I've been thinking.....,

Few years ago I had an orange and white english pointer bitch.Beautiful dog,one blue eye,which took a bit of getting used to but gave her character I thought;)

She came from a hunt yard at 7 months old,to say I was dubious about how she would adapt to an indoor life as a pet is an understatement.

Well she had her quirks that's for sure,but needing a job or not being able to heel weren't amongst them.

In fact she adapted so well to domestic life that trying to peel her off the sofa was a chore:rolleyes:

Training her wasn't always easy (she was terrified of traffic so introducing road walks were interesting!!),and she could be a bit neurotic,but overall I didn't find her any more of a challenge than any other dog,and she was certainly easier than any of my setters!!

I'm not sure if she was typical of a pointer,but she was fine as a pet.Loved her exercise for sure,but wasn't difficult if didn't get it.Fantastic temp,very loyal.Fab dog for the kids as always had plenty of energy for their games,and up for anything,they thought she was great fun!!

She did point when out,but that was about the extent of her instincts that i noticed.Despite actually living on a working hunt yard for several months and going out with the pack her work ethic wasn't overly developed it seemed:p

She did fall down in one area though and I had to rehome her because of it in the end:(.She constantly harrassed my horses,chased them and got on their nerves every time she was at the field with me.She wasn't nasty with it,seemed more like she wanted to play than anything,but she couldn't take no for an answer and after watching her get kicked and rolled one day I decided for her won safety to find her a non horse home .
Not taking her with me wasn't an option BTW,as it would have meant her spending long periods of time at home alone,which she would have been fine with to be fair,as in no trouble to leave her but I didn't think it was fair on her as she was a dog who loved human company and attention.

Wouldn't hesitate to have another,in fact a male orange and white english pointer is next on my list when OH agrees that is;)

On the subject of huskies.My neighbour near horse field has a lovely bitch.Her recall is excellent,she can cope with not so much exercise if necessary,is fine left alone and doesn't howl or dig:eek:

I wouldn't have believed it if hadn't seen with my own eyes,but she really is a gem in every way.
They have spent a lot of time training her though from a young age.


As for the original question,I think breed *should* play a part in the decision on what type to own.
I don't think people shouldn't have something just because it's known to be a working dog (or whatever other purpose it has),but I do think they should consider if they can facilitate it's needs if it turns out to be very true to type so to speak.

Having said all that i chose to have an Irish setter so not sure my judgement or opinions on anything are all that sound TBH:o:D

He's ginger,bonkers and generally just a big dandy thing that looks like he should be in a hairdressing advert,but he's great fun and we love him,most days anyway:p


Sorry that was a huge waffle BTW,got all nostalgic talking about my pointer:o
 
I have a smooth coated collie/kelpie cross, bred from working lines on both sides. He will be 2 this May. Big lean, lanky dog, very fast and agile, never tired, never unsettled, and practically mute.

Normally, he gets a long walk off lead (around 2 hours), each day, and the rest of the time is found glued to my side wherever I go. This suits us both, as he has learnt to spot when I am about to have an epileptic seizure and will alert me. He also wakes me for my morning medication and reminds me in the evenings if I forget my evening dose. He reminds me by nudging my leg and running to the cupboard where my medication is kept. So that is his job, well, that and herding the cats to their food bowl! (My cats are enablers: they actually look for him to pay them attention...)

At the moment, he is only getting an hour's walk a day. He dropped a fair bit of weight, to the point where he was unhealthy. Thankfully this has been sorted, but the vet has said to build his exercise back up slowly. I am hoping to find a flyball place we can join too.
 
We have always had gsd or collies .....

We now have jack Russell

a foxhound

and a long haired Chihuahua

They all get along the smallest is in charge (as per usual)

There are so many breeds now I don't think many of them do the actual job they were bred for....


And our chi is a cracking mouser :confused:
 
I think it is important to know what your dog was bred for and to stimulate it accordingly.

Our 2 "proper" terriers get to vermin control and search and catch things, this keeps then very happy.

The staffy just wants to run and cuddle. But he loves a game of tug too.

