What breeds?

Emily

Rollin' with my bitches
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
2,115
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Illinois
#61
I definitely thought of Koolies!

If you like the spaniels (which are different than retrievers IME) a field-line Cocker would probably really float your boat. I know I'm always saying this, but Ollie is like screeching, shaking, spinning obsessed with toys, boundless energy, happy go lucky, solid nerved, very naturally easy to train, natural focus, and has no problems camping out on the couch when you do. He's a high drive dog for sure but my mom has no issues with him as a relatively untrained house pet. He's got ZERO aggression in him, and even as an adolescent intact male, no sense of male-to-male aggression or manliness.

When I've worked with him formally he's eager to please and very biddable. Also ridiculously food motivated. He's not soft or nervy, which I know some people worry about in Cockers.

Very much an easy to work with, ready to rock, happy-go-lucky little dog.

ETA: Also would play well with a PyrShep, just sayin' :p
 

Laurelin

I'm All Ears
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
30,963
Likes
3
Points
0
Age
37
Location
Oklahoma
#62
The koolies sound pretty great. I don't know about four years though. Two or three? Haha. They're a definite consideration. Hoping I can meet some one day.

Field cockers are one I've thought of however I really have not been very drawn to either the American cockers or English cockers I know. They are all show line but very nose to ground and not nearly the kind of handler focus I like. May just be the lines but I feel like I'd get frustrated with them. They are good dogs though, very stable and nice temperaments.

I'm very used to and very much like the fact that Shelties and papillons tend to be super handler oriented and intuitive kinds of dogs. At least for me they are lol
 

Emily

Rollin' with my bitches
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
2,115
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Illinois
#63
Field cockers are one I've thought of however I really have not been very drawn to either the American cockers or English cockers I know. They are all show line but very nose to ground and not nearly the kind of handler focus I like. May just be the lines but I feel like I'd get frustrated with them. They are good dogs though, very stable and nice temperaments.

I'm very used to and very much like the fact that Shelties and papillons tend to be super handler oriented and intuitive kinds of dogs. At least for me they are lol
I will say Ollie is a whole different ballgame than the other Cockers I know. I like the showline dogs but would never take one home, personally.

Interestingly, he's not very nose to ground at all when engaged, though he will quarter a field/our yard with his nose down when looking for his ball or whatever.

But yeah, they're not herders and definitely don't quite act like them either.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
29
Likes
0
Points
1
Location
Eastern MA
#64
I'd have to agree with poodle (because I'm not biased at all...). Samwise isn't well bred conformation-wise, but he has a fabulous temperament, loves other dogs, and can be a real clown. He's just full of positive energy, and always wants to be where his people are - or at least be able to check up on us. One of us can't be behind a closed door, because he'll be constantly trying to check up on us, haha! The one thing is that he does play kind of rough with smaller dogs, but I think that's mostly because he was socialized with the bigger dogs around here, and never quite figured out that the littler guys need a lighter hand.

As far as the coat, we shaved him down to a quarter inch for summer. It's not very hard to maintain a short clip if you keep up with it, and if I can learn how to cut a dog's coat, anyone can, trust me.

I definitely think a mini would be a good fit for you. Seems like a lot of mini breeders are highly involved in agility, and produce a good number of sport dogs. There's also the Klein/Moyen size - they're in between minis and standards. Not officially recognized in the AKC, but they are in many other countries. I know of one breeder in the US that breeds them from genuine Klein stock (some breeders just throw a standard and a mini together, which is kind of frowned upon in the breed), and produces performance dogs.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
19
Likes
0
Points
0
#65
Koolie sleddogs

How are they at pulling? :p Everything about them is everything I love about Squash, plus an off switch? STOP TALKING ABOUT THEM.
lol that would be me :)

My two Toolalla Koolies, Smudge and Turbo, are AMAZING sleddogs.

Ive run dogs in harness for 15+ years (seriously) and another 10 on top of that before I knew what I was doing lol

Ive run all sorts of breeds, Cattle dogs/Red heeler, bull terrier, GSD, Groney, huskies, our Huntaway x shar pei and now koolies. As well as helped many people in the sleddog club get in to the sport with all types of breeds and x breeds.

