This is way off your list, and it was off our lists when we started thinking about adopting a rescue dog, but have you considered a grayhound? They have already been trained to perfection, they don’t chase unless they are given permission and are very sweet and playful.
Our lil sweetiepie is the easiest dog I’ve ever handled, very smart and very eager to please. When we let her off leash, she runs like the wind but always comes back when she is called. She will fetch for hours, while she really REALLY wanted to chase the our cats, she knew better. So, being the smart people we are, we taught her that cats aren’t squeek toys and now use her to fetch the idiot declawed, half toothless housecat when he squeeks out the door. She came with a very gentle mouth. I don’t think that she knows how to bite.
She rarely barks, but we always know when someone is coming to the house because she gets so excited about meeting a new friend that she gets in our faces and runs to the windows and doors.
So, maybe think about it.
And, thank you for considering a rescue dog. I hope you find the perfect once for your situation.
The only drawback I can see to a greyhound is that they’re not really set up for New England winters, and would need protection from cold weather, otherwise I would consider them
And if that thought intrigues you, there is an English Shepherd “Gathering” (they don’t do dog shows, just picnics) in your part of the country in a few days: english shepherd gathering
ES are the old time farm collie of the eastern half of North America. My grandparents had one on their Wisconsin dairy farm. They are pretty much ideal for your situation, so I encourage you to look into it.
Two of the absolute best dogs I’ve ever had that would fit your requirements were GSD mixes: Shep was THE dog of my childhood, and was half collie (standard, Lassie-type collie.) He was a wonderful companion, very smart, protective, and good with kids and smaller animals. Scooby was half lab, and just a big lovemonkey, but protective of his pack, without being agressive. Another breed you might consider, depending upon what’s available: great Pyrenees are generally quite smart, bred for herding so they typically get along with small animals, and are excellent guard dogs. Our late Sebastian was a wanderer, but smart enough to be property trained. We have Pandora now, who’s a Pyr/St. Bernard mix, and very dumb, but she doesn’t wander, (and I sincerely believe she’s brain damaged, perhaps due to a birth injury.) Most Pyrs are scary-smart, and pretty independent, and surprisingly low-maintenance, assuming you train them to know their territory.
Just a note: Pyrs are not herding dogs, they are Livestock Guardian Dogs (commonly known as LGDs). They, along with many similar breeds such as Anatolian Shepherds, Kuvaszok, Komondorok, etc. are bred to live with a flock of sheep or goats and protect them. They identify with the flock, not, like a Border Collie, with the shepherd. All these breeds are large, territorial, usually white, independent, with low prey drive. They drive away predators by barking, not usually by attacking (so they have a tendency to bark).
The use of LGDs, introduced in the 1970’s into North America, has become very common in flock management especially with sheep, as predators are a huge economic problem here (unlike in New Zealand & Australia which now dominate the sheep industry – partly for that very reason).
These breeds run on a continuum from most to least people-friendly/aggressive.Pyrs are the most people-friendly of the lot, and are often used in cross-breeding to bring in that quality. They don’t wander as far as some of the others, either. But they are not the devoted companions that a shepherd-type dog tends to be, they are not bred for that.
German Shepherds are low maintenance generally but need something to do.
Siberian Huskies are not for the faint-hearted. You have to be busy and outdoorsy (not a couch potato type) and you have to be the Alpha Male all the time.
Both breeds need consistent, firm training and they will run roughshod over you if you let them.
Ulfreida is correct, and I misspoke. Pyrenees aren’t herding dogs. But they’re excellent guard dogs, and their barks are definitely a deterrent to any except the most foolhardy intruders! My Pyrs, and the ones I’ve been around,aren’t immediately friendly towards new people, but they don’t tend to be aggressive - just wary. And if you are part of their pack, beware: a 140-pound lapdog can be a little awkward!
I vote for Border Collie, the herding breeds are just SOOOO much fun and super-smart, especially vocabulary wise.
You don’t want a husky. Malemutes…same thing, both are one-track mind BULL-headed hard to train dogs, and the Malemutes especially shed like nobody’s business. I mean HUGE clumps of hair, anywhere they live will look like a cotton mill exploded. And cats aren’t usually too safe around huskies. I’ve had more than a few friends, when I still lived in Alaska, whose cats were ripped apart by a husky. However, take my advice with a grain of salt, I’m sure there will be malemute and husky owners in to dispute that with tales of the best dog ever, which is of course entirely probable. Any dog has the potential to be the best dog ever.
Missed the edit window…(edit) whoops, as others have mentioned, the draw back of “scary smart dog” is potentially neurotic. I have an Aussie, and they need a LOT of interaction. They really need a job, that’s the hard part, the easy part is, it can be a lot of really easy to do things. Fenced yard + basketball + herding dog = self-exercising dog.
Since shelter 2 is down the road from work (5 minute drive) I stopped in a second time, as they claimed to have a new Lab there…
Nope, Mastiff/Lab mix, and showed clear signs of aggression barking, once again, this shelter felt… Wrong to me, so I left, on the drive back there was a doggie daycare/dog supplies store called K9 Kaos, clean, bright, had a happy feel to it, they have adoption sessions on the weekends and the dogs are kept in foster homes
They partnered with this rescue org for adoptions
I’ve already found three contenders, and will be meeting them on Saturday, Jax, Garth, and Cha-Cha
I have found with cats that most dogs will get along with the family pet cat but the barn cats will be another story. I would stear clear of the malamute and siberian husky, great dogs but can be a handfull if you don’t know what you are dealing with. I second the collie lab mixes, great dogs on a farm. German sheperd mixes are great as well.
And cats aren’t usually too safe around huskies. I’ve had more than a few friends, when I still lived in Alaska, whose cats were ripped apart by a husky. However, take my advice with a grain of salt, I’m sure there will be malemute and husky owners in to dispute that with tales of the best dog ever, which is of course entirely probable. Any dog has the potential to be the best dog ever.