We hide stuff for the dobie to find as she likes to do this. Even thou its not what she's meant to do. She also likes to jump, so we have doggie puissance in the field, see who can go the highest. Poor jrt is never gonna win that one!
 
blackcob said:
Would I ever recommend them as a pet? Not a chance. Catering for their needs has changed my life, permanently affected my availability for work (couldn't leave them 9-5, lucky enough to have a full time job at the moment but it involves nights and weekends to make up the hours, a 'normal' job would be impossible) and means that my only hobbies are now all dog related.
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Absolutely agree. We have no life outside the dogs (with a tiny bit for the ponios)

Whilst I think the samoyed can make a lovely house dog (apart from the grooming/shedding) and isn't as work driven, malamutes need to 'work'. They cannot just lie around doing nothing. The breed is highly active and intelligent, and needs an outlet for that.

I try and work mine in harness (okay, not hauling sled across the arctic) between 2-4 times a week, and if for any reason we can't do that, they are fretful, bored, and frustrated, and no amount of walking will stop that. Now, I am well aware we have brought this on ourselves, but I still think that, as a breed, they need to work.
 
When I was looking at stud dogs to use on Evie last year I deliberately avoided the dogs with strong working pedigrees. I knew the majority of the pups would be going to basically pet homes, although all would do some training etc with them. I think it is great that more working line GSDs are about now, but they do have to be kept occupied. The dog I used was a show dog (and family pet) who has been trained by his owner up to IPO2 level, so I hoped would be a good combination. It does seem to have worked so far, all pups are very bright but not too over the top. The following is a quote from one owner (ex police dog handler and trainer).
"I was not going to do any police type training with him but
it would seem a waste not to let him use his nose as he loves it.I have got
him searching and finding hidden property and some basic tracking."

Last year I saw someone in our local town with a lovely 14 week old sable pup, , very obviously working lines. I went to admire him and commented that I bet he was working lines, the owner were amazed that I had recognised this, and immediately asked for my help. They were having problems with the pup being far too full on, nipping at their young son etc. Now whereas these are often common puppy problems, the breeder whilst proudly telling them the pup had strong working lines, hadn't bothered to advise them that he would need to be given a job to do, and he was their first GSD:eek:. I gave them the names of a couple of trainers who I felt would be able to help, and often wonder how they went on.
 
Interesting thread :)

I have a Border Terrier and her brain needs to be activated or she becomes clingy and destructive. She is very fit and could go all day and never stop to say 'I'm tired now' so she needs a fair amount of physical exercise but her brain exercise seems to be the key to pooping her out. We do all we can to cater to her needs, she is kenneled at my work and has different human interaction all day, she meets other dogs every day and walks somewhere new almost daily. I try my hardest to expose her little brain to as much as I can.

I may be wrong but I think that side of her relates to her working side. She doesn't 'work', she is just a family pet. My dad is keen to take her out but I think she would be pants.

She has never caught a mouse / rat / rabbit.... ever. My last Border used to bring home dead foxes.... this one is just broken.

On sat she spent the day pottering round my parents land with my dad and their ridgeback. When I went to pick her up the ridgeback looked thoroughly p*ssed off and wanted in the house and my terrorist was stood on the kennel roof looking 100% chuffed with herself (with my dad grinning like a small child next to her). She was filthy , covered in bits of twig and very happy. It made me feel sad that I don't have the land for her to simply spend hours exploring. Maybe that is what she needs?

I will be suprised if any of that^^ makes sense... just my ramblings :p
 
There's another angle to this - people who go out and buy a pup with a view to work without researching and take the breeder's word for it that the dog will work, and rock up to a club or a training ground and get massively disappointed when they are told, yes, their dog will be able to do some things, but will never be a world-beater.

Knowing what I know now, I think genetics are massively important in dogs and a lot of people overlook them and think all it takes is training - the human element and the talent of the dog is just part of the picture.
People overlook genetics when buying a pet dog (IE a husky is genetically inclined to run, and run far) and when buying a working dog (sure there might be some working dogs WAY back, but up close all you have is show or pet lines).

