Does this breed exist?!

[Renovationhell]

Just for a bit of fun before all of the rescue obsessed jump on. My rescue is currently sat at my feet. We also have many years training, socialising and owning dogs between us but also know genetics trump most things!

My sister has always had Newfoundland’s. She loves everything about them except that they just aren’t very portable and don’t fit easily in caravans or holiday lets. Ideally she would shrink a newf for her next dog but as that’s not a thing she’s been wondering if there was anything else that she may like.

What she’s looking for:
KC reg breed only. No crosses. Bonus points for rare breeds. She does show.
Medium exercise requirements. No mad collies or needing hours of running to be able to sit still.
Cuddly affectionate personality. Personality is most important.
Friendly to everyone, kids and strangers included.
Something happy to go anywhere the family goes so pretty robust and not easily spooked.
Small/medium.
Don’t mind fluffy, grooming isn’t an issue. Prefer no curly coats that need to go to the groomer.
Doesn't need to be a genius but biddable.

What she doesn’t want:
Nothing that barks all the time.
No brachys, staffies or bull breeds.
No sighthounds (own chickens and rabbits!)
Nothing that can’t be left for 2mins without howling the place down (sorry poodles that’s you!)
Nothing bred to fight or guard.
No spaniels/ pointers etc (sorry spaniel lovers but they are just too busy and I’ve met so many nervy ones!)

The dog would want for nothing, live on a small holding and would be included in every aspect of family life so although the threads lighthearted it’s important to get the right fit.

Having probably offended most of the doghouse is there anything left?

@Renovationhell pembroke, he's red and white.

I like the Dandie Didmont idea. A dandie would really turn heads in the show ring! Not sure how they'd go with the rabbits, but that's true of 99% of breeds.

Not shelties. High pitched non stop barking. Need constant mental stimulation.

Some sight hounds can be surprisingly good with pocket pets ( Although rabbits, once again, would be hard ). A whippet might be nice, although not a rare breed.

I'd suggest a corgi too.
I had one before, and minus the shedding, he was pretty much a perfect dog. Not a barker at all and no nipping. He was a pembroke.

@Renovationhell - Samoyeds are called Teflon coats because the mud and grubbiness falls off them lol ... saying that she was washed a few weeks ago and all the mud has taken its toll so her current state is off white lol - she doesn't enjoy water so she doesn't get a shampoo too often lol ... although she adores a muddy puddle 🙀🤣

I always thought of corgis as naughty due to the reputation the queens ones had 😂 I will look again! Can Pembrokes have a tail or just cardis?

I will add samyoeds in that case!

Entlebucher Sennenhund might be one to look at. Basically a small Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.

They're gorgeous, there's one who goes to the pub and is friendly but not overly so.

Absolutely not to shelties or schnauzers. Most of them are so barky and neurotic. Our neighbours schnauzers have killed all her chickens despite her best efforts. They bark and snap at the kids endlessly. Noooooo

Yeah. Shelties are lovely, but they are sheepdogs - they do need a job.

Schnauzers can be great, but they are closely related to dobermans. Clever, alert watchdogs that really need a job.

My pembroke had a glorious fox tail, but he was born in my home country where tail docking was banned. As far as I know, they're born with a tail in the UK too.

Sheltie, Boston Terrier, Scottish Terrier or Pomeranian might suit you.

Had 2 Poms for 13 years, both rescues. They are feisty, clever, loyal and entertaining little dogs. Need a bit of grooming but there's far more to them than a designer hand bag dog.

Rough or smooth collie - not the same as a border collie. Our rough has one walk a day. Their job would be to look after the fluffies! Or a Skye terrier - really solid and very lovely. Bearded collies are fab too but more bouncy than roughs. Samoyeds are lovely.

They are VERY vocal and can be aloof to reactive to both people and dogs.

