[Nikolaj]

Hi everyone,
I have been considering buying my first very own dog for a couple of months now. My family has had dogs since i was 10 (I'm 22 now) and we still have them, a 12 yr old german shepherd and her 8yr old daughter.

I've narrowed my selection to the following three breeds:
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Longhair Weimaraner
Border Collie

Now I do understand these may be quite difficult for a first time dog owner but I believe I've learned a lot about dogs over the years we have our dogs, since furthermore both my parents have had multiple dogs before I was even born. I've come to this selection by reading about the breeds, taking the Dog Breed Selector quiz at http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html and visiting a dog show.

Strangely enough, while the breed selector suggested me Chesapeake and Border Collie, Weimaraner was not on the list. I believe he is quite similar to the other two in terms of energy, trainability, health.. I hope I'm quite correct?

Actually, when I check out the exercise needs of various breeds on the internet, I get results ranging from 2hr walking to 4hr running for the same breed. Now what I am ready to guarantee is about 2*1.5 hours walking, possibly 2*1+1.5 hour walking. Plus some training or playing. Now I understand that the dogs I have chosen are quite a bit more demanding and active than the german shepherds we have now. I wonder if my plan would definitely satisfy each of the breeds, possibly some comments whether I should prefer 3 walks or 2 walks Also I am only talking about what I can guarantee every day, I believe neither of these will have a problem walking 5-6 hours in a row.

I prefer Longhair Weimaraner over shorthair both because I like the looks better and because I believe normal Weimaraner could have a problem both in winter and in water. However, I can't quite find the information how often one needs to groom the Longhair Weimaraner. It's certainly quite difficult from the shorthair but everything I found is about as vague as "regularly" But basicly I believe it's the more logical choice for the climate in Czech republic, what do you think?

One of my biggest concerns is for the breed to be healthy. Our 12yr old german shepherd has hip dysplasia and some eye problems and its just not easy seeing the dog having a really hard time to even stand up or walk up the stairs..
I believe all the breeds I have mentioned are generally healthy but I'd like to know if any outstands in being healthy and if possible, what are the chances of their typical ilnesses and how serious problems they usually cause. Because you will about always see hip dysplasia, bloat, eye problems in the possible health problems list, but never with chances..

Another concern I have, which is quite difficult to find an answer for, is the urge to hunt. Our german shepherds obey maybe until they are 10m from us, if they see a hare or a cat at a larger distance from the handler, the urge overwhelms them=)
I don't suppose Weimaraner or Chessie would be any better, since they are hunting dogs, would they? And would Border Collie resist this better maybe? Not being a hunting dog.. but our german shepherds aren't hunting dogs either and..

I also wonder what does http://animal.discovery.com/ mean by saying that border collie is hard to train while weimaraner is easy to train for example. My understanding is that border collie will be easiest to train while the other two breeds will take some more work but will be also relatively easy, but maybe its not just an error and they actually mean something by that?

Finally, I wonder if you believe any of the above breed's would get along with our german shephard females just fine. Mainly with the 8yr old who is the leader. She actually doesn't get along too well with other dogs but I believe that she shouldn't be harsh on a dog I'd raise from a puppy. What do you think?

I've seen that the advices given on this forum are usually quite useful so I hope someone will get through my wall of text and try to answer my questions. (sorry for that!)

 

[juliemule]

Personally, I would.skip the border collie. They are awesome dogs, but high energy, with high prey drive. Like the shepherds, which are herders, they seriously like to chase. Prey and hunt drive are different things.

The retriever is a hunting dog, but a retriever, not bred to chase game. If that makes sense.

I'm not as familiar with the weimaraners, have dealt with a few. They were higher energy as well, but not near the border collies. All are smart dogs and should be easy to train.

Getting along with your others. Just depends. You would most.likely do better getting a male, but it can work with a female as well. Just don't choose a pushy pup.

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

I just did a google search for 'long hair Weimaraner' & you are right they are cool looking!!! If I liked sporting dogs (which aren't my bag) I would consider one.

As for breed info I would to research via google on each breed. Rescue sites (not to get a dog... Unless you want to rescue one instead lol j/k) bc the rescue sites always put a wealth of info on their breeds, & have a lot of pro & con info. When I want to know about a breed.

 

[sassafras]

I may be biased, having had one, but I think Chesapeakes are a highly under-rated breed. IME they are more serious and less "I LOVE EVERYONE" than labs, but still quite biddable (although they have a reputation for being "stubborn") and extremely sweet with their families.

