Help me find a breed please

wolfdoggy

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#1
I do not know what breed will be best for me, so I will need some help. Hope some of you could lend a hand with that.


My wishes...

I want a dog that I can teach to walk with without a leash, and not be afraid that it will run away.
I want a dog that is brave and dependable. I mean as a buddy. Not necessarily a guard. I need it to let me know of intruders though.
I want to feel like we have a special relationship. Not like a Labrador that loves everyone almost as much as he loves you.
I really want it to look a little Wolfy too. When I say a Wolfy look, I mean something between German Shepherd an a Wolf.
I want to be able to travel with it to other countries. And want it to be strong enough to walk with some of the wait from the backpack stuff, for most of the day. There will be brakes on the trip of cause,
I don't want a small dog. It must be fairly large. Between about 60-75 cm tall.
I'm looking for a good companion.

I think this is it. I have no idea if there is a dog that fulfill all these wishes. I will of cause be willing to make compromises if needed.

Which breed would you suggest?
 

Dakotah_2009

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#2
As far as most of your wishes go I would say a Rottweiler or a Doberman. These were the first 2 dogs that popped into my mine when I read your wishes. It can tolerate both warm and cold climates and are great campanions, and are good travel dogs. They are also very loyal and will tell you when intruders come about.
 

Saje

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#3
Well.... one of the sledding dogs popped into my head. But they are SO energetic (huskies, malamutes...) are you quite active?
 
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stirder

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#4
I know you are considering sarloos wolfhound. from what you have listed on this thread, Id say that is still one of the choices. Id also consider a german shepherd. they are tollerant to different climates, I have travelled with mine from desert to alaska, mid western woods to hawaii and florida tropics. Ive backpacked in the canadian and alaskan wilderness with them and they handled their packs better than I did mine, alerted me to bears, mountain lions, foxes, ravens, mice and mosquitoes, and imaginary monsters. they are very loyal and responsive. doberman and rotties are adaptable to an extent. they would have a hard time adjusting if you went from hot (american southwest in summer, florida, africa etc) to really cold (alaska, siberia, netherlands, canada etc), theyd need more than several days to adjust. in fact many doberman and rottie owners no farther north than kentucky, missouri etc put sweaters on their dogs in the fall, untill spring when playing outside. and even then they shiver a lot.
other possibilities I would suggest are: dutch shepherd, similar to german shepherd but brindle color.
beaceron (not as wolfsih as gsd or sarloos), pretty much a gsd, even similar appearance.
any of the 4 belgian sheepdogs (malinois, tervuren, groenendal, and lakenois). lakenois has a close curly coat, not wolfish. and all the belgian sheepdogs have extremely high energy and drive.
alaskan malamute, wolfish and lots of people hike and camp with them can adapt to any climate if given time to get used to it. not guard dogs (occasionally they are) but will bark at intruders. also pretty friendly to everyone, usually.
siberian laika, either west or eastern. pretty much a siberian husky, but more responsive and more territorial. so more likely to protect and not immediately make friends.
canaan dog. somewhat energetic and smaller. good guard dogs from what I hear.
carolina dog. same as above but hard headed.
karelian bear dog. dont know a whole lot about this dog, similar to a husky in appearance, bred to hunt bears.
 

bubbatd

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#5
OH BOY !!! Grammy's staying out of this one !!!!! May come in on the 300th post !!! Will be watching for the fireworks !
 
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stirder

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#6
theres gonna be fireworks??? should I run and hide?? or pick a prime front row seat??
 
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#7
One thing to consider that you haven't mentioned is your experience handling and training dogs. Some breeds that would fit your desires just aren't right for most people.

Actually, once I had what would have been the perfect dog for you. My Bear was from a shelter. I adopted him as an adult dog, about four or five years old. Part German Shepherd, part Akita. You could do very well looking for the perfect dog through adoption. You can't ever be sure how a puppy is going to turn out. They all have their own individual personalities and quirks that don't necessarily show up until they're grown! I've got two Filas, and you couldn't ask for two more different personalities!

