Info needed on the following breeds!

Breed specific discussion of your favorite breed.

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mayarego
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:18 pm

Info needed on the following breeds!

Post by mayarego »

-Cardigan Welsh Corgi
-Pembroke Welsh Corgi
-Beagle
-Miniature Schnauzer
-Italian Greyhound
-Papillon
-Rat Terrier
-Shetland Sheepdog
-Toy/Miniature Poodle
-Toy Fox Terrier

Here are my questions!

1. Are they agile? I'm looking for a good sport dog to compete in agility and potentially obedience. I am also going to do dockdiving with the dog also.

2. How much exercise do they need? I am planning on giving the dog at least 1 30 min walk daily, and at least 30 mins - 1 h running free in a field at least 2-3 times a week.

3. Are they good with elderly people? I am planning on volunteering as a therapy dog at a local nursing home.

4. What motivates them? I need a dog with toy drive and food drive!

5. Are they good with other dogs and cats?



TYIA!
Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: Info needed on the following breeds!

Post by Erica »

Please remember that "Man plans, God laughs..." I wouldn't commit yourself to doing x, y, and z with the dog before you even have it! Your dog might not enjoy it, or may like flyball and scent detection better...so on and so forth.

While remembering that each dog is an individual, and that you can find lazy border collies, labs who hate fetch, and terriers who wouldn't hunt if their life depended on it...

1. Are they agile? I'm looking for a good sport dog to compete in agility and potentially obedience. I am also going to do dockdiving with the dog also.
Corgis can be found often in agility. I don't know if they could do much of a jump for dock diving. They're sturdy and have energy, but the long back worries me personally; I'd be very careful about how high they jump.
Beagles are very agile, but may not be the easiest to train in these sports - they are scent dogs and smells are their WORLD.
Mini schnauzers are fairly well built and could do well at agility. Haven't heard much about any mini schnaus dock diving.
Iggies are fragile...broken legs are a big worry with them. They probably can't swim well either; their bodies are not a good shape for it and they shouldn't store much fat.
Papillons are great at agility and obedience; I'm not sure about dockdiving.
Rat Terriers could do well at agility. Dunno about dock diving. :P They can probably jump very well!
Shelties are amazing agility dogs; obedience is probably pretty easy for them; dockdiving, not so much...I've heard they don't usually like swimming much.
Poodles can do anything. ;P I'm not kidding; I've yet to find a sport that poodles are unknown in, besides like...earthdog trials.
I don't know much about Toy Fox Terriers, but I reckon they could do well in agility. Maybe dockdiving too; terriers in general seem to have springs for legs.

So, from that we have left:
Corgis
Beagles
Mini Schnauzers
Papillons
Rat Terriers
Shelties
Poodles (Mini or Toy)
Toy Fox Terrier

2. How much exercise do they need? I am planning on giving the dog at least 1 30 min walk daily, and at least 30 mins - 1 h running free in a field at least 2-3 times a week.
Here's where it's going to get tricky. Not many dogs can do well on only 30 min walking daily. This will definitely knock the terriers out, and the sheltie. If you can stretch to at least 45 minutes most days, then I'd say you could go for Corgis, Poodles, mini Schnau, Papillon, and maybe the Beagle. As long as you're doing plenty of mental exercises at home, and making the walk enjoyable and brain-working they should be okay with about 45 minutes. The beagle you may not want to let run completely free; I'd definitely keep a long leash on them unless you can get an outstanding recall trained. They live to smell and their brain might turn off everything but the nose if they catch a nice scent.

3. Are they good with elderly people? I am planning on volunteering as a therapy dog at a local nursing home.
It takes a special dog to enjoy interacting with strangers...breed is an okay guide for things like which sports a dog will enjoy, but it isn't a guarantee the dog will be a good therapy dog. Socialization and the dog's individual genetic temperament will play a huge roll in this, and finding a good therapy dog can be tricky.
Corgis are typically gregarious.
Poodles may or may not enjoy the attention of strangers, but the smaller ones may be more nervous than a standard.
Miniature Schnauzers are typically reserved, but outgoing individuals can be found.
Papillons are described as "polite but standoffish with strangers."
Beagles are usually pretty friendly and can be good therapy dogs.

So: Corgis, poodles, and beagles are the best bets here.

4. What motivates them? I need a dog with toy drive and food drive!
Corgis like to herd and chase, and love food.
Poodles love to retrieve; some may like to tug. Food is usually a good motivator for them.
A beagle is probably going to care more about smell than any toy you might have, but food is usually a good thing in their books.

5. Are they good with other dogs and cats?
Corgis may try to herd other dogs and cats.
Poodles are typically pretty tolerant of other animals.
Beagles are usually friendly with other dogs, and if raised with cats can learn to tolerate them.


I'd say that you could look into finding a healthy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, as they sound like a very good fit for what you're looking for - but their genepool is overflowing with health concerns and it takes a lot of work to find healthy ones.

I'm sure other people may have different knowledge of the breeds and disagree with me on some points; I'm only passingly familiar with most of these breeds, and have little personal experience with them.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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