to settle, so an "off switch" has to be "installed". It's not something that comes naturally.



Two things:

1) What exactly does this mean to you? What one person thinks of as "good" another might be horrified.
2) It's more of a training issue than a breed issue.



Be careful what you wish for here. A dog that might "have your back" against an attacker or an intruder, may also "have your back" against the paramedic or fire fighter or police officer coming to save your life - or a lover.

Don't get me wrong - I do understand. It's a very attractive thought for a woman to have a dog that would defend her against people who would do her harm. There have been times when I've been seduced by the idea of a Doberman or Rottie because they that that "don't mess with me" look, but it could backfire. Better to carry a personal alarm and have your phone on you, maybe a spy camera, too (all of which I have).

OK, we know what you're looking for, now tell us what's in it for the dog. Describe a typical day.

when I say good with cats, as long as they are raised around them and trained how to behave around cats. I know some breeds can be fine with cats as puppies and then when they get older it changes. (Like Belgian Malinois and huskies are a big no for me because of their high prey drive) can be fine with my cats without having to closely monitor them. Good with dogs meaning not aggressive, ssa is fine because I plan to get the opposite sex of what I have(have a female and would get a male). Tolerant of kids, I know some breeds are an absolutely not for kids like Australian cattle dog just because of there tendencies to nip. I can train this out as I’ve had with my current dog who used to nip (she is a mix with mostly herding breeds). I know some dogs have no tolerance at all, it does also have to do with teaching kids how to behave around a dog. I don’t have kids personally but family and friends do and would like to have my own. I do like the idea of having a dog that looks intimidating but also they can draw unwanted attention. Maybe just train them to bark loud on command. Definitely Doberman, bull breeds, and gsd tend to have the intimidating look that makes people avoid you.

I really enjoy training and doing obedience. Taught my current dog 20+ tricks. Really into freestyle kind of tricks and would like to get into a sport. I’m pretty active so a hiking, running, outdoor buddy. Also can be a cuddly affectionate couch potato when needed. I do like dogs that can be relaxing one day and then the next day be on the go.

 

[Shadowfox]

Do you rent/ breed restrictions? How long will the dog be left alone? From your past posts, still looking for a puppy?

Aussies tick a lot of your boxes, but two caveats.
1. They trend to aloof with strangers, but strangers love to meet them. Especially merles.
2. They can be barky.

A GSD can fit the bill more, but breed restrictions.
Were you slanting more for a similar, but maybe different, breed to those listed?

 

[Madra Anamchara]

As far as cats go, just avoid any breed that was bred for hunting. Other than that, it is entirely a matter of doing the correct training with the individual dog.
Generally if a puppy comes into a home with mature cats who set boundaries for him or her, the puppy will grow up to respect those cats. But not always.

Good with other dogs is up to you. You have to socialize a dog carefully and put in the time to do the training if you want your dog to be good with other dogs. This is not a breed thing. Some dogs tend to be friendlier than others, but it's not a sure bet that if you get a certain breed the dog will be good that way.

You say you want aloof, then you say velcro dog is your preference. This is a contradiction. A dog who is basically aloof will be that way with you as well.

Don't ever count on any dog to "have your back"! This is an important thing.

First, it is your job to have your dog's back, not the other way around. Second, short of having a trained guard dog (strongly NOT recommended), you will never know if your dog would defend you unless you find yourself in the highly unfortunate situation of needing that. And then, the dog who looks the toughest and seems the most likely to protect you may turn and run. And the sweetest dog who only wants everyone to love her and pet her may turn out to be very fierce in protecting what is hers. You will not know unless it happens. I speak from experience.

Tolerant of kids is a training issue, and also a matter of how you manage the kids around the dog. Some breeds are friendlier with kids than others, but again it is up to you to make sure the dog is socialized properly with children and is never harassed or put to the test.

What it sounds like to me is that you want The Perfect Dog (well, who doesn't?) but that does not exist. At least, it doesn't exist as something you can acquire. It may be something you can create, but that comes with time, training, bonding, experience, patience, and love. And all of that is up to you.

Unless you have a way to spend a great deal of your free time doing dog things with the dog (sports, walks, training, running free, games and playing, among other things) then do not get a high energy dog like an Aussie. Don't even consider a border collie. That is my breed, and I think they are wonderful, but they are definitely NOT for everyone.

