What were the reasons you chose your dog(s)

I am on my fourth curly coated retriever. I saw one when I was a small child and, when I finally got to chose my own dog, that‘s what I wanted. I love the breed, but they are very large and opinionated. My current one is 3, so, hoping she lives for another 10 years, I am not sure I could cope with a puppy CCR in my mid 70s…but why worry about that now, eh ?

eta - to answer the actual question, I love the looks and the personality of the breed.
 
Wanted a rescue and something active. Saw our first setter cross spaniel and fell in love. She has the best temperament and has us hooked on the cross
6 months later was considering a second dog. Saw a setter cross spaniel who needed a female only home with a second dog for confidence. Couldn't say no. Both are the best dogs and would always have more of the mix
 
Always had rescues, but now we don't have dog proof fencing around our property, so rehoming was no longer an option.
So, looked through the Internet for family friendly dogs that aren't high maintenence and weren't ridiculously expensive.
Bought a Border Terrier and then a Rough/border collie, both cost £275. The BT was bred from a crufts champion and I have his breeding papers somewhere. He was going cheap because he was too soft to be of use and the farmer didn't want another male. The farmer next door wanted his more dominant brother.
The collie was just an accident birth from a private home, but incredibly beautiful. She's now 8 yrs and the most amazing dog.
They've both been go anywhere, do anything dogs. An absolute pleasure and have pretty much cost nothing in vet bills so far.
 
My criteria were:

* short dark coat
* medium to large size
* active and happy to spend hours down the yard and go on long walks, but not needing a massive amount of exercise to stay sane
* a ‘proper’ looking dog (sorry but brachycephalic dogs just aren’t for me)
* make me feel safe out walking and being alone at the yard at night
* a pedigree puppy so I can train from scratch and make sure parents were fully health tested and what to expect temperament wise (plus excellent backup from the breeder if needed)

I suppose I could have gone for a black lab quite happily but Doberman fitted the bill better. She’s fab if a bit nutty but starting to settle down at 9 months. The first few months were a killer ? She’s not an easy dog but she’s very rewarding and so so loving.

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The first dog here was my brother’s - he had him since a pup from a rehoming kennel, and at age 7 had to move, found a rental place that didnt accept dogs, so was going to take the poor thing back to the kennel, so i said i’d have him here on the land we’d bought 4yrs previously, as he was a ‘rural based’ dog anyway so would be good to have a dog alert to anything untoward as we’re quite remote. So initial reason was feeling sorry for the dog going to a kennel, then came up with a reason he could be a farm guard dog.
He settled well, knew me anyway from before moving, so transition went well.


Then of course, i thought he’d like a pal, surely. All this land, no other dogs. He was actually fine alone, didnt chew or behave badly when left, was used to a few hours alone with brother. But it bothers me having single animals…its like noahs ark here!
Dog 2 happened to be a GSD. Always loved them as had them as a kid in a rural setting. It was kismet really, as GSD was a puppy from a litter bred literally the next country road over the valley. They put an advert in the local small shop at the time we decided on a second pal dog for the 1st. We got to see mum and dad, the other litter mates. Lovely adult dogs.
It was so nice to bring-up a GSD from puppy age. She was so easy to train. Was great company for the other dog and kept him young, he died last year age 17. She’s 11 and going strong chasing deer off the property from getting my crops. ?

So the main reason of their main role would be a home alarm system, which they were/are both great at.
 
The first four dogs we had were "given" to us by the vet. His tactic was to drop in for a coffee, family friends so not unusual, and he just mentioned to us children that he had something for us in the car. This way we aquired a wire haired fox terrier who had been a brood bitch but needed c sections. The breeder wanted her put down but was happy for her to be rehomed as long as spayed. The second was a border terrier who had been the much loved dog of an elderly couple who had gone into care. The third was a lab x mongrel found at the side of the road and unclaimed and the fourth was a collie cross that had been taken in for pts due to new baby in the family.

The first puppy I got was a border collie and she was the first dog for Mr R. I had always wanted a GSD but my parents were not happy at the idea so when we were in our own home a GSD puppy took over when the collie died of old age. When the GSD died we went greyhound as we had fallen in love with one that we knew.

