What's your breed, and why?

Lemonsqueezer78

Have to fly the flag for the Sighthounds... had a few breeds over the years (a border collie, a bearded collie, an Alsatian/Labrador cross and when I was a child, even a grumpy Corgi) and loved them all - but in terms of character and sheer low-maintenance-ness the Greys/Lurchers/Longdogs win it for me. Pure greyhounds particularly make such great pets. They don't require huge amounts of exercise, they don't shed... they don't even produce oil in their coats so are pretty much odourless.

They are gentle souls (unless you happen to be a squirrel or a rabbit) - hilarious, intelligent, affectionate and generally pretty lazy and I wouldn't be without one now.

Not a long-lived breed unfortunately. Its not unheard of to get them to 15/16 if you're very lucky - but 12/13 is more the average for a grey.

jrtfan

Lemonsqueezer78 wrote: »

Have to fly the flag for the Sighthounds... had a few breeds over the years (a border collie, a bearded collie, an Alsatian/Labrador cross and when I was a child, even a grumpy Corgi) and loved them all - but in terms of character and sheer low-maintenance-ness the Greys/Lurchers/Longdogs win it for me. Pure greyhounds particularly make such great pets. They don't require huge amounts of exercise, they don't shed... they don't even produce oil in their coats so are pretty much odourless.

They are gentle souls (unless you happen to be a squirrel or a rabbit) - hilarious, intelligent, affectionate and generally pretty lazy and I wouldn't be without one now.

Not a long-lived breed unfortunately. Its not unheard of to get them to 15/16 if you're very lucky - but 12/13 is more the average for a grey.

We've always had Jack/Parson Russells and I love these little guys because they're intelligent, feisty, stubborn as heck, funny, affectionate, loyal, they keep me always on my toes and they have incredible stamina. But we had a Grey as well, for 5 years (he lived until he was 15). He was one of the largest I've seen and was as daft as a brush but funny and a proper food thief. Unluckily for us, he could reach the kitchen worktops just by stretching his neck a little bit and I witnessed many a whole pizza - left to cool from the oven - being sneakily taken and then almost eaten whole in an effort to bolt down as much of it as possible, when he realised he'd been caught out.

Needless to say, the much smaller JRT was in charge of the huge, gentle Grey.

I can't agree with your point about not shedding, though. Mine shed his undercoat constantly and, twice yearly, he would be covered in tufts of fur, all sticking out at angles so that he resembled a hedgehog. At these times, I spent hours hand-stripping him and could easily half-fill a carrier bag each time. Often, in spring, I used to put the fur I'd stripped out into the garden, where the birds used to take it to line their nests with. Recycling!!

Lemonsqueezer78

lol, jeepers - half a bag? OK, there is a chance I've just been lucky then - on my second grey (plus a lurcher) and none of them have been shedders. A bit of "down" (maybe a handful) as winter turns to spring is all I've ever seen. Mind you, neither of mind have been that big...

jrtfan

Lemonsqueezer78 wrote: »

lol, jeepers - half a bag? OK, there is a chance I've just been lucky then - on my second grey (plus a lurcher) and none of them have been shedders. A bit of "down" (maybe a handful) as winter turns to spring is all I've ever seen. Mind you, neither of mind have been that big...

It was probably our luck to get a hairy one :rotfl:

Here's a pic taken 6 months before he died (you can see by then the poor muscle tone in his hind quarters, poor old thing):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133380020@N06/28690097854/in/datetaken-public/

and here is another taken a bit earlier. The JRT stood 15" to the top of his shoulder, to give you some idea of scale:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133380020@N06/29204463552/in/datetaken-public/

Misty_Blue

Rough Collie. Beautiful, intelligent, funny, and as mental as anything. They are not for everyone, as people tend to think of the "Lassie" films and have a false idea of the breed. Roughs are actually pretty neurotic, in a nice way!

lisa110rry

Jimmy fell down a well, Lassie? We'd better go and rescue him!

This may not be the true interpretation of a rough collie, but in the early days of my relationship with my Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Trained "Bitsa" (bitsa this and bitsa that) Fallen Angel, it could truly have been a proper interpretation of her abilities!

In the morning she would alert me to the alarm and tell me if the phone rang (in those days my phone "rang" with a doorbell sound). The first time she saw the open gas fire in the lounge, she repeatedly gave me the "danger" signal!

I don't know what she is, but three people, a GSD judge, her groomer and a fellow "dog person" have all judged her to have GSD in her although she's cocker-sized.

On Monday last, she did me proud by winning a red first place rosette and a 15kg bag of dog food in the "Best Trick" section of a fun dog show. Her trick involved very controlled sit, down, stay, speak, "okay" command followed by the selection of one treat from three laid before her with stranger dogs all around.

As I know pictures are valued, here is my darling girl, now 11.5 years old but still able to blow away the competition when it comes to discipline.






imgurl

tan160581

We have 16 dogs now and our breeds are English Bulldogs and chow chows - half our rescue that we have saved from killshelters abroad - I would love to rescue uk dogs but they are very strict usually only one other dog of opp sex so went abroad instead as felt so guilty buying puppies when older more needy dogs needed a home

I went for the chow breed as my partner has always been a cat person, so he said if I could find a breed that was similar to a cat I could get a dog so went researching and the chow is very similar to a cat, aloof and independent and so on and the rest is history

we also have 7 sphynx cats and 1 savannah cat and 1 Persian and 4 cockatiels as well x

missjadeyx

I'm a HUGE animal lover and I love so many different breeds.


