https://www.instagram.com/p/BG6hNrhQE0L/?taken-by=vxf111
On the right
Here is my experience. I went to the shelter almost every day on my lunch hour for about three months. At the same time I searched six other shelter on line almost every day for the same time. I was looking for what I thought would be an easy find. Male, GSD or GSD mix.
But he had to pass a few tests as I have grandkids, cats, horses and people coming and going. No an easy test to pass for a “not puppy” sometimes intense breed in a bad place.
Instead I happened on a female, Border Collie mix and it was love at first sight. Held my breath during the waiting period as she had come to the shelter as a stray. I was first on the list as a potential adopter and now she is mine.
Fast forward a few months and many nights having to escort her outside at night because of coyotes, I was on the search again for not just a buddy for her but also a bigger than her, male and my original search GSD or GSD mix.
I ended up not adopting again from the shelter. I bought off Craigslist. Did I feel a little guilty? Yup, I did. Do I regret paying for a mixed breed puppy whose parents should not have been bred in the first place? Nope He needed a home. He is exactly what I wanted. Most days, haha.
I guess my point is, it’s great if you can adopt from the shelter. Or a rescue. But that isn’t always the case.
Then there is that:
When someone is looking for a very specific kind of dog, not just the first fluffy face that shows up, then it is harder to tell them not to buy from this or that source because we don’t like it, no matter how good a reason we may have, because it is not our decision to make, it is not our dog.
Guess that is all moot question now, the puppies in the ad gone now.
1 Like
[QUOTE=LauraO;8763231]
Others that made the potential consideration, and are still on the list:
*Samoyed: Little too much hair, my roommate doesn’t like white dogs - who knows why
*Australian Shepherd: They have no tails!
*Duck Tolling Retriever : a little small, maybe next round
*Berger Picard: more aloof than I prefer, but a good choice
*German Shepherd: Breed too fragmented, breed devotees to devoted to old style training methods.
*Belgian Shepherds - all three types: the middle of the bell curve in this breed is too much dog, though there might be individuals that are suitable.
*Giant breeds, as a group: don’t live long enough, eat more than my horses.
*Spaniels/Setters: coat hard to care for, pendulous ears hard to care for.
*Sighthounds: too much prey drive, too likely to be a problem for my cat.[/QUOTE]
I think you’d be better off by listing what you DO want, versus what is wrong with specific breeds. Because there is such a huge difference between sighthounds and spaniels other than the ears and coat.
From your list, if I were looking for an agility dog and pet, I’d probably go with the Toller. They are great all-around dogs, a nice medium size, smart, friendly, have tails… 
But, the difference between a Toller and a Samoyed is huge, so I’m not sure what exactly you like about both of them that would even put them on the same list.
I’d list “performance goals” first, and then size, temperament, coat type/texture. That might help narrow it down. I’d personally say put temperament in front of size, but it depends on how important size is to you or not. E.g. I would never tell someone that wants a 30-40lb dog to consider an 80lb dog. So, it really depends on your goals.
As for the original litter and rescue/breeder discussion - my main objection was the attempt to pass of a litter for sale as puppies for adoption. I am not entirely against cross-breeding (for certain reasons) but a breeder trying to get people to buy puppies thinking they are “adopting” is inexcusable. Or, just saying it to get around Craigslist rules, even if people get that they are puppies for sale.
[QUOTE=vxf111;8763253]
P.P.S.- And I think your handsome dog looks to me like a border collie/aussie cross-- not a husky/aussie. Though I guess you’ll never know. Let me see if I can find a picture of a friend’s border collie/aussie[/QUOTE]
You think so - until you find out that he’s 26+" tall at the shoulder, and most Aussies top out at about 20" - 23".