Living down a long lane and often alone made me get another GSD, if the greyhound could have pretended to be a guard dog and use his bark on visitors I would not have got the GSD and just stayed greyhound. Now we have one of each, hopefully the GSD will teach the next greyhound that the odd bark is ok as we will be in our 70's when she needs replacing and realistically getting a GSD puppy would not be a good idea then.

We will have a greyhound until we can no longer cope with having a dog.
 
Greyhound both times

The first time i was looking for a JRT puppy and debating if a puppy was right, then I spotted a post about a greyhound that needed a home that had been overlooked in kennels and wasn't doing so well, my grandparents had bred and raced greyhounds when i was little so I investigated, did a home check went to visit and couldn't leave him in kennels so he came home with me, he was a nightmare with little dogs and cats but became a big soft lump that would have done anything for you

When I lost him i was still volunteering at the kennels for rehoming retired greyhounds and one little lady got overlooked, I didn't walk her that often as I got the strong boys to tame but often had cuddles and decided time wasn't right for another just yet as work was changing and I was struggling a bit generally. After 7 months and starting a new job she came home with me as I couldn't bear the thought of her being in kennels any longer (I'm a softie) people said she wasn't very peopley they just didnt spend the time with her. I did wonder what I'd done when I got her home as she chewed the remote, demanded attention and started on her sassy little life with me, never looked back, she loves people and walks and is my little sidekick version 2

Both different characters and would happily have another grey in a heartbeat as they have always been easy to adapt to life not in a kennel and are brilliant companions (both of mine have loved long walks, not that they have much of a choice!)
 
ester said:
This thread is generally lacking in photos :p
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Well if you insist! She looked so sad and frightened that I had to go and meet her. Second photo is her beginning to live her best life. It'll be 7 weeks tomorrow :)
 

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rabatsa said:
The first four dogs we had were "given" to us by the vet. His tactic was to drop in for a coffee, family friends so not unusual, and he just mentioned to us children that he had something for us in the car. This way we aquired a wire haired fox terrier who had been a brood bitch but needed c sections. The breeder wanted her put down but was happy for her to be rehomed as long as spayed. The second was a border terrier who had been the much loved dog of an elderly couple who had gone into care. The third was a lab x mongrel found at the side of the road and unclaimed and the fourth was a collie cross that had been taken in for pts due to new baby in the family.

The first puppy I got was a border collie and she was the first dog for Mr R. I had always wanted a GSD but my parents were not happy at the idea so when we were in our own home a GSD puppy took over when the collie died of old age. When the GSD died we went greyhound as we had fallen in love with one that we knew.

Living down a long lane and often alone made me get another GSD, if the greyhound could have pretended to be a guard dog and use his bark on visitors I would not have got the GSD and just stayed greyhound. Now we have one of each, hopefully the GSD will teach the next greyhound that the odd bark is ok as we will be in our 70's when she needs replacing and realistically getting a GSD puppy would not be a good idea then.

We will have a greyhound until we can no longer cope with having a dog.
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I love your post. I now have visions of a Darling Buds of May kind of family....in the nicest possible way.
 
The Siberian huskies - as simple as looks, size, wanting something active. One was a six month old rehome, one a young adult rescue a bit later on. We actually had no idea what we were getting into and it should have been a spectacular disaster, but by some trial and error stepped up to the mark and made a good go of it. Got heavily involved in sled dog racing and agility due to them. I still adore the breed, got very used to the lifestyle that went with it and wouldn't hesitate to have one again in the future.

The schipperke - needed a known quantity so as not to disrupt the retired dogs and stay way down the pecking order, so a puppy. Had to be small as I was running out of floor room. Had to be the pointy-eared spitzy appearance and coat type I like. Had to have at least a reasonable chance of being competitive in agility. I'd known his grandsire for years and loved the look, temperament and agility achievements. I am still not 100% sold on small dogs but he filled a very specific niche at the time and is very handily fulfilling the agility criteria. Ended up showing him almost out of obligation and he's holding his own there too. Will I have another? ?
 
YorksG said:
These are our three and the day care dogView attachment 100591
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We lost 3 lovely Rottweilers to cancer, after the 2nd one aged 6, I really couldn't face having another to only have her for a few short years. That one didn't even seem to be middle aged, even though the vet said they consider them to be elderly at 5.
So we went back to Labs and just got what was available in an emergency. They are fabulous working bred pets.
 
