Grunching this thread, but my wife and I are seriously considering getting a dog next year. Nothing too tiny or too huge. I’ve had a golden retriever when i was a kid, and we had a border collie with something else mixed in in my late teens (best dog ever).
Any recommendations?
Shiba? Never had one but I think they can be a lot to handle, but some people like that.
Are you still in Japan and what’s your living space like?
In the US I am a strong advocate for rescuing shelter dogs, but I have no idea if that’s a realistic thing where you are. There are organizations here that rescue dogs from the meat trade in Korea, maybe that’s a thing there?
A Shiba is the most cat-like dog I’ve ever met. Gorgeous, friendly, extremely intelligent, very independent. I would get one if you like smart dogs that need to be challenged and stimulated, but if that’s your bag, a Shiba is a terrific dog. I trained one to heel and made another Shiba owner spit take. It was like doing a magic trick, but idk I find it easy to talk to animals.
What level of maintenance are you prepared to provide for a dog? Huge consideration so you can make sure whatever you adopt gets a high quality of life fit for your lifestyle.
We live in a huge house by Japan standards. And nearby is a river with a walking path and rice fields through which I already walk by myself for at least an hour a day. Also a park with a dog run not too far away. So no space or exercise issues.
Obviously, shiba is the most popular dog here and easiest to obtain. But my experience with them is that they aren’t as personable as other dogs and can be quite stubborn, so it might not be the dog for me.
As for shelters, though there are shelters in the prefecture where I live, we’ve been to a few and we’ve yet to find a dog we’d want to take home. Sadly, most are old (maybe their owners died off on them) or tiny (which is not what I’m looking for).
Weirdly, there are no non-Shiba breeders in my entire prefecture, and getting a bred dog here in Japan can be really expensive. So finding a good dog here is not an easy task.
A couple days ago my wife sent me a picture of a border collie puppy at a home center pet shop she happened to be at. It would be the perfect dog. But it’s a puppy mill dog and while it too needs a home, we’re trying to avoid that route.
What about a Corgi?? Not too small, just short legs lol. They are extremely sociable and very easy to train. I love their lil legs bee boppin when they are happy and running.
100% cat person and if I had to get a dog, it would be a corgi (or something very similar).
Is there a prior video where the roadrunner goes by?
Just passed by one of these. I’ve heard nothing but good things, though they maybe just a little short-legged for my taste.
We have a corgi and a corgi mix (heeler, huskie and a bunch of other stuff in there). The purebred corgi is really smart but can be stubborn at times and have kind of an asshole side to him, not aggressive but just kind of like fuck off I don’t need to listen to you. He’s been a great dog and I would get another one in the future.
They shed a ton, like way beyond what you’d think is possible. We have hardwood floors and i swiffer them almost daily. Also pretty vocal, if anything is different from usual out the front window he will let us know. Likes regular excercise and things to do.
The corgi rabbit hop! We’ve done these races a couple times, he was surprisingly fast and ran a fairly straight line.
I don’t like Shiba’s as most of them seem to want to attack my dog and one did and took a chunk out of his leg leading to a $800 vet bill.
Lol it’s like that old pic of a horse showing that all four of their legs leave the ground when running.
Go Rosie!
I’m looking forward to whichever kind of dog you get. Also curious what other breeds you end up selecting from. Would you possibly go bigger like a German shepherd? Australian sheep dog? Akita?
I go for the kind of personality I want from a dog when we are just chilling. My current dog Sydney is a mutt that looks like a slightly bigger Chihuahua with none of the defensiveness or anxiety. I met her in 2013 at a sidewalk rescue league that had saved her from a puppy mill. She was extremely chill despite a huge group of people and lots of attention. I knew I’d found the one.
She’s still spry and would walk through neighborhoods with me at an insane pace for hours every day if I let her, but she’s also cool just sitting next to me for hours. The only thing she obsesses over is that she needs to be touching a human or close to one at all times, which just means if I leave her with someone else, they’re getting a ton of snugs.
I’ve always been partial to larger dogs. Akita might be a good choice but they tend to have a stoic personality much like Shibas. I guess I’m looking for a friendly, bigger (but not too big) dog. Our familiy’s border collie mix was the perfect dog, which has always led me to wanting to get another border collie. Though it was a mix, so it might not be quite the same.
At any rate, winter is descending upon my area, along with buckets of snow, so we’ll probably begin the actual search in early spring. Appreciate all the input!
I grew up with a few labs and they probably fit your criteria.
You really have to do your research with border collie breeders. A lot of them end up neurotic and can be huge nightmares for owners.
I have a pointer (english) and I truly believe it is the best breed as long as you are willing to give them a decent amount of exercise(1-2 hrs a day+), although I don’t think they would become poorly behaved without out it, I just don’t think it’s fair to the dog since they seem to love running and exploring.
If you do go with a pointer make sure to get a show pointer rather than a field pointer as they are couch potatoes and super calm in the house.(show pointer tails are parallel to the ground, while field pointers are perpendicular) Most of the internet research about pointers talks about field pointers which is why people don’t get them as pets.