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

I know this is somewhat off topic but I wanted to point out the breed selector doesn't list every breed. I tried my hardest with what I knew about Pekingese to select my answers to get a Pekingese breed match. I got Miniature Poodle and some sort of terrier I've never heard of. I even chose to see my results just according to the dog's weight, Pekes were not listed. I think the breed selector is pretty cool but I wouldn't rely on it completely to select a dog for you.

 

[CptJack]

I know this is somewhat off topic but I wanted to point out the breed selector doesn't list every breed. I tried my hardest with what I knew about Pekingese to select my answers to get a Pekingese breed match. I got Miniature Poodle and some sort of terrier I've never heard of. I even chose to see my results just according to the dog's weight, Pekes were not listed. I think the breed selector is pretty cool but I wouldn't rely on it completely to select a dog for you.

I tried that to get to a Rat Terrier.

I got Parson's Terrier with Caviler, Smooth Fox Terrier and Wirehaired Fox Terrier as runner ups.

This would be less amusing (at least they hit terriers!) if I hadn't requested dogs with minimal grooming requirements.

Well, that and WTF does a Caviler have in common with a bunch of terriers.

 

[Amaryllis]

Border collies are "hard to train" in that they are extremely smart, and the smarter a dog is, the more challenging it is to train. A very, very smart dog is capable of thinking for itself and that doesn't lend itself to obeying commands just because you say so. If you're used to a German Shepherd, a border collie will be quite a surprise.

I'm honestly not certain that a longhaired Weim will do any better in the winter than a shorthair Weim. Double coats, like GSDs have, insulate against the cold, but a longish single coat, not so much. (Although I do love the look, too.)

Chessies might be more your cup of tea, of the three on that list.

 

[Nikolaj]

I'm honestly not certain that a longhaired Weim will do any better in the winter than a shorthair Weim. Double coats, like GSDs have, insulate against the cold, but a longish single coat, not so much. (Although I do love the look, too.)

Chessies might be more your cup of tea, of the three on that list.

As far as I have read, longhair Weim's do have a double coat however?

As for Chessies, they say at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGNngc2k4t4 that one in 4 or 5 Chessies can suffer some form of hip dysplasia... that just seems ridiculously much. I was expecting more like a 5% chance.. Basicly I'd prefer having <=5% chance and at most 10% that my dog will end up crippled eventually

 

[ChaosIsAWeim]

Ha ha, sorry but my "normal" weimaraners do just fine in the winter and water, in fact the love the winter. I can only speak for weimaraners as I have only had them out of those breeds, I have a friend with varying degrees of energy/temperament/etc border collies though. I would say weimaraners are in between Chessies and Border collies in terms of energy. They are very much an active breed though, at a minimum weims need 2 hours of exercise and mental stimulation a day, but that is a minimum.

A big health issue in the breed, that is currently going through testing now to find the gene, is HOD, Hypertropic Osteodystrophy. This is really a nasty disease in growing weimaraners, it is similar to pano but much more severe and much more likely to cause lasting problems.

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/hod.htm
http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health...-information/hypertrophic-osteodystrophy.html

Other issues are, Hip Dysplasia (like in most large breeds), Elbow Dysplasia, Hypo/Hyperthyroidism (had a weim with hyperthyroidism), Hyperuricosuria can pop up but it's not common. There really isn't a lot of health issues in the breed, but there are some.

Separation anxiety is another problem, although behavioral not health.

Weims are actually pretty easy to train, but that stems from years of breeding for dogs that want to work for you. They are smart dogs, and can actually get the better of you if you don't pay attention. They are also very stealthy dogs, light on their feet, so you really don't hear them coming. Puppies like mischief if they aren't getting the exercise/mental stimulation.

Weims are pretty dog friendly, but you could also get the standoffish one (not aggressive but rather just not care). My one weim BB loves everything though, she is actually the weim you see on AP's weimaraner page, everyone and everything is a new playmate for her, anybody who has met her could tell you that lol.

If a weim sees an animal it is going to run after it, but it will likely come back, as much of a hunting dog they are they are also a people dog, they were bred to be extremely loyal to their people, most hunting dogs of that time (and some in this day) lived outside, not the weimaraner. My one girl I took to the field for hunting tests, would always come back to make sure I was still coming, once she realized I was she would be off again, the minute she could not see me anymore she would trot back, and so on. But that does not mean that and untrained weimaraner that has not bonded with you yet (a puppy, a rescue, etc) would do that.

 

[NDpups]

Weimeraners are high energy too, comparable to a German Shorthair - which is used to hunt while the hunter is on horseback. IF you want the BC, then count on TONS of training to channel their (mental) energy. They want a job and aren't happy if you don't provide one.

I've never met a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that the owner wasn't just nuts about. Some remembering their favorite dog, a Chesapeake, 25 years after losing them. A no brainer to me. The CBR for sure.