We always had Black and Tan good old mongrels when I was a kid, then I got my favourite breed a deerhound , I just love long dogs for their look and how graceful they are when running. Then i went to small lurchers, same reason when one lurcher was left on her own I got a border collie cross mainly because it was a bit difficult with more than one lurcher and I thought an obedient non prey driven dog would help to keep lurcher with me. Didn’t work so after lurcher got something completely different, a terrier cross, then found another terrier cross who was the runt and no one wanted her. Now still have the 2 terriers but got a lurcher again and love watching him.

can’t work out why my pics are not all the right way up theses are my later dogs, need to find the mongrels and the deerhound
 

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I have a whippet as my first dog. I chose the breed as:
- Wanted a lower energy dog but still happy to do bursts such as riding with the horse, occasional running. They fit the bill perfectly.
- A dog flexible with routine, as long as she has a run at some point in the day she’s a happy dog.
- Didn’t need a dog to work and if I dont think she would catch my supper, her prey drive isn’t very high…
- which is good as I wanted a puppy so it would be okay with my cat.
- Seemed like a good all round dog, suited to showing, agility or obedience
- Needed to be as small as possible whilst still being a “real dog” so that she can go along with me most places.
- Gentle temperament as I was working in practice at the time so she needed to be good by nature with clients and other animals. Again getting her as a puppy allowed lots of time to socialise.
- No hairy/shaggy dogs as whilst I love the look, I have a cat who is long haired so enough hair and don’t like doggy smells
- I like how they look and they come in cool colours

Things I don’t like about the breed:
- Wimpy about rain/cold
- No one is going to cross the street or not attack me for fear of my dog (sometimes I’d like a more intimidating looking dog for when at home by myself)
- Thin skinned in general
 
dogatemysalad said:
Always had rescues, but now we don't have dog proof fencing around our property, so rehoming was no longer an option.
So, looked through the Internet for family friendly dogs that aren't high maintenence and weren't ridiculously expensive.
Bought a Border Terrier and then a Rough/border collie, both cost £275. The BT was bred from a crufts champion and I have his breeding papers somewhere. He was going cheap because he was too soft to be of use and the farmer didn't want another male. The farmer next door wanted his more dominant brother.
The collie was just an accident birth from a private home, but incredibly beautiful. She's now 8 yrs and the most amazing dog.
They've both been go anywhere, do anything dogs. An absolute pleasure and have pretty much cost nothing in vet bills so far.
Click to expand...
Could I see your rough/border cross please? I bet she’s gorgeous.
 
A well established rough collie breeder is hoping to breed a more traditional looking rough - less coat, more working ability - and crossing roughs with Welsh sheepdogs. I’m following the developments with interest and there have been some lovely dogs produced so far. I think for the working ability a rough/border cross might be good too.
 
Lilly 1.jpg Whippet Sammi and Lily 28 feb 2022.jpg Whippet and terrier.
Both rescues, so got as adults, but chosen for their personalities, and I've always, always had long nosed dogs. Over the (many) years I've had dogs, they have mostly been rescues so of varying types, mixtures and breeds, but have also bought puppies: Irish Wolfhounds, Irish Water Spaniels (never again), Saluki/Deerhound lurcher (fabulous dog). I think I'll be sticking with whippets and whippet lurchers for future companions.
 
My current dog is a result of experiences with previous dogs! We first had a springer spaniel bitch who had a fantastic temperament, was fabulous with my daughter when she was young, but was as mad as a box of frogs. She also had the habit of diving into every bit of mud/water available and traipsing it back into the house. Then Mr TGM wanted a Weimaraner and we got a rescue one - never again! Had been badly socialised and was very unpredictable. Only good point was his short coat, so I then wanted a whippet, especially as a friend had a lovely one. But Mr TGM wasn't keen so we ended up with a lurcher puppy who was meant to be short coated but ended up with a very shaggy coat that soaked up every bit of mud and filth. But otherwise she was a lovely dog, very easy going and placid.

Six years ago I finally got my whippet and I have to say she is an absolute delight! So laid back, doesn't need tons of exercise but will walk for miles if you want her to. She is very clean, as she has a short coat and avoids mud and water like the plague! Has been very easy to train and was toilet trained by 10 weeks old. She gets on well with other dogs and people and is even liked by people who normally are afraid of dogs because she is so gentle and 'non bouncy'. And she is beautiful:

willow1.jpg
willow2.jpg
 
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