Does anyone own rare native breed dog?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

As the owner of a common-or-garden Labrador, who makes up for it by regularly being Best Dog ( oh yes he is, who’s best dog? Yes you are etc.), I’m a little starstruck by the glorious Otterhound who cheerfully ambles about our village, oblivious to her celebrity status. I also remember a gorgeous Cumber (?) Spaniel who attended the special class for naughty dogs that I frequented as a twelve year old with our rescue Staffie. Both rare and gorgeous things.

Anyone else care to share their rare native breed dog to enrich my fantasy of having a house full of them? Photos would be doubly marvellous.

Not mine, but there was a lady who used to walk a sealyham terrier.

Very rare around these parts

Not me but we live down the road from Old English breeders! Quite a site to see a brood of them being walked

I looked at getting a Sealyham cross a few months ago (couldn't afford a full Sealyham) but the litter I found was in England and we were in Wales so not practical. My grandmother had a Sealyham and I loved her to bits.

Not a native breed but my daughter and I saw a man with a Borzoi last year. I was so star struck I crossed the road to speak to him because I had never seen one in the flesh (or in the fur?) before. He was absolutely stunning - very tall and stately with a beautiful coat.

Not on the vulnerable list but on the watch list, we have an Irish Terrier, which is lovely and full of characters but they do seem to have a bit of reputation for being feisty and not good with other dogs. My one has a few breeds that he doesn't like but very good with most dogs, incredibly affectionate as well and of course the most handsome breed there is

@CityDweller

What sort of size are Welsh Springers?

I’d love an English or Red & White Irish setter (both on the list), but I don’t think we’re the right home for one, sadly.

Similar to an English but less stocky. Smaller than a red and white setter.

We have a lovely 1 year old Irish Red and White Setter. He is in full teenage mode at the moment but really is a chilled out pup who is Brilliant with our toddler 😊 there are so few being bred in the UK now, the Irish red setter is much more popular (we had lots of these growing up) 🐕

Oh he is absolutely GORGEOUS @Emberblu.

There are dozens of different terriers, all created to kill different prey long ago. Now dogs are primarily pets we choose breeds which are better suited to our needs. Some breeds are popular but shouldn’t be, like huskies in centrally heated flats or border collies who are not trained or exercised.
I know two bloodhounds and one was used to find a little lost dog.

@CityDweller

Oh he is absolutely GORGEOUS *@Emberblu*.

Thank you, he has his moments

I have Skye Terriers. Right up there near the top of the At Risk list
I used to show & breed them for years but now I just keep a few.
I also used to have two Old English Sheepdogs, one of which taught my so to walk by letting him haul himself up with his fur & walk very slowly beside him while he learned to toddle. Then they’d play chariot races, son in his baby walker, giggling like mad, hanging on to his rump while they both charged around at top speed .

Lost our smooth coated Fox Terrier in April last year. Sadly we never bred from her and she was daft as a brush, but she was the most loving dog imaginable.

Excitable but lovely nature, NOT smart though!! Bless her, miss her terribly, clumsy deftness and all

Daftness, not deftness!

BoogleMcGroogle I can honestly say our otterhound is the easiest dog we've ever had - she's about the same size as a lab, needs about the same exercise, and is a patient, big-hearted love bug. Like all hounds, she's quite food motivated and not really trainable in the gundog sense, but she's quick to learn tricks for treats and worked out how to use the doorbells on the back door in record time. 'Work' for an otterhound would be tracking, rather than retrieval/pointing/picking up, but they're intelligent dogs so would probably be up for it!

The only downsides are the shedding (we got a Robovac) and the need for space - otterhounds are definitely a countryside dog. They're strong, but gentle with it, so you do need to set boundaries. But basically, I adore her, and can't imagine our home without my lanky, shaggy medieval hound now.

Dandie Dinmont terrier. I dont know why we didn't get one sooner?www.donthibernate.co.uk/dummys-guide-to-dandie-dinmont-terriers/

Oddly enough whenever we’ve been in Scotland with my Skyes we often get asked if they are Dandie Dinmonts 😳. Even in their homeland my lot rarely get recognised!
Did you know that Moffat regularly hosts Dandie club shows? Last time I was there there were dozens of them knocking around the streets before the show.

We have a native vulnerable breed. It is declining further, so it is a real worry on several fronts. As a rare and eye-catching sort, it is often difficult to proceed on our way on a walk, even rurally, where we live. People do like to stop you, often with the same old comments, often multiple times on a walk. I like meeting others who have or had the breed or with a genuine interest in having one, but otherwise I have had to develop selective deafness and eyesight and a quick walk/run over the years.

@SparePantsAndLego

The family of an ex-boyfriend used to have a Kerry Blue. She was gorgeous, smart, affectionate, had a lovely personality and was utterly beautiful. She was better than my ex! I have two wonderful rescues at the moment but I do often think of Kerry Blues.

My parents had a Kerry blue years ago. They rescued him and sadly we think he had been abused (he was 6 months when they took him on!). He wasn't the best behaved, difficult to leave alone in the house and as he got older he became aggressive. Still left a big hole in the house when he died aged 12

@Darklane a Dandie show in Moffat?? Why have I never heard of this? I live not far from there aswell!

This is our smooth collie - a vulnerable breed in this country, but much more popular overseas. Absolutely beautiful nature although he is regularly called a hairy idiot.

About 1 in 30 people who stop to talk to us about him (and lots do) get the breed right. Most people have never heard of smoothies.

I’m really interested in getting a Welsh springer, we’ve been planning getting a dog for ages. Where should I look for one?

We sadly lost our gorgeous field spaniel a couple of years ago. He was daft as a brush, difficult to train and so food obsessed he didn't care about the consequences! However he was also very affectionate, gentle and full of personality. We've never come across anyone else who has owned a 'fieldie' but have come across the odd Clumber or Sussex spaniel owner, and it's always good to meet those who are supporting the vulnerable breeds

My local park is like crufts most days. It's fascinating. From the native breeds there is a lady with 3 clumbers, a lovely deer hound, a smooth fox terrier and a curly coat retriever that I'm completely in love with.

Other breeds seen this week two shar peis today, a woman with 5 Tollers yesterday, 2 seperate Great Danes, one harlequin coloured and a beautiful English pointer.

I love meeting them all and getting to know the different breeds.

We have a dozen pharaoh hounds in our village, they're stunning

We have a Manchester Terrier puppy they’re classed as a vulnerable breed.
Everyone seems to automatically assume he’s a Doberman and when you tell them they say “What? Never heard of it”
He wasn’t easy to find and we were on waiting lists for the best part of a year after losing our previous dog.
We were heavily grilled by his breeder too before being allowed to have him to make sure we really were a suitable home. We did FaceTime videos and they checked up a few times by phone that someone was home during the day.
Worth it all though, he’s an absolute darling

Having been practically raised by bloodhounds I can tell you there's a reason they're endangered . You need a large amount of space, a high tolerance for slobber, and low expectations of obedience.

But just in case anyone out there is considering it....they're actually fabulous dogs for the right family. Very good temperament (in that they are tolerant and easygoing, not in the 'doing what I'm told' sense), great characters and hunting/tracking with them is good fun, even if it is the worlds most esoteric pass time .