Now Bimmer, my little GSD/wolf orphan who was thrown out on a farm, is another one who would be perfect, although I wouldn't necessarily trust him off leash in the woods as he's a real hunter. I'm not suggesting you find a dog/wolf mix - far from it! Especially if you're going to be hiking and do want to work off lead; that hunting drive is just too, too strong. My point goes back to finding the perfect dog by not necessarily looking in the obvious places.
 

Babyblue5290

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#9
I don't think I would go for a husky or malamute if you want it to be trusted off leash.
My experience is they can never be trusted off leash. They are just unpredictable in that respect.
 

wolfdoggy

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#10
Stirder. Do you know of a breeder that breeds the European German Shepherds you showed the other day? The one that look like a Saarloos Wolfhound. I doubt I can find one in Denmark.

Please, if any of you have more suggestions then tell me.
 
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#12
I think a German Shepherd mix would be a good idea....they meet basically all your requirements....loyal, protective, strong, active....
I don't think I would go for a husky or malamute if you want it to be trusted off leash.
I agree. They can't be trusted off-leash.
 
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#14
wolfdoggy said:
My wishes...

I want a dog that I can teach to walk with without a leash, and not be afraid that it will run away. Cannot be trusted off-leash
I want a dog that is brave and dependable. I mean as a buddy. Not necessarily a guard. I need it to let me know of intruders though. In my experience they are not good watchdogs
I want to feel like we have a special relationship. Not like a Labrador that loves everyone almost as much as he loves you. Most dogs become very attached to their owners
I really want it to look a little Wolfy too. When I say a Wolfy look, I mean something between German Shepherd an a Wolf. Why do you want it to look wolfy??
I want to be able to travel with it to other countries. And want it to be strong enough to walk with some of the wait from the backpack stuff, for most of the day. There will be brakes on the trip of cause,
I don't want a small dog. It must be fairly large. Between about 60-75 cm tall.
I'm looking for a good companion. They are large and can handle loads
About Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute. Do they meet my other requirements?
My answers are in bold.
 

wolfdoggy

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#16
The reason why I want a wolfy looking dog is partly because a wolfy look is beautiful. But also because I want to feel like I have a "wolf" companion (I don't necessarily mean a wolfdog), and not a simple "dog". If you know what I mean?

There are a few other reason, but for some reason I can't remember them.
 

Babyblue5290

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#17
wolfdoggy said:
I want a dog that I can teach to walk with without a leash, and not be afraid that it will run away.
nope.....runs off leash.

wolfdoggy said:
I want a dog that is brave and dependable. I mean as a buddy. Not necessarily a guard. I need it to let me know of intruders though.
I don't think they bark that much, they howl, but still not a lot.

wolfdoggy said:
I want to feel like we have a special relationship. Not like a Labrador that loves everyone almost as much as he loves you.
They do have a special bond with you, but they are also people oriented. My loves all and everyone (practicly) but every dog is different and you need socializing.

wolfdoggy said:
I really want it to look a little Wolfy too. When I say a Wolfy look, I mean something between German Shepherd an a Wolf
Yup.....has a wolf like look.

wolfdoggy said:
I want to be able to travel with it to other countries. And want it to be strong enough to walk with some of the wait from the backpack stuff, for most of the day. There will be brakes on the trip of cause
I know they can carry their own things and some of yours for a long time, but not sure on traveling to other countries.

wolfdoggy said:
I don't want a small dog. It must be fairly large. Between about 60-75 cm tall.
erm...not sure how tall that is. I think Mals go at around 25 in at shoulders for the males and sibes are a bit shorter.

wolfdoggy said:
I'm looking for a good companion.
Yup....but they are more independent...not big cuddlers, although mine cuddles sometimes.
 
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poeluvr

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#18
Besides the wolfy thing i think a golden would be good . But if you want one that looks wolfy and will walk off leash thats hard. Well i guess since you mentioned a German Shepard they can be trained well. If you dont want a German, I wouldnt reccomend a husky or half wolf mix, they tend to wander,, not good off leash. The best beside the GS would i think be a malamute I just recently learned talking to another person.
Oh it was you i was talking too!
 

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