family dog

[greybeard]

nyways in the past I have always preffered to "rescue" but frankly it hasn't always been a good match just because rescues rarely know a dog's background, breed, ect.

All my dogs except the one that I built the wheelchair for have been 'rescues'..
(he is a mix breed that was a house warming gift from my sister)
When I say 'rescues' a more apt term is adoptions..each was a stray that someone threw out at one of our gates. They've all, all thru the years, been wonderful companions and each has been a blessing to us, even the ones that showed up days away from dropping a litter of pups.

 

[Mike CHS]

All four of my dogs now are pure bred but up until we started working sheep, all of the dogs I had were all Heinz 57 with never one that was anything but a member of the family.

 

[babsbag]

I had both but I have not adopted an older dog, they have always been pups and I think that is the ticket. When a person surrenders a dog at a shelter it is often for behavior problems that they aren't talking about and sometimes you just don't know the trigger. My uncle had a Doberman that was trained to attack if he rang a bell. Could you imagine that dog ending up in rescue?

I would like my next dogs to be older ones though, so we will see. I don't think I could ever do puppyhood again. My house dogs are pushing 11 so I do think about the "next" dog(s).

 

[Providence Hill]

If he does not need an AKC breed, you should look at English Shepherds - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Shepherd . They are a fabulous choice for a small farm and the quintessential "boy's best friend". Ours was raised with our 5 kids and adores them. I'm not sure we'll ever have another breed.

 

[Ridgetop]

I prefer purebred since with a reputable breeder you are pretty sure how the dog will react and develope temp wise etc. This is assuming your training is good. Also costs during the lifetime of the dog will be less often because a reputable breeder will screen for health problems. Emphasis is on reputable breeder who screens for problems. Rescue dogs often (not always and we have a beloved rescue ourselves) have behavioral or health issues. Add in the fact that you want to train for herding and a rescue is an unknown mix of prey drive etc. Corgis are supposed to be good with kids. I would go with the purebred puppy if your friend does all the genetic and health testing specific to the breed. I always feel that the cost over the life of the dog is minimal for a purebred that is bred for the job you want it for. I wouldn't adopt a rescue of unknown breeding and expect it to be a good sorting or LG dog. Not saying it couldn't happen but the odds are against it. The upkeep costs being equal go with the trainable puppy instead of the rescue you have to break of bad behavior. Rescue is sweet but when I buy a replacement ram or ewe I don't go to the auction where people usually send their rejects. I buy what I need from a reputable source. I don't have the time or money to waste. I hope no one takes this the wrong way.

 

[ducks4you]

@Bossroo after 150 years of inbreeding blooded dogs we have created dogs that suffer from genetic problems that are unnatural, like hip dysplasia, heart problems, and the one that took my 1/4 GS mix (Huskey/GSxBC), where her jaw muscles atrophied and her jaw closed. Despite steroids, she was miserable and never fully recovered. I am 60yo and I NEVER heard of such a thing happening to a dog before!! She was put down at 9yo. She SHOULD have been living a long life, maybe some arthritis and grey hairs but NOT what took her in the end. She is buried with a marker in the back yard.
UNfortunately, even mixed breed dogs can inherit these awful genetic diseases and other diseases not mentioned here. Still, my Lab/GSxPitbull mix is 10yo and she still runs and plays. It was a crapshoot that her partner didn't make it that long.
I love dogs. They are wonderful creatures and most people are not aware of all of things that can train your dog (or your horse) to do. I detest dog breeders. They only have $ in their eyes and their dogs suffer for it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

If he does not need an AKC breed, you should look at English Shepherds - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Shepherd . They are a fabulous choice for a small farm and the quintessential "boy's best friend". Ours was raised with our 5 kids and adores them. I'm not sure we'll ever have another breed.

Gotta second that! Our Gracie is 3 years old now and she's awesome! They are a great farm dog.

 

[Fullhousefarm]

How long has your child been working with a dog in 4H? This is my daughters second year. She also started with a family "mutt" who has done well in agility and obedience but not great in Showmanship/confirmation which is my Daughter's strength. This year she has had several breeders offer her different arrangements for showing their dogs, leases, to co-ownerships.

So right now she's working with a breeder who has one of her two "Dream breeds" and she is co-owner of the nicest male of the litter who lives at our house and she will be showing him starting in Feb when he is 4 months old. She's showing the dam in conformation under a lease until the puppy is 6 mo. (Using our family dog for agility and obedience for now.)

