Dog breed suggestions / Doberman experience?

[Oregon Blues]

I think a Doberman would suit you well, but only if you buy from a very serious hobby and show fancier who breeds carefully for health. Von Willdebrands is a gene and there is a test for it, so serious breeders will have bred it out of their lines. There can be thyroid issues, but again, serious breeder pour over pedigrees to breed away from it.

You actually want a dog with high prey drive. Those are the ones with a work ethic and those are the ones who protect. You must teach them that the chickens are family members and that they are not to touch and then they extend the circle of protection to include the poultry. I've had owned nothing but dogs with high prey drive and a few minutes when they are pups to explain that poultry is mine and I've never had a dog chase birds. I've owned 50 German Shepherds, a doberman, 4 breeds of sight hound, Papillons, spaniel gun dogs, and now have an Australian Shepherd. All have extreme prey drive and none of them will so much as look at the poultry.

If you don't mind long ears and have the money for shipping, a Doberman won't cost you any more in Britain and you might get a better dog. Show breeder there breed more to teh standard and don't deviate from teh standard in order to win. Judges are mostly specialists and judge to the fine points of the standard, not to flash.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

That's a good point OregonBlue. I have found that I *personally* rather often prefer at least many dog and rabbit breeds in England and other European countries compared to how they are bred in the US.

 

[hokankai]

^ Meeee too. I want a GSD someday, and I will only get one from imported lines. The American GSD's have been so screwed up for the show ring :\

 

[Redyre Rotties]

I love chickens. Hope to have back yard chickens one of these days. That is why I originally came here, and then found this forum where dogs are often discussed.

 

[badkittyamy]

^ Meeee too. I want a GSD someday, and I will only get one from imported lines. The American GSD's have been so screwed up for the show ring :\

England is no better, that whole crazy documentary years back was based on the kennel club over there not here. Thinking in England you'll find a difference to me is grass is greener effect there are as many if not more problems. The separation in the sand as it were is work line versus show line, even European show lines tend to have a sloping back end. If you do your research it's not hard to find a GSD in America, dobermans, good ones are hard to find anywhere imho.

Flat out malinois have taken over the higher teir of a lot of protection sports, and the demand is for mals dutch shepherds and the gsd, other breeds have started to fall into the 'other breed' category. Don't get me wrong lots of people still breed work and show other breeds protection wise, but with the doberman its simply hard to find many work lines left. Lots of people claim to breed working lines but their dogs just look flashy and they have no work or titles to back it up. I'll poke the working forums and see if I can find this lady I used to know but she was the only on the boards who knew any solid working dobbie lines. Heck just get a rottweiler neither red nor I have aaaaany bias there =B

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Actually I grew up in England, and greatly prefered the cocker spaniels, jack russels, Netherlands dwarfs, and some other breeds. This was a while ago, and may have changed however.

 

[hokankai]

"The separation in the sand as it were is work line versus show line, even European show lines tend to have a sloping back end."

That's what I meant. I'd only get a GSD from a high quality working line. There's a breeder near me who is one of the top international Schutzhund trainers/breeders/judges and that's who I'm getting mine from.

 

[badkittyamy]

Good choice hope you're ready for that fun =) I think the problem is people think oh nooo i don't need anything THAT high energy but all litters are going to have less intense puppies and a good breeder will point out a pup that should suit your needs.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Yes - that's my problem, I'm not wanting to buy, but adopt. I've always given my heart to the homeless pets (other than my chickens/hedgies) and they're something special about them, they know. My only problem with simply walking into the shelter and adopting a young dog/pup is that most of the time I have no clue what breeds they are truly mixed with, how they've been treated, and the worst part is that you never know how a dog will act outside the shelter :/

Muffin was hypothyroid and I don't have a problem with such. I'm almost certain that she was over-treated for allergies with steroids and then developed Addissons which was never diagnosed, which was treated with more steroids. I am worried about the wobblers and vons, though I also read that the heart problem isn't extremely prevalant? Though you read a lot of things these days. lol.

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[hokankai]

Adopting a dog is going to be a grab bag when it comes to your small animals and chickens. More than likely they will not have been socialized to them and therefore all bets are off. You can train most dogs, but there's always that chance they're going to ignore their training.

I commend you for wanting to adopt, it just means you're going to have to wait a little longer to find the right one. Mixes can be awesome as well. One thing you can do when you find one you'd like to meet is get as much background you can, and then do a meet-and-greet with the dog and bring a chicken in a carrier to see how it reacts.

You can also look for a dog off of craigslist from a person who is moving or something. A lot of them really care about where their dogs go and you can get an in depth background on the dog and how it was raised.