[QUOTE=LauraO;8763305]
You think so - until you find out that he’s 26+" tall at the shoulder, and most Aussies top out at about 20" - 23".[/QUOTE]
That is tall. Liger syndrome maybe 
You never know what you’re going to get with crossbreds. At the dog park there are a variety of golden doodles. All are allegedly the offspring of a standard poodle and a golden. Most are around the size of those breeds. One is cocker size. One is, no joke, HORSE SIZED. I cannot explain him and neither can the owner. He just came out HUGE. Which is… a risk you get when you go with unknown breeding
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[QUOTE=vxf111;8763031]
You’re either not understanding or not reading for comprehension. Look I know you paid $350 for a mixed breed puppy. So now you feel some obligation to defende people who breed mixed breed puppies. But people who don’t health test their animals, don’t prove them in anything, don’t research the breeding, don’t vet homes, and are in it for the money-- THEY are the reason why dogs get put to sleep by the hundreds every day. And as long as there’s a market in which to make money pumping out the dogs, it’ll keep happening. Not only mixed breed dogs but poorly bred purebred dogs too. If people stopped buying them, they’d stop breeding them.
I said upthread that I think it would be great if the OP wanted a mixed breed dog/puppy OR held out for a chinook OR researched some other breeds she might like-- but get a dog from a reputible source. That’s all.[/QUOTE]
There’s just no excuse for breeding without doing the requisite health testing on both parents. The puppies deserve the best chance possible at a healthy life
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[QUOTE=LauraO;8763305]
You think so - until you find out that he’s 26+" tall at the shoulder, and most Aussies top out at about 20" - 23".[/QUOTE]
Ehh…I have a 23.5" purebred Brittany from Champion parents. (Max height 20.5") It happens, even when you control for it.
But, many (most?) mixed breed dogs aren’t actually derived from purebred parents, and most don’t come from purebred parents that were bred to the breed standard. So…you really don’t know.
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[QUOTE=Perfect10;8763216]
It supports an industry that is indirectly killing animals because a home that buys one of these aussie mix puppies is a home that isn’t open to the next aussie mix puppy that is dumped at the rescue’s front door or has an aussie mom with puppies brought in as a stray. [/QUOTE]
That’s really not true. Rescues have waiting lists for puppies.
[QUOTE=Marshfield;8763371]
There’s just no excuse for breeding without doing the requisite health testing on both parents. The puppies deserve the best chance possible at a healthy life[/QUOTE]
But how can you make money at the flea market if you do that?
2 Likes
here’s a better size comparison. The Aussie, is Amber - adopted her as a senior, and former breeding dog out of Eastern WA, unfortunately she did not live as long as I’d hoped. The human legs belong to a dude that’s 6’2"+
http://s74.photobucket.com/user/catriona232/media/DogHistory/DSCF1918.jpg.html
As for what I’m looking for:
40 - 70 lbs.
medium double coat - easy to care for and nice to cuddle. The sort of coat where the dirt just falls out, but it still needs weekly brushing to keep it fluffy.
Trainable
Bonded to it’s humans
Stable temperament
Long nosed
Long tailed
Long legged
Sound
Cat Friendly
Now, I dabble in agility, because my 9 yr old dog likes it, and I think it’s a fun thing to do once a week. She’s the easiest to train dog that I’ve owned. I plan to trial her again, but I’m under no big illusions about having time in addition to the horses to seriously pursue lots of titles.
here’s some of the 9 yr old doing agility (hope the link works)
https://www.facebook.com/laura.oliver.169/media_set?set=a.915553538486485.1073741828.100000955425506&type=3
Let me tell you how I got my last 2 dogs:
Jess is a vet in E. WA who sometimes helps with rescue
Hey Jess!
I want a medium sized medium coated female over 6 yrs. And I got the cute Aussie in the picture above. Really lovely dog.
2nd time: Hey Jess!
I want a medium sized medium coated female 3 yrs or younger.
I got the dog in the Agility photo album. We say that she’s Eastern Washington medium. Anyone else would say large. She’s 25" at the shoulder.
How did I get Harley, my big red fluffy dog? I mentioned to my sister: Hey, I would like a big dog. You know, one that people think twice about, to be a distraction while Lady bites their knees. I was in a rougher neighborhood at the time. And BOY OH BOY was young Harley a distraction, an over the top friendly lick everyone on the nose distraction!
