Lighthearted - your ideal crossbreed dog?

[DogsBeastFiend]

Most of you will know that I'd never advocate taking on a crossbreed pup from anyone but a rescue, that's not what this is about. :) This is just for fun.

In an ideal world, if buying a crossbreed pup didn't mean buying from a backyard breeder and thus him coming without all the necessary health screens and guarantees of support, what would you dream up?

Another poster has helped me decide mine... a Rottie crossed with something big but fluffy. Perhaps a Rott X Chow? Better still, a Rottie crossed with a Newfoundland. :o

What's yours?

This is a tough one. [hgrin]

I'm a real sucker for gorgeous deerhound cross lurchers, the big, hairy ones - one day, when i win the lottery, I will have a huge baronial hall filled with these and greyhounds - most longdogs and sighthounds are gorgeous though. DH saw a fabulous Saluki X today in the park and wanted to dognap!

One of our family dogs growing up was a really wonderful terrier cross - lots of Welsh Terrier but possibly some JRT too - highly intelligent, full of mischief and a huge character. Lived to be 17 and I still miss him desperately (though he did make it to our wedding which was good) - I love these sorts of terrier mixes - so much personality and character. But you won't have a quiet life with them!

Nice ideas! You'd love the some of the dogs personally owned by the lady half of my local rescue. She's wild about hairy, shaggy, leggy grey things and has a 3 lurchery types like it, including, if I'm not mistaken, one with a fair bit of Deerhound in her. All are gentle, affectionate souls.

She also has as her own a little lad called Albert, AKA Bertie, whom I got out of an Irish pound just before he was about to be PTS (his housemate, whom he came in with, didn't make it... bastard pound manager :( ). Bertie is like a short legged version of the lurchers, same rough shaggy grey coat but Cocker sized. He's adorable, one of my favourites, very much "mine", IYSWIM, because of my involvement in his rescue.

My ideal dog is the one we already have: a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle - two rude words in one name, a cockapoo. [hblush]
He's a hairy, shaggy scruffball, with a sweet and biddable nature - he just loves being with people. And eating cowpats.

A GSD x malinois. Not quite up to the challenge of a full working bred malinois and the show type are too pointy and skinny for my liking; similarly I don't like the show type GSD, I know the gait is everything to the afficionados but I like a proper trot and also a tight, short coat. This would be my ultimate agility dog, I don't do collies!

I'm not normally a longdog person but I'd love to recreate a sort of Celtic hunting hound as described in one of my favourite novels, probably a cross between the Irish wolfhound, deerhound plus something a bit more substantial like a foxhound or pointer.

Ooh, Boldly I like your Celtic hunting hound. Why not include some Welsh foxhound in the mix? Though they are daft as a brush, I adore them too.

That's a tricky one. Probably something with the beauty and intelligence of a Weimaraner, the loyalty of a GSD, the abilty to colonize the sofa like a grund, and the non sheddy-ness of a chinese crested

All I know is it would be big and black and look like a 'proper' dog - like the dog a 3 yo will try to draw

My Lab X goodness knows (possibly GSD?) has all those qualities, except for the non shedding bit.

Dog hair... bane of my life!

Golden Retriever crossed with any fecker that doesn't shed

My beautiful GR is the sweetest, most wonderful, loving, daft as a brush dog in the world! I wouldn't change her for the world apart from shaving her bald

My Lab/poss lab cross has none except the black bit.
I could stuff a mattress daily and I only have one, I can only imagine what it is like with 3.

Although he is not yet a year so I am hoping he will fill out and look a bit like my perfect dog.

Bless him, he is thick as mince, though the nicest boy you could wish to meet. He is not my perfect dog, more the perfect family dog. I couldn't wish for more with young DC and a kitten thrown into the mix.

And it's quite nice knowing he doesn't have the desire to outsmart you, let alone the brains

Ooooh....scope for fantasy

I'd like some basenji (for the talking), some Weimeraner (for those intelligent, emotional eyes), some staffy (for the affection), all wrapped up in labrador. Please.

