Small breed temperaments Questions

Liking the poodle idea - could you learn to DIY on the grooming?

Recon a chat with assistance dog people if possible could give you some more ideas if you're serious about training that side of it - you never know - might be a volunteer who could help with picking out/up/ suggesting a likely dog...

There is a five year waiting list and Inca is 12 next year. The charity that helps you train your own pets are full and not currently taking any new applications. It will be too long.

As Inca alerts me to sound I need the new dog to learn this before she goes possibly goes deaf with old age or it gets too hard for her jumping up and down off sofa to run and tell me things or to pick something up I dropped (which happens frequently).

I did manage to train Inca myself with no initial knowledge and whilst she hasn't had the early socialisation assistance dogs get she isn't allowed in shops anyway only been a pet though she used to enjoy coming to Pets at Home and putting things in basket for me (it was near where we used to live but got moved out some distance from town to only available adapted bungalow at the time).

We meet up with other dogs in local park at weekend and my friend visits with her dog who Inca grew up with, she's gonna be getting another in a year or so, so my next dog will also have a little friend visiting him for his lifetime as well as ones in our village. So it's important it's dog friendly but not too over fussy with people for when nurses need to come and take my blood etc.

There is a bloke with a jack russell and dog walks behind him off-lead.. trots along doesn't bother anyone else. Inca walks reliable off lead at side of scooter on pavement so only have to have pup on lead to teach it to heel. As it s a village and I go out when everyone's at work/school it's really quiet and and I can get to a few fields without even crossing a single road!

With Italians/Whippets/Greys, hyperactivity/craziness tends to be inversely proportional to size. Greys tend to be mega chilled, whippets are a bit more energetic and Italians are renowned for being a bit hyper and bonkers. Lovely and full of character, don’t get me wrong, but not a miniature version of a Greyhound in terms of character!

I’d also be inclined to think that a whippet wouldn’t suit your needs particularly well either; I have two and they can be extremely mischievous, independent, scheming, naughty and hyper when the mood takes them! Generally around the house they are either asleep or looking for trouble. As much as I love them to bits, I’d probably recommend staying away from a hound breed and going for something a bit more steady/biddable. And something more reliable off lead, that won't zoom off on instinct at the slightest sight of a squirrel/cat/rabbit/pigeon etc

Not all Cavaliers have SM & not all Cavaliers with SM ever have any symptoms.

I've had three Cavaliers with SM & non of them had any symptoms & all lived until they were over 11. None had murmurs as puppies & only two developed heart problems towards the end of their lives(over 10 years of age). The last one I lost was 12 1/2 & he died in his sleep, he never had any health problems even though he had SM(diagnosed by MRI scan)

The Cavalier I have now is also murmur free & clear of SM, he comes from 2 generations of SM free breeding.

They really are a super & very trainable breed., even though my Roodee is norty-he doesn't live with me all the time & so hasn't been trained the same way my others were. He has a brilliant character & as I love norty dogs I can put up with his behaviour, I could train him to be really good, but then he would be the odd dog out in my "pack"

I would never suggest a designer crossbreed as it is very very unlikely that the parents or any dog in their make up will have had any health testing.

Chihuahuas, Min Pins & Italian Greyhounds are not the most robust of breeds & I would hesitate to recommend them to you delightful little dogs that they are.

Whippets are very adaptable dogs & are quite like Cavaliers in being very easy going & gregarious dogs. They are not big either & are very easily trained.

The Oriental breeds like Lhasas, Shih Tzus, etc are notoriously stubborn & need to be trained from the moment they open their eyes !

If you could visit one of the Discovery Dogs held by the KC, you would be able to meet all the breeds recognized by the KC & seeing the dogs in the flesh & meeting their owners can be a real eye opener

With your list and training up your collie yourself (well done you) from the dogs of the breeds you are saying and what I have met of them I would be tempted to go with a poodle if you figure out the grooming
Good size and smart keen to learn little things

yeah.. I like the mini poodle for its agility as bending over (from chair to floor to pick up a dog) and keeping my balance is difficult.

I'm glad to hear some Cavvies stay symptom free. Where do you get your's from Joedee? Does the breeder do MRI scan to prove puppies are free from SM/heart murmurs before selling or does buyer have to do that after they paid? .. if so what happens if you paid for it to find it has both SM and heart murmur and you have medication for life from a really young age?

it's a worry for a working dog as obviously if it had heart problems or problems with brain then its a bit much expecting so much of the dog.. I feel anyway.

There is a little cavalier down the road he's lovely but recently had to be walked in a sling thing cos he needed his kneecaps replacing. Luckily he is now back to walking normally but he's not very old.

What are Shelties like?

I used to see a lot of shelties at training class - very obedient but seemed to keep themselves to themselves and didn't seem interested in strangers, so I never got the chance to get to know one.