Lady was a failed foster. She started growling a people on adoption day, so she became my dog, and only my dog. Some poor service people who had to work on my past residences called her Barracuda.
This is Lady as a very old dog:
http://s74.photobucket.com/user/catriona232/media/DogHistory/DSCF0463.jpg.html
So, I think there are some things in common with all of these dogs. I am attracting better tempered dogs as I get older, or maybe I’m just a better dog owner. I can love any dog I’m handed. I can improve most of them. But there are animals that can’t really be 100% fixed, which I’m experienced enough to know now. One of the things that can’t ever really be fixed is a dog that was under socialized as a puppy. This can manifest in a million ways, based on root temperament, but it can never really be totally, completely forever fixed.
I may grow wiser in the future and be proven wrong, but for today I believe that there are very, very few fundamentally mentally messed up puppies in the universe. I think the vast majority can become very nice pets with an even semi-decent upbringing from 0 - 16 weeks. So, I want to start with a puppy. I want to drink the responsible breeder kool-aid if I can, and get one with a good start. I’m still talking to good breeders. But something different could happen in the interim, and the right critter might appear on my doorstep.
1 Like
I am VERY BIASED on this front but you know…
<<40 - 70 lbs.
medium double coat - easy to care for and nice to cuddle. The sort of coat where the dirt just falls out, but it still needs weekly brushing to keep it fluffy.
Trainable
Bonded to it’s humans
Stable temperament
Long nosed
Long tailed
Long legged
Sound
Cat Friendly
>>
This is a collie :) (male, to get the size you want)
[QUOTE=vxf111;8763506]
I am VERY BIASED on this front but you know…
This is a collie :) (male, to get the size you want)[/QUOTE]
Rough or Smooth Collie?
Border Collie?
English Shepherd?
Bearded Collie?
sooo many Collies to choose from!
I meant a rough collie but half the herding group meets the criteria
My understanding is that chinook is not biddable in itself, but more of a cat temperament than a dog that works with humans.
I am sure there ought to be exceptions and with very good training, they are good dogs and listen.
If you want the over the top biddable and smart aussie temperament or close to that, the nice practically born trained type, hyperalert to their human, that comes thru even in aussie mixes, chinooks are not generally going to be that.
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Sighthounds and cats: Oh, the horror
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/4d/cb/58/4dcb5841d8240a74b84763e5103e4f57.jpg
http://www.talismanhounds.com/images/metalsadult/hopecat.jpg
Not all herding breeds, or any dog, for that matter, are safe with cats if untrained.
How are the Collies coming with reducing the incidence of eye problems in the breed?
Love the smooth collies, myself.
Good breeders are genetic testing
[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8763581]
Sighthounds and cats: Oh, the horror
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/4d/cb/58/4dcb5841d8240a74b84763e5103e4f57.jpg
http://www.talismanhounds.com/images/metalsadult/hopecat.jpg
Not all herding breeds, or any dog, for that matter, are safe with cats if untrained.
How are the Collies coming with reducing the incidence of eye problems in the breed?
Love the smooth collies, myself.[/QUOTE]
Cats rule, dogs are mere servants.
Our cats trained our dogs well.
Our cat with her aussie.
She started on top of the dog, then kept “flowing” over her head and ended up on the floor in front of her:
Thanks, Bluey!
[QUOTE=Sswor;8763390]
That’s really not true. Rescues have waiting lists for puppies.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t know about the northern half of the country, but in the south it is absolutely the truth. There are always more animals than homes. Always more puppies and kittens that grow up in a shelter because someone bought off of craigslist from an irresponsible breeder. I am involved in rescue. I have foster kittens that became cats in my care because there are ALWAYS more cats. I worked at a dog shelter. We had puppies that became dogs in the shelter because there were ALWAYS more dogs. Even if you are looking for a specific breed, you can usually find one.