Out of all those non traditional sleddogs Ive had, koolies have had the most amount of heart, drive, stamina and pure desire and love to run in harness.

So much so we had to get a second koolie (Turbo).

I enjoy having a non-husky in the pack so I can have a dog to go to the park and have safely off lead. But that breed also needed to be able to run in harness and have a lot of qualities a husky has to do the job and koolies fit the role perfectly.

While it was probably a little easier to train our koolies to be sleddogs alongside our huskies, a very good friend of mine also has 2 koolies (one from Toolalla one with Toolalla lines) who are fantastic sleddogs who learnt the sport on their own - so the breed has certainly got the ability to pull :)

This is Smudge winning the Australian Nationals race in 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvH-WVHNj0I

and our other videos are here (just click on any that say Smudge or Turbo)

http://www.youtube.com/user/Shumonitu/videos

I have found them to be such a versatile breed, they put their heart in to any job they are given and one of the best things I have found is that they have an off switch so over summer when it is too hot to run in harness they are very happy to chill out and enjoy other, more mellow activities.

They are also fantastic with our two kids and get along great with other dogs. I have also found they are a very brave and daring breed, I can ask either of them to jump up on to ANYTHING and they do it with pleasure, nothing seems to phase them at all!

Anyway, hope you enjoy the videos :)
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
6,405
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Minnesota
#67
Considering my little hound mix is essentially self-taught, I have no objections to a non-Northern breed all on its own.

In other words: Oh christ, I'm doomed. :p

I do love the Alaskans I've met... maybe a Koolie-Alaskan alliance someday. It will be a long time before I'm in the market for any new dogs, though, so maybe I'll have forgotten about this thread by then.
 

SaraB

New Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
5,798
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
St. Louis, MO
#69
So koolie people need to do a road trip. Just saying.
I don't have any plans to go to Oklahoma this year. We might be hitting up Missouri to watch the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge in the fall to watch a friend compete though, but that's as close as I'm getting this year.

Also, everyone come to the kool side. Yes, yes I did just type that.
 

Sit Stay

Not a Border Collie
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,814
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario
#74
I thought Koolie first - but I could also see you with an Aussie or English Shepherd. It would have to be the right ES though - you need a Quinn :)

Ok, I already have plans for what Nextdog will be but I was just curious what breeds come to mind when I describe this:

- Size doesn't matter for this really. <50 lbs?
Adult males don't common fall in the 40 pound range, but you could find a smaller bitch. Quinn weighs 42 pounds. There are adult girls that weigh as little as ~35 pounds.
- coat doesn't matter
Lots of variety in color and length - girls do tend to have less coat. They are all wash and wear and easy to care for though!
- Energy level- moderate to high with great off switch. Puts in a lot of effort when need be but also is totally cool to sleep part of the day.
Quinn will go all day if you ask her to. She's very motivated and loves to do stuff with you, whether it's intense 1-on-1 training or she's just following you around "helping" with chores. She does not do well in the heat and will go lay in the shade for 2-5 minutes, but then runs right back as soon as she's a little cooler. Even outside she doesn't have to always be doing something - for instance, last week I was outside for two hours sitting on the lawn cleaning tack, and she lied with me the whole time. She got up a couple of times when my dad came out of the house (had to go say hi and see what he was up to) and to chase a bird once, but she came back totally on her own and settled with me again. She has a great off switch (we slept until 9:30 this morning, I took her out for a pee, and we've been on the couch ever since). She will start to get a little edgy on the second or third day of not doing anything, but is never demanding about it.
- Extremely high biddability and desire to work with you.
Quinn is biddable... but I wouldn't say she's extremely biddable. They are bred to be slightly more independent and able to make decisions when you're not around. She is all about being involved though and loves to do things with me! I would describe her as more of a co-pilot sort - she does things because she is inquisitive and adventurous and we have fun together. She definitely does care what I think though.
- Some sort of high useable drive
Quinn will work for anything! Her toy drive was a little lower as a puppy, but now I'd say her food and toy drive are both very high. She's very easy and adaptable that way because I can make anything into a game or toy for her and she loves it. I do tend to stick with toys or food though - when she's in a state of excitement she doesn't really like to be touched and will find something to offer me (either a toy or anything she can bring me if no toys are around) as an alternative.
- Extremely people friendly. Very outgoing that way.
Quinn is wonderful with people. Some English Shepherds are a little more reserved (not timid, but a confident disinterest) but Quinn is not one. She loves meeting new people, and the really nice thing about her is that once she meets someone she is happy to lie down at my feet when we talk. She adores kids! She has a good guard instinct, and has a big bark reserved for strangers at the door, but once we let them in she is pleasant and welcoming.
- very athletic/likes to jump.
Want me to jump onto that stump? Run along that fallen tree 6ft off the ground? Jump that rock wall? No problem - let's go!
- Very suited to agility training/fast. (essentially lightly built)
Agility is Quinn's true love - which is saying a lot because she loves herding too! She is a great agility dog, which actually makes me sad because I wish I was more consistent with her. She has a lot of potential and our old trainer really saw that. She is very fast and drivey but also has great self control and is very handler responsive. She is also extremely forgiving of my many mistakes.
- dog friendliness- not necessarily a dog park dog but can live peacefully with other dogs easily
I handled Quinn wrong as a puppy which is why she could be dog reactive - I do not think that she would have turned out DR if I had handled her personality more appropriately (she also had a couple run ins with aggressive dogs, which scared her and made her think she had to protect herself). They are bossy dogs and Quinn is definitely VERY bossy on that scale, so I think it's important to let them know early on "Thanks, but I got this". That being said, most ESs I know live in multi-dog homes with absolutely zero issue! Reactivity or aggression is definitely not rampant in the breed. And Quinn... now I don't even worry taking her out to doggy places now. I just take care to protect her from loose/rude dogs and to set her up for success, but she can go out and be calm around other dogs and trust me to keep her safe.
- relatively sensitive personality. But also very confident. I am not sure if I am wording that correctly. Not a very hard or sharp kind of dog?
Confident, definitely. Quinn is a nice soft dog as long as she's in a relaxed state of mind. When she's more excitable (OMG SHEEP!) she can be quite hard, and impossible to shut down. I think it's just a sheep thing though and the fact that we don't get to go herding more than once every 1-2 weeks. Even when she's excited doing agility she is surprisingly still very handler sensitive - not because she is a finished agility dog or anything, she is just very attentive.
- Very confident with surroundings and new things. Takes everything in stride. Maybe not as prone to needing such extensive socialization like Mia does and a lot of breeds I like do.
Yes, yes yes. She is a very naturally stable and solid dog. Even things I didn't naturally expose her to she takes in stride (buses, trains, fireworks). We both fell asleep outside one night watching our across-the-street neighbour's firework show. She wasn't even startled when they started. If anything does weird her out she checks it out immediately with no prompting from me, and then is totally over it. I was just thinking today how easy she is and that it would be challenging and a little disappointing to get a timid dog, after her.
-Happy/up personality. Easily excited, lol. I guess some would say just a touch hyper.
This is the one point that Quinn doesn't totally fit. Quinn is a happy dog but a serious one - she'd rather evaluate a situation than jump in feet first. She dislikes when I get excitable at her out of nowhere, but get out a toy or a treat and she will turn "on" instantly. Even if those things aren't available, if I ease into an excited state (like get her doing some tricks and nose touches, vs. WHEEE QUINN COME PLAY) she is ready to go go go!
- Extremely handler oriented/velcro
Quinn always needs to know what's going on, which means she's always with you LOL. She is never in a different room. Outside, she has a wonderful, natural boundary and doesn't like to go further than say 30 or 40 ft. She is always checking in and I don't worry if she goes off the trail to look for chipmunks or anything, because I know she'll be back in about 30 seconds. She's funny too because on hikes she'll naturally stop and wait when she reaches points where I would have told her to wait anyways - like when she reaches a fork in the trail, a bridge, etc. I don't know how she knows...but she does!

Bonus: toy drive and likes water (which is a trait I don't have at the moment lol)
YES to the toy drive. Quinn isn't an extreme water dog but likes to swim to retrieve toys and will willingly and on her own go into water and wade.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top