I have noticed that often people seem to have more than one, so I think they must be nice dogs to have around!

I wouldn't recommend them simply because of their intensive grooming needs.

I would think that would be a difficulty for someone with mobility problems.

As a miniature pinscher owner I wouldn't suggest getting a min pin for your needs. My boy is hectic and can be very stubborn, He is quick to pick things up but whether he wants to listen to commands or not is another matter.

I have only ever met one sheltie and he was quite timid and not interested in what was going on around him but I'm not sure how much of a reflection on the breed that is.

Norwich terrier
Clever, trainable, not barky, not demanding exercise wise but will enjoy as much as given, great fun and get on we'll with everything

Be very, very careful of breeders that deliver in Wales, there are a lot of puppy farmers in this area.

Joedee had SM & I wouldn't recommend his breeder to anyone, Roodee is the one who is SM free at the moment & he needs to be rescanned after he is 5 this year.

Cavaliers cannot be scanned until they are 1 for SM & TBH very few well bred Cavaliers develop a murmur whilst they are young & this should be checked by an experienced vet before the puppies leave the breeder & they should have a general check up including slipping patella at the same health check.

Cavaliers should be over 2 1/2 before they are bred from & the stud dog should be over 5 with a clear heart-in fact the older the stud dog the better. Roodee's grandfather was over 10 with a clear heart when he sired Roodee's father & Roodee's father was nearly 7 when he sired Roodee & he has only produced 3 litters to date & Roodee is 4 in December. Roodee's COI is 4.1% & the breed average is 5.3 % the lower the COI the better

Hi

Thanks what is COI and TBH? I'm not sure of all the abbreviations yet. I know SM and MVD.

They are a lovely dog it's a shame about all their health problems. If there was a cavalier crossbreed in rescue is it also likely to have chance of having SM or MVD?.. or much less likely cos crossed with other breeds?

Well it would only be my very last choice if I had no way to get a dog or puppy otherwise. I'd be rescuing it from life on a puppy farm, if that was the case!

I guess as breeders are kind of self employed they don't really have to follow disability discrimination laws cos someone else will always come along who can get into their house and buy their puppy from them, so why bother selling to someone who'd need the breeder to deliver the puppy to them cos their house wasn't accessible.

Some breeders won't let you send another person to collect the dog for you either and don't approve of someone buying a dog as a present for someone else and whilst I don't expect everyone to live in accessible houses when they don't need them, it would help if people could be a little more flexible to people's needs sometimes.

Rescue centre's are often the same as they feel it unfair to the dogs naturally especially if a dog has been returned several times so want you to go to the kennels for several visits to get to know the dog.

Unless breeders and rescue centre's can be flexible there will always be people for whom maybe more unscrupulous breeders or puppy farms willing to deliver are the only way they can get a companion. Unless I can get a friend/family member willing to lie and claim a puppy is for them and then bring it here, but I shouldn't have to really!

If anyone knows of a reputable breeder in yorkshire willing to maybe visit with the bitch before she has the pups and then arrange to deliver to me at 8 weeks or has an older one not yet rehomed (small breed dogs) they can send me a photo and visit with it to meet me and Inca I would love to hear from them. I'm looking for a male dog 12-15" high and not too heavy to pick up of needed (not heavy like bulldogs etc) any of these breeds or crosses of:

Miniature poodle
Parson Russell
Lhasa Apso or Lhasa X
chihuahua or papillon cross or any other small cross 12-15" preferably under 20lbs.
Havanese or X
Cavalier KCS as long as been tested for heart murmur and doesn't have one and SM symptom free. (mostly black tri or black/tan)
would consider terriers with good temperament.

Why can you not get a taxi or a lift to go and view/ collect a pup?

I haven't found a breeder who lives in a bungalow yet that I could get in with my electric wheelchair. Most 'regular' houses have at least one step into the house. I also get severe motion sickness due to vestibular ataxia so can only tolerate very short journeys if person drives slow.

Not askng much ..lol

Personally I'd not make much distinction between Parson Russells and JRTs. To me Parsons are KC Registered Leggy JRTs - leggy theoretically so they could run with the hounds. I don't think I've actually met any - Just two that were sold as "Parsons" and clearly weren't. I've been told on so many occasions that my lad's a Parson's Russell it's actually started to annoy me.

Could the assistance dog people help out with suggestions of Breeders/ friendly rescues? Presumably their dogs come from somewhere.

Or heel work to music enthusiasts maybe. Would their type of dog be good? They'd need to be athletic, and good at working with people.

You say that Inca alerts you to sound, do you mean someone at the door or if the telephone rings? Can you not hear these things? My dog tells me when there is some at the door - she even has different sounding barks for different people, and if she thinks I have not heard the telephone she nudges me.

You also want a dog to tidy his toys and pick up small things you drop. Why not get a "handy reach" for things you drop?

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