To wish the fashion to own working breed dogs would pass?

[PlayOnWurtz]

My local rescues seem to be full of collies, huskies, corgi's and spitz breeds of around 2 years of age. These are the current dogs of the day because they are extremely cute and handsome dogs however it seems people buy them without realising how much effort is required to own them.

I'm in no way having a dig at responsible owners at all. More the ones who love a meme and an instagram post without thinking of the consequences.

It definitely takes experience, time and energy to own a working breed. That said, I grew up in the countryside with labs, and had always had black or chocolate ones - the bouncy, adventurous working kind - until I was about 12 and we got a golden. I have never, ever encountered a dog as lazy as she was! It came as something of a shock when I was used to doing an hour + walk every evening - she'd walk about 20 mins then sit down and refuse to go any further. As a family we were out of the house 8-4 2 days a week, and employed a dog walker on those days.... the dog used to get extremely put out at having her nap disturbed and hide from the dog walker so she could carry on sleeping! She'd do the same to us if we got home earlier than usual - greet us, but then insist on going back to her nap until the time someone would usually get home! She was a lovely dog, but maybe not the natural fit for a horsey, outdoorsy family like ours!

My oh had a husky and he gets so angry at how easy it is to get one now as he had to go through hoops including home visits from the breeder before they agreed to sell him one. That is what should be happening as these are difficult dogs to deal with, although incredibly beautiful - still miss the stubborn, difficult, prima dona!

Last summer sat in a countryside tea garden, a dozen or more huskies arrived - out with people doing that thing where they're tethered to a waist strap and they run. Well-behaved happy huskies, fit people!

Mortificados

That sounds quite awesome!

I love dogs and wish we could have one. Especially a lapphund (won't happen. No way, not in Londond. Not even in a 'leafy' suburb).

But DH does want a dog. Seeing as he's the one at home most of the time... well. ;)

*london, oops ;)

Yanbu. We have always had labradors (my mum and dad currently have an old boy and a young one).

They live semi rural and have access to open fields at the end of their street. The dogs are walked for at least 2 x 1 hour each day. Then once a week they go on a 'big' walk, for a good couple of hours through the countryside. (With a visit to a pub garden at the end of course).

They have got to know people that walk the same fields and have known 2 people get collies then get rid when they are about 12-18 months. They just didn't realise how much exercise and stimulation they needed. Such a shame as the dogs were lovely and would have been fantastic with the right owner.

People always say to my parents 'oh your 2 are so good!!' But thats because they are trained!! Recall / obedience dont just happen!

They get plenty of exercise, have stimulating games in the garden (young one is fond of his tunnel in particular). They have maze toy things with tiny treats in they have to figure out. Then about 6pm they finally flake out on the sofa for a snuggle.

People see how beautiful they are, and how well behaved, but forget the hours and hours that are put into them

Yeah you do have to watch Huskies with chickens because it's their natural instinct. Except our two huskies, who are actually bullied by the chickens. That was a surprise!

I know somebody whose partner bought her a husky puppy as a surprise for her birthday, after talking about getting a dog for the first time the day before. They live in a flat.
I honestly can't get over the sheer stupidity of some people.

Grandmas husky never tried to eat any chickens. But her collie mix was an egg thief... and ate grapes. And tomatoes...

And her next collie mix (all rescues) did sometimes kill a chicken.

The husky was one of the kindest dogs I'be ever met. Although, tbh, he wasn't particularly smart. Really lively but not really clever. Actually, a bit of a daftie (I'm saying that in the most affectionate way possible). Maybe he had some sort of damage when his previous owners tied him up as a pup and left him to die of thirst :(

Yeah Huskies are lively but a bit dumb at times. They work out how to open things pretty quickly but they are goofballs - very sweet dogs with a lovely personality though!

Love your dogs' idea of a "small stick", phleb. My old staffie would do that, lug home a metre wide stick from the park, bashing peoples' ankles/shins on the way home. To then lose interest and abandon it when we arrived at our street...

out with people doing that thing where they're tethered to a waist strap and they run. Well-behaved happy huskies, fit people!
Cani-X

I can see why rescues get fussy, but I think some of them do have very restrictive rules. One near us wouldn't rehome to anyone with DC under ten, and actually laughed at me down the phone when I rang them up to enquire.

Oh 1horatio that's so sad. My mil had a goldie that they rescued from a farm when he was around 12 months old. He only had straw to eat & very little water. He was the most affectionate dog I have ever met, wherever our niece or my, at the time, baby dc1 was he'd be watching them. They never managed to get him happy on a lead though because he'd been tied up for his puppy hood. It broke my heart the day dh & fil had to take him to pts but he was around 15 years old so had had a good life for the most part.

Watching forlorn looking huskies trot around tiny London parks on leads makes me so sad. I've spent time with working huskies and they're BONKERS. So wild and furiously energetic, and such a pack instinct. I'll always remember when one half of the pack went out and the ones left behind would all lift their muzzles and howl. They just yearned to GO. Harnessing them up they would just be frantic with energy.
The people who worked with them would sometimes take some of them home for the night, which they loved, but only after they'd run 25k during the day!! They're soppy and love a roll over, but they're not for urban life.
I'd LOVE a collie. But I never will until my life is radically different as I know it wouldn't be happy.