I have a black lab/collie. She is just lovely, very collie like in her shape so much more dainty than a true lab with the smaller head too. She is all black and lovely. Did I mention how lovely she is?

Believe it or not my big fluffy bear-dog is a pure-breed Rott (so we're told, he's a rescue so don't have papers or anything), they just turn out that way occasionally! People look at us like when we tell them though.

A Newfie or Bernese cross would probably look somewhat similar....maybe a Golden Retriever for more moderate size, though I've no idea colour(s) that would turn out! I think any of those would have an absolutely lovely temperament.

OOps! Sorry Ephiny. And sorry pooch!

I've never seen one with such a coat before. A slightly rougher, longer coat, yes, a "ruff" around the neck, yes, but never one I'd describe as cuddly-fluffy - in terms of fur that is, IMHO Rotts are fantastic dogs and very much cuddly in personality. :)

If it's any comfort, I get the same looks and comments about my purebred long haired white GSD. He has, apparently, a pedigree as long as yer arm, but folk often say, "What's he crossed with? I can see the retriever in him!".

We had a young Rotty running amok near the school gates the other day - she was lovely, but very very big and obviously not safe for her to be on the roads, nor appropriate for the kids about to swarm out at home time.

Luckily we had a very nice doggy mum who coaxed her in and gave her water and a cuddle till her owners could be found. She (the Rotty) was huge and very fluffy and bear-like

Ephiny - your boy is beautiful

Ephiny, he's gorgeous!

I wonder what the waggy piggy-snuffly exuberance of a staffie crossed with the size and shagginess of a wolfhound or a deerhound would be like. My current cross is (at best guess, as he was a stray) a blue merle collie (or possibly berdie) crossed with some species of whippet lurcher and he's fab - not the brightest and has obviously got baggage from a nasty past, but an absolute sweetheart and such a character.

Dsis has a lab/springer cross who is particularly gorgeous - bouncy character of a springer with the intelligence (and greed!) of a lab). She says he's called a Labradinger!

Staffy/Husky or Mal or Akita x. Looks wise, anyway, whether I could keep up with such a x-breed is a different matter

I have realised after joining a fitness bootcamp some kind of hell that having two lazy hounds to stroll gently with on a daily basis is not helping me keep fit as was the plan . Maybe I should swap them all for Huskies

my ideal would be a staffy/border terrier cross

it would have the staffy smile and stocky-ness with the scruffy wirehair of the border.

heaven!

My Jack Russell/ Spaniel cross is beautiful

But in reality, I think I'd go for our sheltie crossed with something that doesn't bark or collect golf balls of poo in the fur under the tail . Maybe a short haired German Shepherd? Or something very laid back, like a lab?

So, can anyone recommend a short haired, non barking dog I can cross my sheltie with? (don't worry, he's actually neutered )

I then think I would have the perfect dog.

Dooin, I lost 13lbs in weight in the first year I had huskies. I wasn't exactly big to start with and certainly wasn't dieting!

Scuttle - yes, they'd be ideal. :) Definitely English foxhound as well though, I'd like to have a mixture of short and broken coats, as well as hopefully some unusual colours. Brindles, blues and ticked coats are mentioned and prized in the novel. Might have to add a dash of collie after all to get the merle.

i have a cocker spaniel, and last week she was very nearly violated by a rotti,[hshock]

(she was so upset he didnt even ask her out on a date or anything, no pillow talk :(

we were joking she would have cocker-rot puppies or cocker-rockers or rotter-cockers, and few others that were a little rude

Is it my dogs that inspired this thread

Therefore I already have the perfect crossbreed rescue. Admittedly he's only the perfect dog if your criteria is a large, hairy, willful, pig-headed, selectively deaf, bin raiding, duvet/bed hog. I can almost understand why his previous owners wanted rid. Lucky for him, he's devilishly handsome and I like a challenge

Whoops...should have read the thread first. My dogs didn't inspire the thread at all

Long haired Rotts are fab though!

A husky crossed with something lazy, please...