Would you get a breed sight unseen?

[Pintage]

I got my Silken Windhound and Koolie without having met any representatives of the breed. I'd definitely do it again!

So the SWH was presented to me as a versatile dog that could do lots of things (including sports like agility and flyball), and I had dreams of competing in agility and disc with Lugia... however she (and probably most members of the breed) doesn't have the drive to be competitive, she's more of a fun dog I can play agility with in the backyard but not compete at a high level. Her temperament and personality are great, she's incredibly sensitive though despite her extremely positive upbringing. She is my first sighthound and is so different from other breeds of dogs. She is much more susceptible to stress and worry than Circus (Koolie) is, and I knew going into the breed that sighthounds were sensitive... just hard to appreciate how sensitive a dog can be until you live with them! Normally Lugia has a good appetite and likes to spend the entire day hanging out with me and following me around, but I'd say once every 3-4 weeks she practically goes catatonic and will spend 2-3 days holed up in her kennel, refusing to come out or eat her food (she'll happily go on offleash walks and do Chuckit sessions, but other than that, seems to hide all day). She very recently got a full veterinary workup so I know it's not a medical issue. She's so sensitive sometimes I can't even tell what is stressing her out in the first place. Having Circus and Lugia is like having 1 dog and 1 cat-dog-gazelle-rabbit-mythical-creature. Lugia is a "nondog". She's just different. Love her to death, I will never be without at least 1 SWH in my life.

And Circus, omg, Circus is PERFECT for me. I wouldn't change anything about her. Okay, well, her whining is really annoying and happens several times a day (like, she'll think for some reason we're going to DO STUFF, and she starts pacing and whining in anticipation and it's like, "Circus... we're hanging up Xmas lights... not playing with you." "WHINE WHINE WHINE PACE WHINE") but that's the *only* thing I'd change about her. I love her other vocalizations (very vocal and opinionated and LOUD!), I love her drive, I love her tiny little athletic body, I love how her tail is always furiously wagging, I love how fast she is and how she's just READY to do ANYTHING at any time. I love how cuddly she can be (only from 10pm-7am... otherwise it's "NO I WILL NOT LAY DOWN AND RELAX!") She gets a ton of attention and exercise though, absolutely needs a job. I've never skipped a day of working with her or exercising her. She gets very whiny when she's not worked enough. She's so well-behaved around the house too, I could trust her loose and alone in the house from 5 months old and she never had an accident, never once chewed anything inappropriate. She's effing fantastic. My next dog will be another Koolie for sure!

 

[Laurelin]

Koolies are one breed I could MAYBE see myself getting without meeting but I've seen enough videos and trust the people that have them and talk about them to know what they're talking about. I think they'd fit me very well. But that's after 'knowing' how many? Circus, Ned, Traveler, Zinga, Didgie, Zip, Poppy and being on facebook groups and stalking youtube lol. I'd still prefer to meet some but I have a gut feeling they're up my alley. Now if I didn't have to import or deal with the merle/merle thing they'd probably be my next dog for sure. Linds and Sara get to breeding!

But in GENERAL I feel like I have a better read on dogs than a lot of people. I've met some dogs and the way they are described is nothing like the dog I see when I meet them. There was one breed that I met a year or so ago after reading about them and talking to owners (not pyrsheps if people are wondering). Described as very high drive agility dogs and er... the dog at 15 months old was about as drivey as Summer is at 9-10 years old. Which isn't bad but not what I was expecting. I've gotten to know the dog more and enjoy her a ton but she's not what I'd have imagined at all via owner descriptions

It does depend on who I talk to and how much I think they know what they're talking about and if I feel like we have similar tastes in dogs. For me I want to see multiple dogs of a breed performing and watch how they work with their handler. I also like to watch videos of down time and hopefully meet some in person.

Of course then I end up with a mutt of unknown breeds so...

I just get a little bit wary that people represent their dogs accurately lol. Not that I don't trust you all. I also think a lot of what makes a dog 'work' for me or not isn't something that can be put into words but it's more of the feel of the dog. Back to aussies and their energy style... there's just something that doesn't quite mesh with me. It's not that people describing their aussies were lying but I wouldn't have know n they just don't seem to mesh well with me unless I'd met a lot. I actually love aussies but just can't ever picture myself with one. I go through phases where I think theoretically they should be perfect but just can't shake that feeling that they're not the right fit.

There's also a few times that have happened to me where people just assume to know what is or isn't 'too much dog' for me. It kind of drives me nuts and I know they are/were basing it on Summer and Mia being toy dogs. I had a really amusing convo once about sport Shelties and how this person thought these lines would be too much until I mentioned Trey's breeder by name and she realized i already had a dog from similar lines. Then everything changed in an instant. It was kind of funny.

But I am fortunate enough that I'm around a lot of dogs regularly of breeds I like.

 

[RD]

Nope. Came close to it, glad I never did.

 

[amberdyan]

I'd say maybe. Like if I did a ton of research and watched videos and talked to a huge variety of owners and got a pretty similar picture from all of them. I'd prefer to interact with the breed though. Growing up we had labs/lab mixes and hounds. I always assumed that when I left home I'd get one like them, despite the fact that they aren't really what I want in a dog. I volunteered at a shelter for a long time and realized that I was always drawn to herders. We don't actually know what Hugo is (some kind of herder mix) and if I hadn't met them, I'd probably have a lab/labx that just didn't mesh that well with me. After meeting several dogs at this disc in the park thing they do downtown, we're pretty sure nextdog will be a BC. My SO is in love with them now.

 

[Red.Apricot]

Absolutely not. There's a gut level click I either have or don't have with dogs and it happens in person. I don't trust my head on this one.

 

[xpaeanx]

a few of the breeds I'm looking into are pretty rare... so if I did decide to go with one of them, then I'd have to. I'd go to pretty far lengths to meet one in person though... because there is a lot you get from seeing how they react with strangers as well as how they interact with their owners.

However, I wouldn't get one without really TALKING to the breeder about their lines and the particular dogs being bred.

 

[CrystalGSD]

I think I eventually will, but only after thoroughly researching and such. (This thread really makes me want a Koolie )