All that said many times very reputable breeders will work with youth because it benefits them to have a dog that is worked with, raised in a home, shown, and shown by a youth in shoes. I'd feel out your local group and ask around. My daughter may end up keeping this puppy forever or she may end up purchasing a different pure bred in the long run- but it's nice she has the opportunity to work with a dog that has the potential to take her to a very high level. She also learning the breed specific grooming necessary for her breed. She was there when the puppies were born, helped with dewclaws, went to their 8 week vet appt, and doggie sat two over Christmas when the owner was on vacation.

She needed an AKC purebred to do confirmation shows seriously in our area. But, our family dog was able to get her to the point of knowing what she wanted and what she is good at.

We will still probably have rescues as family dogs even after the 3 yr old and 11 year old we have pass away other than possibly a LGD that would not be a rescue. However, I'm not at all against pure bred dogs raised by reputable breeders who care about the breeds overall health and test their dogs for common breed issues to avoid them. Rescues aren't ideal for everyone.

*eta: My daughter is an all around animal lover and only had dog breeds on her "list" that generally don't have big faults as a breed (like GSDs or Bulldog type breeds are more prone to) just because that's her personality and she did a lot of research. I was actually surprised by both her perfered breeds, but both were very well researched and fitting choices for what she wanted to do!

 

[KatyDaly]

I agree with ducks4you that purebred dogs can have as many and sometimes more health issues than the Heinz 57s. I am 61YO and have only ever rescued my dogs and cats. I have also fostered several muttlies, including a whole litter of Lab/GSP pups. My lab was the only one we adopted as a puppy. He was found in an abandoned house. Probably pure lab, but who knows. He had hip dysplasia even as a pup, but lived a good life of 14.5 yrs. Second dog was a total mix with maybe some lab in her. Got her at 1 or 2YO, and she was better behaved and had a better temperament than the lab. They were quite the team and got along with each other and everyone they met, even kids. And we didn't have any kids for them to practice with... Now we have a rescued Coonhound, I would guess purebred Bluetick. He was 4YO and spent 3 of his young years in the shelter and foster home. He has a wacky personality, probably hound-related, but is the most loving dog. The other guy was 2YO when we got him and is probably Shep/Husky/Lab, also a great dog.

All this to say I will only ever rescue my dogs. I think you can get a good feel for their personality even from meeting them only once or twice, and personally I like the ones that are a little crazy. I prefer older dogs to puppies because you can get a better sense of their personality, and I usually adopt from rescues that have the dogs in foster homes because you can learn a lot about them from the homes where they are living (good with kids, other dogs, cats, etc.).

If you have young kids, perhaps a puppy is a better way to go, but I don't see any reason to go with a purebred over a mutt. And for those who say mutts are too expensive, the expensive ones usually have had all of their shots and testing done, and yes have been neutered. The price you pay includes all of that. If you want a cheaper dog, go to a shelter. Most of the ones I have been to sell dogs for about $50.

I think from here on I will only rescue even older dogs. I am getting too old to entertain the younger ones!

Lester the Lab and Sophie the Lab? mystery mix

Woody the Coonhound and Cyrus the mystery mutt

 

[AlaynaMayGoatLady]

I raise registered family dog/ working Border collies, so of course I prefer purebreds. But - we also have 1 unregistered (read "possibly mix") Great Pyrenees, a BC/ Springer Spaniel, and a BC/ GP (from my stud and our Great Pyrenees.) They are all great dogs. The purebreds we have are smarter and were all much easier to handle as puppies, but the other three are great dogs too. Of course, with Border collies being a super smart breed, that helps with the easy-to-train factor.
About the high prices for some rescue mutts, there is a point to consider - mutt pups take just as much work for the seller/ foster home as purebreds. They eat just as much, require the same kind/ amount of wormer, and still need shots and health certificates (at least, they do in FL.) So up in the low hundreds is still an understandable price. I have to confess, part of the reason I'm saying that is because I currently have a litter of 9 Doberman cross pups that need homes (NOT of my breeding) and I'm thinking about what fee I should ask for them. Purebred pups will run more in the $800 - $1,000 range - and the breeder still will be working for very low dollars-per-hour, once you include the time it takes to acquire the breeding dog, train it, health test, keep up its health generally, and raise the puppies. At least, I have a lot of time into my dogs and I imagine pretty much any good breeder does. Just a thought.
(And, promiseacres, if you happen to need a Doberman/ red heeler (I think) cross, let me know!)