Dogs - I currently have an American Bulldog, she's my second one now and I just love their look (she's a Scotts type) and personalities. She makes me laugh every day, she's got the most amazing temperament, she's incredibly loyal and I love her too pieces (even if her farts are lethal).


I do love so many breeds of dog that I could never stick to one, my next dog will either be a German Shepherd or a Doberman. In the past I have had; Staffies, Pitbulls, Boxers, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, American Bulldogs, Doberman, Bullmastiff, Wolf Hybrid, English Bull Terrier, Staffy x, Border Collie x... I also have a huge list of breeds I wish to own.


Cats - I love Ragdolls and Siberian's! They're both just so beautiful.


Rabbits - I breed Mini Lops and Satin Mini Lops, they're just such an amazing breed. I spend most of my time in my bunny shed with them, laughing at them binkying around, jumping into the veg bin, stealing bags of treats if I leave them too close to the runs/hutches. Love my bunnies!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Dogs - Beagle, without a doubt. Proper dog sized (sorry, small breed owners, it's just how I feel), not capable of eating more in a day than I do in a month, in its element when pootling along, nose to the ground for an extended slow walk interspersed with a full speed dash across a field, talkative, big soppy eyes, floppy ears, black snuffly nose, completely trainable through the medium of Food and don't knock you off your feet or leave you feeling like you've had twenty lashes across your shins if they're happy.

And when they run to you as you're crouched down, they know to stop beside you, rather than plough headfirst into your chest with a skull like a breezeblock (had a Staff X ) and if they don't quite get the idea of not jumping up at first, you get paws in your belly or thighs, not your chest or shoulders.

Downsides - white underfur. And they hate being alone. I'm still lucky if I manage to go to the toilet once in the day without company, that would never happen with a Beagle.

I like Border Collies, but I'd not have one because they deserve to be somewhere with miles of wide open spaces, a huge garden and to be kept stimulated all the time. And their 'I'm excited' noise would probably rupture my eardums after a couple of days.

I also quite like the idea of a biggish shaggy black lurcher. Something that looks like it's been dragged through a hedge backwards before it's even left the house.


Cats - realistically, a little black or black with white paws moggie. Certainly not long haired (got one and the furry tumbleweeds down the stairs). I think Birmans are beautiful, but they cost more than a month's rent (and kind of contradict my general preferences). Because I like talkative cats and my best cat ever was a super intelligent basketcase tabby that I handreared from about 3/4 weeks, I think I'd probably get on well with a Siamese or an Oriental, particularly if it was black.

Rabbits - Netherland Dwarf. Had one as a child and I was the only person who could handle her. Or ones that look like wild rabbits.

Rodents - Gerbils. I'm not keen on Guinea Pigs, other than their daft weep-weep Leona Lewis call, hamsters are quite sweet but not anything *special to me*, mice are cute but have no bladder, rats seem quite cool, but with Idiot Cat having discovered his inner tiger, I couldn't deal with having to keep one or the other species locked up at any one time. Chinchillas look like stuffed toys. And I have to admit that a rodent's teeth hold a little :eek: for me and my fingers, compared to dogs or cats.

Others - I'd love ferrets, or as my mate who owns them calls 'em - snake-cats. They sound like all the things that I love and drive me crazy about cats plus an additional helping of psychosis, but smellier. And whilst I like snakes and geckos, I think that they aren't exactly entertaining as often. I've also visited a friend who dropped an entire tub of live crickets on their floor a year previously and heard the sound of the escapees' new colony under the floorboards at night. Spiders are cool, but not for me. I'll stick to the big ones that live mostly in the garden (and get relocated there when they invade). I did enjoy looking after wounded slow worms, frogs/toads and assorted other wildlife, though. Fish are cool - koi if I had a pond bigger than my house, if not (and I could guarantee conditions and breeding/genetics), Oranda or Guppies.

Birds - I can't bring myself to have them, as it feels wrong, but I really like Zebra Finches. And chickens (Rhode Island Reds, because they're soft and red and fluffy and evil dinosaur brains on the inside) and quail. The latter two would be an option if we moved, but I also love foxes and whilst taking responsibility for Defence Against the Vulpine would be obviously vital, I'd be very upset if I got it wrong and they did what they have evolved to do at the expense of birds that were my responsibility to protect.


Otherwise, I love native wildlife. I've got an amazing selection of leafcutter and mason bees in the garden, love hedgehogs, badgers and foxes, think fieldmice are possibly the cutest things ever, love seeing birds nesting and think birds of prey, especially Merlins, Peregrines and Kestrels are awesome - and swifts are fantastic feats of flight engineering, as are dragonflies and the most beautiful, Banded Demoiselles. Native fish are very beautiful as well - Pike are amazingly scary looking, Perch are angry armour clad tigers, tench smell of cucumber. Bats are really cool, as well - they remind me of angry squashed mice. If my schedule allows, I'm thinking of doing volunteer work with Bat Conservation, as I've been off immunosupressant meds long enough to have my Rabies shots now.



Sorry for the vast list, it's probably easier to say what I don't like.


Ummm.


[thinks]


Nope. It isn't. Except cockroaches. [shudder]

jrtfan

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

...Except cockroaches. [shudder]

How about the Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches?