I'm going to be getting a dog soon…

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been doing research on dog breeds, and have narrowed it down to a few specifics, I’m not looking for a purebred, and I will be adopting from a local shelter, I just have to wait for the right dog to adopt me…

I live on a farm, we have 50 acres of land, mostly hay fields with a mix of Timothy and alfalfa hay, we have a one acre man made pond, stocked with largemouth bass, and the property is surrounded by woods and a couple small woodlots, needless to say, any dog would be happy here

We have a pair of indoor/outdoor cats, shorthairs, a few barn cats at my sister’s barn, and she has a couple toy sized dogs as well, a mini-dachsund, and a ( groan) long haired chihuaua, and yes, it’s as annoying as the stereotype, the mini-D is great, but getting on in years…

So, the new dog will have to get along with cats (they were here first) and will encounter my sister’s dogs, as her house is also on the property

The breeds I’m considering, in no particular order, are;
Border Collie
German Shepherd
Siberian Husky
Alaskan Malamute
Labrador Retriever
Or a mixed breed with one or more of the above bloodlines

My prime consideration, must be good with cats, must be intelligent and trainable, and must be mellow and easygoing, personality-wise, no high strung yapper, but also must be a good watchdog

I know, tall order…

So far, I’ve visited two shelters, the NHSPCA just outside Greenland/Portsmouth NH, and a smaller shelter closer by

The NHSPCA looks to be a great place, the animals are clearly well cared for and well adjusted, the kitteh room has three distinct playrooms where you can interact with cats outside their cages, the dog room also has playrooms, and they have plenty of outdoor spaces to walk the dogs

The other shelter, well, I was not impressed, multiple mobile home trailers bolted together, the facility was directly across from a prison complex, the dog kennels with barely enough room for medium to large dogs to turn around, and almost every dog there was showing signs of aggression barking, the only dog that seemed remotely well adjusted was a sweet yellow lab named Putt-Putt

Sadly, Putt was not good with cats, otherwise a great dog

The feeling I got from that facility was pure desperation and panic, NONE of the animals wanted to be there, and indeed, I got a general “feeling of death” from that place, kind of like what you feel in a badly run nursing home…

The NHSPCA, OTOH, impressed me enough to want to volunteer there

Sadly, no doggies matched my needs at either place, but NHSPCA is getting in some more dogs in the next couple weeks, maybe one of them will adopt me?

2

I have two dogs; a lab mix and a Siberian Husky mix.

As a general rule, Siberian Huskies and cats do not mix. I’m sure that’s not the case for every one of them, but it most certainly is the case for mine. They are escape artists, and in a weird way, sort of cat like in that they will listen to you when they want.

Don’t get me wrong, my Polar is a huge love and thinks he’s lap dog, but he has a strong prey drive. He’s killed two very large possums that made the mistake of getting into my yard. He’s also intelligent. I have a garbage can with an electronic lid. That crazy dog stood there and watched my put garbage in the can. A few minutes later, he stuck his muzzle over the sensor and opened the garbage in hopes of getting a “treat”. Fortunately, I caught him. I often catch him in the act. He’s a counter surfer and I’ve learned to never, ever leave food out, even for a second. I guess he’s trained us.

Labs as general rule, are people pleasers and extremely protective of their “pack”. My Brandi is the second lab mix (both black lab) I’ve owned, and she is almost everything literature says about the breed. My first lab was the same. Labs are extremely affectionate, and don’t like to be alone.

3

We had a border collie/lab mix who was a super-sweetie. She was gentle, playful, and very mellow. She was curious about cats when they arrived, then pretty much ignored them. She got along well with all kinds of dogs - she even aced the Canine Good Citizen first time out! :smiley:

Needless to say, I recommend that mix highly. She had the herding instinct of the border collie and the laid back personality of a lab. I suppose there are no guarantees, but Bernie was a wonderful dog who lived with us for nearly 15 years. I still miss her.

4

My grandparents had a border collie/lab mix and a cat, who got along. Great dog :slight_smile:

5

The best dog I ever owned was a border collie/black lab mix. He was great with cats, other dogs, kids, horses, you name it.

6

I’d recommend a lab or lab mix for your situation, but a border collie could work out well too—if you have ample time to spend with it. Border collies need a lot of activity and exercise, and they will try to herd everything, including those cats. They’re sweethearts, though, and smart. Also think about an Australian Shepherd if you settle on a herding dog. Both of these dogs require a fair amount of grooming, especially if they spend a lot of time roaming outside. Their coats can pick up burrs and all kinds of stuff. Our border collie sheds like mad.

Labs are generally marvelous farm and yard dogs. We have several living on neighboring farms, and they often come over to visit us. We’ve never had a problem with aggression from them even though we have a fairly nervous, unsocialized border collie mix of our own. They’re easy to take care of with short coats and no fear of water. Like all large breeds they can have hip problems.