Its Easy you need the Gentlemen of the Terrier Family the Dandie Dinmont.
Fantastic little robust dogs, go anywhere one never barks and the other barks at the doorbell its in the breed to be silent as they were used as stealth hunters.
We are currently on Dogs number 6 & 7 and the two dandies we now have are the best companions ever. A joy to own
https://www.donthibernate.co.uk/dummys-guide-to-dandie-dinmont-terriers/

After having had a smooth collie I wouldn’t recommend one without a lot of research. Our girl was elegantly beautiful, intelligent and loyal to my husband - she was very much a one person dog. However she was incredibly anxious, was terrified of children and had a huge prey drive which ended up killing her. When we realised the scale of her issues we got in touch with some of her relatives’ owners and discovered that anxiety and reactivity were common in some lines.

I actually did loads of research into rough collies before I got my own dog (I’m a collie person!) I spoke to a friend who’s a clinical behaviourist who said that every one she’s met has been snappy. That put me off!

Wouldn’t want anything prone to reactivity so that rules out the entlebutcher.

How cute are dandy dinmonts! Will look into this further

A well bred Rough is not snappy or nervous, but there certainly are some that are. I have owned many of the breed, for 40 odd years, and never had a nervous or snappy one. As with all breeds, look at the parents.

Equally, the vast majority of today's Smooths are very even tempered - more 'full on' than most Roughs, but easy going and trainable, with an off switch.

I don't suppose you have seen this TV show as its in Gaelic but with English subtitles, it shows the Scottish rare breeds, great show showing how he chooses his two puppies
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002572n

(Roughs desperately need new exhibitors too, they'd be thrilled to welcome your sister!)

@Pleasedontdothat Sorry to hear about your smooth. It is a good point that the more endangered a breed then the fewer lines are available so research is important. Collies are super sensitive to noise. Ours is terrified of fireworks and gunshot bangs. Probs would be fine if part of normal every day life, ie, bird scarers from a pup, ours is fine with airplanes as we live near an airport, but if that isn't the case then perhaps too nervy for this person. Newfies seem quite chilled.

Shih Tzu.. we have one who's big for his breed.. he's the happiest friendliest dog ever. A bit lazy on dark mornings but will walk for miles (and happy not to). Needs haircuts but doesn't shed

Flat coat retriever. If you like a newfie, flatcoats have been bred down from them, so they are smaller but still water obsessed!
They do shed a bit, but are wonderful, fun loving dogs who enjoy spending time with the family.

Left field suggestion: Cardigan corgi. They are generally a bit more obedient and biddable than the Pembrokes, though not quite as bright. It's a rare breed as well. They do need a good couple of hours proper exercise but can be quite calm indoors. They aren't really affectionate to strangers though. Ours adores his family and shows it, but he's a bit indifferent to other people. Never nasty or aggressive, just not that interested.

If she wants KC then easiest solution would be a yellow or black lab. Yes you can get odd ones but mostly they are fun, biddable, good with kids etc and overall pretty reliable, 'easy' dogs. High end of medium exercise though and they can be greedy😂. But if she wants to 'show' then I presume she already knows what to look out for.

A Kooikerhondje checks all those boxes, but they can be a bit sensitive, so any anxiety has to be spotted and trained away at a very young age. No problem for an experienced owner. They are not very affectionate with strangers, but always remain friendly. Very cuddly and affectionate with "their" people, intelligent but biddable, very strong will to please. Very playful. They were bred in the Netherlands in order to lure ducks into duck decoys (koois), so they have very little need to hunt.

Coat needs bi-weekly brushing and we clip the nails regularly, but no further grooming necessary (apart from the obvious).

They are a medium sized breed, happy to follow you anywhere you go. Ours is fine with being left alone for up to 5 hours, but the training was slow, it doesn't really come naturally to them, they weren't bred to be independent. But it's doable if you go slowly.

They are a very old, very rare breed, medium sized, and you should only buy one from an established breeder who wil perform all the necessary genetic tests on the parents (the breed almost died out after WWII, so the serious breeders test to avoid further inbreeding).

They are seriously so special, once you get a Kooiker, you'll never go back.