thinking of dog ownership... dont know what breed

[Sprout]

Yeah, if you really want a pure dog I kinda agree with stevinski.
My dog Sprout is a Brussels Griffon, which are REALLY closely related to the Affenpincher.
Sprout is a great dog.. and EXTREMELY intellegent! I do some obedience with him and we do agility too which is very fun. Sprout loves to sit and watch movies with me, but right when I get up he's like my shadow, he follows me EVERYWHERE! I tell ya, once you're a friend with a griffon, you've forever got a friend! He's more like a one person type dog but he is nice to everyone. What I mean is, we would do anything for eachother, and we have a bond that no one else will ever have with him, or me.
lol, and when I sleepwalk he comes with me and (from what my mom says) I go downstairs and he goes in my mom's room and wakes her up to come get me. He protects me
Then when he's in an excited mood he'll play fetch with his toys with me, and when Im tired he will manage to play with himself by flipping the toy up and catching it, so they'd be good for apartments too. And they're pretty darn small.
Hope I could help some

 

[dogsarebetter]

wow thanks for all the helpful info guys!!
i was starting to get discouraged

 

[dogsarebetter]

affenpisncher just looks sooo small and yappy? are they yappy dogs? i still have my heart set on the hearding group dogs! or a husky mix.
still got my mind on a very well bred sheltie. i know three shelties who are not very vocal, and listen sooo well. and i know their breeder too!

 

[RD]

If you are interested in a herding breed, go for it.. Most of the herders are responsive and intelligent and would probably be fine with the rabbits if they were raised with them. If you do your research (which you obviously are - good for you ) and don't leave them unattended I wouldn't be too worried.

I would feel comfortable putting rabbits all around my Border Collie. Although he will chase and kill wild ones outdoors, he's played gently with several inside a house and a fenced yard, and never showed the slightest intention of hurting them.


With the herding breeds, though, there is always the question of "how much".. How much energy can you handle? how much drive? Some people want a low-key Sheltie, others a live-wire Border Collie.

 

[lastkid]

If you pick a particular breed, going through a breed rescue would be a great idea, especially if you're concerned about prey drive with rabbits. Most of the dogs are in foster homes and have been (or can be) tested with small animals. Plus, then you know (more or less ) how drive-y/energetic the dog is, which is a good thing if you're looking into herding breeds and aren't sure "how much" (great term, RD!) dog you want.

 

[casablanca1]

also you could try with a sheltie, but shelties can be hyper, try to go for show lines rather then working lines if you get a sheltie.

There are working lines for Shetland Sheepdogs? I've heard of that for other breeds (setters, pointers, etc.) but I never heard that Shelties have that sort of division between show/pet and 'original purpose' activity. Just curious.

 

[stevinski]

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevinski
also you could try with a sheltie, but shelties can be hyper, try to go for show lines rather then working lines if you get a sheltie.


There are working lines for Shetland Sheepdogs? I've heard of that for other breeds (setters, pointers, etc.) but I never heard that Shelties have that sort of division between show/pet and 'original purpose' activity. Just curious.

yuh, theres lots of working shelties, just not as much as other breeds, herding is the most common thing that they are worked in, and it is what they are bred for, but you get the ocassional sheltie trained in tracking, theres lots of herding lines for shelties which is what i would class as a working line.
The shelties from the herding lines often have alot more drive and energy then the dogs that are shown more in conformation.

 

[casablanca1]

theres lots of herding lines for shelties which is what i would class as a working line. The shelties from the herding lines often have alot more drive and energy then the dogs that are shown more in conformation.

Neat. Are there physical differences too? I'm thinking of the setters, where field lines are less 'pretty' than the show lines, less feathering, etc. Personally, I think a less fluffy Sheltie might be a good idea.

 

[stevinski]

Neat. Are there physical differences too? I'm thinking of the setters, where field lines are less 'pretty' than the show lines, less feathering, etc. Personally, I think a less fluffy Sheltie might be a good idea.

there isnt much physical difference between the working lines and show lines, eccept obviously the working lines will be more out of standard then the show lines.

I think a less fluffy Sheltie might be a good idea.

if you go for show lines and would prefer a sheltie with a lesser coat then its best for you to get a girl as their is alot of difference between the coats on a male and a female, the males have a much more superb, longer coat then the females.