I love this quote from a German judge, although it does make me sad also:
"When this dog finds himself under stress, as all dogs do at times, he reaches back to his ancestry to get help or relief from the stress. But, as you can see, when this dog reaches back for help from his ancestors...there is nobody there."
 
Alec Swan said:
Toast,

what an interesting post. The rescue has obviously bonded with your sister. Gratifying though such bonding can be, it can also be a PITA. That level of dependence, can be trying!

Just a thought; there are plenty of sheep dog people in Lancashire, why not, on a one to one basis, have your sister, and a GOOD shepherd, take the wee thing to a few sheep. Not loads, half a dozen "well dogged" lambs should do. The Shepherd, once your bitch has settled, would probably have your sis chase the sheep, and encourage her charge to join in.

Try it, however she may be now, you may well be surprised! It's a straight road which never turns, and the odd bag of nerves has managed to learn. ;)

Alec.
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Alec,
At the moment its a struggle to keep her from just running off. When she goes off lead she just bolts as far and as fast as she can. The last time it took us hours to find her, on xmas day! She has an enormous fear of men, and unfortunately we dont have an all female house so while we are working on that, we need to address the bolting before we let her loose near any sheep!
I appreciate your suggestion though and she does not want for exercise. We have a large garden that she plays in and gets time playing with her ball, plus long (sadly at the moment on lead) walks.
 
CaveCanem said:
My dog is a pet and he is also a working dog. I'm on the sofa and he is lying at my feet whining his wee head off so we might have to go and do a bit of heelwork before bed *sigh*
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But this is where people go wrong isn't it? They get a very handsome dog ( I think your Floofy is gorgeous and I'm not usually a fan of GSDs) but aren't prepared to go out at nearly 11pm :eek: to work them, even if only for 10 minutes. Instead they moan that the dog whinged all night, trashed the house and so on...and this is a surprise to them!

The point of my epic :o post above was that only 50% of my admittedly tiny sample lived up to the breed stereotypes but thinking about it, my JRTs aren't/weren't Parsons JR so really are a type rather than a breed IYSWIM. The single pedigree was absolutely typical.

If a was looking for a different breed I certainly would research the origins of the breed before I seriously considered having one but a lot of people go on looks alone!
 
I've got a border collie (as Alec knows she came from working stock) and would love to see what she'd be like as a sheepdog! Unfortunately I don't know anyone nearby who has sheep and is knowlegable enough to teach me so I've had to substitute play, exercise and mental stimulation in the way of my version of "training" for actual work.
She has absolute boundless energy and would play ball till she dropped down dead - again unfortunately we don't have space for flyball which I think she'd excell at or have facilities nearby for any such activity - and even though she doesn't get destructive if not excercised (I could hardly walk her at all for about 2 weeks recently as I had torn ligaments in my back - she did get out but not for nearly long enough as it was just too painfull for me) she definitely needs a good hour at least every day (preferably 2!) and lots of play in the house. Other than that she really enjoys being my mum's cuddly toy and will even (I HATE this btw) go for a cuddle on mum's bed for a while before mum drops off at night.
After previously owning a border collie i'm very aware that she is a "working" class breed and knowing how intelligent and active collies are I had to be prepared to make sure she gets the excercise and stimulation she needs purely because I know how unhappy she would be if she didn't have stuff to do for the best part of the day. This can sometimes be problematic as for instance I am recently jobless (again :() so I have loads of time for her but when mum and I were both in work we had to rope in a dog walker to make sure she got her morning walk (I'd do the afternoon or evening walk), and my OH and I plan on moving in together sometime this year (I need to get a job, a driving license and a car first as his place is so remote) which is going to prevoke an interesting discussion between myself and the mothership on who gets the dog!
If I can take her and mum lets me I will but if not mum will HAVE to step up to the plate and walk her REGULARLY and become a lot less soft with her or she will end up with a dog that is a liability because she will be so full of energy and will not listen to a word mum says :cool:
 
