I've been musing on a few forums about a possible future sport dog, and I had someone suggest an English Shepherd to me. I know very little about the breed, so I'm looking for a bit more information.
Basically what I'm looking for is an agility/obedience/flyball/performance dog. I'm a herding dog nerd, and have been toying with whether I want another Aussie, a BC, a Koolie or something a bit different like a Mali, Terv or GSD. Cohen has opened so many doors for me. I love her versatility, her work ethic and her desire to please. What I want is a relatively high drive dog who is snappy in everything that it does. Basically I want a more intense dog.
But I also love Cohen's self control. She's able to work around other dogs in high distraction/energy situations. She's mildly reactive, but it's a non-issue while working. She's cautious/anxious around other dogs, but confident/indifferent around people.
I think a Border Collie will end up being the next dog for me. I like their drive and the sharpness of their responses. I should be able to find a dog from a line with minimal reactivity issues if I look.
How do English Shepherds compare? I always thought of them as similar in temperament and drive to Aussies. Most Aussies I meet are too soft and slow for my liking. I think I lucked out with Cohen, as she has a much better work ethic than many I've seen, especially when contrasted to her decent self control. I really want something similar to her, but just a little "more" I guess.
Thanks guys!
E: I also wanted to add that I prefer my dog to be stuck to my side like glue. More independent dogs are a bit of a turn off.
Basically what I'm looking for is an agility/obedience/flyball/performance dog. I'm a herding dog nerd, and have been toying with whether I want another Aussie, a BC, a Koolie or something a bit different like a Mali, Terv or GSD. Cohen has opened so many doors for me. I love her versatility, her work ethic and her desire to please. What I want is a relatively high drive dog who is snappy in everything that it does. Basically I want a more intense dog.
But I also love Cohen's self control. She's able to work around other dogs in high distraction/energy situations. She's mildly reactive, but it's a non-issue while working. She's cautious/anxious around other dogs, but confident/indifferent around people.
I think a Border Collie will end up being the next dog for me. I like their drive and the sharpness of their responses. I should be able to find a dog from a line with minimal reactivity issues if I look.
How do English Shepherds compare? I always thought of them as similar in temperament and drive to Aussies. Most Aussies I meet are too soft and slow for my liking. I think I lucked out with Cohen, as she has a much better work ethic than many I've seen, especially when contrasted to her decent self control. I really want something similar to her, but just a little "more" I guess.
Thanks guys!
E: I also wanted to add that I prefer my dog to be stuck to my side like glue. More independent dogs are a bit of a turn off.
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