Breeders in my breed will often try to counsel prospective buyers away from our breed. They are a lovely, friendly, highly intelligent sporting breed, but they are an “all day hunter” - which means if you think a walk around the block on a leash will be enough for them…get ready for destructive behaviors.
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@JumpWithPanache your breeder sounds wonderful. Would you mind sharing her name or contact info, in a PM if that is better?
The craziest regional final in our chosen sport I have ever seen was a teeny tiny Brittany bitch just mopping the floor with the other dog. I think she found 9 birds to his 1 in the hour allotted. And this was after 2 or 3 30 minute rounds. She still had gas in the tank at the end of it all, too. Unfortunately she ultimately lost because she didn’t back/honor. But still - memorable. What a cool dog.
And I agree with you on keeping horses and dogs separate. Any time I see them in together loose on Facebook or what have you, I just cringe. No, no, and no.
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Happy to share! Sending you a PM
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My rescue pittie mixes get along great with cats, other dogs and people and do okay with the horses (they don’t try to chase but my younger guy is afraid of them) . One is 80 lbs and one is 50 lbs so neither are very big. My Cane Corso was the best with kitties and horses but other dogs tended to be a little afraid of his enthusiasm + size.
Aussie type breeds wouldn’t be my personal choice - the people I know who do well with them tend to be super active people, like take the Aussie’s out with them when they train for a marathon etc or do a LOT of training work with them.
and a pic just because it’s fun Leonardo DogCaprio would like to know why Fjord Fiesta gets to have so much food every day
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Oh fun. If you remember who it was, I’d love to know. Curious if I know her or the breeding.
There is a recent increase in Brittanys in agility - they are fast, athletic, smart and trainable, and can make a better pet for many people compared to border collies and other typical agility breeds.
We have two field bred english cockers that are fantastic barn dogs, friendly around dogs, people, well adjusted etc. They’re field bred and excellent hunters, so not necessarily a super laid back breed, but they both have easy off switches and hang out at home then are game for full days out. One is on the larger side for the breed at 33lbs and one is a more typical 25lb-er. They both have the same sportiness and activity of a bigger dog in a more compact body. Our 11.5 year old frequently gets mistaken for 3-4 yrs old
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I love their names! You made me laugh out loud, this morning, thanks for that!
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What about a Miniature Poodle?
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I’ve never known a small breeder that doesn’t do this. They don’t have the space to keep every dog they have ever used for breeding in their home, so they’re placed either on a co-ownership, so the breeder can use the dog if they want, or they’re fixed and placed with a limited registration and permanently retired. They don’t want to keep bunches of dogs in kennels when they can be in a home.
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Turn over their entire breeding stock?
Most breeders I know keep a few - their favorites, their foundation bitches, their heart dogs. Most have some old dogs in addition to their one or two current breeding dogs. But I also don’t know too many people who have more than a few breeding dogs at any time. Of course I also know the ones that have 10+ dogs and probably can’t afford them because they kept a promising puppy and all the old ones.
I think more breeders will place their retired breeding dogs (if they place them) with people/families they know. In my experience, the ones that end up with “new” families tend to be the ones someone kept for showing / hunting and for some reason it isn’t working out (outgrew or doesn’t really meet the breed standard well or isn’t competitive as a hunter). I can’t recall anyone I know taking the bitch they’ve shown, let live in their house for 5 years and raise 3 litters and giving them to a stranger. Yes, sometimes to a friend – I had one just like this. My daughter showed my breeder’s bitch in Junior Handling, then we kept her for the summer when they moved, and she just never left. She was spayed and 6 years old; had 2 litters I think. It was a great outcome for all of us.
If you’re connected in a breed you can find an older dog if you are looking for one. I could probably find someone an older Brittany by the end of the day but doubt any of them would be advertised anywhere. So if someone is looking for an older dog - the best way to find one is to find at least one person who is truly connected in the breed and work the inside network of breeders.
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Just adding a funny story - if you do contact a person in the breed, make sure you’re really ready for a dog. I had a co-worker that wanted a Brittany and she asked me if I knew of any litters about to be born up to about 3-4 months of age. I posted on my FB page “any breeders have puppies? Have a friend interested” and in about 20 minutes I had about 10 responses, including a couple “he’s ready to go - can meet you this weekend!”
My co-worker was speechless. “I haven’t even told my husband yet!”
Oh…ok. Hit the pause button.
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I didn’t say they turn over their entire stock. I don’t know where you got that from. They weren’t advertised either.
The ones I know of that had retired show dogs or breeding stock had contacted those breeders, let them know what they were looking for, been fully interviewed and vetted, and had lengthy contracts or co-ownerships involved. They were as vetted, if not more vetted than someone looking for a puppy.
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I guess we’re just crossing our messages. I wrote that if I saw a breeder turning over their entire breeding stock every 2-4 years it would be a red flag, and you wrote back that you’ve never known a small breeder that doesn’t do this.
Yes, some breeders retire breeding dogs after they have been bred, usually while keeping some. But as I said before, in my breed at least - more often the adult dogs being placed in “new homes” are the younger prospects that don’t make the cut for breeding or something else. They are not typically advertised but sometimes breeder friends will let other people in the breed know they are looking to place a young adult.
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