Is your dog normal for it's type?

Zoom

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#21
She's not a "no touch" dog, but she doesn't like strangers. She pretty much ignores them completely. No aggression, and no acknowledgement that they exist basically, which is exactly what you want out of a dog that does the work she does. Once she knows someone she's very friendly with them, but never the type of dog to climb in their lap like Enzo, more like, she'll lay at their feet, or come up for a drive by petting.
I feel special! She did her lap-pretzel thing with me in like the first 15 minutes, LOL.
 

MicksMom

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#22
Temperment/personality wise, Caleb is pretty spot on for a Lab- he's happy, smart, trainable, loves everyone, especially kids, etc. Unless it's coming down from the sky, he loves water (but he'll work in the rain if I ask him to). Despite having a lot of energy, he's mellow compared to a lot of Labs. The one thing he lacks, tho, is the "retrieve til you drop" gene. He'll retrieve for a bit, then his ADD kicks in and he gets side tracked. But he does have that "must carry something in my mouth all the time" trait.
 

Equinox

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#23
I'd say so - I tell Trent "you're such a [German] Shepherd" all the time.

He is fairly typical of a working line German Shepherd Dog in temperament, personality, and some drives, but he wasn't the pet quality of the litter for nothing. He's a lazy bum :p He'd rather nap or stretch out for chest scratches than work, and he doesn't always have an amazing attention span. He has a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, but he's not a "never quit" type of dog. He's usually more than happy to call quits, actually. If we've been playing ball for a few hours and he's tired, he'll take the ball and find a patch of grass to lie down in. If he's working on a puzzle but can't get the treat, he'll give up and bring it to me to solve. If I refuse, he stops trying.

So many admirable qualities in a dog :lol-sign:

He LOVES to cozy up to people who walk into our house. Some dogs follow guests around suspiciously, but Trent follows them around wagging his tail, just waiting for them to sit down so he can give them kisses. At least outside the house he'll usually be disinterested in people (with exceptions). I've always said that anyone can break into our house and walk out with all of our valuables without a scratch. Thankfully no one in our neighborhood would ever guess, at least not with the way he barks and rushes at the door.

He's also independent for his breed. I thought I was guaranteed a cuddly, velcro dog when I got a GSD but he never tries to follow me room to room, and outside he never sticks to my hip. When he's off leash he likes to keep within a 20 ft radius and check in on me every now and then, but otherwise he goes about doing his own thing. I could probably go anywhere and just leave him there without him caring...we're usually in the same room only because we have mutual favorite places in the house. And of course, he is not a fan of cuddling. Every time I've tried to drag him on the couch with me, he tolerates it for a minute or two before prying himself away. Wish he read that part of the GSD handbook!
 

FG167

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#24
My dogs are all pretty much what I expected (Corgi, GSD, Kelpie). I was hoping for a more social/trial-able Kelpie but am not really shocked due to what others warned me about (more surprised based on what Limit was like as a puppy - he was SO SOCIAL).
 

DJEtzel

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#25
My dogs are all pretty much what I expected (Corgi, GSD, Kelpie). I was hoping for a more social/trial-able Kelpie but am not really shocked due to what others warned me about (more surprised based on what Limit was like as a puppy - he was SO SOCIAL).
Why isn't Limit trialable? ;(
 

FG167

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#26
Why isn't Limit trialable? ;(
The environment scares the crap out of him. And he's a fear biter. Going to see if age makes a difference but at this point, he gets so stressed (he worries that he's upsetting me...while he's upsetting me so it's difficult), it's not worth making him do it.
 

Sit Stay

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#27
I wouldn't call Quinn "typical" but she is definitely all English Shepherd. If that makes sense.

I would say she's much higher drive than many English Shepherds. She can be a little sharp and reactive. While she does have the great off switch typical of the breed, she is ready to go go go all the time and isn't a dog to hang back, ever. She is very fast and driven!

She's also more outgoing with strangers than what I expected from the breed descriptions. It's not uncommon, but she's definitely more on the friendly end of the spectrum. That said - she only acts like an idiot and is all excited for the first 30 seconds of meeting someone, then she's back to the cool dude she is with people.

Her chase drive is high (like if she sees a rabbit, or lure coursing) but her drive to actually exterminate prey is quite low. This surprised me because her dam and granddam are both very skilled hunters! Quinn will chase squirrels, rabbits, etc but I always say that if she stumbled upon a nest of babies or something she wouldn't know what to do with them. Maybe just mother them LOL (whereas my mom's ACD, who is a great vermin hunter, knows baby raccoons are raccoons right away and will take them out).

My herding trainer (BC owner and breeder) says she's rather BCish in some ways, and her breeder (competed in agility with BCs, I think she had a few litters too) has said the same of her dam and said she knew Quinn would be the same.

Her "typical" ES traits far outweigh those, though. She is intelligent, alert, and family oriented. Gentle and great with kids. Protective. Adaptable, solid nerves. Great off switch. A good sense of rules and how things should be - independent thinking enough to enforce this but not ornery. She's a "thinker".
 

Sit Stay

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#29
I suppose, LOL! She is definitely a suck with baby kittens and stuff, but man Quinn you're suppose to know the difference between kittens and vermin!
 

*blackrose

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#30
I suppose, LOL! She is definitely a suck with baby kittens and stuff, but man Quinn you're suppose to know the difference between kittens and vermin!
Chloe *loves* babies. Lol A baby bird fell out of a tree on her head one day, and after her initial shock, she Just started licking it and mothering it. I think she'd do the same to Amy kind of infant baby she stumbled upon.
 

