Dog for Aspergers daughter Questions

Wow, what a great looking dog. It's like a mix of a GSD and a Samoyed! Lovely


TO ORIGINAL POSTER:

If your daughter likes the type of looks with 'pointy' ears, then actually a Samoyed may be worth considering? They are usually friendly and good natured dogs. There are quite a lot in rescue so you could probably find one that is a few years old and has a nice calm temperament, here's a link:

http://www.samoyedrescue.co.uk/

what pilgrim said regarding the crested they are very intelligent, but loyal and like to learn, so many of them do agility and are an active breed. they will take as much exercise as you throw at them, my hairless in particular will go for hours, he loves being out, but in the same way he is quite happy to curl up next to you (or on you!) on the sofa. and in case you read the word hairless and go ewwww, they come in hairy varieties also ;-)

also someone mentioned papillons. we also have one of those here, he belongs to my nana, and although i dont really like them, hes not a bad dog, he loves to be with his owner and i know his issues are how my nana has raised and trained him rather than the breed.

both the breeds have longish hair, but they enjoyed being groomed, so a quick brush once a day does them no harm. the only thing i would say is the pap moults alot more than my hairy crested (called a powderpuff)

i know people have been suggesting medium dogs but size doesnt matter ;-) and with these two breeds, if there really was a day when she couldnt go out for a walk, they dont mind the odd day of being snuggled to you watching tv, they wont go mad of frustrated if they cant get out like some other breeds of dogs can.

we have just got a Duck Toller, and so far she is perfect( only 10 weeks old ) but they are hard to get hold of, you have to put your name on a waiting list.

There was a Samoyed, at our dog training class, and it was a lovely friendly fun loving dog.

True they are not a common breed, but most GOOD breeders will often have a waiting list anyway as they will not breed their dogs until they have good prospective homes lined up, and their dogs are in high demand.

Any pics of your little toller pup? I love them

The samoyeds I have seen are very sweet - but all the ones I have met have barked like crazy!!!

Yup theres a sammy in my training class that wuffs a lot too. She is stunning though

arent samoyeds a northern/spitz breed anyway? and i know that northern breeds can be quite vocal with their woo woos and spitz are very vocal dogs too.

They are, I think we were discussing the "best spitz" theoretically for this situation so I think weve gone off topic a bit

I have a samoyed he is so quiet, the only time you hear him is when the tune of corrie plays or if he is locked in the garden, he was a rescue that wasn't allowed indoors, which is why he gets stressed if i shut the door on him... He does a funny wuffly mumble when out and some one talks to him, but I have never heard him bark, just the arrrro for which they are famous for...He doesnt even bark when some one knocks at the door, just looks at me as if to say... "you gonna answer that?" lol

sorry meant to say my son is autistic and the samoyed has been amazing for him, he really brought my son out of himself..

Thank you all for your replies, you've all been so helpful!

The worry we had with smallers breeds was that they would not be able to keep up with my daughter who plans, to get off the treadmill and take it outside.

I think thats why she's be so fixated with working dogs, because they have the endurance to keep up with her.

She liked the look of the Northern Breed dogs, but not a single one of them are reliable off leash, we live in a rural area with too many furry distractions.

The Berger Blanc Suisse definately has the look she's looking for and seems very versatile. How strong is the breeds (type?) herding instincts? I would hate for any behaviour that would stress our cat out. I haven't seen many up for adoption.

We've all pretty much agreed to get the dog from a rescue shelter or rescue group. We are keeping an eye out for collie and collie crosses and GSD/type crosses, but I've noticed a lot seem to have Husky mixed in. Should we be avoiding crosses with any type of sledge dog mixed in for the same reason we as entry level dog owners would avoid the pure breed?

That would be just about the best thing we could get from this, just getting her to talk to other people who share an interest with her.

Mandy X

a smaller breed will keep up i can assure you. my littleuns go out average 2 hours a day, but on weekends we have done 5 hour hiking, they cope just fine, in fact love going out. just because their small doesnt mean they wont walk as far as a big dog.
papillons are the same, and alot of people that own papillons have border collies, in fact so do the crested people. so as you can see the little uns fit in with very active border collies and cope just fine.

This is true My 13kg little one could exercise just as far as a a bigger dog.. but she is equally happy to chill indoors which makes it fantasic!

mine only weigh 5kg each

Have a look on http://manytearsrescue.webs.com/dogslookingforhomes.htm Many tears rescue have loads of collies and collie crosses for re-homing.

Bear in mind that a cross can inherit trates from either parent, so I would avoid northern crosses if you want to be on the safe side. IMO with any cross, I would look in to whether I could cope with both breeds breed traits. They can develop the best or worst from either

Good luck in your search

You beat me

If you are worried about herding instinct i would seriously rule out getting a Border Collie. They can become obsessive, and even if it doesn't chase or herd your cat, it might just stress it out by continually watching it ( The Collie eye)
I know your daughter fancies a working breed, but i honestly think a BC would possibly be too much. There are far too many Collies in rescue, put there because when their natural behaviour starts to come to the fore, people can't cope with it :-(
Other breeds have working lines too, its not just pastoral dogs ;-) Gundogs have to have endurance also ;-)

Jann xx

True about border collies and their herding instinct - it's what they are bred to do

I think gun dogs tend to be active but perhaps easier first pets. This is why I suggested a toller, but there are plenty of others

Ludi is just under 5kg and he could run for England!! I have never owned such a fast dog in my life and he has the stamina to go with it.

Please don't rule out a little dog, seriously I think a Crestie would be ideal for your daughter, my little man has given me so much fun and amusement, and he is only 9 months old!!

Anyone who has ever seen Asbo or Mydus could never say urgh or rule out a hairless crestie

Quick note, Alfie is half Jack Russell and half Shih tzu and he won't/can't run all day.

If you take him out for hours he will run/play for that time, but the next day if you take him he will "stroll" he can't do really long walks two days on the run.