Breed choice (what are NIs like as pets) General Chat

Hi
I love my dogs but they are high energy & do fill my day, they are not the dog for everyone. They most certainly would not have been my choice when my children were growing up, not because of temprement just that i would not have had the time to exersize them back then that they need. They do have a rabbit prey drive but most dogs will chase a rabbit. One has seperation anxiety to an extent & will chew the odd thing, the other does not have any issues being left alone, they both live happily with a cat.
I do believe there is a lot of health problems in these dogs & i do believe a lot of it has been covered up - However, there are health problems in every kind of dog.

Would i have another = Yes

Yes i think that is a fair point.

What an odd thing to say from somebody who breeds them and according to your website have litters planned for 2009

We have a NI who is now 9 months old and before that we had a Husky who is now 11 and lives at the family home. I think its a bit extrem (sp?) to say you can't have a husky or husky type with small animals. We had a small holding for the first 8 years of her life with no problems.

Ela is a bit shy of strangers but once won over is is very enthusiastic (sp) with her affection! We don't have children (yet!) but when we were looking to get another dog being a family dog was very high in our list of importance. From 9 weeks old Ela was left with just Cassie during the day as we both work full time with very little damage (just the normal puppy stuff). So far she has less prey drive then the husky or our lucher but the breed so have a high drive as a whole.

We have keep a bit of a blog on our website and pictures of Ela as she grew up so feel free to have a look. I think they make great pets as long as you have experience with large dogs.

Thats sounds great

LOL cos Malamoots are stoopid aren't they

You can't pick and choose what BIT of the dog you add in..if you bred in the intelligence of a GSD then you bred in the guarding instinct too..

Well I wouldn't know about Mals cos I have never owned one nor known anyone that has owned one.

Obviously you can't pick and choose, I'm not zipped up the back, I'm only repeating what I have read elsewhere.

When you cross breed you can get ALL or any traits..so it stands to reason if the intelligence is bred in so will the guarding instinct..just like the prey drive..

Malamutes are very very intelligent...

You have never owned an NI either..but you are saying the intelligence comes from the GSD...

Don't beleive all you read..

You can't choose which traits the offspring of crossbreeds will inherit

LOL Great minds - I should have read to the end before posting!

i dont no much about NIs or northern breeds but i do know that gsds are not necessarily more intelligent than say malamutes- my male gsd knows lots of commands and i have taught him to be clever as such-but i deinetely would say he is not naturally intelligent- and he has no common sense-but my gsd bitch, i would say is very intelligent- was quick and easy to train and has too much common sense lol. but that just shows a lot of the intelligence comes from the individual dog- just like some cross breeds are easy to train, and some arent!
oh and as said before-gsd do have a lot of guarding instinct in them and i cant imagine how that would be stopped showing through in a dog which has gsd in it.

I have 2 GSD's and 1 NI, would I have another NI? At this moment in time, I would have to say absolutely not, No!!

He is in no way submissive and he is always the first at the door to bark at absolutely anyone who may be there. My sons girlfriend would not even set foot into the house because of the way he was barking at her the other day.

The 2 GSD's will bark but mainly just want to lick everyone to death lol and I can say hand on heart that they would never be funny with anyone that came into the house as long as we are here. The NI........ hmmmm I'm not so sure.

In addition to this, he is bolshy and destructive and wants everything his own way. He is extremely strong and will not be told that he is not to jump up at people.

On the other side, he is extremely good when we are out and about although quite wary of people but thinks every dog was put on the planet to play with him. He can be incredibly loving and cuddly when he wants to be, which, on the whole, does make up for the bad bits. He is far better out of the house than he is in.

I would not hesitate in owning another GSD but would not even consider another NI at this present time but this is, of course, just my own personal experience and opinion.

You only need read any NI thread to know if you want a "breed" of dog then this "type" isnt it. They are supposed to be submissive to challenge, many are not, in fact I read more about pushy bolshy NI's and ones that want to dominate than anything else. Their health status is a mess, their genetic history is a total no starter and the "breed" is peppered with couldnt give a damn attitude breeders who want to profit from such animals for no other reason I can see than money.

Other things wer read of from OWNERS.

Livestock worriers, including 2, 7mth old puppies shot and killed for stock worrying.

Several owners using electric shock collars to control them in certain circumstances.

A high number in rescue, not only breed, but cropping up in general rescues too, most have issues such as seperation anxiety,and other health issues.

Now either these dogs have serious problems, or the breeders of such animals genuinely do not research nor find the correct homes for the dogs the breed, as their sole aim is to sell dogs, which is better?

I was brought up round large breed dogs my dad had rotties and a gsd my mum had chow's and i had a staffie when i was younger (not a large breed )
My o/h's mum used to breed collies so when we (I) decided to get a NI i went to kennels see breeders etc etc, I spoke to owners about everything did all my research etc and ALL of it went out the window when we got Shila.
The first night we had her she slept straight through i was amazed after that it went downhill very very rapidly for 3 weeks i was a zombie due to lack of sleep she howled, barked, cried messed everywhere destroyed anything near her crate all night every night until i brought her upstairs and she was spot on after that no mess no noise nothing.
I would not recommend just getting 1 NI unless you are there 24/7 i know there are exceptions to the rule but both of mine suffer terribly from seperation anxiety.
Shila has NO prey drive she just doesn't care what it is she just wants to love it no matter how small
Isis had shocking prey drive but some of this turned out to be lack of training for 3 weeks she wanted to eat my kitten now she lives happily with 3 cats, she still has a slight fasination (sp) with horses, cows, sheep and poultry but the precautions are there when she's near them (not often).
Shila is very easy to train and is incredibly willing to please, Isis will only do it if she wants to (not very often )
Shila is brill on a lead Isis is not,
BOTH dogs love everything and everyone that steps foot in the house including kids, Isis has never been around children while she has been here but i took her to my friends and she was better with kids than Shila who was always around children.
Shila is a full NI and Isis is 3/4 NI 1/4 husky but they are both seperate ends of the scale Shila bounces of the wall 24/7 and Isis is so laid back bless her.
I love my two but i dont think i'd own another one mainly because im in love with another breed
Good luck with what you choose x

You could meet my NI if you are in the Gateshead area sometime. He is a bit on the boisterous side compared to most NIs I have met, but very friendly. PM me if you want to meet one weekend.

Yes I have bred NI's in the past, and that is why I am planning to breed in 2009 litters that are not NI to NI, because I have realised that NI's as a "breed" do not have a viable future

The OP asked for peoples own opinions as to what NI's are like as a pet, I have given my opinion and will not be posting any more as I do not intened to be drawn into yet again another argument for argument sake.

Can i ask how much you'll be asking for your crossbreeds hun?x

wish I'd never asked