My staffie/lab cross always hunts out sticks like that and will carry them for hours. She has the most phenomenal neck muscles! 😆

bernard

It is. Grandma found him on accident tied up on one of her fields (in Southern Italy in summer. No water or shadow around...). They really didn't want him to survive. Bastards :( and he was so obviously a bread dog. Who breeds a dog just to kill him so cruelly?

She gave him water but was a bit wary of getting an other new dog (she felt she was too old to take in a puppy) and rescue shelters are a joke where she's from. There are soooo many homeless dogs (I mean, it's normal to see them in wild dog groups roam the countryside and cities...) so you have to really harden your heart or end up with a 1000 dogs (I'm not kidding, btw). Unfortunately:(

But he jumped in her car once she tied him lose and gave him water etc the whole day she was working on the fields and she just couldn't leave him there.

When she did get too old we found him and her other dog great home together.

Sorry, ^ was to Phlebas.

I absolutely adore huskies but would never get one as I know I couldn't give it the exercise and work it needs but if I lived in Lapland maybe, if I lived somewhere where it could run about off-lead.

Pugs make me so sad, poor little dogs that can't breathe properly.

Aunt had a french bulldog, it was fine except it would get too cold in the winter, couldn't stand still for a moment when taking him for walks in the winter as he'd get too cold. We called him rat dog.

The husky fad is hopefully on the way out (and I say that as a husky owner). KC registrations have halved since their peak ten years ago and, while that doesn't include the many non-registered dogs being bred, it's hopefully indicative of a general trend. What I find worrying now is the huge increase in popularity of brachycephalic breeds with little awareness of how desperately deformed these dogs are.

I agree with this all so much! Saying that, there are several huskies round here, sod all recall, owners use my dog to exercise and recall theirs. Mine is trained. I had to escape one today who was determined to play with my dog, who was not interested. He's a working breed, was hard work to start with until we started to cater for him properly.

There are no husky or spitz types in my local rescue, only the usual staffie/staffie x and lurcher types, along with a couple of what look like loved little pets.

What annoys the shite out of me is the still booming designer dog market, call it some batshit name and automatically add £400 more to the price of a cross. Mad. There's zero thought put into the health of the parents, lots of poodle crosses round here with under or overshot jaws.

One of our neighbours was a gamekeeper with two of the most enormous collies you've ever seen. He lost his tied cottage so came to rent one in our road. He then carried on working, don't know where but obviously couldn't take the collies so left them in a pen in the garden, all day every day. For about two months, till he moved again, those dogs barked and barked and barked from morning to night. Drove me absolutely batshit crazy. And they were vicious looking things. If you met them out on a walk, they'd just stand there, stock still, watching you, with this continuous deep growl. Gave me the willies and I was bloody glad when they left.

All this overbreeding has made me convinced that I only want to get a mongrel if we do ever get a dog (OH really wants one but if he wants one he has to take responsibility for it including walking, that's the deal) as I don't want to encourage overbreeding.

No one should get any dog (or pet!) based on 'fashion'.
I despair that we live in a society where a living thing can still be seen as a fashion accessory.
But yes, where dogs that have specific needs for grooming, companionship or exercise, it makes it even more important that you do your homework before you get one.

Absolutely agree, OP. We got Rescuegirl at 7 months old - springer mum, "father unknown". If the father wasn't a border collie, I'll eat my hat. 2 long walks a day and a throwing stick in an acre garden kept us all sane. She's over 10 now and slowing down but the latest addition keeps her young. He's a poodle, a high energy breed, so we're still on the mega exercise regime!

We have a working cocker spaniel (didn't go for working specifically but really loved the breeder and felt we would get the best puppy and advice from her) he's only 7 months old and is a handful, we have three kids and me and do work full time.

It's hard work, we researched and knew he would be. Luckily my dp works nights so he's here during the day so he's hardly ever alone. One of us walks him for an hour each day and the kids keep him entertained after school and weekends around the house/garden playing fetch and hiding things for him. He's sooo friendly and never wants to be without us, sleeps on our bed (I know, I know )

He's such hard work but we wouldn't change him! Kids love him and he's part of our family. A previous poster said that a working couple with kids shouldn't have a working dog but I don't think the family dynamic matters, it's about the effort the owners put in to training/walking/entertaining the dog.

I was thinking, after the last horrible attack on a baby, that the dog rescue centres should take part of the blame. They are the ones rehoming these animals into inappropriate homes. Likewise they rehome collies etc to unsuitable homes. A pair of collies maimed a number of sheep where I live, the sheep were put down, the collies were taken to the rescue centre to be rehomed in the town. Better if dogs are unwanted they are all put down.
Many pets are bought from breeders and this needs to be better controlled, but the dog homing is not the asset it used to be.