I thought a lot about what type of dog I wanted before getting my terrier boy. I wanted a smaller dog than my ESS and our Goldie so it could be in the car with me all day. I didn't want a show dog or show lines at all as our Goldie was a show bred, most bricks show more intelligence and I've never met a stressier dog. We have land so said dog needed to be trusted not to disappear or eat the cat when my back was turned. This required a level of trainable intelligence and canine common sense lacking in my spaniel so put me off a dog like a cocker. I looked at adverts and struggled to find anything that wasn't chihuahua or pug cross. In the end I bought my boy from a friend whose dogs I had liked. I met his mum, aunt, brother (sealyham x spaniel, the canine version of Flubber) and so had a fairly good idea of the type of dog he would be. They stay within the yard near a busyish road but are allowed to hack with the horses which involves crossing a busy road. So far he has turned into the perfect dog (after we addressed the cat issue) but I will admit I did not look into his breeding in depth, he isn't KC or pedigree and I had hoped he would be useful for vermin control. Further research shows his breed were meant for badger baiting. I think we qualify for special dispensation for not being expected to work???
 
We haven't got horses or a carriage, so my Dalmatian doesn't do What Dals were traditionally bred to do. Instead, he is a countryside explorer, and he loves it. We walk on the Downs and in the countryside frequently, and he goes with us on a long line, trotting merrily along. We've been known to be out all day, and when we get home we are all exhausted save for Loki! He'll take a short nap and still be ready for a play before bed. On typical days, he gets to walk around the park and along the seafront, which he is quite content with as well. Loki loves the ocean! I have my boy because my family has had Dalmatians since I was a little girl. I know them, what they need, and the consequences if they don't get it!

My JRT pup isn't a working dog, either. He's being taught NOT to go after small animals as we have Lop rabbits and two cats, and I'd rather he did not try to snack on them. Benny has no 'job', but he is happy to walk around the park and back home as he is too young yet for our seaside or country walks just yet. I didn't buy him, and I didn't do any research beyond experience with my mother's JRT and Parsons, he simply needed a home after a rubbish start in life, we clicked, so I gave him his forever home. It isn't usually how I choose a dog, but sometimes a great dog doesn't come in the package you expect! I didn't think terriers were for me, but despite his hyperactive enthusiasm (I call him ASBO Puppy :o ) he is fantastic even without a job to do. He's happy with his stroll to the park and a play with the kids, and then he'll either sleep most of the rest of the day or play with Loki. Far from thinking that he is lacking for not having an terrier type 'job' to do, I think he is confused... he prefers to retrieve, and will spend AGES bringing his toy tire back to me so that I'll throw it again. I told my husband, Benny thinks he is a Labrador, not a JRT!

I think many dogs, with the right stimulation and time put into them, have the ability to make good pet dogs, and I don't think they all need to be doing what their breed was designed for in order to be happy or fulfilled. Mine don't do their jobs, and they look pretty content to me! :)
 
I don't think it's a case of the dog must do exactly what it was originally meant to do (which is kinda hard as you say for a Dally :p) but some form of occupation. If my dog wasn't doing the sport he is doing, we would be doing agility, bikejoring, Cani-X or *something* to give him purpose. None of my dogs have ever herded, for example!

My older dog (who was show bred) was a bit of a git until I started tracking training with him - once he had something to 'do' he became a much nicer dog to own.

I don't think anyone is saying that dogs who are 'just' pet dogs are in any way inferior, it's more about choosing breeds and types and to be careful not to put looks before purpose.

Cbmts, it ended up being half an hour posing in front of mirrors :p he got a much better run tonight, not a peep out of him :p I do cage him at night to be on the safe side :p and before anybody thinks I am cruel, he has just walked in there with the door open and is making up his 'nest' :p

My wee dog has been one thing helping me put one foot in front of the other recently. If he doesn't end up with numbers or letter after his name, it won't be the end of the world.
 