And I will ask, as above, what do you have to offer the dog? This is as important as what things you want the dog to be or do, in fact more so. How much time to you really want (not just are willing to, but really want to) spend doing dog things every single day, rain or shine, tired or night or whatever? How many hours is the dog going to have to be alone? Where will the dog live? And so on.

And, finally, I suggest you stop looking for a breed entirely, and start looking in rescue groups for your dog. If you adopt from a rescue, you give a home to a dog who needs one rather than supporting a breeder, when there are so many who are homeless. Rescues have purebreds too, but a mixed breed dog may be just the right thing. And you have the great benefit of getting a dog who has lived in a foster home for two weeks to several months, and that person can tell you what the dog is like. You will know a lot more about what you are getting. A puppy is always, no matter what, somewhat of a crap shoot.

 

[Kendralaurent]

Do you rent/ breed restrictions? How long will the dog be left alone? From your past posts, still looking for a puppy?

Aussies tick a lot of your boxes, but two caveats.
1. They trend to aloof with strangers, but strangers love to meet them. Especially merles.
2. They can be barky.

A GSD can fit the bill more, but breed restrictions.
Were you slanting more for a similar, but maybe different, breed to those listed?

I don’t currently rent. But will be in the future. We’re working with progressive homes and real estate experienced with restricted breeds and renting. My current dog is also my emotional support (don’t have a letter yet but will be getting one) which isn’t the same as service dog but she really is helps me with feeling more happy and especially helps when I’m feeling anxious, sad, etc. I don’t mind dogs that bark as long as it isn’t husky type barking/howling lol.

 

[Kendralaurent]

As far as cats go, just avoid any breed that was bred for hunting. Other than that, it is entirely a matter of doing the correct training with the individual dog.
Generally if a puppy comes into a home with mature cats who set boundaries for him or her, the puppy will grow up to respect those cats. But not always.

Good with other dogs is up to you. You have to socialize a dog carefully and put in the time to do the training if you want your dog to be good with other dogs. This is not a breed thing. Some dogs tend to be friendlier than others, but it's not a sure bet that if you get a certain breed the dog will be good that way.

You say you want aloof, then you say velcro dog is your preference. This is a contradiction. A dog who is basically aloof will be that way with you as well.

Don't ever count on any dog to "have your back"! This is an important thing.

First, it is your job to have your dog's back, not the other way around. Second, short of having a trained guard dog (strongly NOT recommended), you will never know if your dog would defend you unless you find yourself in the highly unfortunate situation of needing that. And then, the dog who looks the toughest and seems the most likely to protect you may turn and run. And the sweetest dog who only wants everyone to love her and pet her may turn out to be very fierce in protecting what is hers. You will not know unless it happens. I speak from experience.

Tolerant of kids is a training issue, and also a matter of how you manage the kids around the dog. Some breeds are friendlier with kids than others, but again it is up to you to make sure the dog is socialized properly with children and is never harassed or put to the test.

What it sounds like to me is that you want The Perfect Dog (well, who doesn't?) but that does not exist. At least, it doesn't exist as something you can acquire. It may be something you can create, but that comes with time, training, bonding, experience, patience, and love. And all of that is up to you.

Unless you have a way to spend a great deal of your free time doing dog things with the dog (sports, walks, training, running free, games and playing, among other things) then do not get a high energy dog like an Aussie. Don't even consider a border collie. That is my breed, and I think they are wonderful, but they are definitely NOT for everyone.

And I will ask, as above, what do you have to offer the dog? This is as important as what things you want the dog to be or do, in fact more so. How much time to you really want (not just are willing to, but really want to) spend doing dog things every single day, rain or shine, tired or night or whatever? How many hours is the dog going to have to be alone? Where will the dog live? And so on.

And, finally, I suggest you stop looking for a breed entirely, and start looking in rescue groups for your dog. If you adopt from a rescue, you give a home to a dog who needs one rather than supporting a breeder, when there are so many who are homeless. Rescues have purebreds too, but a mixed breed dog may be just the right thing. And you have the great benefit of getting a dog who has lived in a foster home for two weeks to several months, and that person can tell you what the dog is like. You will know a lot more about what you are getting. A puppy is always, no matter what, somewhat of a crap shoot.

