Suggest a breed

Elsie fits, but Zoey doesn't--the right terv could be what you're looking for.

Elsie's friendly with new people, but she's pretty standoffish, and if they're weird or I'm upset, she's protective. Zoey's aggressive/protective with strangers, and there are many tervs that are fully friendly with strangers.

Elsie can't run hard in 95+ weather, but we play fetch for 20-30 minutes outside when it's 85, and as long as she has access to shade and water, she's fine. She's higher energy than the GSDs I grew up with, but on the low-medium side for a Belgian. She settles well in the house now that she's an adult, as long as she's given enough to do. We go to class twice a week for two hours, and on days we don't go to class she probably does 1-2 hours of activity a day--training, walks, fetch, all that. Some days more, some days less. She's willing to go as long as you are.

Her coat is easy; she's never had a bad mat, and I brush her 1-3 times a week.

Elsie's very soft, and she can be a little fearful. She's an extremely hard worker, and she's a really fun dog.

Border collies do sound like a good fit, you'd just have to research and make sure to avoid harder tempered lines. I would caution against a female BC if you really don't want dog aggression, I wouldn't say they're super prone or all are like this, but I've seen a lot with a short fuse and an edge towards other dogs.

I still think going and meeting a bunch of dogs would be the best bet, especially since it's your first dog. Nothing is better than a hands on getting to meet and see breeds.

Wirehaired pointing griffons fit all the things. ALL THE THINGS.

Vizsla fits. I live in the depths of frozen Hell and Penn does fine wearing nothing if we are continuously moving& a jacket if she needs to be crated in the cold. She does, however, LOVE people. Granted, she wouldn't pull off focus to interact but yeah.. if a new person shows up& that's the most interesting thing there is she will gladly go visit.

Hmm. I've never really consisered a GSD before. I really do like some of the GSD working lines. But, I'm not sure if it would be a right fit as a first dog.

It won't get 90+ degrees that often, but, the dog certainly needs tolerate cold weather. Our winters/cold weather lasts about 4 months.

I've looked into Terv's before, but barely. I do like a them. So they are consideration. I've heard many Terv's are a step down from Malinois. Which is good because Malinois are too much dog for me.

I agree with a working line GSD, probably female to fit in your size limits.

The cold shouldn't be a problem. The only time I've seen Elsie cold was when we went camping and it was 14 degrees F--she was only cold because we were just sitting around doing nothing and the sun had gone down. Moving around she was fine--and that was probably mostly due to her not having ever been exposed to really cold weather.



She went swimming when there was snow on the ground, no problem.

I'd meet some tervs, see how they fit. They're nutters, but fun!

And Elsie's only 36lbs.

I could see the right Aussie fitting your criteria, as well as a number of other herding breeds.

First off, I'm no where to getting a dog. It will be at least four years until I'll have a dog. It just depends on college, how finically stable I am, where I'll be living,& the time I have. So, once I'm settled down, are finically stable enough for a dog,& have the time for one- that's when I'll be obtaining a dog.

-I'm an active person,& I'll want a dog that can keep up with me. So a medium to high energy dog is preferred.But, I don't want Malinois energy.I'm willing to do exercise the dog for about two hours a day. Not counting training. I'm pretty sure I'll be involved in dogsports, mainly agility. But, other sports are possibility They're super athletic. The local 4h leader breeds griffs and several 4h kids are competing with them in agility. They have incredible stamina. Charlie used to swim alongside my kayak on the ocean for miles. Eventually I'd have to pull him into the boat because he'd push himself way too hard and I was worried he'd cramp up and drown or something, but dang he was really strong. They'd be amazing for dock diving too.

-Has an off-switch Puppies can be pretty frenetic (but I'm a sight hound person, so maybe they're normal for other people). Charlie had a fabulous off switch once he started to mature. 1-2 hours of good mental and physical exercise a day is probably enough.

-Velcro dog Yup. They are very family oriented. They can live in kennels all right, but strongly prefer to be with their people. Definitely velcro while working.

-10 to 60 pounds. As for right now, I'm not wanting a large dog. Charlie was 24" at the shoulder and 55 lbs lean. Girls will be a little slighter/smaller. He was spot on standard.

-Fur doesn't bother me. So the amount the dog sheds, doesn't matter. I don't love grooming. But, I'm willing to groom four to six times a week. Everyday when the dog is blowing it's coat. I'd like to avoid to taking the dog to groomer, because I'll be coming right out of college, & I probably won't have tons of money. But, that is dependent on when I get a dog, so it might change. Griffs have very dense undercoat but raking it out with a mars coat king once every couple of weeks is plenty. I never noticed any Charlie hair around. You do have to strip out their ear hair once in a while to prevent ear infections. Charlie also had some out of standard fringe on his tail stub and it looked dumb so I stripped that too. He had to be bathed frequently due to his love of cow poop and daily ocean swims. Otherwise he would have probably smelled a lot better.

-People friendly. But, not, I love everyone friendly. Charlie liked people we welcomed to our home. If they weren't welcomed he was very wary and alert barky about them. Off the property he was totally indifferent/non aggressive to them, and sometimes would greet them in a friendly way if they seemed cool to him. Unless they were wearing zebra striped spandex, a giant black mullet wig, and vampire fangs. That was not cool. Ever. In any universe.

