I've been giving a lot of thought to future things recently and one of those things is what breed I want next (of course). Our living arrangement will be changing, with any luck we'll be adding a human addition, our job situations will be changing...and what I want out of a dog is also going to be a much different scenario than what I wanted when I purchased Abrams. I am NOT planning on adding another dog until we've moved, gotten settled, and feel I can handle a new pup plus the baby (or toddler, by that time, with any luck), but I can't help but turn my eye at different breeds and wonder what would be the best fit!
There are a lot of different things that I'm taking in to consideration, but these are some points that I view close to being my ideal:
- 40-60 pounds, moderately sized
- short/double coat, low-moderate shedding (already have two heavy shedders, though, so what's one more...)
- wash and wear OR can be shaved monthly to be wash and wear
- politely reserved with strangers in public, but NOT fearful, aggressive, or otherwise protective
- reserved/friendly with visitors at the house (watch dog is okay, guard dog is NOT - I only want one protective dog at a time and Abrams is currently filling that role very well)
- great with kids (aka, will handle baby noises/flailing/weird handling/running and screaming/etc. with aplomb)
- active and engaging outdoors, but more than happy to sleep the day away indoors
- athletic, able to handle high temperatures, could go on whatever hiking or otherwise outdoorsy adventures we care to go on
- food motivated, willingness to engage and focus while training
- ideally physically playful (with humans and other dogs), but also would be okay with low toy drive (thanks to Abrams being a poor sport about sharing toys with equally greedy dogs)
- good with other dogs (no tendency for combativeness)
- good with household animals (ignores and/or enjoys the cats and caged animals)
- not abnormally barky/talkative
- love of water is a +++
- ability to be off lead is a +++++++++! Would accept a dog that needs to be on a long line in highly engaging environments, but would greatly prefer a dog that can be trusted off lead in an isolated/home environment. This isn't a deal breaker, but it is really the one thing holding me back from jumping on the sighthound bandwagon.
I like animated, happy dogs. Ones that will turn serious when the situation calls for it, but are more than happy to engage and be silly in day to day interactions. But I also want a dog that understands silly and happy needs to have a limit, and that quiet time in the house is expected.
I will more than likely be sticking with what I know and going with a petite female Labrador as my next dog. But, I want to make sure there isn't another breed or type of dog that I may be over looking that would be a better fit.
A retired racing Greyhound has piqued my interest, as have Ibizan Hounds. Curly Coats are also back on my radar (as a more polite, reserved retriever vs the I-love-everyone of a Labrador or the protectiveness of a Chessie), but I don't know as much about them as I do the other retriever breeds.
I know we have some Ibizan people here and I'd love to hear more about the breed. And if anyone has any insights on Curly's, too, that would be awesome.
There are a lot of different things that I'm taking in to consideration, but these are some points that I view close to being my ideal:
- 40-60 pounds, moderately sized
- short/double coat, low-moderate shedding (already have two heavy shedders, though, so what's one more...)
- wash and wear OR can be shaved monthly to be wash and wear
- politely reserved with strangers in public, but NOT fearful, aggressive, or otherwise protective
- reserved/friendly with visitors at the house (watch dog is okay, guard dog is NOT - I only want one protective dog at a time and Abrams is currently filling that role very well)
- great with kids (aka, will handle baby noises/flailing/weird handling/running and screaming/etc. with aplomb)
- active and engaging outdoors, but more than happy to sleep the day away indoors
- athletic, able to handle high temperatures, could go on whatever hiking or otherwise outdoorsy adventures we care to go on
- food motivated, willingness to engage and focus while training
- ideally physically playful (with humans and other dogs), but also would be okay with low toy drive (thanks to Abrams being a poor sport about sharing toys with equally greedy dogs)
- good with other dogs (no tendency for combativeness)
- good with household animals (ignores and/or enjoys the cats and caged animals)
- not abnormally barky/talkative
- love of water is a +++
- ability to be off lead is a +++++++++! Would accept a dog that needs to be on a long line in highly engaging environments, but would greatly prefer a dog that can be trusted off lead in an isolated/home environment. This isn't a deal breaker, but it is really the one thing holding me back from jumping on the sighthound bandwagon.
I like animated, happy dogs. Ones that will turn serious when the situation calls for it, but are more than happy to engage and be silly in day to day interactions. But I also want a dog that understands silly and happy needs to have a limit, and that quiet time in the house is expected.
I will more than likely be sticking with what I know and going with a petite female Labrador as my next dog. But, I want to make sure there isn't another breed or type of dog that I may be over looking that would be a better fit.
A retired racing Greyhound has piqued my interest, as have Ibizan Hounds. Curly Coats are also back on my radar (as a more polite, reserved retriever vs the I-love-everyone of a Labrador or the protectiveness of a Chessie), but I don't know as much about them as I do the other retriever breeds.
I know we have some Ibizan people here and I'd love to hear more about the breed. And if anyone has any insights on Curly's, too, that would be awesome.