 

[What Position]

i have a border collie.....it is fine around everything..........mine is trained bye me(13 year old) and is fine around me rabbit...it slept next to my rabbit once......hes a decent jogging partner..

 

[dogsarebetter]

i like a high energy dog. a dog that can play fetch for hours and go out jogging and walking nearly a hour everyday. but i want it to be willing to be lazy with me too. i dont want a dog that wants to jump up and chew on me all the time! but the hearding group is so trainable it could have those bad habbits trained out of it.
yeah, my heart is set on a sheltie, border collie, or an aussie. i def will get a female sheltie because of all that fur that the males have. and i was planning on keeping it cut short (not sheard, but short cut) anyway.
no matter how the dog seemed around the rabbits when i am there i would never ever ever leave them alone together. but of course the rabbits will be in there cage and the dog will be there. i dont want to worry about a dog trying to break down the cage, and bark at them all the time. but if raised with them from a puppy i wouldnt have that problem anyway.

 

[stevinski]

shelties generally dont have a very strong prey dive, as they were bred mainly for herding, but some dogs do,
if raised with the rabbits from young you should be fine,

 

[RD]

Stevinski, for the record, herding behavior is simply a modified prey drive.

Rabbitsarebetter, I would check into the herding styles of the Sheltie, Aussie and Border Collie. Undoubtedly, the dog will try to herd the rabbits a few times and excessively grippy (bitey) herders could hurt the rabbits. I know Shelties use their bark quite a bit in their work, I'm not sure if they are particularly grippy. Aussies can be forceful at times, but I don't know that many working Aussies and some may be different than others. Borders tend to stay off the stock and use their eyes to control them.

Sounds like you would be a good home for an active herding breed.

 

[dogsarebetter]

I hope so. I prey that the conditions are right where I can share my home and love with one.

 

[stevinski]

Stevinski, for the record, herding behavior is simply a modified prey drive.

Rabbitsarebetter, I would check into the herding styles of the Sheltie, Aussie and Border Collie. Undoubtedly, the dog will try to herd the rabbits a few times and excessively grippy (bitey) herders could hurt the rabbits. I know Shelties use their bark quite a bit in their work, I'm not sure if they are particularly grippy. Aussies can be forceful at times, but I don't know that many working Aussies and some may be different than others. Borders tend to stay off the stock and use their eyes to control them.

i always knew that shelties used to nip there 'flock' to herd it in the direction they want, but i always thought that a prey dive was like, when they see a animal or something and just take off chasing it.

 

[dogsarebetter]

i could use help hearding the rabbits sometimes! LOL
they are out all the time unless i am sleeping or gone and they hate going back in their cages!

 

[rowdy ridgeback]

Shetland Sheepdog. They are on the smaller side, like to run, great agility, herders not hunters, they will give a couple barks if someone comes around. They are also smart and fast learners.

 

[Senna]

what about a corgi?


http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/pembrokecorgi.htm

 

[PWCorgi]

You read my mind Senna!

Just a few thoughts about a corgi:

Pros-

-They make great running partners, even thoug it doesn't look like they would

-Sometimes you can wiggle past a small dog restriction on an apartment because they are so low to the ground,

-They are people oriented, but they usually aren't velcro dogs

-They are awesome at agility

-They have a lot of energy, but they aren't "hyper", it's more of a controlled energy

Cons-

-If they have strong herding instincts, they can me QUITE aggressive at it, they are small dogs that were bred to move huge cows and they did it my nipping.

-They can be very vocal (my female hardly ever barks, but my male never shuts up)

-I am not sure that they would make the best frisbee dog, they would if you just care about them bringing it back, but they aren't going to leap 4 feet into the air or do backflips to get it most of the time, it just isn't possible because of their body structure

-They probably are not going to be a big deterent if someone decides to break into your house, lol, although they can be territorial sometimes


As far as the rabbits go, it depends on the individual dog. My male I am sure would chase and hurt/kill a rabbit if he could get ahold of one. I have a chinchilla and he'll paw and bark at the cage and try to get at it, we have to watch him with the cat too. My female on the other hand, I can get the chinchilla (who is more hyper and flitty than most rabbits) out and Izzy (female corgi) will sit there and watch the chinchilla, if she can sneak up on him she will try and lick him . Both dogs came from the same litter, and are complete opposites.

Overall, they seem like a good fit to me.