Our new pup is a blue heeler (Australian Cattle Dog), which is a smaller, sleeker type of herding dog. She’s the only dog of the breed I’ve met, but she would match your requirements completely. She is the friendliest, happiest, least neurotic dog I’ve ever had, and smart as a whip. She loves her humans and her dogs and her cat unreservedly and is unfazed by unexpected noises or events. I’ve seen more and more of this breed showing up on local shelter listings, so you might want to keep an eye out for one.

I love huskies; they’re beautiful and intelligent dogs, but they aren’t known for their stability of temperament. As Taters said, they have a strong prey drive and they can get out of almost any enclosure. (They climb very, very well!) Malamutes have similar issues. Both of those breeds require a fair amount of grooming as well. I also love German Shepherds and have had several in my extended family, but they can be unpredictable and are considered by some municipalities to be “dangerous.” They’re great watchdogs and can be very loving and gentle, but I would worry a bit about the cats and the little dogs.

Good luck with your search, and don’t forget to post pics when you find your new pal.

7

Of the dogs on that list, I would recommend the collie, if you’re dedicated to giving it lots of exercise and attention, or the lab, if you’re looking for something low-maintenance.

A border collie will need lots of directed attention, even with land to roam on. The sled dogs are just as high-maintenance as the collie but harder to train. Germain Shepherds are wonderful dogs - if you can find a healthy one, which is hard to do. The Lab is a lovely dog but not necessarily the best watch dog. Still, I think the Lab is probably the best choice.

Whether a dog is good with cats mostly has to do with how the dog was raised. A puppy who was raised with cats will usually be ok when meeting new cats. It’s not too hard to find a rescue dog who is coming from a home with cats. Often, you can find the dog and cat together and take them both.

8

Malamute owner checking in. Taters is right when talking about the nordics - they typically love cats, but they won’t eat all of one in a single meal. With that said, mine is very friendly to them - but isn’t liked by cats because she comes on strongly and I’ve never let her get close enough to one of them to get into a full-on fight (she interprets the arching and hissing as play behaviours - I don’t know how she’d respond to a claw in the nose).

But that’s the product of a lot of socialisation, and I’ve had to clean up the remains of pigeons and mynahs that got into the house.

Mals are big wanderers and anything that you don’t have at least a 6’ (and probably 8’) fence around isn’t secure. Nor is it if it can be dug under. As I don’t like your odds of fencing the entire 50 acres to that degree, a mal or a husky may not be for you.

With that said, don’t limit yourself to local pounds, particularly if you have breeds in mind. Talk to rescue groups for those particular breeds. They may be able to put you in touch with a pup that suits your lifestyle and are more likely than pounds to have some background as to why the dog was given up (family moving, family can’t handle both dog and new baby, dog was destroying furniture, vet bills were too much, etc.).

Also, be aware that the breeds you’ve listed are all subject to genetic dispositions to diseases that are both crippling and expensive, and may have been dropped at a pound by owners who are aware of something you don’t know. Before you pick up a dog, check with your local vet to see how much they’d charge to do a scan for problems and include that in the cost of the adoption. If you can’t afford a dog that’s likely to develop hip dysplasia in three years, you need to know that before you adopt them.

Good luck!

9

I’m a German Shepherd owner and have owned several in my life.
They certainly fulfill the intelligent, trainable and good watchdog requirements.
I never have owned any cats (or any other pets) but I have a feeling that a German Shepherd / cat pairing might not work out well.

10

Labradoodle person here (not on your list, but worth your consideration, in my opinion). Our Benji is very good with cats - a neighbour’s cat, Old Joe, is a 30 lb. meatloaf with fur. When we meet Old Joe on the street, Benji will sit and allow me to pet the cat. Then Joe will rub on Benji’s chin.

It didn’t take much training at all to get him to be good around cats. Most other cats in the neighbourhood aren’t interested in sticking around to meet a 75 lb. dog, though we’re working on them…

11

Agree with the general consensus so far. While individual dogs, of course, vary from their “breed tendencies”:

The sled dog types (Nordics, bignik called them – hadn’t heard that before) are famous for going off-reservation and wandering. And in general they thrive better with strong human leadership (you shouldn’t have to be rough with any dog, but these types look to you for instruction and guidance more than some dogs). And apparently they’re not always good with cats.

A Border Collie will also benefit from a lot of human interaction and training. If you want to put in a lot of time with a BC, you may luck into one who practically runs the farm for you (“with” you, really).

The labs will LOOOOVE having a pond – you shouldn’t be surprised to find them wet a lot of the time – and they’re easygoing. Not necessarily the best watchdogs, though.