I definitely agree it’s about how I train it. I want a sport dog to do competition with and obedience work. Very handler focus and pays attention to me when I say so. Can greet people but ignores and pay attention to me unless I give the okay. Velcro meaning attached to me, follows me and stays with me. My current dog is very Velcro to me she won’t leave my side and always up my butt and on my heels lol. But she loves people and strangers will go up to anyone pulls on the leash to get to someone when we’re out (working on and getting better about it).
A day to day basis with my dog would be living indoors mostly and out door to play, exercise, and various activities. I’ll spend the majority of my time with my dog (unless I have work or school) my mom is home also so the dog would never be left alone and if so, crated until it can be trusted. My dog is not yet trusted to roam when we aren’t there. Lots of training and obedience every day. Games and activities to exercise the mind. If alone at all 4 hours max. But that is often. Will be crated at night when I sleep.

I do want a purebred from a breeder. Not all breeders are bad. In fact the good breeders out there are breeding to better the breed. I will not support byb. I already have a mix and while I love her and wouldn’t trade her for the world, I wanted a purebred before I got her and still want one. Well bred, from top breeders. I do love rescues also and would prefer a puppy or young dog. While rescues are great, there’s also cons like I don’t know where the dog came from, health, behaviors, etc. lots of dogs in rescues tend to have behavioral issues especially towards other dogs. I would rather a dog that I can start from scratch if that makes sense and one I know where it came from.

 

[BigBlackDog]

I'm sort of partial to German Shepherds, but honestly within the breed there is a huge variation in temperaments. If you decide to go with one, first thing is to decide working line or show line. Within each line and litter you can find dogs that will bite for real, and others who won't. It's really important to find a breeder whose dogs you like, then work with them to select a puppy with the traits and temperament you're looking for.

Another thing to absolutely demand is hip and elbow ratings and genetic testing (embark tests for around 180 different things). At a very minimum though, these dogs are prone to Degenerative Myopathy, so that testing is a must!

I have a German Shepherd, and she absolutely matches your description of what you want. She's big and intimidating, is very good with other dogs known or loose, has been trained to behave around my brother's cat, and absolutely loves kids. She does require a good amount of exercise, but can go a couple days without every once in awhile too.

She's a pretty velcro dog with me, but I can take her to a dog park and she won't go up to anyone while there. If I invite someone into my home she'll go right up to greet them, but I can walk through a tractor supply or home depot and she won't sniff at or say hello to anyone, they're just backdrop.

I guess the only drawback, potentially are possible breed restrictions. But I've rented and not had any problems. It depends on where you live.

 

[Madra Anamchara]

I definitely agree it’s about how I train it. I want a sport dog to do competition with and obedience work. Very handler focus and pays attention to me when I say so. Can greet people but ignores and pay attention to me unless I give the okay. Velcro meaning attached to me, follows me and stays with me. My current dog is very Velcro to me she won’t leave my side and always up my butt and on my heels lol. But she loves people and strangers will go up to anyone pulls on the leash to get to someone when we’re out (working on and getting better about it).
A day to day basis with my dog would be living indoors mostly and out door to play, exercise, and various activities. I’ll spend the majority of my time with my dog (unless I have work or school) my mom is home also so the dog would never be left alone and if so, crated until it can be trusted. My dog is not yet trusted to roam when we aren’t there. Lots of training and obedience every day. Games and activities to exercise the mind. If alone at all 4 hours max. But that is often. Will be crated at night when I sleep.

I do want a purebred from a breeder. Not all breeders are bad. In fact the good breeders out there are breeding to better the breed. I will not support byb. I already have a mix and while I love her and wouldn’t trade her for the world, I wanted a purebred before I got her and still want one. Well bred, from top breeders. I do love rescues also and would prefer a puppy or young dog. While rescues are great, there’s also cons like I don’t know where the dog came from, health, behaviors, etc. lots of dogs in rescues tend to have behavioral issues especially towards other dogs. I would rather a dog that I can start from scratch if that makes sense and one I know where it came from.

So, you are still in the training stage with the dog that you already have and you want a new puppy as well? I am not saying this is bad; this is your choice. but it seems like piling quite a bit on top on what you already have, and what your mom is already dealing with when you are not there. Just sayin'.

also, wanting a purebred from a good breeder is not a bad thing either, but I just want to say it's not really true that with a rescue you won't know the health or behaviors. In fact, getting a dog from a good rescue you will know a great deal more about the dog's behaviors than you will know getting a puppy.

It is not true is that "lots of dogs in rescues tend to have behavioral issues especially towards other dogs". This is a fallacy that tends to steer people away from rescue, and as someone who has spent many, many years working in dog rescue I always try hard to let people know it's just a myth.