-Can generally be trust off-leash. They have a close hunting style. Charlie practically had a built in recall. When I hiked with him it was like he had an invisible 100 foot tether. He'd fan out around me kind of a star shaped search pattern and boing back when he hit the end of the "tether". He'd also point birds so I got to see a lot of cool wildlife I would have otherwise passed.

-Not prone to DA. This is the exact reason I got him. My ex was dead set on a male dog. Strider is SSA. Griffs have zero DA. Zero. When Strider would get pissed and do a come to Jesus correction on Charlie, he'd just be like, "OhcrapsorrysirforwhateverIdidwrong!!!" instead of retaliating and it escalating to a bad fight.

-Has a high drive. Much yes. Very drive. So doge.

-Very Biddable They are very handler oriented. As a puppy he had derp brain and wanted to do everything at warp speed, but when he hit adult brain it was like everything I ever taught him was magically remembered. Even in his derpiest moments he thought of ways to be helpful to us all on his own. Like he'd realize that the bull was blocking the gate to the pasture and we wanted to leave, so he'd take it upon himself to move the bull out of the way. He was like an ADHD boyscout as a puppy. lol

-Can tolerate 90+ weather,& under freezing temperature(4 seasons). Yup. He did great when it was 90+. Went swimming in the ocean daily even when it was below freezing and snowing. They are physically extremely resilient. Before I got Charlie people who owned them told me that they rank up there as one of the most resilient breeds in existence. I'm inclined to agree.

-No brachycephalic dogs. I'm wanting agile dog. They are incredible athletes. Also because of their coat they can zoom through dense blackberry brambles without getting hurt and their coats are surprisingly free of branches and crap afterward.

-Is generally easy to motivate. Loves to please. They bond very closely with their people and are very food motivated and enthusiastic. Lots of leaping with extreme happiness whenever they get to work with you.

-Soft temperament. I'm not wanting a dog that had a "hard" temperament. Griffs are more sensitive than say, a german wirehaired pointer. The French standard says they should be "an artist" in temperament and working style. They do best with +r training, but are very forgiving of handler errors. My ex tried training him with the crank and yank techniques he grew up with. It didn't work, but it didn't break Charlie either. I stepped in and he was the first dog I ever used a clicker with. He did great. He always wanted to do what you want, and had a strong desire to please. As a puppy he wasn't very focused, but that focus came with some time and effort.

Let me know if you have any questions. They are a great breed. As a breed they are extraordinarily healthy too. I really love them, but am not a sporting dog person. If I was I'd totally get another one in an instant.

This is him at the top of the waterfall I'd throw sticks down for him to fetch. lol


Strong cuteness factor. I think this is one of the few breeds that actually gets cuter as they age.




He'd just spent an hour in the ocean and then decided to run around some more to dry off.

How about a golden retriever?

The only two of your criteria they might not meet are size and the ability to withstand really hot whether. Goldens tend to be 65-75lb range for males and 60-70lb range for females, though, so they aren't *that* much above your maximum limit, as long as you don't get one that exceeds breed standards in that regard.

And withstand temperatures in the 90s, well, my golden is happy to go for a walk in that kind of weather, I just make sure he was cool water available before and afterwards and can go lay in front of the AC when we get back. Of course, my walks are probably shorter than yours are due to some health difficulties. I would think if you take longer walks, you could probably bring along a water bottle and squirt some water into your dog's mouth to help sustain him in intense heat, try to seek out shaded routes, etc..

And, as for gold weather, I can remember when he was younger my golden dragging me out when he was younger for walks at like 11pm on 5 degree nights where he'd eat snow and lick all the ice he could. Then he'd throw a tantrum if I turned around "early".

I think in general your activity schedule would be perfect for a golden. I feel a little guilty with my guy because I can't quite handle that for health reasons, but I try to supplement his walk with trips to the background, car rides, play time, etc. so he gets intellectual and physical stimulation.

Anyway, here's a link to where I really try to "sell" goldens (Figuratively speaking, I'm not a breeder) to someone with a similar question, in case you're interested (And so I don't repeat myself):

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2378937&postcount=21

They really are a great breed. I adore them.

Let me know if you have any questions. They are a great breed. As a breed they are extraordinarily healthy too. I really love them, but am not a sporting dog person. If I was I'd totally get another one in an instant.

This is him at the top of the waterfall I'd throw sticks down for him to fetch. lol


Strong cuteness factor. I think this is one of the few breeds that actually gets cuter as they age.




He'd just spent an hour in the ocean and then decided to run around some more to dry off.

We only had our Griffon for a short time before he passed away, but all the research I did definitely mimics what Romy said. Very neat dogs. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see us end up with another in the future as well.

Hello!

Given your lifestyle and preferences, I would highly recommend a boxer. Although they are not the smallest of dogs, they are incredibly smart, receptive, and loyal. They have a great energy level when needed but will match your levels during down time. They are very capable in a wide range of weather (unless you have an all-white Boxer) and do well in water.

I had a boxer for over 9 years and it was one of the sweetest and overall fun dog I've ever had.

Good luck making your choice!

My first thought was a Sheltie. Friendly, biddable, good sport dogs.