The German Shepherd Dog (GSD) will be the best watchdog per se on that list, and they can be trained to get along well with cats. I’m not certain about livestock, though.

Many, many years ago, we had a GSD mixed with some sort of water dog, probably lab. She looked all Shepherd but had a water-resistant undercoat and adored water. Princess raised two abandoned kittens as her own, and was a fantastic companion/guardian for three human children. I don’t know if you can find a Shepherd/Lab mix easily, but such a dog might be the perfect solution.

edited to add: And thank you for thinking rescue!

12

Thanks for wanting to adopt!
I highly recommend you trywww.petfinder.org.
And check with your local vet and groomer too.

13

According to Wikipedia, GSDs were originally bred to work with sheep, so they could possibly be good with livestock.

(source: German Shepherd - Wikipedia)

14

Since this thread seems to be about advice and opinions, moving it to IMHO (from MPSIMS).

15

Well shepherd is right there in the name.

16

I have 2 GSDs, a doberman, a standard poodle, a giant schnauzer and an english setter. And 14 acres, with hundreds of acres around me. All the dogs are good with cats except the giant schnauzer. She’s okay, but a little too interested. All except the english setter are good watchdogs, as one would expect. The doberman wants to chase the horses, but could be trained out of it - right now I keep them separated by a fence. I personally love dobies and find GSDs loving but neurotic. The standard poodle is a great, great dog, but the coat care on a farm is tough. I clip her down a few times a year. I think my ideal dog might be a doberman/st. poodle cross.

I had a malamute. He was a good dog and fine with cats. I got him as a senior, though, after his owner abandoned him at the barn where I used to board my horse. In his younger days he was a roamer and couldn’t be contained, from what I was told.

StG

17

I’m gonna buy me a dog
'cause I need a friend now

18

Based on my experience, labs and border collies are difficult to train, for different reasons.
Border collies require a lot of attention and can get to be real problem children if they don’t get it. The BC might be a little more high strung than what you’re looking for. They are, however, very intelligent.
Labs, well I don’t think they fit your “intelligent” requirement very well. I’m sure many others have had positive experiences with labs.
German Shepherds meet your requirements. I have a friend with a GS and cats…they seem to do Ok.

19

My experience with labs (we had a black lab named Valentine when I was a kid), was that they were rather smart and eager to please, Val was a stellar dog, and very smart, I still miss her even to this day

I think labs are in the top 10 of most intelligent dogs, and whatever intelligence they lack compared to a BC, GSD, or Nordic breed is more than made up for with their sweet disposition

After Val, we had an English Springer Spaniel named Rikki, she was sweet and loving, quite smart (would not fall for the “invisible ball” trick, she’d watch your hands to see if the “ball” left,

After Rikki, we had Hannah, a medium sized mixed breed dog of unknown parentage, also freindly and sweet, but dumb as a box of hammers, she would ALWAYS fall for the “invisible ball” trick, over and over, I could look at her, and in a happy voice ask her "hey Hannah, do you want a LOBOTOMY!?!? and she’d enthusiastically hop up and down with a blissfully clueless and excited expression as if to say “yeahyeahyeah, gimme lobotomy!”

To be fair, she was simply reacting to my tone and inflection, I could get the same response speaking gibberish to her, or even Klingon …

20

Sled dog breeds are famous for
1.wandering away
2. predatory behavior (many will kill anything they can catch)
3. stubbornness
4. shedding
they are also usually very sweet tempered with people (though male Malamutes can be territorial and fight with other dogs) and beautiful.

Labradors are easy to train, sweet tempered, and mellow, as a rule. They are not, actually, super bright, just very compliant. If you have a pond they will stay wet all the time.

Border Collies can be extremely high-strung and obsessive. The working lines and the show lines are better bets, temperament-wise than the “sport” lines (bred for Agility and Flyball). They will try to herd everything including you, the cats, laser beams, anything. They are hypnotized by motion. They are very, very bright, and must have something to do, they aren’t designed to lay around placidly. Watch out for shy-sharpness in this breed (snapping fearfully, hiding in corners)

German Shepherds are not bred for herding in this country, so don’t expect much in that line. They are either show type (sickly cripples, the shame of the AKC) or protection/search & rescue type (these come from lines imported from Eastern Europe, in the main). Both types are very loyal, trainable, and bright. They both shed continually. They are high-exercise-needs and high-energy-input dogs, meaning that, like some other herding breeds, they want to be near you ALL the time, and they want to be useful, in any way possible.

Lab x Border Collie crosses are common around here and seem to make nice companion dogs, brightening up the one and mellowing out the other.

Personally I think sled dog breeds make some of the worst possible rural dogs unless you intend to hitch them to a sled (and chain them up when at home). They are very likely to get loose, go after your neighbor’s sheep, and get deservedly shot.