I reckon my dog’d be pretty much perfect for what you’re after
Save yourself a thousand bucks and just get a mutt from the pound that looks like the general breeds you’re interested in… fuck this conspicuous consumption bs.
[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
Save yourself a thousand bucks and just get a mutt from the pound that looks like the general breeds you’re interested in… fuck this conspicuous consumption bs.[/quote]
x2
There are plenty of breed specific rescue organizations that are out there as well, adopting a pure breed is possibly your best option
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
Save yourself a thousand bucks and just get a mutt from the pound that looks like the general breeds you’re interested in… fuck this conspicuous consumption bs.[/quote]
x2[/quote]
Disagree 100%.
Dogs are a huge investment of time and money, purebred dogs from a reputable breeder are far superior than a dog from the pound or rescue.
Not to say that there aren’t good dogs that can and have been rescued.
A German Shepherd would definitely be a good option for you. They’re energetic, very intelligent, and require a lot of exercise. It would also be one of your best options if you’re concerned with safety. I wouldn’t count on the dog as protection unless you specifically train it as a guard dog, but it would be a visual deterrent (German Shepherds are intimidating), and I imagine assailants would be wary of it barking and attracting attention.
How bout excessive swimming?
Id be careful with shelter dogs. Some are damaged goods and have had hard lives. Difficult to train, though there is prolly diamonds in the rough. I think many dogs would be good running partners. I vote for german shepard, most loyal and kind dog I’ve ever had. Loves to run too.
[quote]Jork wrote:
Id be careful with shelter dogs. Some are damaged goods and have had hard lives. Difficult to train, though there is prolly diamonds in the rough. I think many dogs would be good running partners. I vote for german shepard, most loyal and kind dog I’ve ever had. Loves to run too.[/quote]
Yep, some shelter dogs are just fucking awesome and worthy of the local dog mag cover. Mine is a Dutch Shepherd mix. He can run all day.
[quote]Knoxout wrote:
A German Shepherd would definitely be a good option for you. They’re energetic, very intelligent, and require a lot of exercise. It would also be one of your best options if you’re concerned with safety. I wouldn’t count on the dog as protection unless you specifically train it as a guard dog, but it would be a visual deterrent (German Shepherds are intimidating), and I imagine assailants would be wary of it barking and attracting attention. [/quote]
I’ve never known an untrained German Shepherd that wouldn’t attack if someone laid a hand on the dogs family member. Protecting family comes naturally to german shepherds.
I have a malamute that would work well. He is very trainable but can be stubborn. He’s smart enough to know what you want him to do, sometimes he just decides not to obey.
And as a general aside, Malamutes and Huskies are not wolfish. They are not part wolf or closer to a wolf than other dogs. Hybrids are a another matter.
Believe it or not, a good runner can outrun most big dogs on long runs like you’ve described. A 6 to 10 mile run is tough for a lot of dogs. I had German Shepherds and I outran them often. That was when I was a pretty good runner and trained at around a 7 minute per mile pace. There are two other problems with dogs and running. First, if he’s a male, he’s going to want to stop and pee. A lot. I guess you can train that out of them but I never really tried. They usually stop doing it so much after the first mile or so.
My solution was to go somewhere where they could be off leash. If they are on leash and you are a serious runner, it will drive you crazy. The second thing to be aware of if that dogs really struggle with heat. Running in anything over 60 degrees is going to be a problem for most big dogs.
I love big aggressive dogs. I have a Bouvier Des Flandres now and it is a great breed, but not a great runner. I run way slower now and he usually keeps up with me, even on long runs, but when it’s hot he can’t. I’ve actually been scared that he was going to get heat stroke a few times when we were on runs and he ramped it up by chasing deer.
I know someone with a Rodesion (sp?) Ridgeback and I’m not a huge fan of the breed. I find him tough to read and he scares me around kids.
If you are serious about running with a dog, I would focus on that list from Runners World. Smaller, light fur dogs are what you are going to want for running.
Our dog is half Vizsla and has a ton of energy. I think she could run all day without getting tired.
[quote]swimmer2500 wrote:
Our dog is half Vizsla and has a ton of energy. I think she could run all day without getting tired.[/quote]
I’ve owned Vizslas and Weimaraners. They are fantastic runners–fantastic dogs generally–and would do the trick on the running part. But they are high f’ing maintenance, willful, require lots of attention and training, and are way too smart. My general rule now is I want a smart dog, but not one that’s smarter than me. So Vizslas and Weimaraners are out.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Jork wrote:
Id be careful with shelter dogs. Some are damaged goods and have had hard lives. Difficult to train, though there is prolly diamonds in the rough. I think many dogs would be good running partners. I vote for german shepard, most loyal and kind dog I’ve ever had. Loves to run too.[/quote]
Yep, some shelter dogs are just fucking awesome and worthy of the local dog mag cover. Mine is a Dutch Shepherd mix. He can run all day.