Dogs end up in rescue for hundreds of reasons. their owner died. their owner couldn't keep the dog due to unforeseen circumstances. The owner got a new human baby and didn't want the dog any more. In my experience, at least 80% of dogs in rescue are there because of something about the owner, not about the dog. And there's no statistical support for thinking that if the dog has issues it will be "with other dogs", in fact my experience shows just the opposite. And when there was a behavioral issue, I found that a couple weeks to a month of being in foster care with the right training solved whatever it was, because again it was caused by the previous owner, not the dog.

I am not trying to talk you into going to a rescue. But it is important to me to dispel these myths when I encounter them because I think people need to know the truth about rescue dogs and not shy away from them because of untrue rumors about them.

I wish you the best of luck in finding the right dog for you.

 

[LMMB]

I definitely agree it’s about how I train it. I want a sport dog to do competition with and obedience work. Very handler focus and pays attention to me when I say so. Can greet people but ignores and pay attention to me unless I give the okay. Velcro meaning attached to me, follows me and stays with me. My current dog is very Velcro to me she won’t leave my side and always up my butt and on my heels lol. But she loves people and strangers will go up to anyone pulls on the leash to get to someone when we’re out (working on and getting better about it).
A day to day basis with my dog would be living indoors mostly and out door to play, exercise, and various activities. I’ll spend the majority of my time with my dog (unless I have work or school) my mom is home also so the dog would never be left alone and if so, crated until it can be trusted. My dog is not yet trusted to roam when we aren’t there. Lots of training and obedience every day. Games and activities to exercise the mind. If alone at all 4 hours max. But that is often. Will be crated at night when I sleep.

I do want a purebred from a breeder. Not all breeders are bad. In fact the good breeders out there are breeding to better the breed. I will not support byb. I already have a mix and while I love her and wouldn’t trade her for the world, I wanted a purebred before I got her and still want one. Well bred, from top breeders. I do love rescues also and would prefer a puppy or young dog. While rescues are great, there’s also cons like I don’t know where the dog came from, health, behaviors, etc. lots of dogs in rescues tend to have behavioral issues especially towards other dogs. I would rather a dog that I can start from scratch if that makes sense and one I know where it came from.

What about walks? How often do you walk your current dog?

 

[Kendralaurent]

So, you are still in the training stage with the dog that you already have and you want a new puppy as well? I am not saying this is bad; this is your choice. but it seems like piling quite a bit on top on what you already have, and what your mom is already dealing with when you are not there. Just sayin'.

also, wanting a purebred from a good breeder is not a bad thing either, but I just want to say it's not really true that with a rescue you won't know the health or behaviors. In fact, getting a dog from a good rescue you will know a great deal more about the dog's behaviors than you will know getting a puppy.

It is not true is that "lots of dogs in rescues tend to have behavioral issues especially towards other dogs". This is a fallacy that tends to steer people away from rescue, and as someone who has spent many, many years working in dog rescue I always try hard to let people know it's just a myth.

Dogs end up in rescue for hundreds of reasons. their owner died. their owner couldn't keep the dog due to unforeseen circumstances. The owner got a new human baby and didn't want the dog any more. In my experience, at least 80% of dogs in rescue are there because of something about the owner, not about the dog. And there's no statistical support for thinking that if the dog has issues it will be "with other dogs", in fact my experience shows just the opposite. And when there was a behavioral issue, I found that a couple weeks to a month of being in foster care with the right training solved whatever it was, because again it was caused by the previous owner, not the dog.

I am not trying to talk you into going to a rescue. But it is important to me to dispel these myths when I encounter them because I think people need to know the truth about rescue dogs and not shy away from them because of untrue rumors about them.

I wish you the best of luck in finding the right dog for you.

i won’t be getting a new dog yet. My current dog is 1 years old so still hastons of puppyness. She is great with her training for the most part especially at home and sometimes when we’re out in public, working on her outside manners. Only looking and researching breeds to consider for now.

 

[Kendralaurent]

What about walks? How often do you walk your current dog?

I walk my dog at least 2 times a day about 30 minutes each. But always willing to put more in exercise for a more higher energy dog. My dog is like in the middle of low and medium. She can be calm and relax but when it’s time to play, train, or go out for walks she’s on the go and ready for whatever. It is Arizona that I live in so it gets hot so during the summer I have been limiting the time she spends outside a bit only cuz she despises the heat.