Monday, December 24, 2007

Terrier, Gundog, or Herder?

Have you ever wondered if a dog is a terrier, gundog , or herder? (and so on) You know, their original purpose? I have. Sometimes if you watch them closely, you can tell. Such as:

TERRIER: Lively, bossy, willful, fun dogs with lots of character, strong hunting drive, can be fiery with other dogs, often great diggers and escape artists.

SIGHTHOUNDS: Gentle, affectionate, strong hunting and chasing drive, need opportunities to run, not particularly obedient and may not be trustworthy off leash, often escape artists.

SCENTHOUND: Friendly, stubborn, strong hunting drive, needs lots of exercise, not usually very obedient and usually hard to recall from a scent, often strong "houndy" smell.

GUNDOG: Good-natured, intelligent, highly trainable,needs lots of exercise, generally good with children, European all-around breeds generally are stronger-willed.

HERDER: Highly intelligent and needs lots of mental as well physical exercise,very trainable, strong chasing drive, often very sensitive and needs early socialization.

GUARD: Strong willed and confident, needs experienced owner, highly trainable in the right hands, protective drive that needs to be controlled.

TOY: Needs lots of love and cuddles, despite small size generally more of a "real dog" than reputation suggests, most Toys enjoy long walks, opportunity for training.

SPITZ: Active, energetic, often noisy, tend to be stubborn and independent, not one for obedient enthusiosts, needs close relatinship with owner, dislike being left alone.

SLED BREEDS: Active, not geared to obedience, needs lots of exersize, strong prey drive, rarely to be trsted off leash, destructive if bored, great escapologists.

BULL BREEDS: Strong-minded dogs of fighting ancestry but nowadays not generally aggresive- although most will not back down if challened, smarter than reputation suggests.

There. Now, just maybe, you can tell if a dog is a terrier, gundog, or herder!

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