[/quote]
So awesome.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Jork wrote:
Id be careful with shelter dogs. Some are damaged goods and have had hard lives. Difficult to train, though there is prolly diamonds in the rough. I think many dogs would be good running partners. I vote for german shepard, most loyal and kind dog I’ve ever had. Loves to run too.[/quote]
Yep, some shelter dogs are just fucking awesome and worthy of the local dog mag cover. Mine is a Dutch Shepherd mix. He can run all day.
[/quote]
So awesome. [/quote]
Little bastard chewed through the vacuum cleaner cord today…
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Jork wrote:
Id be careful with shelter dogs. Some are damaged goods and have had hard lives. Difficult to train, though there is prolly diamonds in the rough. I think many dogs would be good running partners. I vote for german shepard, most loyal and kind dog I’ve ever had. Loves to run too.[/quote]
Yep, some shelter dogs are just fucking awesome and worthy of the local dog mag cover. Mine is a Dutch Shepherd mix. He can run all day.
[/quote]
So awesome. [/quote]
Little bastard chewed through the vacuum cleaner cord today…
[/quote]
Lol, our new boxer Gunnar went through a phase and chewed threw a few different cords within a short time a few months ago. The good news is I know how to solder now and I’m feeling quite handy.
[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
Save yourself a thousand bucks and just get a mutt from the pound that looks like the general breeds you’re interested in… fuck this conspicuous consumption bs.[/quote]
x2[/quote]
Disagree 100%.
A compromise would be a grey hound rescued from a race track.
I had one in HS. Not only was she a great dog, but she could keep up with me on a horse (at a walk, not a gallop) for a solid day.
Short hair, easy maintenance, somewhat stupid, but great temperament.
Also generally free.
http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/
Dogs are a huge investment of time and money, purebred dogs from a reputable breeder are far superior than a dog from the pound or rescue.
Not to say that there aren’t good dogs that can and have been rescued.
[/quote]
I had a rescue for 6 years great dog a sweetheart as well, oddly pretty protective of me as well. Generally and from my experience the last thing greyhounds want to do are run for miles. Greyhounds are sprinters and a common nickname for the breed is the 35mph couch potatoe. In my opinion a greyhound would be a poor choice
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
I had a rescue for 6 years great dog a sweetheart as well, oddly pretty protective of me as well. Generally and from my experience the last thing greyhounds want to do are run for miles. Greyhounds are sprinters and a common nickname for the breed is the 35mph couch potatoe. In my opinion a greyhound would be a poor choice [/quote]
I defer to the experts; I have a sample of one dog. I will say she hated the cold and gladly wore a doggie jacket. (They have short hair and basically no body fat.)
You would think a dog originally bred to be a hunting dog (and trot along horses) would naturally be a great hiking dog.
[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
I had a rescue for 6 years great dog a sweetheart as well, oddly pretty protective of me as well. Generally and from my experience the last thing greyhounds want to do are run for miles. Greyhounds are sprinters and a common nickname for the breed is the 35mph couch potatoe. In my opinion a greyhound would be a poor choice [/quote]
I defer to the experts; I have a sample of one dog. I will say she hated the cold and gladly wore a doggie jacket. (They have short hair and basically no body fat.)
You would think a dog originally bred to be a hunting dog (and trot along horses) would naturally be a great hiking dog.[/quote]
Certainly not an expert but before I adopted my racing greyhound I did an extensive amount of research and reading from experts, who all stated that greyhounds are sprinters, and quite lazy. Also the greyhound is an ancient breed and maybe its original purpose has nothing to do with its now intended purpose and has been breeded out so to speak. I spoke extensively the person who ran the Long Island Greyhound Transfer where I adopted my dog (racing name Lake effect) and did consider her an expert, she explained the general temperment of my dog, and other than the dog being protective of me, and generally not liking teenagers who wore baseball caps backwards, was on point. She was not talking about my dog specifically but their general demeanor, exercise requirements etc. Shes been around hundreds and not a handful
Now granted Lake Effect had a broken leg and later crippling arthritis. He never even wanted to sprint lol. But I also had three friends who also adopted a greyhound, and again, a few walks a day and maybe a weekly free run was all they needed.