Obedience dog? Obedience

Hopefully I won't be getting another dog for about 7-8 years but I do day dream about it

I've always had rescue puppies but think the next one might be a planned, get on a breeder's waiting list, type pup.

Whether you have had dogs previously
Always had rescue dogs in the family of all types (except hounds).

When I'm able to have another dog I expect I will only have my lab cross and/or westie still with me.

Your circumstances - do you work etc?
I work full time at the moment but when my pup arrives I will be part-time. There's almost always someone at home (max alone time 3 hours).

How much time you have for exercise
Can happily do as much as they need but about an hour a couple of times a day (but able to go a bit further sometimes) would be ideal.

Whether you have children, other pets etc
None

What characteristics you are looking for
I'm looking for a dog to do obedience and maybe HTM with, small-medium size, friendly, quiet, affectionate but not too clingy. Not too slobbery/drooly

I really want him/her to be persistent but other people call it stubborn, e.g. my terriers don't give up in training, if they get it wrong they keep trying.

Grooming
Perfect - extremely low maintenance (staffie type coat)
Realistic - every other day brush/comb through and regular stripping/trimming.

I love grooming my westie but I keep her in what I think of as a 'working trim' she has short trim all over, no 'beard' or long fur left on head and no 'skirt' to collect mud (and I think she looks cuter than other westies). I think a normal westie clip would be a nightmare on the kind of walks we go on.

What breeds you have already looked at and your thoughts on them

Terriers!
I don't want one that has too long a back (e.g. dandies) as it might struggle with some of the obedience exercises. Based on dogs I know/have seen in training the breeds I particularly like are:

Border
Parson Russell
Westie

I've not seen any of these training so not sure:
Cairn
Norwich
Norfolk
Soft Coated Wheaten (I'm not sure about the grooming, I'd want to leave the coat as natural as possible but would have to do something about the beard so I'm thinking this one is a no)

A non-terrier breed on my 'day-dream' list is the Hungarian Vizsla, but from what I've read they're very sensitive and don't have anything like a terrier attitude to training.

Anything else you think might be relevant or important

I love obedience and would love my dogs to do well (and they'd do better if I put more time in) but it's a hobby for us to enjoy and if he/she doesn't do well they'll just enjoy the day out anyway.

My dogs' main job is just to be my dog, I'm just saying this so you don't all suggest I go for something like a collie to do obedience with.

I had 3 Cairn terriers in the past and they were good at obedience and agility (this was before HTM so I can't comment on that!). They don't need a lot of grooming in the sense of brushing but to keep their coat correct they should be handstripped regularly.

I have met a few Soft-coated Wheaton terriers and they are quite large (bigger than my Kerries) and the other breeds you are interested in are an awful lot smaller-just a thought as you may not realise how big these dogs are?

When I picked my adult Kerries up I was shocked at how HUGE they seemed! I had never seen one in real-life, only in books and had thought they were the size of mini-Schnauzers and they certainly aren't! Got used to them now but they did seem big after Cairns.

There are SBTs which are working C only.

Thanks! Cairns are quite high on my possible list Did yours make a good age? Do they have any health problems?

Don't worry, I know Soft Coated Wheatens are a lot bigger and for obedience a bigger dog is a bit easier to train. It's mostly the hairiness that puts me off.

Smokey, you're very good at this!

I adore staffies and I have one who is an old man now. He has a disability which meant he was never going to excel at obedience but he did brilliantly in HTM until he retired.

Unfortunately as perfect as he is, I've always been worried about BSL and a few times I've felt intimidated when the wrong types have been interested in him (in case they tried to steal him). I won't have another one unless the world changes.

To top it all off he's just had some cancerous lumps removed which are very common in staffies.

And I've seen those staffies with their owner at the shows. They're gorgeous!

I will let her know you think so!

You should! I did talk to her once at lunch when we were both stewarding. I watched her on Crufts tv too, I can't help going "aaahhhh" when I see her dogs.

My two made it to almost 16 and 13. The one that came from a puppy farm via a pet shop in Great Yarmouth (we were his 2nd home as he belonged at a pub owner who didn't have time for him sadly) was the one who lived to almost 16 and didn't have any health problems apart from age-onset problems that all dogs get (blindness, deafness etc).

The one that lived to 13 had a heart murmer in older age which didn't really bother him but he sadly died of a heart attack one night. Despite their being 3 years difference in their ages I sadly lost both my Cairns within 6 weeks of each other one summer.

The most recent Cairn we had was rehomed from a puppy farm too (aged eight) and had terrible hips, a bad heart murmer (and he was their stud dog ) and awful teeth. He only lived to 11 and a half. He was a smashing dog and unusual colouring-almost black.

They were all super temperaments and very trainable. When Angus used to take part in agility displays people were always surprised he could do everything the big dogs could do (albeit the jumps were lowered for him!). He also won an obedience trophy and was very good at retrieving things. He could do the trick off the tv show where the dog fetches an egg, a cream cracker and a sausage.

I think I would be wary about heart problems after having 2 with heart murmers. I really don't understand why Cairns aren't more popular as I think they are much more practical than Westies colour-wise and don't have the common prevalence of the skin problems Westies are prone to.

Borders and their crosses are great... i might be biased though I did agility with mine for a while & she was great when she concentrated, but we had to stop after she hurt her leg and i didn't want to risk further damage. We do a bit with my bits of equipment at home now for fun, and she loves it.

We do obedience now, hoping to compete eventually, and again, when she concentrates, she's great. Very responsive and motivated, eager to learn and intelligent.

I have to say the BT I have doing Rally is fab - has a great heel position and great drive.

He has just started agility as well and taken to it very well.

Thanks everyone

Does anyone have any experience of Norwich/Norfolk Terriers?

I think I'll have to meet these at Crufts, they don't seem very common around here.

Not 'experience' really, but i've had a Norfolk come into work a couple of times from a pup and he is sweet! I've really liked the look of them for a while, would be something i may consider looking into in the future

Friend of mine works an Airedale & she is C only

Muddiwarx on here has one ... she is lovely, but can't for the life of me remember whether she is a Norfolk or Norwich

Theres currently a Jack Russell thats C only & JRs climbing the classes getting placed often.

Id say get a collie, but then they are my fave bred!

Ilove my collies and GSDs................and now I'm training my papillon,..and boy is she fast loves it loves clicker training, loves toys, loves food and a joy to train. only problem is the bending down, but most of her basic is done on the dining table so dont dismiss a toy breed

Have seen an Airedale at the shows who was working A at the time, wonder if it's the same one.

I like Airedales but maybe a bit too big... now I'm wondering if an Airedale might be next but one

Thanks Moobli, I'll look out for posts by that poster.

Right now Parsons and Borders (terrier not collie ) are top of my list.

I'm sure muddiwarxs is a Norwich (ears up)