Hello! I am hoping to get a dog within the next year. My heart yearns for a Saluki, but I dont think the breed will be very suited to be lifestyle. The other half of my heart yearns to just walk in to a rescue centre and grab the most sorry looking dog. I will be living in a static caravan with two cats. One of the cats loves everybody but this has gotten him bit in the past as he just rolls over instead of running away The other cat if a dog so much as sniffs at her she will smack them. Outdoors I have chickens, I know no dog is 100% against its instincts kicking in but it would be nice to at least attempt to go for a dog that could possibly grow up(I would consider older dogs but cant imagining finding one that gets on with both) around the cats and chickens and not have as much instinct to chase or kill any of them. I will be living basically in a field, but it is being shared with another dog who is in a seperate house but does not get on with aggressive dogs, he has had bad experiences with dogs he has met and made him very weary unless the dog is very calm and doesnt bother him. I am going into this thinking that they will have to be kept seperate but could be walked together with muzzle. I will be living in the countyside with most of the land not being owned and lots of bridleways and footpaths so can walk at least once a day, there is lots of croft land though so cattle and sheep and other dogs wandering about. I plan to work from home and wont be getting one until I know for sure what happens when I move with income so I will be at home most of the time. I want to get a horse eventually and my dream is to be able to go out riding and safely take the dog with us also, so really something that is easy to train, not so wayward or more inclined to chase things, scare sheep etc(guessing you are going to suggest a stuffed one lol) Also a dog that will put off potentially unwanted attention from the opposite sex lol. I love all animals, all dogs and any dog would become family, have always had dogs growing up but just want to make the best choice I can at the beginning so my other pets are happy also. Which breeds or cross breeds would you suggest? Or ones to avoid. Every breed im drawn to I read up and its always the dogs that say 'difficult to train, cannot be let off leash, dont keep with cats or other animals, wayward' I forgot to mention, I would love to do agility in the future and possibly do dog scootering.
I would say that temperament is more important than breed. So your instinct - to get a Rescue - is probably the right one. I think you should find a good Rescue organisation and work with them to find just the right dog for you. Then when you have your dog, you will need to do lots of work at first to ensure control around livestock etc.
How about a nice, calm, Golden Retriever? Maybe an older one, from a rescue? There are many Goldens just waiting for a loving new home If you check out http://www.irishretriever.co.uk that will give you some idea of how many dogs they have.