Fran101

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#31
Out of all the aussie checkpoints
- High energy with good off switch
- Loves to control movement
- Quick to learn
- Handler oriented/velcro
- Reserved with strangers

he fits all.. except for that last one :rofl1: Merlin loves everybody and thinks everybody should love him
 

Lyzelle

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#33
Sort of?

I wouldn't say Zander is extremely typical for a Siberian Husky, but he is definitely a Siberian Husky. They are known to be skittish, hyperactive, naughty, interesting sense of humor, smart, can't be off leash, high prey drive, etc. And in all of that he is very typical.

But he has his quirks, definitely. He's perfectly happy sleeping in until 3pm, going to bed early, only going on a small walk or none at all. He's independent with most people in his life, reserved/slightly skittish with strangers. But who he accepts as "HIS" like BeAu, or Child, there is absolutely no doubt in his affection. And it sort of fits in a way...Sibes will usually find that one person and cling to them, but more often than not they don't settle on people. They aren't people oriented. So it's a quirk, but a quirk that can be expected in the breed.

As far as the prey drive goes, he was raised around inside animals so he's fine with all small animals inside. We've never had a problem, he loves taking on the babysitter role, and he'd never intentionally hurt/hunt/stalk an inside animal or what he considers an inside animal (won't go after the pet rabbit outside, for example). But all outside, unknown, stranger critters are fair play and he's killed his share of pests.

Aggression isn't common in the breed, nor is protectiveness. Since they aren't people oriented and since they are "reserved" (i.e. bred to the skittish side), they don't often get aggressive or protective unless they are pushed past their limits and they learn that is their only alternative reaction to their environment. However, Zander CAN be very protective of Child. I knew he always loved children, absolutely adored them, but he's never really had his own child before. Since moving in with B&R, he's really taken to Rhio's son and it's been a huge learning curve for the both of us. Me learning how to redirect him correctly and him learning that not everything is a major threat to Child.

So he definitely has his quirks that aren't necessarily part of the breed, but he isn't so far left field that he's out of the ordinary. For an 8 out of 10, he's a good example of a Siberian Husky.
 

Babyblue5290

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#34
Well, Art isn't really a breed, but he is not typical for his boston terrier half. His mom was very friendly with strangers, very tolerant and Art is NOT stranger friendly. Very luckily he's never been a biter, even when pushed too far by a stranger he's never attempted a nip or bite or anything, he just shuts down poor boy. Whatever his other half is I can't imagine such a nervy dog is normal for that either. lol He's very very smart and easily trained though, which I attribute to his mother. He's very active, which seems normal for boston terriers as well, but he has a very terrier (think JRT) play style and drive I think. His brother looks very much like a wirehaired jack russel, so I'm guessing that's the other half (at least in part).

Talon, hmm.... I don't know. I was expecting something ........different when I got a border collie. He's smart, driven, intense at times, and very go-go-go when asked.

I was not expecting him to be so laid back in the house. He has no need to do something 24/7, I was expecting a bit more need to move all the time I guess. He has a great off switch, and I absolutely love it! ^_^ He may also be a bit more reserved/skittish side with certain people (men), but with almost every woman he is "OMG I love you let me sit in your lap and get loves...or food...you have food?" lol He's a womanizer. :p

So in some ways he is, but mostly I think he may be atypical.
 

AmandaNola

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#35
Nope, not in the slightest.

Incredibly easy to train.
Great focus.
Not yappy in the slightest; her bark is actually really deep for her size.
Reliable off leash.
Active. Very active.
Cuddly and loves to be held, but is not a lapdog.
Great focus.
She a good deal, but not as much as most Dachshunds I've met.
Not snippy/agressive/reactive.
Tolerant.
Takes everything in stride.


Really the only way she meets her breed standard is she loves food, is protective and is a total velcro, one person dog.
 

milos_mommy

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#36
Milo is pretty typical of a JRT - and unfortunately I think his issues that are unacceptable in the breed are pretty typical of a poorly bred/puppy mill/byb JRT.

But he has appropriate prey drive, high intelligence, very affectionate, active, a little obsessive, etc.

Our wheaten is not at all typical of the breed. He's very very low energy, extremely difficult to train, and very shy/timid/fearful of strangers (and everything else).
 
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#37
Mollie is a little independent for a lab. She loves being near us, but she doesn't enjoy being really close to you. She'd rather be standing outside the room guarding the house than lying by your chair.
 
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#38
He's technically a boxer mix but since he was surrendered as a "purebred", let's pretend for a minute that he is.

Mostly, No. Obi is not as goofy or as laissez-faire as other boxers I've met. He's serious and analytical. He is also pretty unaffectionate. He could care less if I ever pet him. He's insanely vocal, and uses his voice to demand attention. He's not happy-go-lucky with other dogs and is very pushy, bossy, commanding with them. He is really intuitive and I feel like he tries very hard to absorb everything that goes on around him.

He is, however, very naughty. He is impossible to crate because he will escape. He loves garbage diving. And he suffered for years with separation anxiety.

Whatever he is, I love him.
 

Tashapaws

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#39
Natasha is, overall, a sighthound/scenthound hunting dog, so she's pretty normal. She likes activity, running, she's quite timid, but very sociable, a bit insecure, she has great reflexes and is quite food motivated, but for her there's nothing better than playing tug.
 

yv0nne

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#40
Penny is a high, high energy velcro dog who spends her days with her nose in the air, running like a psycho ..I'd say she's a very typical Vizsla ahaha
 

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