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I don't think it's necessary for them to do the exact job they were originally bred for, but if you know what that was then you can have an educated guess at what they might be good at / enjoy, and where the pitfalls might be as well. For example - spaniel - bred to hunt and flush game, so will like to use their noses, but might be inclined to turn a deaf ear when they are using their noses, or hunt a bit too independently out on walks. So you can choose to train things they will like - such as hiding things for them to find, which will get their focus onto you, and you can be aware of how their noses might affect their recall - for example, when the ground is damp scents are stronger, so if you already have an iffy recall, keep hold of them on damper days until you have put in some more training.:)

ETA I also think that a great many 'working' dogs are now pets that work, as opposed to working dogs that are pets, if you see what I mean. I work my dog, but that's a few days each year - the vast majority of the time he is my pet, and his main task (currently anyway) is to help me stave off the collywobbles (which I must say he excels at, apart from the times he is the one causing the collywobbles!).

Obviously there are still working dogs about, but I would say that most of the dogs in this country and pets first of all, and then perhaps something else second. :)
 
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Spudlet said:
I don't think it's necessary for them to do the exact job they were originally bred for, but .......

....... :)
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You're right, of course. There are those Collies which can do nose work, or agility, or man work (assuming that they are so disposed!), or whatever. I sold a work bred cocker bitch to the Met. She was working in The Barbican, five weeks after they took her. My Mate's Grandma had a Peke, and when we were kids, we took the bloody thing ferreting. It was a machine, I mean it! When I worked as a Gamekeeper, I had a GSD for night watching. He had a second string to his bow; when it came to shutting up poults on thundery and close nights, and they weren't to good at "going to bed", then Ben was more use than a Collie!! :D

My point was that I was wondering if others agree that, certainly with those dogs which were bred for work should we not give them some sort of purpose? I honestly believe that most dogs need the scope to be able to express themselves, and with an owner with an open mind, most could achieve that.

One reservation, that doesn't include Foxhounds, Pointers, or bloody Terriers!!

Those of you who "Use" your dogs, for what ever purpose, I applaud you.

Alec.
 
Ive wanted a Dobe for 2oyrs, I read everything I could get my hands on but my lifestyle didnt suit one so I waited. I got married and had a daughter but still didnt get a Dobe. I wanted my daughter to have friends round without the parents thinking the dog was going to eat them. So I got 2 Lancashire Heelers after reading a very informative article about them in the Farmers Weekly. They suited our lifestyle and were able to do what they were bred for, herding cattle, killing rats and mice as well as rabbiting and they ate everything they caught. They were my daughters best friends and she did agility with one of them, they were also wonderful house dogs and great for alerting you to anyone who came to the door. When our Last Heeler was about 12yrs old I was offered a brown Dobe dog whose owners had split up, he was 5yrs old and had impeccable manners, he always deferred to our old LH and was a true gentleman. He was everything that I loved about the breed very gentle but alert and protective. Then along came Fred who was everything Leo wasnt but he had a good heart and after a lot of training became my dog of a lifetime. They always say you should never keep 2 male Dobes together but they were the best of friends and Leo was the boss but didnt throw his weight around. If I was playing tug with Fred and he started to get worked up Leo would come up to him and push him away from me. Now I have Diesel and Darcy and they too are very gentle,loving and protective, they also are great hunters and love hunting for rats and mice which is something I have never read about before.
 
I have a gsp, we brought him due to him being blind in one eye and wouldnt of made a good gun dog. He is out at my yard from 8 till 5 with a quick lunch break where he recharges his batteries. He runs the yard, keeping the mice and rats at an amazing low, he runs the fields, goes hacking at foot, running off lead with me. I am starting to do agility with him as he is looking to be good at it.
He only gets walked on the lead when out in public.
When taking him on we knew he was going to be demanding and allow for him to get the exercise he needs at the present he is laying on my lap fast alseep like a non working dog.

His purpose with me is to be a companion, to keep my other dog company, to run free, i love to watch him gallop, watch him stop and point. And most of all his is a guard dog on the yard, a single stranger walks on the yard and he barks until command to stop but also a breed which is good around horses.
 
lexiedhb said:
I think a majority of the Bull breeds have adapted really rather well to a life on the sofa!!! Obviously they do need exercise, and some do need something to "do" but on the whole "snuggle monster" suits as a job title.
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I'm laughing at this as my snuggle monster has recently trained my OH to lift him into the back of the pick up when we go to the yard, to save his little legs you see :D
 
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